0:00:02 > 0:00:05Welcome to a world where nothing is quite as it seems.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08Welcome to Fake Britain.
0:00:09 > 0:00:10Police!
0:00:20 > 0:00:24- Get down!- Get down on the floor now! - Put your hands behind your back now!
0:00:24 > 0:00:26Here, at the Fake Britain house,
0:00:26 > 0:00:29we'll reveal the fakes that are flooding the market,
0:00:29 > 0:00:31conning people like you and me
0:00:31 > 0:00:33and making money for the criminals.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35We'll investigate the fraudsters
0:00:35 > 0:00:38who are selling us something that isn't real
0:00:38 > 0:00:40and could be dangerous.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44And we'll help YOU avoid falling for a fake.
0:00:45 > 0:00:46Today on Fake Britain...
0:00:46 > 0:00:50The tradesmen faking logos to rip off homeowners...
0:00:50 > 0:00:54My father-in-law was actually showered by all of the foam
0:00:54 > 0:00:56that had just been left in the loft space.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59Tiles were loose, and if there was any high wind, all of those
0:00:59 > 0:01:01would have been ripped off the roof.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04The fake bailiffs threatening small businesses...
0:01:04 > 0:01:10I couldn't believe somebody could scam me out of just under £4,000.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13And the fake breathalysers that could cost you your licence
0:01:13 > 0:01:15or even your life.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17This is telling me I'm alcohol free.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20Anybody who relies on this is really playing with fire.
0:01:25 > 0:01:30There are around 100,000 county court judgements for debt
0:01:30 > 0:01:33issued against British companies every year.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37Some of these result in a visit by bailiffs or enforcement agents
0:01:37 > 0:01:38to recover the debt.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42So, if you get a call from someone who sounds official saying
0:01:42 > 0:01:46that the business you work at, or even own, owes money,
0:01:46 > 0:01:49you're going to sit up and take notice. It's a serious matter.
0:01:49 > 0:01:54But what if that phone call ISN'T everything it seems?
0:01:57 > 0:02:00This is Little Bunnies nursery in King's Lynn, Norfolk.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05Just after starting her shift, manager Becky received a phone call.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08- PHONE RINGS - Good morning, Little Bunnies...
0:02:08 > 0:02:11The man on the phone said he was from a firm of bailiffs
0:02:11 > 0:02:14and that the bailiffs were on their way to seize
0:02:14 > 0:02:17goods from the nursery to settle an unpaid debt.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20I was actually quite nervous when they phoned.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23They were very aggressive in the way that they were talking,
0:02:23 > 0:02:26very convincing that they were actual real bailiffs
0:02:26 > 0:02:29that just wanted to come and take all the equipment from the nursery.
0:02:29 > 0:02:34Becky was confused about the so-called debt owed by the business.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37More than that, she was worried about the impact on the dozen or so
0:02:37 > 0:02:39children currently in the nursery.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41So, she acted quickly.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45As soon as I hung up the phone I followed our security procedures.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49I got all the children from the front of the nursery into the back where it's quite secure.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53I stood at the front of the building with the telephone, ready in case they were going to come.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57Becky then phoned her boss, the nursery's owner, Donna Jarvis.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01When Donna arrived, she immediately phoned the man - who was calling
0:03:01 > 0:03:06himself a bailiff - to query the debt, of which she had no knowledge.
0:03:06 > 0:03:11The man told her she owed £550 to an IT company for work on software,
0:03:11 > 0:03:13plus a £250 bailiff fee.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18She insisted she knew nothing about the debt but he refused to listen.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21He says, "Sorry, love, we hear this all the time."
0:03:21 > 0:03:24He had the paperwork rustling in the background.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26He had a case reference number.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28My words to him actually were,
0:03:28 > 0:03:31"There's women and children in my nursery, a lot of children."
0:03:31 > 0:03:34His actual words were, "I don't care how many kids are in the building,
0:03:34 > 0:03:36"we're coming through the door."
0:03:36 > 0:03:38At that point I said, "Ridiculous, I'm phoning the police."
0:03:38 > 0:03:41He informed me, "No need, we'll be turning up with the police."
0:03:41 > 0:03:44The man told Donna the only way to stop the bailiffs
0:03:44 > 0:03:46would be to settle the debt.
0:03:46 > 0:03:51He gave her an 0845 number to call in order to pay up.
