07/07/2014 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

The North East firm that's promised customers new boildrs but

The Tour de France moves on, but the spectators, riders `nd

organisers will never forget the welcome laid on by North Yorkshire.

Hundreds of millions of pounds for the region and predictions

of thousands of jobs, as the Government splashes out

And we're with the team at Newcastle's Freeman Hosphtal

as they undertake a heart transplant operation on a b`by.

In sport, Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krtl says

he did nothing wrong, as his penalty saving antics for Holland in the

And we take the plunge with one of our best medal prospects in this

It's designed to cut harmful pollution and reduce energy

The Government's Green Deal is touted as being good

for the environment and good for people's pockets.

But an investigation by BBC Look North and BBC Newc`stle has

found one firm offering Gredn Deal services in the region has left some

customers out of pocket and with little to show for it.

Our political correspondent Mark Denten has this exclusive rdport.

John from Darlington appeardd on Look North recently.

He has a 14`year`old boiler which needs replacing and was attracted by

a Government scheme called the Green Deal, private firms offer energy

Homeowners, landlords and tdnants benefit from the Green Deal.

A Gateshead firm called Tivhum Ltd called him out of the blue.

A representative visited his home, he signed up for a Green De`l

But within a day, John decided it wasn't for him after

After about seven to ten days I r`ng them

up and said, "I've cancelled it what's happening about my rdfund?"

They cashed my cheque after I cancelled the contract.

But John, it seems, is not the only one.

Since Look North highlighted his case, we've been contacted by these

They all paid money and waited and waited.

Here is Dave, from Sacriston in County Durham

The guy's words to me were, "Look, we need this ?299 to go ahe`d, but

don't worry about it, you c`n't lose it because at the end of thd day,

if you decide after you recdive the information we are going to give you

that you are not happy with it, you get your money returned."

But weeks and months passed, no assessment, no new boiler.

And from August last year until now, I haven't even received the

Green Deal assessment, let `lone a boiler or my money back.

And 20 miles north in Cramlhngton, here is Adam.

After an initial cold call last August, he invited Tivium Ltd round,

handed over ?199 and, althotgh he had a Green Deal assessment,

I tried twice or thrice to phone the place in Swalwell.

You are always on a waiting list in a telephone queue.

When you ask them, "When am I going to get my new boiler?"

All they say is, "There's a big delay, we don't know."

And then there's John in Barnard Castle,

another Tivium Ltd customer waiting for a new boiler, first contacted

The guy came out, we sat and talked to him.

He took a cheque for ?299 of us and said someone will be out within

Then, after about six weeks, I finally got a date when they were

We sat in one afternoon for four hours, nobody came out

It was only because it was on the television

a fortnight ago that we dechded well, these are people like us.

Not to be embarrassed about it and let everybody else know what's

After Look North contacted Tivium Ltd, finally,

In Dave's case, Tivium Ltd said there was a mix`up

It acknowledges that servicd has in his case been disappointhng.

They are refunding him his ?299 and gave him ?50 gift vouchdr.

In John's case, Tivium Ltd `dmitted it missed a Green Deal assessment.

Again, his ?299 has been refunded `nd has

In Adam's case, Tivium Ltd acknowledges del`ys

They say they will fit a bohler in the next few weeks

John in Darlington has been refunded, too, by Tivium Ltd.

Tivium Ltd declined to be interviewed but in a statemdnt it

blames teething problems with the Green Deal that are not its fault.

It acknowledges it has carrhed out 6000 Green Deal assessments,

but less than 1% have had the equipment installed.

The firm says this is in line with problems with the

Green Deal experienced by other companies and participants.

Tivium Ltd says it makes strenuous efforts to communicate with

customers and has a complaint rate of less th`n 1 5%.

Tivium Ltd is the marketing arm of Tivium Green Deal Installers Ltd.

the organisation that offichally accredits these firms, calldd

Stroma, has told Look North it's investigating Tivium Green Deal

Installers Ltd and its conndction to Tivium Ltd after complaints. We

understand that investigation is looking at potential breachds

Now Tivium Ltd says it is confident that that investigation will result

in Stroma's full satisfaction, but opposition politicians `re now

asking wider questions about the Green Deal itself.

The Green Deal is an import`nt idea, it makes sense for people to spend

their money paying back for lower efficiency energy measures rather

than just higher energy bills, but it's not working at the minute.

It's not attractive offer for consumers to take on.

Mark, what do the Government say about the Green Deal?

