The Checkout

A satirical consumer affairs series which takes a no-holds-barred, irreverent and entertaining approach to explaining and exposing the ways that all of us are being ripped off. The Checkout is consumer affairs TV for the twenty first century offering a revolutionary new wonder diet of information and entertainment that’s clinically proven and 26% fat free.

Type: tv

Season: 1

Episode: 1

Duration: 0h 30m

Release: 2013

Rating: 3.3

Season 1 - The Checkout
2013-03-21
"- Complimentary Medicines\n- Apple iPhone : Advertising vs Reality\n- If I Could Say One Thing : Catriona Lowe \n- Complaint Letter : Purina Cat Food \n- F.U. Tube : Consumers Bite Back\n- Product Vs Packshot : Coles Strawberries \n- As A Guilty Mum : Baby Bums \n- Parallel Consumerverse : If Toasters Were Mobile Phones \n- Product Tampering : Golden Circle Sunshine Punch \n- Meanwhile in Afghanistan \n- Buy Now, Pay Forever"
2013-04-11
"- Milking It\n- Tricks of the Trade Mags\n- Product Tampering : Strawberry Indulgence\n- Parallel Consumerverse : If Groceries Were Foxtel\n- Funeral Plans\n- The Search For The Most Expensive Water\n- If I Could Say One Thing : Alan Kirkland\n- Data Mining\n- Product vs Packshot : Bubble O'Bill\n- F.U. Tube : Jetstar and Sam"
2013-04-18
"- Chronic Pain\n- Swisse Vitamins\n- Search For The Most Expensive Wi-Fi\n- As A Guilty Mum : Sleep\n- Adventures In Fine Print : California Dreaming\n- Product Vs Packshot : Tom Piper Savoury - - - Mince & Vegetables\n- Not Appy\n- If I Could Say One Thing : Barry Schwartz\n- F.U. Tube"
2013-04-25
"- Superfoods\n- Door Knockers\n- If I Could Say One Thing : Rod Sims\n- Down Down Arithmetic\n- Access vs Ownership\n- Parallel Consumerverse : If Cinemas Were Gyms\n- Product vs Packshot : On The Menu Double Cheeseburger\n- F.U. Tube"
2013-05-02
"- Ticket Bookings\n- Product Vs Packshot : Palak Paneer\n- Spoilt For Choice : Toothpaste\n- Milk, White Lies & Permeate\n- A Load of Rubbish\n- As A Guilty Mum : Baby Safety\n- Extended Warranties\n- If I Could Say One Thing : Allan Fels\n- F.U. Tube"
2013-05-09
"- Snack Break : Dairy Farmer's Yoghurt\n- Big Cosmetics In Little China\n- Product vs Packshot : KFC Salsa Twister\n- Adventures In Fine Print : Ticket Insurance\n- Cashback Backlash\n- Beat The System : Fashion Outlets\n- What's In A Name?\n- If I Could Say One Thing : Dan Ariely\n- Borrowing Money From Strangers\n- F.U. Tube"
Season 2 - The Checkout
2014-02-20
"Kirsten Drysdale looks at The Struth About Australian Made labelling, Julian Morrow on your consumer rights when services go bad and Craig Reucassel explains how to not get ripped off when reading credit card statements."
2014-02-27
"Craig Reucassel on the health claims that are 98% fact free, Kirsten Drysdale and Zoe Norton Lodge show Unilever is a market leader in corporate hypocrisy, and the guilty mum takes on toilet training."
2014-03-06
"Julian Morrow looks at superannuation and the quest for financial enlightenment, Kirsten Drysdale throws stones in the chlorophyll glasshouse, and Scott Abbot looks for clarity in headphones with a visit to Dr Dre."
2014-03-13
"Kirsten Drysdale asks if we're being taken for a ride by the taxi industry, Zoe Norton Lodge untangles the mess of HDMI Cables, and is there something fishy about tuna?"
2014-03-20
"Craig Reucassel phones home and turns the table on reverse charges, a cautionary tale about frequent flyer points, and how 4G affects our mobile data cap."
2014-03-27
"Craig Reucassel brings free range chickens home to roost, the loving pet owner's guide to pet stress relief, and Kirsten Drysdale discovers insurance companies charging a lazy tax."
2014-04-03
"Craig Reucassel pays the price of convenience, Kirsten Drysdale asks why serving sizes are so self serving, and water resistant watches face the judgement of the gods."
2014-04-10
"All roads lead to roam... ing fees for mobile phone companies, online dating and scammers make a perfect match, and the loving pet owner's guide to pet fashions."
2014-04-17
"Gendered marketing and the equal opportunity to pay more, pet insurance gets put down and dishing the dirt on anti-bacterial cleaning products."
Season 3 - The Checkout
2015-04-09
"Kirsten Drysdale does a clinical trial on clinical trials in the beauty industry, and Craig Reucassel asks what happens if your car turns out to be a lemon... or a donkey."
2015-04-16
"Julian Morrow looks at the fine print on private parking fines and Ben Jenkins drinks the kool-aid that comes with sports drinks and asks if they\u2019re really worth it."
2015-04-30
"Kirsten Drysdale brings us up-to-date with the latest bogus developments in milk marketing and Alex Lee examines who really owns the books and other digital media you buy online."