0:03:51 > 0:03:52The chap answered,
0:03:52 > 0:03:57"Hello, Northampton County Court. This is the payment line."
0:03:57 > 0:04:00I instantly went in very passionately and angrily saying,
0:04:00 > 0:04:03"I've just had bailiffs on the phone stating that I've got this debt."
0:04:03 > 0:04:07"Excuse me, madam, I need to stop you. Please can I take your reference number?"
0:04:07 > 0:04:10Pretended to type it into a computer, you could hear the keys.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13"Yep, Little Bunnies Day Nursery. You owe this amount of money."
0:04:13 > 0:04:16He repeated the same dates off when it went to court.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20He was so good. He had an answer for every single thing I threw at him.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Little Bunnies nursery wasn't the only business to receive
0:04:25 > 0:04:28a phone call from men demanding money.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31Jenny Tofts' hair salon in Cambridgeshire had a similar call
0:04:31 > 0:04:36out of the blue from someone claiming to work on behalf of the courts.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38He said he was calling from Croydon County Court
0:04:38 > 0:04:41and that he was dealing with the judgment that had been made
0:04:41 > 0:04:45against my business, as I'd not turned up to the court case.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49I then obviously said, "What court case? I know nothing about this."
0:04:49 > 0:04:52I'm like, "God, I've never had anything like that in my life."
0:04:52 > 0:04:53I couldn't believe it.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57She had no idea what they were talking about.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01The man claimed Jenny owed nearly £2,000 in court fees
0:05:01 > 0:05:04and an unpaid debt for online advertising.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07They threatened that the bailiffs would arrive shortly
0:05:07 > 0:05:09unless she paid the debt.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11I questioned it and said,
0:05:11 > 0:05:13"Surely I don't have to make that payment now?"
0:05:13 > 0:05:16He said, "Yes, I'm afraid you do because the judge's ruled,
0:05:16 > 0:05:18"you now have a county court judgment against your business
0:05:18 > 0:05:21"and if you don't make that payment, they will come to your salon
0:05:21 > 0:05:23"and they will take goods to that value."
0:05:24 > 0:05:28What Jenny didn't know was if she'd had a real debt,
0:05:28 > 0:05:32REAL bailiffs would have needed to give her seven days' written warning
0:05:32 > 0:05:35before being able to take any enforcement action.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39By now, Jenny was seriously worried about her business.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43I didn't want someone coming in here with a salon full of clients,
0:05:43 > 0:05:46and I panicked because I thought, "What's that going to do
0:05:46 > 0:05:50"to my business, my reputation and everything else?"
0:05:50 > 0:05:53In King's Lynn, nursery owner, Donna,
0:05:53 > 0:05:56was also feeling the pressure as she spoke to a man who said
0:05:56 > 0:06:00he was a clerk on the Northampton Court payment line.
0:06:00 > 0:06:01I was almost convinced,
0:06:01 > 0:06:03I was almost convinced and I almost paid the debt.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07But Donna decided, finally, to pass the phone to her partner,
0:06:07 > 0:06:09who happened to be an ex-police officer,
0:06:09 > 0:06:12a fact that Donna made clear to the man on the phone.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16And it was only at that point that the young lad slipped with his nice,
0:06:16 > 0:06:20polite, "I'm a county court...county clerk" on the payment line.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23He went, "Oh, great."
0:06:23 > 0:06:25And then the line went dead.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28And then I re-phoned the 0845 number to get a mobile answer machine.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31And then I realised it was definitely a con.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36Donna had a lucky escape. She didn't pay the fake bailiff.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39But in Cambridgeshire, salon owner, Jenny,
0:06:39 > 0:06:42had been feeling the pressure and the man who said the bailiffs were coming
0:06:42 > 0:06:44to get their money and disrupt her business
0:06:44 > 0:06:47was doing everything to prove he was genuine.
0:06:47 > 0:06:52He got me to go online to these websites and type in reference numbers
0:06:52 > 0:06:57that he gave me, which then brought up all their information.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00I suppose I ended up believing what he was saying
0:07:00 > 0:07:03because he had an answer, almost for everything, really.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08Thinking that she must somehow be in the wrong
0:07:08 > 0:07:12and fearing the disruption to her business, Jenny finally caved in.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15She paid nearly £2,000 into an account number given to her
0:07:15 > 0:07:17by the man on the phone.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21But later he phoned back claiming the money hadn't gone through and
0:07:21 > 0:07:25threatened the bailiffs again if she didn't make the payment once more.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27I panicked again
0:07:27 > 0:07:29and made that second payment.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31When Jenny checked with her bank,
0:07:31 > 0:07:35she was told both payments had in fact gone through.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38She'd lost thousands of pounds to fake bailiffs.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40I couldn't believe that somebody could...
