Episode 6 Watchdog

Tonight on Watchdog - the Student Loans Company.

Thousands taken from people's bank accounts but not

We went through my contributions year by year and the numbers I had

and the numbers they had just didn't match up. There was just over ?8,000

missing. More than 5 million of us

currently have loans. Tonight we're asking,

how many more have they got wrong? Hello and welcome to Watchdog,

from our home at Broadcasting House. How safe is your home

this Christmas? Throughout the show, we'll be

telling you about some products that are dangerous for children,

being recalled for safety reasons. Also, details of a Christmas rip-off

and more Rogue Traders. Plus, meet 11-year-old Stephen,

collecting parts for a 3D The magazine company who've

sent him the last 82 parts After our initial report

into the Corsa D bursting into flames, more of you have

got in touch. As I've just got out of the car, the

whole car went up in one big explosion. I was just in shock. I

was just crying. And the worst thing is, my son could have been in that

car. I wouldn't have got him out in time.

We also heard from the owner of this Corsa.

Have Vauxhall got to the bottom of it?

Also tonight, with the festivities approaching, it's not long now

until you have a great excuse to eat and be merry, so Team Watchdog

are looking at whether it's cheaper to buy your groceries online

Plus, I'll be giving you some tips on how

Those apples look lovely. Are they on your list? Get them off, then.

But they're pretty! And on Rogue Traders this week,

we're tying up loose ends. Unfinished business which you've

told us needs finishing. For instance, whatever happened

to the driver of this yellow van? I tell you what, this is a best

practice... Get off me! This is a best practice guide for flat roofing

because you don't seem to know anything about it at all.

Well, spoiler alert, he won't be driving around

the streets of Lancashire for a while.

First tonight, missing money and miserable excuses.

The Student Loans Company was set up by the government to help people

Tonight, we hear from the graduates who thought they were paying

off their debts but who discovered their money had gone missing.

Whether you were a student in the 90s, the 2000s or much more

recently, if you've been to university or college in the last 20

years, there's a good chance you will have taken out a student loan.

