13/02/2017 Inside Out East

Inside Out goes undercover at Britain's biggest supermarket.

We reveal how the special offers aren't quite what they seem.

Every single bit of it.

We investigate why 70 families on an estate

are evicted from their homes.

I've criticised them, we've said the business model

they run is distasteful.

It is a very hard position that the council has been put in,

we are between a rock and a hard place.

And the little grey tractor that started a farming revolution.

Revealing the stories that matter, closer to home.

That's tonight's Inside Out.

Hello and welcome to Peterborough.

Now, when is a bargain not a bargain?

Well, Jonathan Gibson has been investigating Tesco,

Britain's biggest supermarket, where some special offers aren't

always that special after all.

Who's up for a good deal? I am.

I'm a sucker for a special offer.

Most of us are, and Tesco knows it too.

That's why the shelves at Britain's biggest supermarket

are full of special offers.

Money off this, buy two for that, you get the drift.

And we all take it for granted that the price we see on the shelf

is the price we'll pay at the till, right?

But what if things don't quite add up when you get home

and unpack your shopping?

I've just bought a few bits at Tesco, and I'm sure these

products were on special offer, that's why I bought two of each.

But according to my receipt, I've paid full price.

And that's the point.

I've paid 60% more than the deal on the shelf.

That's ?3.30 in hard cash.

At another Tesco store, I spot two for ?2 on ice cream.

But at the till, it's the full price as well.

So, what's going on?

Ice cream, Martin?

Martin works for Trading Standards.

He says the law on pricing is simple.

They must put a price on goods so you know

what you're going to pay, and that price must be accurate,

so you don't get charged more than you thought

you were going to pay.

Sounds simple enough, and with more than 3500 stores nationwide,

Tesco should be getting it right.

But is it?

That's what I want to find out, so armed with my phone

and some secret cameras, I want to see how many offers

on the shelves don't go through at the till.

And here in Norwich, I'm finding problems.

And when he gets a colleague to check...

And that's the problem.

Multi-buy deals are being left on the shelves after the tills have

been told they have ended, and this one ended

almost three weeks ago.

But there is much worse to come at another store in Norwich.

This time, I show her colleague the offers and soon discover why

they haven't gone through.

Just off camera, she points to a date.

This offer ended more than six weeks ago.

And we are not done yet.

No worries.

And as I travel around the region, things go from bad to worse.

At this store in Cambridge...

Every single bit.

I've started making a list of how many offers are wrong

in how many places.

But is what is happening in the East of England also

happening across the country?

Because if it is, it's not just a problem for Tesco,

it's a problem for Tesco customers.

At this Tesco store in Liverpool, sauce marked ?1 on the shelf

is almost double at the checkout.

Oh, is that right?

Thanks very much.

And at another store nearby, I'm left completely confused

by the offers on the shelves and what I'm charged

at the checkout.

In fact, there's so much difference between the shelf price

and the receipt price, I'm not even going to bother

to go back and try to...

get what I'm owed returned.

Completely ridiculous!

If there are just too many offers changing too frequently,

so that store staff can't really be expected to understand them,

comply with all the changes, then that is something that Tesco

head office needs to think about.

And there is plenty to think about at another store in Leeds.

Sorry, mate!

This is what somebody should have done hours, days, weeks ago.

That's a serious message, but is everyone taking it seriously?

Oh, there's been lots today, has there?

Oh, right. Crikey.

Oh, right.

And as I head across the country, the same thing keeps happening,

time and time again.

Yeah, yeah.

So, what's going on?

Oh, I see.

Oh, I see.

It doesn't seem a terribly difficult or perhaps that long a job,

just to walk round the store, assuming everybody knows

what day it is, you know, to go round and take off anything

that has had its day.

You'd think so, yeah.

Ah, maybe not, then.

And it's not just shoppers left confused as old and new promotions

end up side-by-side.

The longer the offer has been wrong, the bigger the failure of diligence

and the more worried I am, frankly.

In that case, he's not going to like what's coming up next.

At this store, the cashier checks the out of date label,

but doesn't remove it.

And when I return the next day, neither does someone else.

So, a week later, I go back, and it's still on display.

And when I return a month later, yup, still on the shelf.

The fourth worker finally removes it.

That is very bad.

It's pretty basic that if one customer has shown something wrong,

that it is then put right to stop other customers being misled.

But at 33 of the 50 stores I went into, the till price was more

than the shelf price.

That's a whopping 66%.

If Customer A has come back and complained and been refunded,

that doesn't mean there weren't 20 other customers who didn't spot it

and didn't complain.

So, alarm bells would be ringing?

Very much so, yes.

There were obviously major problems with their control

of the special offers, and it's the special offers

that bring customers in, make people reach for more

and perhaps spend a little bit more than they meant to

when they came into the store.

So, that is very, very worrying.