0:07:42 > 0:07:46..scam me out of just under £4,000 of my salon's money
0:07:46 > 0:07:48in the space of an afternoon.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53It's a huge sum of money for a business like Jenny's to lose.
0:07:53 > 0:07:58I'd got wages to pay, I'd got tax bills to pay.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01You go home every night feeling sick to your stomach
0:08:01 > 0:08:06and worrying about how you're going to pay for everything, and how
0:08:06 > 0:08:09your business is going to survive now this has happened to you.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12Jenny phoned Action Fraud,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15the UK's national fraud and internet crime reporting centre.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19They referred her case on to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau,
0:08:19 > 0:08:22a specialised unit within City of London Police
0:08:22 > 0:08:24that's been set up to tackle fraud.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28Chief Inspector Matt Bradford is the head of the unit
0:08:28 > 0:08:31and he's identified a trend where fake bailiffs are cynically
0:08:31 > 0:08:34targeting particular types of business.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38Fraudsters seem to be targeting those softer
0:08:38 > 0:08:39and more vulnerable targets.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43We've had nurseries, schools, doctors, plumbers, you name it.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45Anyone can be vulnerable to this.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50And while Jenny lost around £4,000, other victims of the fake bailiffs
0:08:50 > 0:08:54might consider her to be one of the lucky ones.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56In one instance, lost nearly £20,000.
0:08:56 > 0:08:57That's a huge amount of money,
0:08:57 > 0:09:00especially if we're talking about small businesses.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04That's a lot of turnover, a lot of hard work and it's just lost.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08After two months of painstaking negotiations with her bank,
0:09:08 > 0:09:10Jenny finally got her money back.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14She's still coming to terms with just how sophisticated the fakers were.
0:09:14 > 0:09:19I was amazed at the length this faker went to,
0:09:19 > 0:09:21to get the information that he did.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24Not only did he have information about me,
0:09:24 > 0:09:29he'd researched my business to make it believable, to make me believe.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32Whilst Donna had a narrow miss with the fakers,
0:09:32 > 0:09:34their actions have left her seething.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39It makes me extremely angry that somebody gets up in the morning,
0:09:39 > 0:09:43looks in the mirror and decides that they're going to spend
0:09:43 > 0:09:47their working day threatening children and women.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50And the fact that these fake bailiffs are out there,
0:09:50 > 0:09:52taking this money, is disgusting.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56Matt has some good advice for members of the public who get a call
0:09:56 > 0:09:59out of the blue from anyone demanding money.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04You need to make sure that you know who you're talking to.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06That means putting the phone down,
0:10:06 > 0:10:09doing your own independent research, phoning them back on a number
0:10:09 > 0:10:12that YOU'VE identified, not the number they've given you.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15Protect yourself and that's just by buying yourself some time
0:10:15 > 0:10:17and doing your research.
0:10:24 > 0:10:29Around 7,000 road accidents and 300 deaths each year in the UK
0:10:29 > 0:10:31are caused by drink-driving.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33This home breathalyser could help.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36It should tell you whether you're over the limit
0:10:36 > 0:10:37when you get behind the wheel.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41And if you're planning to drive in France, and 17 million of us
0:10:41 > 0:10:43will visit the country this year,
0:10:43 > 0:10:47then you'll need one in your vehicle because it's now the law.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51That means a lot of these things are going to be sold
0:10:51 > 0:10:54but, hopefully, not too many like this one.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56It's a fake.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00It's nightfall and we're out on the roads with officers
0:11:00 > 0:11:02from Dorset Police's traffic unit.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05They're on their way to a collision involving a young female driver
0:11:05 > 0:11:08who lost control and crashed into a parked car.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11Do you want to sort this out, while I go speak to the driver?
0:11:11 > 0:11:15She's not been seriously injured, there's doctors on scene. I'll just go and see her.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19Anyone involved in a road accident has to be breathalysed
0:11:19 > 0:11:23using one of these Home Office approved police breathalysers.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26Right. Fill your lungs with as much air as you can and keep blowing
0:11:26 > 0:11:28until I tell you to stop.