First introduced in 1990, nowadays, more than 1 million students take

out a loan with the Student Loans Company every year. On the current

model, once you have graduated, you pay back 9% of all earnings over

?21,000. Most people have the money taken straight from their payslip

every month by HMRC. After this Student Loans Company instructs the

taxman what to take. Graduates are then receive a statement once a

year, to let them know how much they still owe. But it can pay to keep a

very close eye on the money being taken from your payslip and where

exactly it's going. We've heard from a number of graduates who have

discovered that hundreds, even thousands of pounds that they

thought was being paid towards their loans seems to have completely

disappeared. Including Marilyn and Kunal who both studied medicine at

Kings College graduating in 2010. We were both medical students, we

studied medicine and a one-year extra degree at medical school in

London. We were both there for six years and graduated both with about

?28,000 of debt. Despite paying back their loans through their payslip

saw more than five years, they started to notice that their student

loan balance didn't seem to be going down very quickly. The way I first

noticed it, because I move house all the time, I don't often get the

statement why wasn't then. I got a statement that said that the whole

year, I'd paid ?50. That is when I realised that there was a massive

discrepancy between what I'd paid and what the Student Loans Company

credited to my count. In total, I think the discrepancy was 1100. I

logged in online and had a look at my balance but nothing was changing

for some time. When I called them up and said it wasn't changing, and we

went through my contributions year by year, and the numbers I had the

numbers they had just didn't match up. There was just over ?8,000

missing. When they contacted the Student Loans Company, Marilyn and

Kunal were told they needed to prove the money had gone by sending in

every payslip they had ever received. I had to write to

hospitals I had worked out, as much as five years ago, asking them to

send it to me. It took me a really long time from when I first realised

there was a problem to compiling it into as Brigitte and sending it to

them and getting anywhere. Student Loans Company very much put the

responsibility on me to show that I had the evidence to prove there was

a mistake at their rent. After months of contact, they finally

prove that the money was missing and after we stepped in, their loan

balances were updated to include what was missing. So where has the

money gone. The Student Loans Company don't take responsible Dee

Ford, they pass the buck to HMRC and I said to them," who can Michael at

HMRC?" They said there's no one to speak to. Somewhere, is broken and

needs to be sorted. And theirs is a familiar story. Will also contacted

by Fleur who lives near Inverness and got in touch after she

discovered that ?518 had gone missing and hadn't been taken off

her balance. She contacted the Student Loans Company in May and has

yet to find out where the missing money has gone. And even if you pay

back your loan in full, you can still find hundreds of pounds being

taken. Rebecca e-mailed us after the Student Loans Company continued to

take payments long after she had finished paying off her loan. This

has been going on for well over a year. They have been taking about

?160 every month, which adds up to quite a large amount. How

frustrating is the whole experience? It's really frustrating, not just

because of the money being taken but because I have spoken to them so

many times and it is difficult to get anywhere with them. Even after

phone calls where I have spoken to them and they have is that it is

fine and sorted, they will refund me and it will definitely stop, but

then it will be taken out again the next month. There's not a lot you

can do, really, apart from speak to them and get it back afterwards. It

seems really difficult and it was really frustrating trying to stop

it. Rebecca has now finally been refunded her overpayments but can't

understand where her money had gone. So if you're still paying back your

loan or think you're fully paid off, you might want to take a closer look

at your statements. Well, in response to our report,

the Student Loans Company said it works on the basis of information

provided by HMRC, but if it finds that a borrower has

overpaid for any reason, it contacts them

to arrange a refund. It said Rebecca's employer had been

told to stop deducting loan payments but continued in error and,

in Fleur's case, it said HMRC hadn't provided full

information on repayments. It has now refunded both

of them their money. Meanwhile, HMRC said it ensures

all repayment details are passed on accurately,

and is working with the Student Loans Company to streamline

this process further. Two things you can do if you are

worried about your repayments. First, check your old statements

against your payslips. Second, if you are coming

towards the end of your repayments and are worried about overpaying,

you can contact the Student Loans Company to switch your payments

to direct debits, which you have Now onto some dangerous

children's products that First is the Ikea Malm

chest of drawers. In the USA, four children have now

been killed by the product tipping The problem is illustrated clearly

by this clip from the US They tested the drawers

using a dummy. Child gets up on the furniture.

Parent has turned his or her back for a moment and this is what

happens. That is as real as it gets. Really shocking.

Here in the UK, Malm chests of drawers are still on sale -

with this safety fitting to attach it to the wall, which

So if you've got one, or you know someone who has one,

We contacted Ikea, who told us they don't know of any tip-over

incidents with properly anchored chests of drawers.

They say any tall, unsecured furniture is at risk.

They've provided these tip-over restraints for years,

and the information is always on the price tag.

All the details of how to secure these are on our website.

And throughout tonight's show, we'll have more safety advice coming up,

including another Ikea product you need to know about.

You know, just because we've waved rogues off into the distance

And quite frankly, we also like to see the best ones again.

Because when they do their thing, it can almost be car crash TV.

In Lancashire back in 2010, my TV career almost came

to an abrupt end thanks to this guy - Simon Fielding,

But, coincidentally, he's also been convicted of football

It's a bit like being a triathlete at the Rogue Olympics.

We'd been fielding a load of complaints about Simon's company,

First Call Roofing, based in Clitheroe.

It appeared that they were making up work, botching jobs,

working dangerously, and intimidating

customers when they, understandably, refused to pay.

Janet Yuen called him round to fix her roof in September 2009.

It needed everything doing to it, mainly to make it watertight.

Simon charged her ?2,800 to repair her roof,

but when he'd finished, she discovered that

I could see there was daylight coming through the tiles,

A few days later, I put my head through the loft again

and there was different spots of light coming through.

Janet got another company in to check the work.

They said it would cost a further ?4,800, nearly twice as much again,

To make matters worse, Simon Fielding was now

chasing Janet for money she said she didn't owe.

Obviously, we had to see this for ourselves, so we set up cameras

and summoned First Call Roofing to replace our troublesome roof.

All they had to do was replace the worn-out felt, but once they'd

stripped the old stuff back, Simon told stooge Kiera that

water from above was actually leaking down onto the roof.

When I come to it, there is water underneath.

There is water coming from up here, above your head.

He then claimed that the flat roof at the top of the house

What they've done - it's hard to explain

Back in 2010, it was not called mansplaining, but it is now.

We approached Simon Fielding to discuss, oh, you know,

the usual things ? the weather, football, and how he treated his

customers only marginally better than he treated his horses.

We did this in the only place we could ? Clitheroe High Street.

Safe to say it wasn't a civilised chat.

I tell you what, this is a best practice...

..this is a best practice guide for flat roofing,

cause you don't seem to know anything about it at all, do you?

And to show you just how close that was, let's see that again.

But even in a yellow pick-up, you can't run away forever.