No minister was available to be interviewed tonight, but thd

Government says they acknowledge there have been problems with the

deal in the past, but they say since the project was relaunched last

month, it has had ?60 million. They say over 234,000 assessments have

been carried out, and around about three quarters of those havd

resulted in household improvements. They say the home improvement fund,

the thing that was launched last month, will make it even silple to

operate. They are saying if you are planning home improvements, this is

the scheme to adopt, that it does work and there are happy customers

out there. It's been described as

"the grandest, Grand Depart ever", the weekend when North Yorkshire

played host to the first st`ges Along the route, one estimate put

crowd numbers at five million, Well, now attention's turning to

what kind of legacy the race will leave, with organisers

predicting a ?100 million boost Phil Connell spent

the weekend following the r`ce, and It was North Yorkshire

at its very best. According to the UN,

there's 196 countries in thd world and these stunning pictures

of the county were seen in 090. For the tourism boss who helped

bring the race to Yorkshire, Proud for the people of Yorkshire,

proud for everyone involved I think Yorkshire did

the country proud, did Millions of people watching it,

the Times this morning saying 5 million people, the Daily M`il,

4 million people. I don't know how you verify

these numbers, it was just huge Along the route in North Yorkshire,

the scenes were astonishing. Even in remote places

like Buttertubs, In Harrogate it seemed

like one massive party, with Something you don't see in France,

they are going the extra mile. Royalty were also here, with

the Duchess of Cambridge prdsenting According to organisers,

the grandest of Grand Departs. The Tour de France is very, very

popular, but what we lived xesterday and today is unbelievable,

incredible, amazing, astonishing! Day two and the race sped through

Knaresborough, a town that was voted I want to know from your vidwers,

do we keep the spots or not? Organisers believe

the race will generate ?100 billion Though in Harrogate on Saturday

there were winners and losers. We were here from half six,

getting the machine turned on, getting the coffee in, sincd half an

hour from that it's been nonstop. Next door, though, the owner of this

shop saw his takings down bx 95 . 300,000 people coming to

a town with a 65,000 population it is on steroids today, it's very,

very busy. For the French TV networks ht's

the biggest outside broadcasts In Harrogate,

a media village appeared ovdrnight with one star of French TV full

of praise for Yorkshire. Because there are a lot of people,

there is an atmosphere with people. They like riders, they like the

rides, they like the Tour dd France. The race ends on the Champs`Elysees

in Paris in three weeks timd. The amazing scenes

in Yorkshire now giving the French Three men have been arrested

on suspicion of the murder of a Newcastle University student

in Warwickshire. The body of 23`year`old Jamds Steen

was found at a house in Wood Street in the town of Rugby,

early on Saturday morning. The three men are all from the Rugby

area. A man from Sunderland has admitted

starting a fire on board a ferry, which was then forced to return to

port in North Shields. Boden Hughes started the bl`ze

while smoking cannabis in a cabin It was carrying more

than 1000 passengers. Six people were winched off

the vessel and taken to hospital, The 26`year`old,

of Fulwell Road in Sunderland, The Government has announced plans

to create thousands of new jobs in the North East and Cumbrha

through something it's callhng Hundreds of millions of pounds

of investment are promised over The money will be used to ddvelop

business parks Our political editor

Richard Moss is here now. What exactly is promised

in this "deal"? This is supposedly a more

intelligent way of the Government spending money. Instead of separate

announcements, the idea is to put a pool of money into one pot `nd local

enterprise partnerships can bid around the country for them. We ve

got a good slice of money, so they must have liked what we `` they saw.

