Think gas prices are bad? Flights are next; banks waiving Ukraine transfer fees: CBC’s Marketplace Cheat Sheet

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Shocked by the price at the pumps? The cost of your next flight might skyrocket, too

We've all been doing a double-take at the gas station lately.

But as you come to terms with some prices exceeding even $2 a litre, you should brace yourself for the cost of flights to go up, too.

Experts say air travellers should expect sticker shock soon.

The cost of jet fuel is subject to the same forces that have caused gasoline prices to rise to their highest in years.

Jet fuel is one of the biggest costs that airlines bear, so experts say that surge will affect the price that travellers pay to fly, if it hasn't already. Read more

She called out TD Bank for charging her for donating to Ukraine aid efforts. It made a big difference

Krystyne Rusek, who is Ukrainian-Canadian, is questioning TD Bank after she was charged — then later reimbursed — a $50 fee for donating to Ukrainian relief efforts several days after Russia invaded the country.

Rusek says she went to her local TD branch on March 1 to contribute $1,600 to a special fund set up by the Ukrainian government.

Her donation, and those of other Canadians supporting the fund, were being collected by a downtown Toronto BMO branch before being transferred to the National Bank of Ukraine, the central bank, and then sent to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

After arranging the transaction, the TD teller told Rusek she had to pay a $50 wire transfer fee — the standard charge for customers sending a wire payment from a TD branch to a non-TD account in Canada or abroad.

"I paid it and I wasn't upset about it," Rusek told CBC Toronto. "But the next day, I started to think about it and realized that this was not right."

After writing an email expressing her concerns to TD the day after making her donation, she was told two days later — after CBC News approached the bank about the situation — that she would be reimbursed.

Now, TD says it will waive all fees for wire transfers to Ukraine, and reimburse those, like Rusek, who were initially charged for their donations. All other major Canadian banks say they will waive fees, too. Read more

After a credit report mix-up, these newlyweds say they've lost their window to buy a house

There's no shortage of signs the housing market has gotten a little out of hand over the past few years.

The average house price in Canada is at an all-time high, and as any prospective buyer knows, the difference between a successful and failed bid on a home can often boil down to something as simple as timing.

Jessica Rochon and her wife, Alison Holmes, learned this the hard way, after being denied a mortgage pre-approval because of someone else's bad credit — a woman with almost the same name as Rochon, who lives a province away, in Quebec.

The two Rochons are not related and have never met, but their Equifax credit history appears to have been mixed into one file, causing financial problems — and a lot of headaches — for the Rochon in Ottawa.

Following a Go Public inquiry, Equifax fixed the problem, but Rochon and Holmes say it's now too late — they've been priced out of buying the kind of house they wanted. Read more

What else is going on?

McDonald's, Starbucks, Coke, Pepsi join companies suspending business in Russia

There are growing calls to boycott companies not taking a stand against Russia.

Mask mandates are being lifted in Canada — and could further divide Canadians

Politicization of messaging could further divide Canadians over masking in the future.

Why Canada is losing affordable rental housing faster than it's being built

Large investors have been buying up Canada's rental stock and increasing profits.

Marketplace needs your help

Are organic fruits and vegetables your first choice when you visit the grocery store? We want to hear from you. Send us an email telling us why organic is your go-to at marketplace@cbc.ca.

Do you get regular phone calls claiming there's a package being detained for you by Canadian authorities? Or demanding you owe money in unpaid taxes? Maybe someone claiming you've got a virus and need tech support? If so, we want to hear from you! Send us your name and phone number and we may get in touch with you. Email us at marketplace@cbc.ca.

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