:00:00. > :00:07.Exposure: Islam's Non-Believers is on ITV, tonight at 10.50pm.
:00:08. > :00:09.Time now to get more top tips and consumer advice from Gloria,
:00:10. > :00:15.Angela and Julia in this morning's Rip Off Britain Live.
:00:16. > :00:21.We are getting to the bottom of some of the stories that affect you. We
:00:22. > :00:25.will be looking at the effect technology has had on customer
:00:26. > :00:29.service and looking how aggressive charities are going to be brought
:00:30. > :00:33.into line. And as one big-name company is said, we unpick the
:00:34. > :00:35.fallout from another that was not so lucky. So how safe is your next
:00:36. > :00:54.holiday? When you have to call them, it takes
:00:55. > :00:59.ages, and the person on the phone does not know what your saying. I'm
:01:00. > :01:04.not getting value for money. You have asked us to track down the
:01:05. > :01:09.scammers who stole your money and investigate unfair charges. They do
:01:10. > :01:12.not deserve to be in any kind of business whatsoever, they just want
:01:13. > :01:16.shutting down. And when nobody else is to blame, you have come to us to
:01:17. > :01:21.stop others falling into the same trap. He took the money out of my
:01:22. > :01:27.account and I do not even know who it was that was scamming me. We are
:01:28. > :01:30.here to find out why you are out-of-pocket - and what you can do
:01:31. > :01:34.about it. Your stories, your money. This is Rip Off Britain.
:01:35. > :01:39.Hello and welcome back to Rip Off Britain Live.
:01:40. > :01:42.We really have been pleased as punch to hear from so many
:01:43. > :01:45.of you throughout the week, especially when you tell us just how
:01:46. > :01:47.much you've benefited from the advice you've heard
:01:48. > :01:51.It's our penultimate day of live programmes -
:01:52. > :01:55.which makes us rather sad, as we're having so much fun.
:01:56. > :01:58.But there's still time to tackle plenty of the things you've told
:01:59. > :02:04.So do please keep firing off all your comments and questions!
:02:05. > :02:07.You can email us at RipOffBritain@bbc.co.uk, or look
:02:08. > :02:15.Lots of you have already sent in questions for today's guest,
:02:16. > :02:21.He's got a new role making sure that charities don't go too far
:02:22. > :02:29.We'll hear how he's going to rein them in.
:02:30. > :02:33.The unstoppable rise of the robot - why the loss of that human
:02:34. > :02:35.touch in everyday life really gets your goat.
:02:36. > :02:39.And, he tackles those rogues on a daily basis,
:02:40. > :02:43.but Matt Allwright oozes consumer charm when he gives me his top tips.
:02:44. > :02:49.On top of all that, after we managed to help so many of you yesterday,
:02:50. > :02:54.our drop-in consumer clinic is back with a vengeance.
:02:55. > :02:57.Our pop-up shop veteran Simon Calder will be answering all your holiday
:02:58. > :03:00.And Caroline Wells from the financial ombudsman
:03:01. > :03:07.But first, thousands of customers of travel company
:03:08. > :03:09.Monarch breathed a collective sigh of relief yesterday,
:03:10. > :03:12.when it was announced that it had managed to secure
:03:13. > :03:16.Monarch was able to convince the regulator to renew
:03:17. > :03:18.its Air Travel Operators Licence until next September,
:03:19. > :03:21.meaning thousands of people's travel plans were safeguarded.
:03:22. > :03:23.Unfortunately, there are an awful lot of recent
:03:24. > :03:33.holidaymakers who haven't been so lucky.
:03:34. > :03:40.This summer, more of us than ever took a trip abroad, usually a much
:03:41. > :03:45.anticipated moment which comes after months of planning and saving up.
:03:46. > :03:50.And that was certainly the case for this family from Rochdale. Mum and
:03:51. > :03:53.dad had been determined to make sure that this year's holiday was extra
:03:54. > :04:00.special for their children, Bradley and violet. Normally when we go on
:04:01. > :04:03.holiday, we go camping. We've been camping for the last couple of
:04:04. > :04:08.years. But last year when we went, it was not the best weather. So, the
:04:09. > :04:12.family decided to do their next trip a little differently, I heading for
:04:13. > :04:16.some guaranteed sunshine overseas. It was to be their first family
:04:17. > :04:25.holiday abroad, and they found their perfect destination in Mallorca. The
:04:26. > :04:31.hotel was perfect for what we wanted, right by the beach, a nice,
:04:32. > :04:36.quiet, small hotel, away from all the nightlife, perfect for the kids.
