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The Checkout’s apology they refused to run

When The Checkout tried to apologise to Jeep Australia on behalf of an angry customer, newspapers refused to run it.

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The Checkout is back on ABC tomorrow night and covers the case of a man who had a falling out with Jeep Australia.

Ashton Wood complained over faults to the car he bought and during the legal wrangle Jeep asked him to apologise with an ad in the Australian Financial Review. So The Checkout team decided to place an ad on his behalf but says the AFR refused to run it.

The episode also tests a new wonder cream, Rejuvalize.

Clinical trials of Rejuvalize have shown:

· 80% of users report looking younger and healthier
· 98% of users noticed a reduction in the look of lines and wrinkles
· 100% of users reported that their skin felt more youthful

To get these results, Kirsten Drysdale from The Checkout used the cosmetic industry’s standard practice: paying for a clinical trial specifically designed to support impressive but essentially hollow marketing claims.

We went to the ends of the earth to find the miracle ingredients of Rejuvalize: $2.99 home brand sorbolene with a squirt of Aloe Vera After Sun Care mixed in to make it smell nice.

With the assistance of Australia’s Nobel Prize winning scientist, Professor Brian Schmidt, Kirsten’s report examines the industry behind all the “clinically proven” claims cosmetic companies make. It’ll make you wonder if you’re really getting what you think you’re paying for when you buy those expensive skin creams.

Also this week, Craig Reucassel looks at what rights you have if you buy a car that’s a ‘lemon’: a car with a string of defects that, taken together, make you wish you’d never bought it.

The story features Ashton Wood, who had numerous faults with the Jeep he bought. While Jeep repaired some of the faults the number of problems led Ashton to ask for a refund or replacement of his car. When they weren’t forthcoming he raised money via a Kickstarter campaign to destroy his Jeep.

During their legal wrangling Jeep demanded he apologise to them with a paid advertisement in The Australian Financial Review. The team from The Checkout decided to on his behalf, but the AFR refused to run it.

The rest of the episode features the return of segments beloved by viewers, hated by companies, including F.U. Tube, The Catch and Complaint Letter.

Thursday 9 April at 8pm.

One Response

  1. I don’t know how I missed this story, and if it was not for the newsletter, I would not have known that The Checkout was back last night. I will have to catch it on iView. Thanks David.

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