Simon Fielding carried on being a dodgepot after he drove off,

He came to fix Christine Walmsley's roof in November 2014.

And he did some work on the roof, and said it was sorted

He told me that water had got into the spray foam

insulation under the slates, so it needed completely reroofing.

Christine and her husband paid Simon ?8,000 to reroof their house,

but he still hadn't fixed the problem.

Then on Christmas Eve, he asked for another ?3,000.

At that point Christine said no, enough was enough.

He walked out of the job and said he wasn't coming back,

and took all of his tools away with the roof still leaking.

Desperate to get the work done, Christine's husband agreed

He kept promising to come back and do the work, but he didn't.

In total, they'd given Simon Fielding ?9,200 and were left

with their slates missing, the roof unfinished

But Trading Standards weren't far behind, and Dawn Robinson

was about to turn Simon Fielding's world of bad-eggedness upside down.

Following your last programme, he's been a constant thorn in our side.

We prosecuted him in 2014 for shoddy and unnecessary workmanship,

and he got an eight month suspended sentence for that.

In March this year, he was prosecuted again

for intimidating customers, threatening to leave jobs

and quoting highly inflated prices, and was sentenced to 35

But being inside hasn't protected him from being done

He has been convicted again in October this year for two more

frauds against pensioners, and he's received an extra 44 months

The judge has recommended that he serves until at December 2018.

We can close the book on Simon Fielding for the moment,

but we've got two more chapters of crime and punishment coming up.

Time now to tell you about another important product safety warning.

Nearly 10,000 of these have been sold in the UK -

Seven week old Grace Roseman died while in one in April last year.

Her mother Esther says her daughter's neck got caught

on the edge of a side panel that had been partially lowered.

The design has been changed and cots on sale now don't lower in this way,

but we know there are still 3,200 out there that do.

The company doesn't need to get the cots returned -

instead they've sent a modification kit to anyone whose details

they had, because most of the cots were sold online.

Grace's mum Esther is also worried about second hand cots,

and is now urging anyone with one of these to throw it away.

She feels that the instructions and the modification kit could get

lost, and children will be sleeping in them without parents

Bednest sends its condolences to Grace's parents and family.

It says its products are tested by independent labs

before going on sale, and that the fix was agreed

It says it takes a couple of minutes to fit the kit and that clear

The company monitors online second hand sales of the cribs closely,

and contacts people who appear not to have the modification fitted.

There will be some more answers for Grace's

family after the inquest, which starts next week.

And if you do want information about that cot fix, you can

More important safety information coming up later.

Now, it's only 18 days till Christmas.

It's a chance to spend time with the people you love

Matt, Sophie, do you know what you're having for your

Turkey. A soft pork loin. Your posh, aren't you!

Once you've decided what you're having, you've got to work out

Do you face the stores or do you do it online?

So, I asked Team Watchdog to investigate which method

they found easier and, more importantly,

We have recruited a team of Watchdog viewers right across the UK. To

test, interrogate and investigate how to get us all eight better deal.

This is team Watchdog. There you are. Hello. This week we are talking

online shopping. We want to test out whether buying your groceries online

gives you better value for money than buying them in store. Now I am

sure you don't need any encouragement for this. Let's get

shopping. What do the team think of online shopping? As sad as it

sounds, I still like to go into the supermarket to see what I am buying

before picking adult and bringing it home. We used to use the Internet,

but the number of substitutes they used to put in were barely

acceptable. I prefer to go to the shops. I preferred online. We asked

the team to do two grocery shop -- shops, one in store and one online.

They will test for cost and convenience and tell us which they

prefer. Some of them are cynical about giving hope their supermarket

visit. I like to feel, touch and talk to the person I am checking

out. For us, it benefits going into the shop because we can put him in

the pushchair and he can have a snooze. It is our date night! Date

night in the supermarket! Is re-church -- as a research shows,

nearly half of Brits have never even tried an online shop. Why are so

many of us reluctant to make the switch? I was ordering bread and I

never even thought it would be in grams and kilograms. This loaf of

bread turned up about that big. We got bananas and they were like

Hobbit bananas. Home deliveries are nothing new. Throughout much of the

20th century we were used to getting things like eggs and milk delivered

fresh to our doors. By the 1920s, the milk floats had gone and the

supermarkets had taken over. When the Internet burst onto the scene it

revolutionised shopping. But food shopping didn't quite catch up. The

industry had a sluggish start partly due to slow Internet speeds making

it difficult to download images of the food you were buying, which

initially put people off. Sainsbury's was one of the first to

offer the service back in 1996. Asda shortly followed in 97 and Tesco in

2000. Now most supermarkets offer the service, or other -- but as we

have seen from this series, we received a huge number of complaints

about online shopping. As well as hygiene concerns, lots of you are

unhappy with late deliveries and food arriving that is far from

fresh. Then there are the dodgy substitutions, where you are sent a

replacement because what you want is out of stock. You order a bag of

nappies and what you get is a chorizo sausage. I'm not sure that

is much of a replacement, to be honest, but it happened to someone.