In Cumbria, a promise to crdate around 2000 jobs. The redevdlop and

of wrong town ammunition depot, investment in the West Cumbria

nuclear technology Centre. Hn Teeside, another 1000 jobs

promised. An oil and gas Ac`demy at Redcar and Cleveland Collegd, to

train young people. And a sdries of road improvements including some at

win yard of the 819. In the Northeast, Durham, Northumbdrland

and Tyneside and Wearside, `nother 4000 jobs promised. It was the third

highest allocation in the country after Manchester and London. Newton

Aycliffe business Park, for companies want to serve the industry

there. And work to raise school standards. It has worked well in

London. What it didn't incltde was the commitment of the amount of

money that London got for that. Grant Shapps, the Conservathve Party

chairman, he was a long timd today and this is what he said about the

growth deal. These are big investments, a show of faith that we

believe you live in an area of the country that is absolutely poised to

have a great future, more jobs, sharing the economic growth, that

long`term plan has started to bring the benefits of the fastest`growing

economy in the advanced world in the UK, it's coming right here to

Cumbria, right over to the north`east. It's the Governlent

working with local people to get stuff done. Not everyone thhnks it's

such a big deal. Labour say it's not enough, it doesn't make up for the

neglect of the north`east and Cumbria of the last four ye`rs. This

is Ian Wright, an MP and Sh`dow Minister. I do think it's too little

too late. The Government has neglected my area over the lifetime

of this Parliament, we've sden the largest spending cuts of anx area in

the country. I don't think they really recognise the scale of

ambition we have for our arda. We've got fantastic potential, but they

haven't provided us with thd skills, tools and resources to be able to

fulfil their potential. Labour said it would pass on more money to

regions like ours, but you will notice there is an election coming

up in the next few months, so we should expect more announcelents

like this. These commitments go beyond the next election and we know

that governments can change things. This week, Look North has bden given

unprecedented access to the operating theatre

at Newcastle's Freeman Hosphtal to We'll witness new life being

breathed into new lungs and hear of exciting breakthroughs

in liver transplantation. And tonight, we're privilegdd to

have been able to film one of the most emotional moments

the transplant teams face, when a tiny heart arrives just in time

for surgeons to save a tiny life. Our health reporter Sharon Barbour

is at the Freeman for us now. Transplant week is all about raising

awareness and calling on people to have that often difficult

conversation about a loved one's desires when they die and what to do

about their organs, in the hope that more organs would be made available.

Some stats for you, around the UK at any given time, around 10,000 people

are on the waiting list. Of that number, around three people a day

die because an organ hasn't become available in time. Across otr region

there are hundreds of peopld waiting. In fact, there are hard ``

for a heart transplant alond, there are around 56 people on the waiting

list. But one little girl is no longer on the waiting list, and

that's because last week thd call came to save a donor heart was

available and it was a match. The surgeons kindly allowed us hnside

the operating theatre to film this heart transplant operation.

Few operations are as compldx and time critical

The pressure in this operathng theatre is immense,

Inside this cool box is the only thing that could s`ve

Wrapped in ice, it's a tiny baby's heart.

Child heart surgery is a painful business.

Another child has died, its parents grieving, but they've given immense

hope to the parent waiting outside the operating theatre, hope that

The operation is highly specialised, highly complex, surgeons working

The blood supply connected to the donor heart will keep it alive,

but without a heartbeat the surgery team are having to work intdnsely to

What's happening with blood pressure?

The surgeons can't afford to lose any concentration

The stress in the theatre is palpable.

Finally, this baby, whose life was hanging by a thread,

has a new heart, a new chance of life, one she so urgently ndeded.

I'm delighted to be joined by LOD, that was the little girl in theatre

there. She is six months old. Her parents took the call the other

night to say a heart was av`ilable. What did that mean to you? Dmotional

isn't the word. It was around about 6:30am, a very difficult call. I

shed a few tears on the edgd of the bed at home. We rushed to hospital

and from about 9:30am it all happened. How is she doing? Really

well, considering everything she's been through. She's awake and

stable. It's amazing to see that after such a hairy period. We

understand that the operation was difficult at times, we saw some of

the tension in the theatre. I spoke to one of the surgeons about this.

We are used to opening small babies. I think transplantation in ` baby

like this, it's not a very difficult operation but there were a lot of

other concerns which make the operation more difficult. A very

difficult operation but luckily she is doing remarkably well. It has

been a roller`coaster ride, but I wonder where your feelings now lie,

particularly with the familx who made the decision to donate their

child's heart. We can't express the words to say how thankful wd are,

because it's a very difficult decision from their point of view,

they've lost a child. But it's given a new lease of life for our

daughter, a second chance. H have to introduce Freya here. Good news with

your little sister. Mum, I guess it's not just the road to rdcovery.

Definitely. It's going to bd a long road ahead, she's still got hurdles

to overcome. Hopefully it whll all go well. Thank you both verx much.

Now I'm going to hand over to dawn with the sport.

Newcastle United's Dutch go`lkeeper Tim Krul has been defending him

self against accusations of unsporting behaviour over his

attempts to psyche out Cost` Rica's penalty takers in the quartdr finals

Krul, who saw his first acthon of the tournament on Saturd`y

night, was brought on by Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal specifically for

the penalty shoot out and proceeded to speak to every spot kick taker,

telling them he knew where they were going to place the ball.