:04:37. > :04:40.They booked a package costing ?1510 for the four of them, which they
:04:41. > :04:45.paid for on their debit card. To us, it is quite a lot of money, so we
:04:46. > :04:50.had to save up. We got the money together to pay for it, and then we
:04:51. > :04:56.had a year to basically save up for spending money whilst we were there.
:04:57. > :04:59.We save as much as we can, the kids have got a team, and they
:05:00. > :05:05.automatically go to it and put it in. That's their holiday money. .
:05:06. > :05:08.And we just save whatever extra money we have. And for one of those
:05:09. > :05:14.children, there was another reason to look forward to the trip. We were
:05:15. > :05:17.due to fly out on the dot at 6.50, and with her never being on a plane
:05:18. > :05:21.before, she was really excited about going to a different country, and
:05:22. > :05:25.she kept telling everybody across her birthday presents to go on
:05:26. > :05:31.holiday. But when they finally set off in the middle of July, things
:05:32. > :05:34.didn't get off to a good start. On landing in Mallorca, their names
:05:35. > :05:37.were not down on the list for a transfer to the hotel. Although the
:05:38. > :05:42.driver did agree to take them, there was more confusion when they
:05:43. > :05:48.arrived. When we went to check in, the manager of the hotel looked a
:05:49. > :05:53.bit as old. He asked if we had the right date. We said we had booked a
:05:54. > :05:58.holiday a year in advance. The hotel staff did give them a temporary room
:05:59. > :06:00.and told them they would sort everything out while the family went
:06:01. > :06:06.out for the day. But on their return, they were in for another
:06:07. > :06:08.shock. It turned out, despite sending a confirmation e-mail, the
:06:09. > :06:14.holiday company had never actually completed the booking. So they would
:06:15. > :06:20.be moving the family to another hotel. We had to pack everything up
:06:21. > :06:24.in the room and put runners up for her birthday, and the balloons and
:06:25. > :06:28.everything, in the room, so we had to take all of that down. Exhausted,
:06:29. > :06:33.and with their daughter's birthday plans scuppered, Daniel and Kelly
:06:34. > :06:37.had no choice but to take a taxi to the new hotel, ready to start the
:06:38. > :06:43.holiday afresh in the morning. We got up on the Friday morning, got
:06:44. > :06:46.the rubber rings that we had bought, and we went on the beach for the
:06:47. > :06:51.day, and the kids absolutely loved it, didn't they? Spent a full day on
:06:52. > :06:55.the beach and they were in the same most of the day, they loved it. We
:06:56. > :06:58.said, we've made it now, we're here, let's just make the most of it.
:06:59. > :07:05.Although it seemed their troubles were behind, in fact they were only
:07:06. > :07:10.just beginning. While they were on the beach, the rest of the world was
:07:11. > :07:16.hearing the news that the Low Cost Holiday Group had gone bust. 130,000
:07:17. > :07:19.people have been affect the after the holiday firm the Low Cost
:07:20. > :07:23.Holiday Group has gone bust... It blamed the financial uncertainty due
:07:24. > :07:28.to the EU referendum... From small beginnings in 2004, Low Cost Holiday
:07:29. > :07:32.Group had come to be one of the biggest names in holiday travel,
:07:33. > :07:40.albeit one that after receiving lots of complaints, we had looked into
:07:41. > :07:44.before. Its collapse not only affected 27,000 customers already
:07:45. > :07:51.abroad but 110,000 others who had booked and paid for holidays still
:07:52. > :07:53.to come. But during that one day on the beach, the family were
:07:54. > :07:57.blissfully unaware of any of this, and it was only when they were
:07:58. > :08:08.turned to their room that Daniel had a call asking him to go to
:08:09. > :08:11.reception. They just had a print of saying that Low Cost had gone into
:08:12. > :08:18.administration, and they told us we have to pay the hotel fee or we have
:08:19. > :08:23.to leave. It was a scene being played out countless times across
:08:24. > :08:26.the globe. Holiday-makers who had long since paid for their trips in
:08:27. > :08:33.full were discovering that their Hotels had not received any payment
:08:34. > :08:36.from Low Cost Holiday Group. So families like there's were being
:08:37. > :08:41.told that if they wanted to stay, they would need to stump up the
:08:42. > :08:51.cash, in this case, 3500 euros. Bear in mind, we only paid ?650 for our
:08:52. > :08:58.initial hotel. The hotel they moved us to because they had made a
:08:59. > :09:03.mistake was ?4000 so it was a big difference! We did not have that
:09:04. > :09:08.sort of money. It was just shocked, I felt sick. I just said to the