Back to challenge. Time for the results. Let's start with popping

into the shops. On average it took our team one hour and 16 minutes

from riding the list, going to the shops and coming back again. Online

shopping was an average 20 minutes faster. After doing our test, six

out of ten of the team told us they found shopping in store after value

for money and therefore spent less. But it was online shopping they

found more convenient, even though more than a third got a replacement.

So which do they prefer? Despite the convenience, nearly nine out of ten

told us they are firmly sticking with shopping once -- in store. So

the team are clearly not concerned about switching to grocery shopping

online. But coming up, I meet the Churchill family in Devon whose

supermarket bills are out of control. I will go in for a few

items and come out with ?150. You are still spending. And I see if I

can get them and you a better deal at the tills.

What does the nationwide polls say about why people are choosing to do

their shopping in store? Is for a lot of reasons. The most popular is

because people like to buy their own fresh produce. 59% said that was the

main reason why. They give other reasons. For example, we like to

browse. Nearly half of us find it easier to do that in store. 38% say

they are put off by delivery charges. And 9% say they don't shop

online because they are concerned about the hygiene of delivery vans

and crates. I wonder why that is. Now though, no matter where you

shop, I have got some tips that can help your money go further. I have

come across Devon to go a weekly shop with Shannon and her daughter

to save them some money. Are you going to look at the price of a

packet compared to the individual pricing? No, I don't, usually. Is

this a family thing? Every now and again. I do find I spend more. Do

you sneak treats in? Yeah. Those apples look lovely. If they're not

on your list, get them out! There is more to be done. Steve, what is the

total? ?61 96. Thank you, Steve. We also asked Shannon to try out online

shopping for the same order. It came in at ?70.77. That is ?8 81 more

expensive than her in-store shop. I'm convinced she can get a better

deal with a few tips that can help us all save. Let's take for example

your kiwi fruits. You may think that buying them lose is cheaper. We know

when we were doing the shop together, that actually they were

cheaper in a pack. So it's always worth looking for things like that.

The second tip, you should check your unit sizes really carefully.

Similar sized products can deliver very different value for money. Tip

three... I know you like... It is worth looking at review sites where

people have done taste tests. We have digestives here. They tastes

similar to own brands. Have a look to see what people are saying. Check

delivery charges, which can really vary. One is ?7 and one of few hours

later is only ?1. Look for when it might be cheaper to get the stuff

delivered. By following all of these tips, Shannon Goode have got herb

groceries for ?52 a saving on a weekly shop at ?18.65. If she did

that over a year, that would save ?900.

Now though, whether you're shopping online or in store,

you've been telling us about a couple of Christmas products

that you might want to think twice about before buying.

First up is this Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Jam Trio,

which the store describes as a "tasty gift to give

But Watchdog viewer Doug Roberts isn't so sure.

He saw the trio had been for sale for ?10, but then he noticed you can

actually buy the three pots of jam - rhubarb and ginger, Morello

cherry and apricot - separately, for a total

That makes this cardboard box a very pricey ?5.50.

We got in touch with Sainsburys to say, hold on -

They've just got back to us and said they will drop the price

They're also offering refunds via points if you have a Nectar

Val Atwell also got in touch after doing a bit of shopping to get

ahead for Christmas, because her grandchildren,

Daniel and Clara, are going to be staying with her.

One of the products she bought was Cadbury's Festive Cake Selection,

and she noticed that on the front of the packet it suggests you leave

However, when Val looked at the best before date on the pack,

So, she wrote to us to say that she's worried she'd be very

unpopular if she were to give Father Christmas stomach ache

on his busiest night of the year, by giving him an out of date cake.

We got in touch with Cadbury's and Premier Foods,

They said that production schedules meant that some cakes

have a pre-Christmas best before date.

