09/11/2017 The One Show

Hello and welcome to

The One Show with Matt Baker.

And Alex Jones.

I'm dressed like this because it's

a very special night.

Because you're having a change of

image!

We are setting off on our 500

mile Ride To The Clyde,

live from the studio at the end

of the show.

The whole Team Rickshaw are here,

nervously waiting to find

out who will be the first to take

to the saddle.

We've got the yellow carpet rolled

out, the crowds are here with Pudsey

ready to wave them off.

It will be an epic start.

Yes, they are about to embark

on their chariot to face a journey

of Olympic proportions,

which sounds just like a story taken

out of our guest's new book

about Ancient Greece.

And he's a bit of

a Greek God himself.

He's got the vast knowledge of

Apollo.

The imposing stature of

Adonis.

The booming voice of Hermes.

His Achilles' heel is fine, but he

has broken his toe - it's Stephen

Fry! It's a shame, because we were

going to ask you to do the first leg

of the rickshaw ride.

My toe looks

like an overripe aubergine.

What

happened?

It is easy to do, I was in

my stocking defeat, I mean in socks,

not stockings.

That was an image --

my stockinged feet.

I have had so

much advice from people. Some people

tell you to keep it cold, then the

next Tweet tells you to do something

hot. And if I get the wrong one, I

make it worse. They are strapped

together.

Strapped to the one next.

And coming from Norfolk...

You have

webbed toes!

Which is handy for

swimming. We also have to say good

luck to everyone from Northern

Ireland in their World Cup

qualifying match.

In our first film,

we're talking about parking.

I'm going on a road trip to take a

man who took on one of the biggest

Private parking firms in the

business, a company that boasts a

90% win rate in court, but not

against this guy. It helps that he

does happen to be leading human

rights lawyer Nick Bowen. Hi, Nick.

Hi.

Tell me what was happening in

your case?

I was driving down the

Mfork, I was tired, pulled into a

service station, fell asleep, woke

up two and a half hours later, and

some months later, I was bombarded

with nasty letters.

As it was the

middle of the night and the car park

was empty, Nick says he didn't

realise he had to pay for the

overstay.

I was exhausted, may well

have had a crash. It is unfair, when

there appears to be a compelling

public interest in road safety.

Nick's health and safety concerns

were the basis of his legal

challenge against paying the charge.

He did not even appeal that charge

but waited for the company to take

him to court. In August, a judge

struck out the case, and instead, it

was the firm that had to pay out all

of Nick's court costs.

What I have

learned is that even though they

started with great resolve, if you

stick with it, they crumble.

The

spotlight Nick has placed on

questionable charges comes at a time

when private parking firms bought

more than 1.5 million motorists'

details from the DVLA to chase them

for infringements. Many drivers have

asked Nick for his help. We have

workers, like nurses, on long

shifts, parking up the rest.

The

general theme is that people stop to

stay safe.

Another driver to contact

Nick is London cabbie Stuart Wilder.

They are out of control. You can't

go anywhere without getting a £100

fine.

Like Nick, Stewart but a

charge after taking a break from a

long drive and oversleeping beyond

the free parking limit. He decided

to take the company to court and is

awaiting the outcome.

I don't think

they are taking into account the

mitigating circumstances. They are

after one thing and one thing alone

- cash.

In a statement, the company

said that people can rest for two

hours for free at car parks, and if

they overstay that limit, they can

pay for the additional time before

leaving, as displayed on their

signs. They pointed out that drivers

can challenge charges with the

independent appeals service. It is

not just a top human rights lawyer

who thinks that parking companies

are taking people for a ride. A bill

was presented to Parliament in July

calling for an end to

self-regulation of the industry and

unfair charges. In the meantime,

will be industry at least listen to

Nick's concerns? We are on our way

to the group to set standards for

the parking industry, the British

parking Association, and as luck

would have it, they are holding

their annual conference right here

in London today. But there is one

small problem: Nick, we were hoping

to get our cameras inside today, but

they won't let us in.

I don't know

what to say. I just wanted to ask a

simple question about being treated

really unfairly.

In a statement, the

British Parking Association said

that the companies managing car

parks are doing so on behalf of

landowners and applying their rules.

Steve Gooding is director of the RAC

foundation.

I would be much happier

if the BP eight... Any good business

knows that its complaints about your

business that tell you where you

need to make changes.

Why we are not

all legal experts like Nick, it

might well be worth fighting your

corner against what you think is an

unfair charge. Yellow rag if you

think you're being treated unfairly,

fight them. It is time for the

little man to fight back, really.