0:11:28 > 0:11:32Keep going, keep going, keep going, keep going. Well done. Thank you.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34- You're zero. All right?- Yeah.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36Thank you very much for that.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41While alcohol wasn't to blame for this accident, nearly 300 deaths
0:11:41 > 0:11:44on British roads each year are caused by drink-driving.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49The police rely on genuine approved breathalysers that give
0:11:49 > 0:11:52accurate readings to make the roads safer.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55Unfortunately, sir, you've failed the test, so I arrest you.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00These help them to make over 40,000 drink-driving convictions ever year.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06Members of the public can now buy their own breathalyser.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09But Fake Britain has discovered that some machines, falsely claiming to
0:12:09 > 0:12:12be approved by the police, are being sold online
0:12:12 > 0:12:14for as little as a fiver.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19Dorset Trading Standards have been investigating these products.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22We've got concerns on these breathalysers
0:12:22 > 0:12:26where there are any links to the police or any claim
0:12:26 > 0:12:29that they are a professional item when quite clearly they're not.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33Trading Standards' main concern about these fake breathalysers
0:12:33 > 0:12:35is that they could give false readings.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39Fake Britain wanted to see if these cheaper online products
0:12:39 > 0:12:42matched the performance of the real thing.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46So, we bought several allegedly police approved breathalysers
0:12:46 > 0:12:50and took them to Lion Laboratories, a world leader in breath alcohol
0:12:50 > 0:12:54testing equipment, whose products are approved by the Home Office.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57Dr Paul Williams is a forensic alcohol expert.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01Plainly, these are all low-cost instruments
0:13:01 > 0:13:04and they use a very inferior type of detection technology
0:13:04 > 0:13:07for the actual alcohol analysis.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11Dr Williams decided to test the fake police breathalysers
0:13:11 > 0:13:13with the equipment HE USES to test
0:13:13 > 0:13:15his genuine Home Office approved products.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18When he blows into these jars, they'll release a vapour that
0:13:18 > 0:13:22simulates human breath at various concentrations of alcohol.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25Firstly, how do these breathalysers perform
0:13:25 > 0:13:30when they're tested at 1.5 times the UK legal limit?
0:13:30 > 0:13:34This is telling me I have a blood alcohol level of 0.05,
0:13:34 > 0:13:37which is just over half the legal limit in the United Kingdom.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41Whereas in fact, I'm 1.5 half times the legal limit.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45So this machine is reading less than half of what it should do.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47This is grossly inaccurate.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50If you relied on this fake breathalyser to check you were fit
0:13:50 > 0:13:54to drive after drinking, you would break the law and risk your licence,
0:13:54 > 0:13:57not to mention the lives of other road users.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59It's got a reading of zero, in fact.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02It's actually telling me I've got no alcohol at all in my body.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05But how would these fake breathalysers react to breath
0:14:05 > 0:14:08from a person who is three times the UK legal limit?
0:14:09 > 0:14:12Yet again, the readings are zero.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16Anybody who relies on this is really playing with fire.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19All of these devices gave false readings
0:14:19 > 0:14:22and their claims to be approved by the police are fake.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24These instruments should not be on sale to the public.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27They are certainly not police grade equipment.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33We showed our test results to the head of Dorset Police's traffic unit,
0:14:33 > 0:14:34Inspector Matt Butler.
0:14:35 > 0:14:36That's really quite scary.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39What worries me is people are going to think
0:14:39 > 0:14:41they're doing the right thing, they're being sensible,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44they're being safe, but in actual fact they're not.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46They may go out, they may think they're safe to drive
0:14:46 > 0:14:50and be involved in a crash, hurt themselves or hurt someone else.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53So what really worries me is these pieces of equipment, rather than
0:14:53 > 0:14:56making the roads safer, they're actually making them more dangerous.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01The police and Dorset Trading Standards also carried out a survey
0:15:01 > 0:15:05of fake breathalysers bought online and their results were worrying.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09Nine devices out of the 14 said you were safe to drive
0:15:09 > 0:15:11when you weren't safe to drive.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14You cannot rely on a piece of equipment that you buy
0:15:14 > 0:15:18from the internet to make sure you are safe on the roads.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21You may think you are safe but you may be over the limit.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26The police officers on the front line who have to deal with
0:15:26 > 0:15:31the damage caused by drink-driving, have a simple message for drivers.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33We go to these incidents regularly and we have to go and deal
0:15:33 > 0:15:34with the consequence of it.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37I knock on the door, give the bad news to the family.