Anyone who has resisted the temptation to eat Santa's cake,

and doesn't want to leave him an out of date treat, can call

We had a look on the side Abox. Arrows goes off on the 10th of

December, so we ate them! If you've got any concerns

about Christmas shopping, present-buying or food,

please get in touch. Still to come - with more reports

of Corsa Ds like this one bursting into flames,

we've been asking Vauxhall to properly investigate

the cause of these fires. Also tonight, Stephen

and his family have spent around ?700 collecting these

magazines to build a 3D printer. But the company who make them

have failed to send them Back to our rogues,

who just can't seem to quit. Our list of dodgy alumni just gets

longer, and some have even taken Allergies are on the rise,

according to health officials. Well, our next target

was allergic to hard work, British ska emerged from here

in the '70s and left a huge A less celebrated Coventrian,

although making a mark An appliance repairman that we first

encountered in 2015, His speciality seemed to be selling

white goods he had no intention of providing to his mostly elderly

and vulnerable customers. By the time we'd heard about him,

he'd already notched up two convictions and been handed prison

sentences for ripping off his customers, most recently

spending six months behind So when in April 2015,

we were contacted by Philomena Griffiths,

alarm bells started to ring. She called out Paul Mahon after her

washing machine gave up the ghost. He pulled it out

and had a look at it. Opened the back up and he looked

as if he knew what he was doing. He said, "This is your problem,

your motherboard has gone". He said it would be ?180

to have it repaired, and I said it was a lot,

I could get a new machine for that. Paul agreed, telling Philomena

he could get her a brand She paid a ?140 deposit

and Paul said he'd be back with the replacement

in a couple of days. But he wasn't, and when Philomena

called to find out why... No answer.

I rang again and left a message. "Please ring me back

about my washing machine. So I told my husband,

he rang, no answer. Three days, four days,

five days went by. Philomena never heard

from Paul Mahon again, and had to buy a new washing machine

elsewhere. I think he's horrible,

a horrible man to do such It seemed, despite two stints

in prison, Paul Mahon hadn't But we wanted to give him

the chance to do it right, so we invited him round to not one,

but two houses stuffed full of secret cameras,

with two senior stooges, and their own faulty

washing machines. In both cases it was,

as usual, a simple fix, You can tell when you turn the drum,

it is clicking on the motor. You've got no motor action at all,

so it won't wash, it won't spin. Paul wrongly diagnosed

the faults at both our houses, telling us we needed major repairs

we knew weren't necessary, and then suggesting the repairs

would be so costly we'd be better Now, we were pretty sure

we would never see the new machine, but we wanted to give him a chance

and so we agreed to buy just one But we were right to have

doubts, because that was We wanted our money back,

so we set up another house and called him out again,

and this time I was waiting to ask him some questions

from the safety of a laundry basket. The washing is completely piling up.

Hello, BBC Rogue Traders. The other thing that is piling up for US

conviction at the moment. What we are trying to do is prevent you

having to go back to prison again because I can't imagine you've

enjoyed it. People are giving you hundreds of pounds for machines that

they never turn up. They are left chasing you and getting no response.

That is the real thing, isn't it? Yes, it has happened. Why don't you

just do it properly? I've been doing a 22 years, its own in the last few

years I've got into a hole. The vast majority of your cases, people who

complained were elderly and vulnerable. People have had enough.

They don't want to see it any more. They don't want it in their homes

and they don't want the upset that comes with it. Is there anything you

want to say to the people out there whose money you've taken without

offering them anything in return? Not intentionally, I wouldn't, I'm

intending to do a job. I've just got myself in the position where I

cannot finish it. Are you going to change? Keep doing the same thing?