:09:09. > :09:13.hotel staff, I said, we can't afford to pay that. We won't be able to get
:09:14. > :09:17.home, we will not be able to fly home because we have only brought
:09:18. > :09:20.cash with us, we don't have credit cards. We'll have to leave tonight,
:09:21. > :09:27.we'll have to leave now, we can't stay another night. So we went back
:09:28. > :09:30.up to the room, again, told my wife and kids that we were going to have
:09:31. > :09:35.to leave, and the kids were devastated, trying. After seeing the
:09:36. > :09:42.family in tears, the hotel took pity on them and agreed not to charge
:09:43. > :09:45.them for their night's stay. In the absence of any assistance from the
:09:46. > :09:49.now-defunct company that they had booked with, it also helped organise
:09:50. > :09:56.transport back to the airport, where the family was forced to head home
:09:57. > :10:00.eight days early. Here at Rip Off Britain, we continue to hear similar
:10:01. > :10:04.stories from others affected by the collapse of Low Cost Holidays. We've
:10:05. > :10:10.just been told the hotel where we are staying, there was no room, and
:10:11. > :10:17.our hotel booking had been cancelled because the hotel had not got paid!
:10:18. > :10:22.Where were we going to stay? I mean, how could you be ripped off so
:10:23. > :10:27.badly, when you've spent so much time saving money for this, and we
:10:28. > :10:31.were really looking forward to a holiday which we both needed. For
:10:32. > :10:35.tens of thousands of suspect and customers, this was a complete bolt
:10:36. > :10:40.out of the blue, especially as just the day before it went under, the
:10:41. > :10:44.company was offering 60% off holidays. Among those unwittingly
:10:45. > :10:49.making a last-minute booking was Sandra from Eastbourne. She had
:10:50. > :10:59.booked a diving holiday to Mexico with her friend Jessica, each of
:11:00. > :11:03.them paying ?3384 for the privilege. They, too, had paid using their
:11:04. > :11:07.debit cards. But less than 24 hours after Sandra had made the booking,
:11:08. > :11:13.Jessica Korda are in a panic. On the Saturday evening, I was getting
:11:14. > :11:16.ready to go out and celebrate my birthday, and Jessica Fullalove
:11:17. > :11:23.about five o'clock in the afternoon, crying her eyes out, and I thought,
:11:24. > :11:27.somebody has died or something. She said, Low Cost Holidays have gone
:11:28. > :11:33.bust. I was standing there on the phone in shock. I said, is this a
:11:34. > :11:37.wind-up? This can't be true! Sandra immediately went online to check her
:11:38. > :11:42.bank account. But Low Cost Holidays had already taken the cash. And
:11:43. > :11:48.there was more bad news to come. After almost ten years of trading
:11:49. > :11:55.from the UK, in 2013, Low Cost Holidays had moved its headquarters
:11:56. > :11:59.to Spain. This meant it no longer offered Atol protected packages. And
:12:00. > :12:03.without Atol protection, Sandra's travel insurance would not cover any
:12:04. > :12:10.of the money that had been lost. When I travelled with Low Cost
:12:11. > :12:16.before, like in 2009, they were with Atol so it did not cross my mind to
:12:17. > :12:19.check them out again. Travelex Burke premises there are things we could
:12:20. > :12:29.all do to make sure that any holiday we book is protected if something
:12:30. > :12:35.goes wrong. -- travel expert Emma. It's really important that you're
:12:36. > :12:38.buying an air package holiday with air and car hire as a package,
:12:39. > :12:42.because only that will be protected. You will not be protected with Atol
:12:43. > :12:47.if you buy something without a flight. Another really good tip is
:12:48. > :12:50.to book with a credit card. If the company goes asked, the credit
:12:51. > :12:53.provider is liable just as much as the provider of the service. And
:12:54. > :12:57.there is also a chargeback service as well which means that you get
:12:58. > :13:02.your provider to ask the retailer's bank to get back your money. What
:13:03. > :13:09.you really, really, really should never do is, don't pay in cash or by
:13:10. > :13:12.bank transfer, on a prepay card, any of those methods are a complete
:13:13. > :13:16.no-no, because you will not have any protection. But that's little
:13:17. > :13:21.protection for those who have already been left out of pocket,
:13:22. > :13:26.with their holidays ruined. How they can do it not only to us but to
:13:27. > :13:32.everyone else. When we found out that it was more than 100,000 people
:13:33. > :13:35.in the same boat, who had paid the money, we were just, what have they
:13:36. > :13:42.done with that money which everybody has paid them? How can someone do
:13:43. > :13:45.that? That is one of the big questions in this case.