0:15:37 > 0:15:42The message we give people is, don't drink and drive. It's not worth it.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51So you need some work done at your home.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53Who do you get to do it properly?
0:15:53 > 0:15:54Well, you might look for someone
0:15:54 > 0:15:57who's a member of a recognised trade association or federation.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00Thousands of builders, roofers, plumbers
0:16:00 > 0:16:02and window installers belong to them.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05This is a quotation for work at a house in Staffordshire
0:16:05 > 0:16:09and it has loads of trade association logos on it.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11But they are all fake.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14And that caused the home owner all sorts of problems.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19Home renovation is big business
0:16:19 > 0:16:24with the average home improvement project costing £13,000.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26But who can you trust to do it?
0:16:26 > 0:16:30Well, for every aspect of building work, there's a relevant trade association
0:16:30 > 0:16:32designed to improve standards
0:16:32 > 0:16:36and to prevent consumers falling prey to rogue tradesmen.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39To be a member of the trade association, a tradesman must
0:16:39 > 0:16:43often have the right qualifications and sign up to a code of practice.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46In return, they can use the association's logo
0:16:46 > 0:16:48to reassure and attract customers.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51Customers like home owner Kevin Price.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54The roof itself was in a bit of a mess.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57It was about 30 years old, possibly even 40 years old.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01Last year, Kevin decided to carry out some major roofing work
0:17:01 > 0:17:03to his house in Staffordshire.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06He turned to the internet and before long found the right person.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08Or so he thought.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12The gentleman was very amenable on the phone. He sounded very friendly.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14He seemed to know what he was talking about.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17He was very quick to get the quotation to me.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20And Kevin was reassured that the roofer
0:17:20 > 0:17:23appeared to be a member of various trade associations.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27This is the quotation that he actually sent through.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31Here is the list of jobs that he said he was going to do.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34At the bottom you can actually see some of the logos, which I thought
0:17:34 > 0:17:39at the time was a good sign that he was an accredited tradesman.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42But the logos that really got Kevin's attention
0:17:42 > 0:17:45were the ones for an organisation called CompetentRoofer,
0:17:45 > 0:17:47a government-backed scheme.
0:17:47 > 0:17:53I gave the gentleman the contract to do the job because of the logo.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58Ray Horwood is the chief executive of CompetentRoofer,
0:17:58 > 0:18:01which was set up to help improve standards in the roofing industry.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05The CompetentRoofer scheme allows members
0:18:05 > 0:18:08to certify their own work for building regulations.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11They also have to meet strict standards.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14To be a member, you have to be vetted
0:18:14 > 0:18:17both in terms of the paperwork and on-site.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20In terms of paperwork, we check the credit rating of the company,
0:18:20 > 0:18:24we check they have got the correct insurance and liability insurance.
0:18:24 > 0:18:29We also check they have the qualifications necessary to do that work.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32We then send someone out to inspect them and check some work
0:18:32 > 0:18:37actually in progress to make sure they are competent to do it.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41Ray believes that while no scheme is perfect, his is not far off.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44If there is something wrong with the roof,
0:18:44 > 0:18:47we will go back to the company and ask them to fix it.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51If the company, for example, becomes bankrupt in the ten years,
0:18:51 > 0:18:53they have got a warranty that covers it.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56So, really, it is the best guarantee you can possibly have.