Nick joins us now. This parking

company is a business and they've

got to make money, so they are

charging by the hour, or by the

period you are parking for, and they

are ready to make money. It is

legitimate to charge people --

it is

legitimate to charge people in the

day, which has been tested by the

courts and been found to be fair.

But what happened to me was I fell

asleep, almost, on the motorway,

stopped, which I thought was

sensible, and I end up being pursued

by debt collectors and parking

companies for overstaying when I

genuinely had absolutely no idea

that there was such a thing as

charging at night was sleeping in a

safe space.

So you didn't realise?

No.

Did they give you the option to

pay afterwards?

That is only if you

get out of the car, exhausted, and

look at the small type. It just

wasn't signposted. The whole thing

was a bit of a trap. I just wasn't

prepared to give up when they

pursued me.

There is a bill going

through Parliament. Nothing to do

with you. What do they hope to

achieve, then?

There is seen to be a

hero MP called Greg Knight who is

backing a private member's Bill,

second reading in February or March,

to regulate the whole industry and

try to bring in a statutory code of

practice which will make them behave

fairly. Since this happened to me, I

am flooded with e-mails all the

time.

You'll have a few more after

tonight!

Please, no. I'm not really

a parking lawyer, but I just find

myself... The one thing that unites

the nation seemingly is a lack of

confidence, or distrust, in the

private parking.

On the motorway,

you don't have to drive far before

you see one of those signs

encouraging you to take a break.

Obviously, you would be angry if

someone came and parked in your

driveway, so it has to be regulated,

and fairly, and it isn't, and that

is what this bill is going to

achieve. It is all about money, and

massive business. The RAC have

looked at this, crunch the figures,

and they estimate that are coming on

for 2017-18, sorry, 2018-19, on

current estimates, there will be 10

million data releases from the DVLA.

It used to be 4 million, 7 million

this year, then 10 million, which

equates to around £1 billion of

income. Those are RAC figures. Not

mine. The parking companies pay the

DVLA for the details of the driver,

and it is £2 50 a go, so that is 16

million - 25 million to the DVLA. It

is finance driven. They are trying

to regulate it to slow it down.

There are 16,000 tickets a day being

issued.

On that note, we will have

to park at there. We need to talk to

Stephen.

While parking charges is an

issue that gets most of us fired up,

there is a subject Stephen can't

help coming back to - ancient

Greece.

What colour was this guy a

nation Greece? How did the ancient

Greeks cover up the naughty bits on

their statues? To the ancient

Greeks, a gymnasium was a place to

get naked. Sophocles and Socrates,

the ancient Greeks that you and I

talk about everyday. They should

have told you that it was ancient

Greece, and I did. The ancient

Greeks didn't call anything balloon.

-- blue. They went commando. I

hadn't realised how much I talked

about the ancient Greeks.

This is

something you have loved since you

were a young boy, isn't it?

It

really is, and I was lucky, I guess

I had good teachers I and was of a

generation and a type that had what

used to be called a classical

education, and I know it strikes so

much fear into people's hearts. They

think of ancient Greek civilisation

and there is chalk dust and a

Victorian schoolmaster with whiskers

and a cane. The stories are so full

of wit and charm, and I'm convinced

they are the best stories ever told

about us, and they live and they are

so fantastic.

In your eyes, they are

not highbrow?

Absolutely not

intellectual or academic, they are

told for us, for children, adults,

old people, people of all cultures.

They are deep in the language we

talk about - things being

hermetically sealed, or an Oedipus

complex, or the Midas touch, jovial,

mercurial, all named after the gods.

And it is as if every god reflects a

part of human nature - our wisdom,

but also treachery, last, ambition,

overestimation of ourselves and our

abilities, all the faults and

failings we have gone the Greeks

gave their gods as well. But they

had heroes who want superheroes like

the Marvel comic superheroes, much

more like us. They occasionally had

superpowers. A God would give them

winged sandals or something and they

could fly will become invisible or

something, like Perseus.

Essentially, a bit more like Harry

Potter, the human qualities and the

valour.

A bit of a naughty edge.

Yes. I read the audio books as the

came out. I would get the manuscript

and they would do the audio book and

I realised, there is this intense

pleasure in storytelling, not

interpreting the story, saying that

the story means this or that,

rather, it is up to the person

reading to decide what it means, and

whether it is inspiring, funny or

serious. I have tried to tell the

story as best I can in the book and

I hope people enjoy them.

A

difficult question to you, but your

favourite story?

Favourite god or

story?

Story.