I'm going to knock it on the head and get a job if I can. Can I have a

promise from you? Of course you can. I don't know what it's worth but

you're making it not just in front of me but in front of millions of

people, promise you won't take money Goodings, lie about what you've done

and then don't give them the service that they have asked? -- take money

for things. Absolutely. His promises sounded,

well, promising, but Paul was telling big fat lies again,

because just a few days after our investigation broadcast,

Shirley Hensman called him out Paul told Shirley the fridge

needed a new compressor, but that she would be better off

replacing it entirely. So she forked out ?320

for a brand new one. No prizes for guessing

what happened next. I phoned and Mr Mahon

answered, and then began When you contacted him and said,

"Hold on, you've got my money, He assured me that it would be

delivered, and fitted. This went on and on,

and suddenly the mind clicked, Keen to get her money back, Shirley

kept calling but Paul started But then, when one of my nephews

phoned him up on his own phone, so he didn't know the number,

he answered. Paul eventually offered Shirley

a refund, but just like the fridge, I was very angry with myself

for being taken in. Then I was very concerned that

nobody else should be taken in. Shirley's case formed part

of another Trading Standards investigation, and before

you could say spin cycle, Paul was back in court

for breaching his enforcement order The judge described Mahon

as an "unrepentant, disreputable and unscrupulous trader",

and said he wouldn't believe him On 4th May, he was sent back

to prison for 12 months, and banned from working

as an independent repairman Contrite Paul Mahon changes

his ways, for as long A holiday lettings rogue gives me

a run for my money, in 10 minutes. Now Steph - what other

stories have the team been A lot of people reacting to last

week's programme and more consumer concerns coming in. Let's have a

look. First, this one. We heard from the Haycock family

about their son, Steven, who's been collecting parts for a 3D

printer via a magazine He started collecting

these when he was nine. Now he's 11, and his family

have spent around ?700 However, they are missing nine

issues which they say they never received -

meaning the collection he has is totally useless

because he doesn't have We got in touch with Eaglemoss

who told us that, due to unprecedented demand for this

collection, it has experienced The family's most recent issue

has been sent out free. It told us it is in the process

of manufacturing the missing parts, which will be ready to send

at the end of January. So it sounds like Stephen

will eventually get When you do, print something

out and send it to us. We heard from Phil

Bradley, who saw an ad for a Christmas Markets break

in Prague on a voucher website. He booked the ?414 trip for him

and his partner, Karen. They went to Prague

on the 21st of November, only to discover that the central

markets were closed. And they wouldn't open

until the 26th of November, Phil complained

to holiday company Deluxe Breaks and voucher website GoGroopie,

but was not happy with the response. So we got in touch with both

companies, who told us they are sorry the couple did not

visit any Christmas markets, and that there were markets open

while the couple were in Prague. Phil has now had his voucher

refunded as a goodwill gesture. If you want our help with any

consumer concerns, you can email us at [email protected],

tweet us @bbcwatchdog, go to our First, it was the Zafira B

that was bursting into flames. They issued not one but two recalls

after our investigation last year. We've had even more people getting

in touch with with us, saying their Corsa D has suddenly

burst into flames too. When we first raised concerns about

Corsa Ds catching fire, Vauxhall pointed us under the bonnet.

Specifically to a vacuum pump in the braking system of some 1.4 turbo

petrol is. Vauxhall admitted that water could get in and cause a fire

but said they had recalled 2767 cars to fix the problem. The company said

that this water could cause a short circuit in the vacuum pump relay

box. But Vauxhall couldn't explain why we'd had reports of fires in

other Corsa Ds. And now more Vauxhall companies -- customers have

contacted us to save their Corsa Ds have also caught fire and none of

them 1.4 turbo petrels. Among them, Judy Reynolds from Kent. She sent us

these photos of her cart which went up in flames just as she was

arriving at work. My manager drove past and she pulled up and said,

"Get out of the car!" And I wondered why and anyway, as I just got out of

the car, the whole car went up in one big explosion. All the windows

went in. And then the next explosion, and then another

explosion and we felt the ground. I was just in shock. I was just

crying. And the worst thing is, my son could have been in that car. I

wouldn't have got him out in time. Julie told Vauxhall about the fire

but the company said it had to deal with her insurer to investigate. I

wanted Vauxhall just to write a letter, you know, just to say they

would look into it. And there's even more, including Bethan Powell from

Manchester whose Corsa Energy caught fire which it was driving. She

nudges smoking the dashboard and within minutes, the whole car was on

fire. As in five left his Vauxhall Corsa in a supermarket car park only

to find it on fire when he returned. Sharon and Des Platt from West

Lothian e-mailed us voters of their Vauxhall Corsa would burst into

flames on the street outside their house. The fire spread to the

neighbours' car as well. And this Corsa SRI burst into Tish -- burst

into flames while it was moving, belonging to Tish's daughter. Some

of the fires bear striking similarities to other Vauxhall fires

we reported on last year. It was a fault in the heating and ventilation

system for the Vauxhall Zverev B which prompted the company to recall

almost a quarter of a million vehicles following our investigation

last year. -- voxel Zafira be. So when the heater caught fire in

Sharon's always, she suspected it was the same problem. So tell us

what happened with your fire? At the time, my husband was driving the car

and we just dropped my son off at school and he was halfway back to

the house and he noticed smoke coming from the passenger side. When

you took it into the garage, what did they say? They said they had had

this problem before with the Vauxhalls, mostly be Zafira. They

said it was the exact same part on my car. So is there a design fault

with the Corsa D's heating unit, like there was with the Zafira?