But what does Tesco say?

The company wouldn't provide anyone for interview,

but after reviewing our evidence, told this programme...

But that's just the start.

Following our investigation, Britain's biggest supermarket

has said it will be double-checking the accuracy of every price

in every store.

That's more than 3500 stores across Britain.

Well, every little helps!

Well, look, if there is something you feel we should be looking

into here on the programme, you can get in touch

with me on Twitter:

Or you can send me an e-mail:

You're watching Inside Out for the East of England, here on BBC One.

Later on, we are looking back at the life of the tractor that

started a revolution.

And it's still going strong.

Look around you - they were building a legacy.

A legacy that's been exported all over the world.

Here on Inside Out, we've been following the fate of families

on the St Michael's Gate estate here in Peterborough

being asked to leave to make way for accommodation

for homeless people.

Jo Taylor has the story.

This is the St Michael's Gate estate in Peterborough.

Rob Reinaldo has lived here for more than three years with his family.

But now, their home is unsafe.

This hole is getting bigger and bigger

for the last three months.

When the shower is on, water drips through the ceiling,

near the electrics, onto the floor.

God knows how many times I've reported it to the new landlord.

They promised me about three or four times that they would send

someone down to fix it, but they never did.

The estate has been taken over by a new landlord.

Rob reported the problem in July.

It's now October.

At the moment, it looks like it could collapse

about any time, really.

Another resident, who doesn't want to reveal her identity,

shows me her housing conditions.

So, there's mould here...

It makes all the clothes, you know, smell of mould.

It's really unpleasant to breathe, isn't it?

Yeah.

Her local doctor has told her her five-year-old son's

asthma might be getting worse due to damp.

We have all, like, respiratory infection, probably information.

--

-- inflammation.

And what did the doctor say about the house?

As soon as possible, we have to move out.

Both these people have told the new manager

of the properties, Stef Philips, that there are faults

in their homes that need fixing.

But nothing has happened.

It soon becomes clear why.

More than 70 families living here have received letters

from the new company, saying it wants them out.

The entire estate is being cleared and they could be made homeless

to make way for people who are already homeless.

The estate has been offered to Peterborough City Council.

We've got something like 170 families in hostels,

bed and breakfast accommodation, and by using the properties

at St Michael's Gate, we could save the council

about ?2 million.

And the problem for Peterborough City Council is that if it

didn't do this deal, a council outside of Peterborough

would have to house its homeless on the estate instead.

Meaning Peterborough City Council would have more homeless

people on its doorstep, putting extra strain

on its services.

I mean, that's their business model.

They buy properties that they couldn't economically rent

to people, but if they invite a council in to use them

for homeless, the money there is a lot more.

That's where they make the money.

And Peterborough City Council can also now claim a subsidy

from the Government, which will help fund the scheme.

Jelena Stevic has lived on the estate for 20 years.

I got all your stuff.

Oh, thank you.

I've got rheumatoid arthritis, and as a woman with disabilities,

to live in an area that I live in and to feel safe has been

very important to me.

With the support of the other families, she's taking

on the council and the landlord to try to stop the deal.

She has put together a petition asking the council to reconsider.

We're supposed to be a model community, and you are ripping

the heart out of it.

Why are you allowing something like this to happen to your people?

Because we are still your people.

And also, we are still tenants of Stef Philips,

which they seem to have forgotten.

Meanwhile, it is becoming clear to tenants like Rob why

their property isn't being fixed.

I'm quite pleased to be moving out, because this, this problem,

I don't think will ever get fixed anyway, because they will never

send anyone to fix it.

But the landlord has a legal obligation to ensure that houses

are safe for tenants already living there.

And the lack of help with these outstanding repairs has

made the tenants feel like they are being

treated with no respect.

So, what's wrong with this window?

This lady cannot air her house properly, and the mould is growing.

She can't open this window, and yet she asked for it to be

fixed five months ago.

The guy came, took a photo of the window, but he told us, OK,

if you have to move out, just forget about the window.

This isn't your problem now.

You have to move out.

So, essentially, they've said, we're not going to fix the window

because you've got to leave?

And we are paying rent regularly, we are still paying tenants.

CHANTING: Homes for the people, not for profit!

Homes for the people, not for profit!

Jelena has submitted her petition to the council, but they signed

the deal a day later.

She is, however, given five minutes to say her piece.

We've asked to be treated like human beings.

We also ask the council never to undertake this kind

of business proposition again.

Peterborough City Council, hang your head in shame, all of you!

So, how does Peterborough City Council justify its actions?

I think this was a decision that we had to make as a council

and as a Cabinet, because the impact was across the whole

of Peterborough.

Is it true you signed the commercial contract the day

after a petition was handed in?

Um, I believe it is true.

Um, I was involved with signing the contract, I wasn't aware

the petition had come in at that point, so they are two

unrelated issues.