0:18:58 > 0:18:59And so Kevin thought his tradesman,
0:18:59 > 0:19:02complete with his CompetentRoofer membership,
0:19:02 > 0:19:04was bound to do a good job.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08But not long after employing him, things started to go wrong.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12The first thing that we noticed
0:19:12 > 0:19:15was that the tiles on the gable end looked more like a jigsaw.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18They weren't in line, they weren't as straight.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22As you can see, that was the job that was left by the builder.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25This completely contravenes any building regulations whatsoever.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28As Kevin would find out,
0:19:28 > 0:19:30this was just the beginning of his roofing woes.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33We went inside the property and opened the loft hatch,
0:19:33 > 0:19:38where my father-in-law was actually showered by all of the foam
0:19:38 > 0:19:40that had just been left in the loft space.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43Half of the work that he was claiming to have been done
0:19:43 > 0:19:44hadn't been done.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49Kevin was now so concerned about the roof, he felt he had no choice
0:19:49 > 0:19:52but to ask a second company to come over and take a look.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55What they found was even more worrying.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58The tiles themselves were not fitted correctly.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00They were loose and if there was any high wind,
0:20:00 > 0:20:02all of those would have been ripped off the roof
0:20:02 > 0:20:04because none were nailed in place.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07And they actually removed some of the tiles
0:20:07 > 0:20:10to find that the batons inside had been cut.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14They basically said this had been laid by almost an amateur
0:20:14 > 0:20:17and the whole roof had to be taken off and redone.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19Finally, Kevin had had enough.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22He contacted CompetentRoofer in the hope that they would intervene.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24But he was in for a shock.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27I was advised that the logo was actually fake,
0:20:27 > 0:20:31that the gentleman was not a member of their organisation,
0:20:31 > 0:20:35and they basically advised me to get in touch with Trading Standards.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39Kevin had been the victim of a simple deception known as logo abuse.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43The fake accreditation had duped him into hiring a rogue trader.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46All the way through, he kept telling me that he wasn't a cowboy,
0:20:46 > 0:20:48he wasn't ripping me off.
0:20:48 > 0:20:52I have since found out that he's been ripping off a lot of people.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55There are other people who have suffered at his hands.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58So what is CompetentRoofer doing
0:20:58 > 0:21:01to prevent fraudulent use of its logo?
0:21:01 > 0:21:05Chief executive Ray Horwood says they take action wherever they can.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10Anybody who runs any kind of successful business
0:21:10 > 0:21:15or successful mark, will know that however many strengths
0:21:15 > 0:21:20you put into your work in guaranteeing that logo,
0:21:20 > 0:21:22people can copy it.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26So we get it on a semi-regular basis
0:21:26 > 0:21:29and any report of misuse of logo,
0:21:29 > 0:21:33we go straight to Trading Standards and they follow it up.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35The use of fake logos is a prosecutable offence
0:21:35 > 0:21:38and can carry a hefty fine.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42But that's not enough to prevent widespread logo abuse.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46Kevin's roofer wasn't just faking CompetentRoofer logos.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50Trust Mark is the Government's flagship approved trader scheme.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53He was also faking the Trust Mark logo
0:21:53 > 0:21:55and he's not the only faker out there.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58We spoke to Trust Mark who told us
0:21:58 > 0:22:01they have been the victim of persistent logo abuse
0:22:01 > 0:22:06with over 200 companies found to be falsely using the logo in one year alone.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10Kevin took the roofing company to the Small Claims Court.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13Judgment in default was entered against them
0:22:13 > 0:22:16because they failed to respond to the proceedings.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19Fake Britain tried to contact the company for comment,
0:22:19 > 0:22:21but nobody responded.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23For Kevin and his family,
0:22:23 > 0:22:27the ordeal has taken a huge emotional and financial toll.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31The gentleman charged us £3,360.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35It cost a further £2,510 to put right what he had done.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37I have resigned myself to the fact
0:22:37 > 0:22:42that I'm never going to see a penny of that money ever again.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53Fairy lights used to be just for Christmas.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56Now, they can glitter away all year round
0:22:56 > 0:22:58at parties, events and in shops,
0:22:58 > 0:23:00adding a bit of sparkle and colour to our lives
0:23:00 > 0:23:03or just making us feel more cheerful.
0:23:03 > 0:23:08But as with anything you're going to plug into mains electricity, they need to be absolutely safe.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10So I don't think I'll plug these ones in.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12Because they're fake.
0:23:14 > 0:23:19From our homes to our shops, we love LED fairy lights.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23They are a cost-effective way of bringing sparkle to our surroundings.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25Will Lightburn from West Sussex
0:23:25 > 0:23:28decided to get some to spruce up his house.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30Driving around, I kept seeing all these houses
0:23:30 > 0:23:34with these fancy new LEDs, like blue ones.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36And I thought, they look quite nice.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40I ought to put a set of those up because my place looks pretty dark
0:23:40 > 0:23:43in comparison with other places around.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46Will decided to look online for some fairy lights
0:23:46 > 0:23:49that would brighten up the front of his house.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51He ordered some and they arrived a few days later.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54Will couldn't wait to use them.