It was a successful strategx ultimately, Krul went on to save two

penalties to see the Netherlands through to the semi`finals,

I don't think I've done anything wrong.

I haven't shouted at them in an aggressive manner.

I just told them, like I said before, that I knew

where they were going, that I've analysed where they were gohng.

I'm trying obviously to get in their heads and it worked.

More bad news for Mark Cavendish in the Tour de France. It was bad

enough crashing out in front of his mum near the finish line in

Harrogate on Saturday, but now he's set to miss the Commonwealth Games

as well because he needs surgery on his injured shoulder.

She's still only 21, but Olympic and Commonwealth Games

swimmer Aimee Willmott has packed a lot in since she joined

Aimee, whose dad Stuart was also an Olympic swimmer,

will head to Glasgow with hdr England teammates later this month,

It has been a bit of a learning curve. I was thrown in the deep end

at the last Commonwealth Gales in Delhi in 2010, so this time it will

be quite nice to be one of the older swimmers, I've kind of done all the

tournaments and competitions already. For me, it will be nice to

see how the racing goes rather than just enjoying the whole atmosphere.

Aimee, who plans to compete in four events, is no stranger to the podium

this year, after winning fotr medals at the British championships, but

what about tickets for Glasgow? It hasn't been easier than Delhi,

getting hold of the tickets. Luckily, I managed to securd a few

more than just two. My mum, dad sister and both sets of grandparents

will be there to watch me in Glasgow. It will be nice to have

more support than normal. Mx grandparents have never really seen

the race before so I'm quitd excited to get there now and really show

them what I do every day. S`dly Aimee, a member of the swimling club

at the Neptune Centre, is moving to the capital after the games with her

coach. They will both join the New London Aquatic Centre performance

programme, part of the Olympic legacy. I think I've grown tp in

Middlesbrough and done all H wanted to achieve here. The new ch`pter for

me is something I couldn't really turned down, training in thd best

pool in the country. I am going to be sad to leave Middlesbrough but

I'll be back here training when I'm visiting friends and coming on for

Christmas. I'm not leaving ht completely, at the back and `` be

back every now and again. Hopefully with a medal or two!

Yorkshire have been in complete control for most of the first day

of their county championship match against Durham at Headinglex.

Durham's decision to put Yorkshire in to bat after winning

the toss seemed to be the wrong one after openers Adam Lyth and

The first wicket didn't fall until they'd reached 270

but four wickets from Mark Wood and one from Scott Borthwick saw

It was honours today for coledian and TV writer Jason Cook

at the University of Sunderland s annual graduation ceremony.

The writer of the popular BBC sitcom Hdbburn,

set in Cook's Tyneside hometown received his honorary fellowship

from the city's university for his contribution to entertahnment.

Jason took time out from script writing to attend today's awards

I'm just a bloke that tells jokes, this is beyond overwhelming.

I was briefly a student herd and then my comedy career started

So while these guys did the three`year

Great photos to start us off. First, a Midsummer site. Clouds sn`pped

over Newcastle. This was thd scene at Whitley Bay, night shining

clouds, only visible in the North at this time of year. They are clouds

on the edge of space, way above the troposphere, where the rest of our

weather happens. This was a beautiful display at Berwick.

Tomorrow, some heavy showers and they could be thundery and

slow`moving. Tonight, a few showers developing across North Yorkshire

and the north`east, but aftdr dark these should clear. Many pl`ces will

be dry with temperatures as low as around 11 Celsius. Tomorrow, we are

expecting thundery showers to return, particularly for thd

north`east. It's likely to be dry in Cumbria through the afternoon, but

in the north`east and North Yorkshire those showers will

increase in intensity. We are expecting real downpours through the

end of the afternoon and into the early evening, with that Met Office

weather warning in force from 1 am until 7pm tomorrow. There whll be

spots that avoid the showers, temperatures likely to be 18 or 19

Celsius. As always with this kind of showery weather, not everywhere will

see downpours, but where thdy do fall they bring the risk of

localised surface water flooding. A showery day in Harrogate,

potentially for the first d`y of the Great Yorkshire Show. We have fine

weather for the cycling at the weekend. Cumbria, less showdry

tomorrow and we are expecting better weather here over the next couple of

days. After tomorrow, bright skies and feeling warm in Keswick on

Wednesday. Cooler and cloudher in the north`east, though. Somd sunny

spells as well as showers tomorrow, but not much sunshine on Wednesday

or Thursday. Live TV at its finest! We whll see

you tomorrow.