We could not stop those families being evicted.

But you can see, from residents' point of view, why it would make

them suspicious and not trust you?

Oh, totally.

And even he has reservations about the way the landlord

and its managing agents, Stef Philips, operate.

How is your relationship with Stef Philips?

That's a good question.

Um, professional.

I've criticised them, we've said the business model

they run is distasteful, we've said we think there

is a common you know, it's a very hard position

that the council has been put in, we are between

a rock and a hard place.

But do you feel they have held you to ransom?

Certainly, between a rock and a hard place.

So, what do the landlord and Stef Philips think

of the outcry against them?

I want to ask the bosses if they think the way their company

operates is morally sound.

Remember, even Peterborough City Council, who has

done the deal with them, thinks their business

model is distasteful.

But so far, no-one has been available to comment.

And then, there's the unsafe living conditions.

Is the council aware of them?

It has come to light that some of the properties that tenants

are living in are not up to scratch, and issues have been raised,

and they have been ignored.

Why would you house even more vulnerable people with landlords

that behave like that?

We know that Stef Philips have renovated all the properties.

If there are specific issues, and I'm not sure if you are saying

these are at St Michael's Gate...

They are.

Or at other properties.

No, they are at St Michael's Gate.

Well, if you can give me details, I would be very happy to look

into that, and I think that's very regrettable.

If we hear about anything that's a problem, we will step in.

It's four months later.

Rob is now in his new home.

As you can see, there's no holes the ceiling in this one.

It's a very comfortable place to live and I'm very happy.

During the course of making this film, the council has now told us

they have offered a new home to the lady in the damp house.

They also issued an enforcement notice on her old property,

forcing Stef Philips to carry out work on it.

It is also in talks with the Local Government Association

about making sure councils are not put in this situation in the future.

As for Jelena, with a lot of her neighbours gone,

the estate isn't the place she knew and loved.

After all the fighting, she is considering moving on.

I think, because of it changing so drastically, I don't even know

if I would still feel comfortable, um, safe, secure

in my home any more.

With about 30 homeless families now moved into St Michael's Gate,

the council has assured us that all properties new tenants

occupy are safe.

We still haven't heard from Stef Philips,

but with its poor track record on repairs, it will now be up

to the council to make sure Stef Philips maintain the estate properly

in the future.

Peterborough, of course, is right in the heart of the Fens,

the breadbasket of Britain, and the land around here has been

farmed since time began.

But 70 years ago, a little tractor came along that was about

to change things for ever.

Here's David Gregory-Kumar.

Farming in East Anglia was transformed when tractors

replaced horses, and 70 years ago, there was one little grey tractor

that was leading the way.

It had developed from the need to grow more food during the war.

So simple to drive, it's easy even for an eight-year-old boy.

And all the normal farm tools can be clipped on the back,

without extra wheels.

The Ferguson TE20 was so influential that its 70th birthday celebrations

brought the place where it was first made to a standstill.

It's all about wishing the little grey Fergie, the TE20,

a very happy 70th birthday.

Because back in July 1946, she rolled off the production line

for the first time at Banner Lane in Coventry and clearly

revolutionised farming as we know it today.

There are 70 tractors here, one for every year since the TE20

went into production, and there are a lot

of Fergie fans here, too.

It's lovely to see them, it really is.

Yeah, it brings memories back.

In the mid '40s, 78% of all the tractors sold

in Great Britain was Ferguson, 78%.

Everyone here today has a Ferguson story to tell,

and they all start with the TE20.

It is the tractor that Edmund Hillary took to the South Pole,

it is a collectable, it's the star of its own TV show,

and it even has its own theme park ride in Norway.

This herd of old tractors is at what is claimed to be

the world's largest monthly machinery sale, near Ely.

It is proof that the old Fergusons are still in demand.

And despite it being a long time since I was a small boy,

I can tell you that most of the green dots are going to be

John Deeres, the blues are going to be Ford and the huge

number of red dots, well, they are Massey-Ferguson.

We sell the Ferguson TE20s, which are sort of late '40s,

'50s, in that area there, but principally, what we sell

here would be sort of '60s to '80s.

These tractors are the direct descendants

of the little grey Fergie.

Just like it, they were built at Banner Lane, sold overseas,

often to Ireland or Europe, and now they are back in this

country, ready to be sold again.

I hate to be rude, but they look really knackered, some of them!

HE CHUCKLES

Well, we call it ex-farm.

But they can look a bit moth-eaten, but, you know, hopefully,

mechanically they are good, sort of thing.

70 years ago, the first TE20 rolled off the banner Lane

production line in Coventry, the brainchild of Harry Ferguson.

This rare footage shows him actually on the production line

in the Coventry factory.

Before the TE20, tractors were big, lumbering things with a good chance

of injuring or even killing the farmers driving them.