Specifically, the mechanisms that controls the four speed fan. We

asked forensic vehicle investigator Mark Brown to take a closer look.

He's come to a scrap yard to inspect ten Corsa Ds that have not caught

fire. The components that control the fan speed is different on the

Corsa to the Zafira but it's a variation on a theme. I will

concentrate on that. This is not a very good start. In the first car,

Mark finds a section of wiring going on to the fan motor's resistor has

been damaged and then replaced with black tape covering the new

connections. And in the second car, there is

evidence that some of the wires have started to melt. In total, Mark

finds evidence of problems in three of the ten cars. Interestingly, they

happened to be the versions of the Corsa without air conditioning. It

is clearly a small sample that I have looked at but vehicle incident

on the three vehicles without air conditioning? They have suffered

similar problems in the same area and it is certainly a cause for

further investigation. So does Vauxhall have yet another problem

with some of its parts and more importantly, what is the company

going to do about it? We asked Vauxhall to come

in and explain - but they declined. There is a statement though

and they've looked at two of the burnt out cars from the film,

including the one behind us. Vauxhall said it didn't have enough

information to establish the root cause of the fires in Julie,

Bethan, Sharon or Ciaran's cars. But it has inspected Des Platt's

and Tish Cochraine's cars. It is still investigating, but says

it hasn't established the cause yet, and says it hasn't found a material,

manufacturing or design It says it will inspect any Vauxhall

car fire if the vehicle It admits the fault with the 1.4

turbo petrol Corsa D, but says it is not aware of a fire

risk to any other type of Corsa. And it says better information

sharing about fires would So, with the cause of the fires

still unclear, we'll continue But as Vauxhall has suggested,

there does appear to be a problem If you had to decide whether to

recall a make or make model of vehicle, there is something you

would want to know. How many times it had caught fire. The fire service

regularly do training like this because last year they were called

to more than 7000 car fires caused by crashes or vehicle faults. But we

were shocked to find that details of these fires do not always get to the

people who have ultimate responsibility over recalls. Namely

the driver and vehicle standards agency, the DV essay. Here is why.

When a car catches fire, there are usually several people who will find

this out. The fire service will record the make and model and the

most likely cause. They will pass this information onto the home

Office. But frustratingly, the Home Office does not seem to this

information. Secondly, if you call your insurance company, they will

note down your details and may carry out their own investigation. But

again, they are not obliged to pass on their findings. Thirdly, you may

tell your manufacturer directly but they have no obligation to pass this

on at this stage. Finally, you could report the fire to the driver and

vehicles standards agency. Information about potentially

dangerous false simply isn't getting to the people who needed. -- needed.

It is clear the current system is complicated, chaotic and

fundamentally flawed. But don't take our word for it. The current system

is complicated, chaotic and fundamentally flawed. What is the

solution? We think we have got one. And here it is. A vehicle fire

database into which information about car fires is fed. This is then

available to everyone. Simple. Some of the key players in the industry

are already on board. The UK fire services are represented by the

Chief Fire officers Association and its head of fire organisation is

Chris Blackwell. I would be supportive of a database because it

would enable people to analyse that data. One MP has already suggested

the idea. I think a database would help the consumer to know that their

vehicle was saved, as safe as it could be, and wore any flaws

identified that could be resolved. It will also help the manufacturer

to make sure that the cars we buy good -- are the safest ones

possible. Without capturing that information and without a system in

place, that is not happening. Key MPs and fire officers already on

board. Over to the manufacturers, insurers and the DVS A.

What are the organisations said about the idea of a central

database? The industry body, the Society of motor Manufacturers and

traders, have said if manufacturers are informed of a car fire, they

will launch a full-scale invest -- investigation, provided they can get

permission. It said its members working

with the insurance industry to work out better ways

of sharing information. The Association of British Insurers

said whenever a vehicle is written off by a fire,

insurers report this to the DVSA, and it raises issues

with manufacturers if it suspects a design fault is to

blame for a fire. The DVSA said it ensures faults

are communicated to vehicle owners, and had questioned Vauxhall

about why it has taken so long from the initial

reports of the problem The Home Office said it regularly

releases data on incidents attended by the fire and rescue services,

and continuously reviews Over the next couple of weeks many

of us will be looking at holiday accommodation websites. But here is

a warning tale, particularly in the capital.