:13:46. > :13:49.Well, Paul Evans, the former boss of the Low Cost Holiday Group,
:13:50. > :13:51.tells us he's extremely sorry for what his customers experienced.
:13:52. > :13:54.He says bookings were being taken right up to the last minute
:13:55. > :14:00.because until that point, discussions on selling the company
:14:01. > :14:03.gave a realistic possibility that it would continue to trade.
:14:04. > :14:05.He blames the need for finding a buyer on difficult trading
:14:06. > :14:10.conditions, further impacted by terrorism, Brexit
:14:11. > :14:15.He went on to stress that all passengers in resorts
:14:16. > :14:17.had their return flights home booked and paid for,
:14:18. > :14:20.and the company had placed a bond of over 1 million euros specifically
:14:21. > :14:24.He added that the company had traded for 12 years
:14:25. > :14:26.and taken 12 million people on holiday,
:14:27. > :14:34.but it was overwhelmed by economic circumstances.
:14:35. > :14:38.Well, with me is our travel guru Simon Calder.
:14:39. > :14:44.You are a man in the know, is this something you expected with low-cost
:14:45. > :14:48.holidays? There is always rumours about companies being in
:14:49. > :14:51.difficulties, always will always has been, I had heard rumours but
:14:52. > :14:57.unfortunately, travel accounting is such a dark art, and it all depends
:14:58. > :15:02.when you actually count the money is having arrived and whether you are
:15:03. > :15:09.counting surprises, it is difficult to tell. As this is whom the
:15:10. > :15:13.unfortunate family found out, they had not booked a proper package
:15:14. > :15:18.holiday, if they had done, it would have been very different. Here we
:15:19. > :15:22.are reporting on Monarch continuing their business, if the worst had
:15:23. > :15:27.happened, and its shutdown, a couple of weeks ago that looked like it was
:15:28. > :15:33.possible, people on holiday would be having a very easy time. Going back
:15:34. > :15:37.to the company, Low Cost, were taking money but not paying it to
:15:38. > :15:42.hotels at the other end, is that common practice and is it legal? It
:15:43. > :15:46.is legal, online travel agents, the airline say, pay us the money right
:15:47. > :15:50.now, so you pay the money to the company and they pass it the
:15:51. > :15:55.airline. The hotels can come up with whatever deal they want to. Very
:15:56. > :16:00.sadly, quite often, companies will take people's money in, not pass it
:16:01. > :16:04.on, because it does wonders for your cash flow! You mentioned Monarch and
:16:05. > :16:08.people breathed a huge sigh of relief when they realise that they
:16:09. > :16:11.have been rescued, as it were, at its not been, we would have been in
:16:12. > :16:15.a position today when thousands of people were in the same situation.
:16:16. > :16:19.They would not have been in the same position, anything like that,
:16:20. > :16:25.because every British passenger is covered by Atol whether you are
:16:26. > :16:29.booking flight only, unusually with Monarch and with Monarch capital at
:16:30. > :16:34.the holidays. The Civil Aviation Authority would have organised right
:16:35. > :16:37.times and said to the hotel owners, we are the British government, we
:16:38. > :16:43.will pay, that would have been smoother. If you want gold-plated
:16:44. > :16:47.protection, that is the way to do it, booking a British holiday with
:16:48. > :16:52.Atol-protection. We heard that this was because of Brexit, and concerns
:16:53. > :16:56.over the pound falling, you have had a look at what it is doing today.
:16:57. > :16:59.Not good news. Heading the wrong way, that means if you are going on
:17:00. > :17:06.holiday, your euros and dollars will cost you more. If you are going to
:17:07. > :17:10.Dubai, it is awful, it is as though... I have just come back from
:17:11. > :17:14.Abu Dhabi, actually, and it is as though all of the prices have gone
:17:15. > :17:17.up by one fifth, that is the problem we are facing. We asked in the
:17:18. > :17:22.European Union but down the line, what are the problems we will face
:17:23. > :17:25.with Brexit? We will face issues, I wouldn't say problems, European
:17:26. > :17:30.health insurance card entitles you to treatment in all the other EU
:17:31. > :17:34.countries, clearly, if we are not in the EU, that will no longer apply.