Creation comes into

it, and I like the creation of

mankind, our species. Prometheus,

this titan is made of clay who

became a champion, he stole fire

from heaven, which the gods didn't

want us to have because they didn't

want us to challenge them. And he

was punished, change to the Caucus

Mountains and his liver pecked out

every day, and presumably it grew

back overnight. At the end of the

century, we will be intelligent

designers of new creatures, just as

Prometheus made us. There was no

question and no one really doubts

that the convergence of artificial

intelligence, robotics, brain

machine interfacing and biological

augmentation, it will bring about

new sapience creatures, and the

question is, do we give them fire?

The inner fire of consciousness and

self-awareness. Or, like Zeus, do we

say no? Maybe we create, whether we

call them robots or artificial

devices, but we will face the same

thing. The internet, I think of it

as Pandora's box. She was the first

woman who was sent down with this

box, or a jar in fact, and out came

everything.

It is a good analogy.

I

thought the internet would break

down all barriers, and instead, out

flew the strolls, abusers, wreckers

and liars. -- these patrols. The

stories just speak to us.

Well, it rips through as a reader in

a font size that is perfect, as

opposed to small print, which is

what we are going to next. Do you

read the small print when you get a

contract?

At my age, everything is

small print!

Well, you obviously

haven't read the small print on some

contracts, and maybe you should

have. We give every guest the same

contract before they come on The One

Show. Now, there is a little clause,

clause 16.

The contributor agrees to

dress as a Greek god, reciting from

their book for an hour each morning

from the fourth plinth in Trafalgar

Square until Christmas. And I have

signed it!

Volla!

Juice swine! --

you swine. I think that would be

very disturbing for people standing

under the plinth, looking up.

And

whilst you clear your diary, here is

a film about why all of us should be

reading our small print more

carefully.

So we have all done it. Whether it

is applying for car insurance,

buying theatre tickets or getting a

new credit card. Right at the end of

the form is the box to confirm that

we have read the terms and

conditions. Let's face it, most of

us just take it without ever reading

a word. But some terms and

conditions can be as long as a

Shakespeare play. So is the small

print a deliberate attempt to

confuse and trick consumers, or

essential legal jargon that protects

both parties? Luke Menzies is a

lawyer who advises businesses on

writing the terms of their

contracts. You write these terms and

conditions. Do you deliberately make

them as incommensurable as possible?

We try not to, but there are

collection of all the things that

have gone wrong, sometimes over many

centuries, so the lawyers are trying

to avoid that happening again. Or if

it does happen again, everything

legally will go the way of the

company writing it.

Do you think

that companies use them to

deliberately hide extra fees, extra

Chargers, things you aren't

expecting?

If it is a business that

wants to do business on a

large-scale, they will not want to

do that too much because they will

get a bad reputation.

When you buy

something and they give you terms

and conditions, do you read them?

I

must admit, not very often.

Especially online, I just tick the

box and hope it will be OK. To test

how bad we are at ignoring the small

print, The One Show has come up with

an experiment. We are tempting

customers of a cafe with a free

drink, cake and other promotions. To

receive the offer, they just need to

sign up. Luke has helped me write

some terms and conditions. But we

have added a clause which says as

soon as you sign up, you immediately

have to start mopping the floor. But

anybody notice? With our terms and

conditions being nearly 2000 words

long, will anyone bother to read

them and spot our unpleasant

surprise? And we have read secret

cameras to catch what happens. Would

you like to sign up to our special

offer? In return for your e-mail

address, we will send you a voucher

for a hot drink and a cake.

Oh,

yeah.

Just pop your details on that.

Those are long terms and conditions.

That is marvellous. I will just get

the bucket. So, which bit of the

floor do you want to start mopping

first? Did you not read the terms

and conditions?

No. This is

dreadful.

Very good. You have missed

a bit. Do the job properly. Why

don't you read the terms and

conditions?

I always assume that it

will say something along the lines

of, they can use my e-mail address,

which I don't mind.

You should

always read things before you sign,

I understand that, but you caught me

out. Do you want to mop the floor?

So in our unscientific experiment,

only one person read the small print

and declined our offer. Are you

quite hot on terms and conditions?

Oh, yeah.

But if we don't read them

and tick the box, where do we stand?

Helen fights for consumer rights and

is better known as the complaining

cow. Our terms and conditions

legally binding?

Well, yes and no.

When they aren't, it is because it

is an unfair contract. So for

example, if a telecom company said

to you that you can't break your

contract early because it is in our

terms and conditions, but you want

to break it because they are not

providing the service you signed up

for, they are already in breach of

the consumer rights act of 2015 by

not providing services with

reasonable care.

What about when

they keep changing the terms and

conditions? The banks and credit

Cards seem to send you a booklet

every few months. It is about 50

pages of nonsense.