Last year a record-breaking 31.5million tourists came

But, for some, London calling turned into London appalling,

thanks to this man, Mohammed Ali Abbas Rasul,

who runs family companies London Victoria Estates Ltd

and Grosvenor Property Investments Ltd, not to be confused

These companies boasted luxury holiday lets in some of London's

most sought-after locations, but in reality they were

As Salla and her family discovered when they visited

They paid ?275 a night for a three-bed flat.

It took them five hours to get the keys and when they did,

it was for an entirely different property to the one they'd booked.

They said it would be a premium apartment.

We complained at their office and they just didn't care.

They said something like, "We know your address",

I'm very sorry, can I apologise on behalf of the entire

United Kingdom for the thing that you've experienced in our

Salla wasn't the only in need of an apology.

We found at least 80 online complaints about

We wanted to see for ourselves and so it was time for a mega sting!

Three teams, three properties, and expert property lawyer,

They reserved a one-bed flat in Knightsbridge,

but after collecting the keys, they were asked to pay

They coughed up the dosh and headed to what should have been

But instead they were greeted by this.

That to me is a clear breach of contract, if nothing else,

the customer should be getting some, if not all of their ?50 back.

It wasn't any better at property number two.

Our team members booked a luxury flat in Hyde Park,

But after handing over the money, they were taken to a completely

Inside we found mouse droppings, dangerous electrics,

And the same thing happened at property number three.

It's wasn't even an apartment, just a damp room, with a toilet seat

stuck together with Sellotape, and it wasn't in the nicest

The flat had been split into several bedrooms,

something that came as a bit of a shock to the homeowner

He told us it's a five-bedroom family home and had no idea

it was being rented out as a house in multiple occupation,

It was time to have a word with the man in charge

of the day-to-day running of this family firm, Mohammed

We caught up with him at one of his offices

Let me talk to you about the fantasy business you are running, where you

advertise properties for short-term let and people turned up... There is

nowhere to go any more. You are letting out places that don't exist.

When people turned up, you take them somewhere else. He doesn't want to

answer any of my questions in his office. Let's talk outside. You can

explain how people come here on their holidays, based on our

advertisement your people put out there. They come here for a trip to

London and they wind up being taken... He is doing a runner on the

Edgeware Road. Now he is on the phone to try to avoid my

questioning. The properties are nothing like the ones advertised.

That's what happens, isn't it? The business is a major up thing. You

chop up properties. The landlords do not know. Your previous property was

fined ?25,000 for that. Excuse me, Mohammed. A little bit of

argy-bargy. Don't touch me! He's running. I am second though, I am

still second! We have no idea how long

he kept running for, but what we did find out

is that we weren't the only ones In November 2015, Environmental

Health officers discovered 18 people living in slum-like conditions

in this Grade II listed property in Kensington,

run by Mohammed Ali Abbas Rasul's father, Abbas Mohammed Jawad Rasul,

who is director of London Victoria Estates Ltd

and Grovesnor Property The large flat had been

subdivided into 14 rooms The ceiling was falling in,

there were no fire alarms, and there was a cracked flue

on the unserviced gas boiler. Yet to live here cost each

tenant ?800 a month. On 11th October, Abbas

Mohamed Jawad Rasul, London Victoria Estates Ltd

and Grosvenor Property Investments Ltd were found guilty of failing

to license a house and in breech They were ordered to pay

a whopping ?162,000 fine. Because he's the one running

the companies day to day, Mohammed Ali Abas Rasul,

makes it onto the Rogues Gallery, along with Simon Fielding and Paul

Mahon, all paying the price. Time now to tell you about one more

product safety recall, Three different models of the gate

have been recalled since last year, after customers reported them

opening unexpectedly and children Some of them had to have

medical attention. Ikea told us that the locking

mechanism is not reliable, and it does pose a risk

for small children. It said Ikea is not willing

to risk children's safety. It urges anyone with a Patrull

safety gate to immediately stop using it and to bring it back

to a store for a full refund. Keep sending us your

stories and tip offs. You can email us, get

in touch via social media, or go to our website and click

where it says, Send Us Your Story. You can, of course,

write to us as well. If you want to see any are of our

investigations were BBC Three, head over to their website. You can

ketchup with previous episodes on the iPlayer. -- catch up.

Next week, Team Watchdog investigate miles per gallon claims -

And Park Dean Resorts - they've got over 70 caravan

We've been hearing from some owners who have been thrown out

of a place they consider to be their home from home.

See you next Wednesday at eight o'clock.

I fundamentally disagree with hunting rare animals.