0:23:55 > 0:24:00Looked all right. I unwrapped them and put the lights on the trees.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04I tested them out and they worked and they looked pretty good.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08So far, so good, but the plug was about to be pulled
0:24:08 > 0:24:11on the new look Will had given his home.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14One evening I came home and I noticed some of them weren't working
0:24:14 > 0:24:17and I thought, I must go and investigate what's up with those.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20So I started just going through them,
0:24:20 > 0:24:22starting at one end and flexing them,
0:24:22 > 0:24:25looking at them for broken wires,
0:24:25 > 0:24:27and when I got to pretty much the end one,
0:24:27 > 0:24:30the one furthest away from the controller box,
0:24:30 > 0:24:33suddenly I got an electric shock.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37What Will hadn't realised was that his new fairy lights
0:24:37 > 0:24:40were live with mains electric current.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42It was painful,
0:24:42 > 0:24:45but I dropped them straight away as soon as I got the shock.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49The reaction was to let go of the lights.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52But I was more surprised than anything
0:24:52 > 0:24:55because it hadn't even crossed my mind that there could possibly be
0:24:55 > 0:24:59any mains voltage on those tiny little...
0:24:59 > 0:25:01low-voltage LED lights.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06Will was surprised he had received a shock from lights
0:25:06 > 0:25:08that were carrying clear safety markings.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12They said that they were certified
0:25:12 > 0:25:15to safety standards on their listing.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19The seller looked pretty legitimate.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21The listing looked OK.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25Their feedback was OK and it had the address of the company...
0:25:25 > 0:25:28It was an English address, so it's coming from England.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32So, yeah, I'm surprised they could get away with something like that.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37It turns out that Will's fairy lights aren't the only unsafe ones
0:25:37 > 0:25:39with safety markings out there.
0:25:40 > 0:25:44Ian Smith from Northampton Trading Standards recently raided an online
0:25:44 > 0:25:48seller of fake fairy lights very similar to those purchased by Will.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53We had considerable concerns with regard to the safety
0:25:53 > 0:25:56of the fairy lights in question and we felt
0:25:56 > 0:26:00we had no option but to take away those that he still had in stock.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03These are the fairy lights as we found them
0:26:03 > 0:26:05in the unit that was posting them out...
0:26:06 > 0:26:08This is how he received them, apparently.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11If we open one up, we should...
0:26:14 > 0:26:17..find an example of the fairy lights that were being sent out.
0:26:17 > 0:26:18Brand-new.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24Ian sent the fairy lights to independent test house TUV,
0:26:24 > 0:26:27where expert Richard Poate carried out some safety checks.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30He was very concerned by his findings.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32I can put my finger on here.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35If I did this for real and this was plugged in,
0:26:35 > 0:26:38I would be having a serious mains electric shock right now.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41This electrocution risk could only mean one thing
0:26:41 > 0:26:44for the safety markings on the fairy lights.
0:26:44 > 0:26:50Symbols that are moulded into it are obviously intended to fool
0:26:50 > 0:26:55the authorities and consumers into believing that this item has been
0:26:55 > 0:26:59properly tested and complies with the European safety standards.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01But it isn't the case.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03The markings are fake.
0:27:03 > 0:27:07Fake safety markings but very real safety risks,
0:27:07 > 0:27:10as Trading Standards discovered when they examined
0:27:10 > 0:27:13a load of faulty lights returned by disgruntled customers.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19Consumers have returned items that have clearly either melted,
0:27:19 > 0:27:23got hot or in some instances, clearly appear to have been on fire.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26On this one, the mains lead,
0:27:26 > 0:27:30the insulation of the wire along the mains lead appears to have melted,
0:27:30 > 0:27:34indicating that it has obviously been subject to a fair bit of heat.
0:27:34 > 0:27:40And the melting of the insulation also raises the possibility
0:27:40 > 0:27:44that a live wire could be exposed to a consumer as well.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48Ian thinks that fake fairy lights like this
0:27:48 > 0:27:50could be putting lives at risk across the country.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54If one of these items did catch fire in somebody's home,
0:27:54 > 0:27:59there is the potential risk that it will cause a fire,
0:27:59 > 0:28:00it could lead to fatalities.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02Back in West Sussex,
0:28:02 > 0:28:05Will Lightburn is realising what a narrow escape he had.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08Luckily, I am quite a strong, healthy chap.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11But you know, if a child had gone and touched it
0:28:11 > 0:28:15or one of my dogs had gone up and sniffed it with a wet nose,
0:28:15 > 0:28:17it might have been a different matter.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25That's all from Fake Britain. Goodbye.