The government

last year took on people's

complaints about terms and

conditions. They promised they would

do something about it, but have not

yet done anything.

So it looks like

until something is done, you do need

to read the small print. But it

would be nice if it were short,

plain and simple.

Thank you, Alex.

Well, you saw them at the start of

the programme. They are all geared

up and ready to go. Time is ticking,

so let's welcome Ben, Greg, Liv,

Luke, Sabah and Shona! How does it

feel? So comfy. I am loving it. All

the girls are really jazzy.

You all

look very relaxed and excited, where

as you look like the nervous one.

To

be honest, I am. But we are going to

have the best time. As soon as we go

over the line, everything will be

all right.

Just get started. And you

have already started bonding, Sabah?

Yeah, we all get along very well.

Who is your favourite? Don't answer

that, you are 18! -- you are a team.

I asked if it was her first time on

television and she said no, I have

been on multiple times.

We saw your

story last night, Luke, and you were

saying to us earlier how interesting

your training has been for this.

I

have really enjoyed the past seven

to ten weeks of training. It has

helped my legs get a lot stronger.

And it is something I plan to do

even after the challenge to keep my

fitness up.

Shona, you are heading

up to your neck of the woods. That

is the finish line in Glasgow, a

week tomorrow night. Which part are

you most looking forward to?

I am

looking forward to going to the

borders and going to Hawick. One of

my friends I work with on the

Scotland team lives in Hawick, and

everybody on the team said that

nobody knows where Hawick is.

Well,

it has almost got easier as we have

come to London. This time, Hawick,

Edinburgh and Glasgow are the last

three stops and I will literally be

cliffs to be cycling along. So many

beautiful landmarks. Who's bad idea

was the headband thing? Well, we are

literally minutes away and we have

to get the Banbury. Here is the

plan. In the next 24 hours, we are

going to be covering 81 miles. Here

is where we are going to be tomorrow

if you fancy, are long and

supporting us. Now is the time for

some exciting news, because I can

now announce the first rider in this

year's Rickshaw Challenge. It will

be... Look, it's you! -- Luke.

I am

over the moon.

Now, not only are the

teams cycling, but they are also

maintaining the ritual tradition of

performing nerve-wracking speeches

at huge events across the country,

telling people why they have taken

on this challenge.

Tonight, it is

great's turn and he had to face a

crowd of more than 30,000 people in

his hometown of Dunfermline.

OK, are

you ready for the Dunfermline

fireworks of 2017? When I was on

stage, I was nervous because there

were a lot of people here.

But I am

excited. These welcome Greg and

Pudsey, his special guest!

Originally, I am from Poland, but I

think of myself as Scottish. Today,

I am happy, but if you had met me

five years ago, you would have seen

a very different person. My dad died

when I was nine. Things got worse

when I moved to Scotland with my

mum. She neglected me. Didn't cook

for me, clothed me properly, and she

wouldn't even speak to me. I felt

trapped and desperate and I couldn't

see how life could get any better.

But one day, I heard about

basketball group called twilight

basketball, supported by Children In

Need. Going there has changed my

life. Eventually, I was fostered by

a family of a friend I met at

basketball. Being with a new family

made me feel loved. Now, when my

life is better, I often think how I

have been helped and how I want to

give something back. That is why I

am taking part in the Rickshaw

Challenge for Children In Need.

Right now, there are children going

to the same things I went through,

so please give what you can. Thank

you.

And if you would like to support

Greg, Team Rickshaw as a Children In

Need, you can donate by sending a

simple text message. Stephen, you

have the numbers.

I do indeed.

And you can sign up for our virtual

rickshaw on the same site, where you

can use your own pedal power to

raise money for Team Rickshaw and

Children In Need. Tomorrow, Sally

Phillips and I will be joined by

Bradley Walsh in the studio, but

it's to officially launch our

Rickshaw Challenge 2017. Over the

next nine days, the team will cycle

500 miles from here in London all

the way it to Glasgow. You know the

temperature outside. It's November,

it's freezing and they are going to

do 500 miles from here to Glasgow.

How are you feeling? You're excited.

It will be incredible.

Stephen, any

final words?

I wish you good luck.

You are Rickshavians and I envy you

your muscular skill.

What war words

to send us on our way.

There is an

amazing crowd waiting to wish you

all the best. See you a week on

Monday. Let's start the countdown.

Five, four, three, two, one!

Here we

go! Thank you all for coming out.

Much appreciated. See you later! 500

miles, not that far to go. We will

hopefully see you in Banbury

tomorrow night, which is only 81

miles away. Thank you all, bye!