Ferguson films from the time explained the problem.

They replaced the horse with the tractor, hitched up

the new plough and dragged it along behind.

Little did they guess what snags they would run into.

Pretty lethal snags, it turns out.

Any obstruction in the ground, or even just a patch of heavier

soil, causes the front end of the tractor to rear up.

So, designers added more weight to keep the front down,

but that caused the rear wheels to slip.

So, to stop that, the designers added bigger wheels.

And so, the rot set in.

Harry Ferguson solved all this by adding this simple strut,

a brilliant idea that redirected the same forces that made the front

rear up, so instead, everything stayed firmly

on the ground.

The end result was a tractor that was smaller and lighter

than any other tractor being made by other companies at the time.

But it could do just as much, if not more.

And of course, the big advantage for the driver was,

the TE20 was not going to rear up like an angry horse and try

and kill you all the time.

The TE20 is just so much fun to drive, and this beautiful

collection of lovingly restored Fergies lives just outside Rugby.

Show us the all-important bit. Yes, the all-important bit.

The three-point linkage.

One, two, three.

Today, modern still use exactly the same idea,

-- modern

-- modern tractors.

but that linkage is just the pinnacle of a mountain

of amazing engineering packed into every little grey Fergie.

Oh, it is lovely!

But I'm just a Johnny-come-lately Fergie fan, compared to Peter.

He remembers them from his school days.

When I was at school, in Coventry, we used to see the tractors

going past the school, between Banner Lane factory

and the railway goods yard,

which is where they were exported all over the world.

And he's been a Fergie fan ever since.

In fact, you'll find Fergie fans and surprising bits

of Fergie history all over the Warwickshire countryside.

Like the nine-year-old boy who saved the little grey Fergie

from industrial espionage.

I'll tell you a story where I'm lucky to be alive...

Experimental TE20s were tried out in secret on farms

all over Warwickshire, and one Fergie with a new engine

ended up on this farm near Leamington Spa,

but the farmer was pretty pally with the local Ford tractor

dealer and late one night, invited him over to check

out the competition, much to the shock of the youngest

member of the family.

Well, I felt terrible about it, because I had heard him say

to the Fergie people, "That tractor will be safe,

nobody will see it, don't worry about it."

And then, as soon as they've gone, he has a load of his Ford friends

down here and they're going to go and get it out and have

a bit of a drive on it.

So, nine-year-old Derek nicked the keys to the secret Fergie

and legged it.

I ran for all I was worth to that wood.

And I was laying in the ditch.

I could see my father ranting and raving about in the yard.

And I think if he had found me, I'd have had the biggest

shaking I'd ever had!

Saved from the prying eyes of rivals, the little grey Fergie

went from strength to strength, and the TE20 was followed

by new models, built in the same factory,

safeguarding thousands of jobs.

Then in 2002, the old Ferguson factory was closed down.

But many of the tractors it produced are still in use today

and they are sought after from right around the world.

Back at the auction in Ely, many of the buyers have

come from the Sudan.

Hamza has bought more than 150 Ferguson tractors here.

Why do people like them?

Because they use it for really long, long, long time, so you can work,

like, 24 hours in one go.

That's true, apparently.

In the Sudan, tractors do 24-hour shifts.

One sleeps while the other drives and then they swap over,

and the Massey-Ferguson just keeps going.

--

-- tractor drivers do.

They are reliable, and if you see the guys here, it is very old,

but still fine if you take it there, refurbish it, and if you see the job

they do, I don't think the person who made them would believe it.

So, the reason buyers come from all around the globe to this

auction in Ely can be traced back to the little grey tractor

that started it all.

There's no doubt that the closure of the factory in Banner Lane

was a terrible day for motoring in Coventry.

But the people who worked there were not just building tractors.

Look around you - they were building a legacy.

A legacy that has been exported all over the world.

The fact these Coventry built tractors are still working,

and working hard, well, it is a tribute to the craftsmanship

and the engineering that went into them.

No wonder they inspire so much passion.

And you can trace everything right back to the little grey Fergie.

Isn't it amazing to think that some of those tractors

are still going strong in places like Africa and beyond?

Well, Inside Out isn't on next week, we are back in two weeks' time,

when we hear from Adriano Guedes, the man who was evicted

from hospital after a two-year stay.

It's my fight, it's my life, it's my business, right?

And the authorities are here to serve the population,

not to oppress them.

But in the meantime, you can get in touch

with me on Twitter...

Or you can e-mail...

But that's it from Peterborough.

I'll see you soon, bye-bye.

Also on the next Inside Out, I join Northamptonshire Police

as they double the number of officers targeting paedophiles.

And how this amazing discovery at Great Ryburgh left Gary Boyce

seriously out of pocket.

That's Inside Out in two weeks' time, 7:30, here on BBC One.

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