2015-05-07
"Ben Jenkins gets back to nature, Zo\u00eb Norton Lodge finds out why money transfers take so long to process, and Hannah Reilly exercises extreme caution about new car add-ons."
2015-05-21
"Julian plays The Price Is Right. Consumer edition! And Craig has an expensive groundhog day, thanks to financial commissions."
2015-05-28
"'Checkout Chumps' investigates Premium SMS as Julian Morrow joins the Not Appy club and Zo\u00eb Norton Lodge shows us what the song and dance is with Arbonne direct marketing."
2015-06-04
"Zo\u00eb Norton Lodge looks at which pet foods are Best In Chow with guest stars Cat Stevens and Rene Descat; Kirsten Drysdale gets taken for a ride when examining rip-offs in the hire car industry."
2015-06-11
"Ben Jenkins dips his toes into TV streaming and shows you the ins and outs of all the new video on demand services competing with the ABC for your precious eyeballs."
2015-06-18
"Kirsten Drysdale retreats from mental health retreats and The Guilty Mum throws a party."
2015-06-25
"Ben Jenkins gives low carb beers the once over, and then a twice over to be sure; Alex Lee takes a cleansing look at detox diets."
2015-07-02
"Craig shows what they pump into Pump water, Alex finds out what a NutriBullet does to facts and Hannah cracks the whip on leather."
Season 4 - The Checkout
2016-04-07
"Kirsten Drysdale investigates whether online hotel booking sites save you money; Ben Jenkins explains your consumer rights when shopping online; Julian Morrow reveals what to do with your Dick Smith gift cards."
2016-04-14
"Alex Lee shines a light on sunglasses to find out which ones give you the best protection; Zoe Norton Lodge looks into the debt relief industry & tells you how you can help yourself, for free."
2016-04-21
"The hazards of travel insurance, what's so special about that new box feeling, and The Checkout story on unsolicited sales you haven't been asking for."
Season 5 - The Checkout
2017-04-06
"The Checkout tackles issues that face all of us when we open our wallets - identifying ways consumers are being taken advantage of, manipulated and ripped off... even if there's nothing illegal about it."
2017-04-13
"Zoe investigates the nightmare of timeshare holiday accommodation; Craig looks at reverse mortgages for over-55s; The ACCC-CCCC bust open sports betting scams & Alex highlights the trap of automatically renewing payments."
2017-04-20
"Andy breaks down the cost of dying with a look at the funeral industry; Scott checks out the many ways telcos continue to torture us and in FUTube, Zoe discovers Australia Post are signing people up for junk mail."
2017-04-27
"Alex Lee unpacks the issues with removalists, in a moving tale. The Tooth Fairy tells Ben Jenkins the 'tooth' about dentists. And in FUTube, Julian Morrow trawls the canned tuna industry with a new sustainability report."
2017-05-04
"Zoe Norton Lodge investigates how to assert your rental rights in Australia; Scott Abbot discovers Google Shopping's search results are allowing dodgy businesses to prosper & what happens when you can't pay your vet bill?"
2017-05-18
"Craig Reucassel discovers the pitfalls of buying a car; the ACCC-CCC-C lift the lid on the biggest scam in Australia last year and in FUTube, Julian Morrow gets to the bottom of age discrimination in travel insurance."
2017-05-25
"Kirsten finds something fishy in the world of Omega-3 supplements; Ben shows you how to complain about anything; Craig shares everyone's frustration with a look at what to do when your parcel delivery goes awry."
2017-06-01
"Craig investigates why manufacturers aren't labelling trans-fat in foods; Zoe highlights the normalisation of payday lending & Scott finds out why tapping your debit card instead of swiping can land you with greater fees."
2017-06-08
"Scott comes to grips with the fact that expensive running shoes aren't worth it; Mark discovers that hearing clinics are basically sales centres & Julian looks at how long a product should reasonably be expected to last?"
2017-06-15
"Zoe navigates the pitfalls of buying a home off the plan; Alex finds out which mozzie repellents actually work; and Ben gets the low down on security holding deposits which can take an age to return to your account."
2017-06-22
"Zoe looks at the Comm Bank's customer supply program, Dollarmites; Andy looks at commercial weight loss programs; Kate returns in As A Guilty Mum and Kirsten highlights the rise of phantom supermarket brands."
2017-06-29
"Kirsten and Zoe test the shape of multi-level marketing schemes; Scott reveals how much loyalty reward scheme points are really worth; A visit from an old friend as the ABC Investigator's Helen Wellings visits The Checkout."