:17:35. > :17:37.We may have a similar deal. Your good old British passport which will
:17:38. > :17:41.get you happily into those countries, without formality, it
:17:42. > :17:45.could be they are looking at a new scheme where we would have to
:17:46. > :17:49.register online and tell the system the plans for travelling to Spain or
:17:50. > :17:54.France or Italy, and quite possibly have to pay for it as well. But that
:17:55. > :17:58.is down the line. At the moment, we are still all right, except we still
:17:59. > :18:01.won't -- we won't have quite so much money in our pockets. Indeed, we are
:18:02. > :18:15.the poor people of Europe. I love Simon, he's always brimming
:18:16. > :18:17.with brilliant advice. Yesterday we told how Amanda Jackson
:18:18. > :18:21.was scammed out of the money to buy her new home,
:18:22. > :18:23.after being tricked into transferring the cash
:18:24. > :18:25.into the fraudster's account, Well quite a few of you sent
:18:26. > :18:30.in the same simple tip to make sure any money transferred ends
:18:31. > :18:32.up in the right place. He says he always sends an initial
:18:33. > :18:36.payment of one pound, then confirms the other party
:18:37. > :18:38.has received it before It not only prevents fraud
:18:39. > :18:42.but protects him if he's made a mistake typing
:18:43. > :18:45.in the right account details. Something else we covered
:18:46. > :18:47.yesterday was the safety
:18:48. > :18:50.of contactless bank cards. John Clarke emailed to say that
:18:51. > :18:52.after watching the piece he got hold
:18:53. > :18:55.of the sort of mobile phone app and was horrified to see it did
:18:56. > :19:00.indeed pick up his card details. He tells us he'll be buying
:19:01. > :19:02.those protective wallets Sheila Tennant says she never
:19:03. > :19:14.misses the programme, not only for the stories, but to see
:19:15. > :19:17.what necklace Gloria is wearing. She asks, "How many
:19:18. > :19:26.does this lady own?" The answer... I would hate to tell
:19:27. > :19:31.you, once I snuff it, we will have a big job sorting through it! I was in
:19:32. > :19:32.Croatia last week, I tell you, jewellery in Croatia is really
:19:33. > :19:42.cheap! Some other recent stories that are
:19:43. > :19:45.prone to quite a response. Lots of you who own pets really loved a
:19:46. > :19:49.great money tip we featured on the programme last month. Sarah from
:19:50. > :19:54.Bristol wrote to us after discovering she could get her cat's
:19:55. > :19:59.asthma medication much cheaper from an ordinary chemist than from the
:20:00. > :20:03.vet. I was very surprised that I could find this medication at a
:20:04. > :20:08.human pharmacy, quite angry at the vet, actually, not sure how they
:20:09. > :20:13.could justify such a mark-up in medication. Sarah still pays the vet
:20:14. > :20:20.?15 for the prescription but by taking it to buy and the
:20:21. > :20:25.prescription at the local chemist, she can save ?20 a time. Looking at
:20:26. > :20:30.the savings I have made, over ten years, I have saved an incredible
:20:31. > :20:34.amount of money and buying courage others to do the same. Some of you
:20:35. > :20:39.when to do that straightaway, including Annette, she e-mailed to
:20:40. > :20:44.say how her labrador's medicine had been costing ?97 a month, but after
:20:45. > :20:47.hearing the advice from Sarah, she discovered she could get it at the
:20:48. > :20:54.high-street chemist for ?12, that is a massive saving. And there has been
:20:55. > :20:59.great news on another story that we featured last month, Paul Scott
:21:00. > :21:03.Bates had taken up an offer to have cavity wall insulation installed in
:21:04. > :21:08.news home, free of charge, to make it more heat efficient. Then, damp
:21:09. > :21:12.began to appear, over time it only got worse. Paul discovered that
:21:13. > :21:19.while the installation was free to put in, taking it out could cost
:21:20. > :21:23.dozens of pounds. To find now that it is causing problems... --
:21:24. > :21:27.thousands of pounds. It is a problem that we cannot afford to have
:21:28. > :21:33.rectified. Karen Easton from Preston is in the same position, now. It
:21:34. > :21:38.worries me that we will have to pay to take it out, if they will not
:21:39. > :21:42.take responsibility, because we are talking thousands of pounds that we
:21:43. > :21:47.do not have. We introduced Paul and Karen to Pauline Saunders, who after
:21:48. > :21:51.experiencing similar problems are self campaigns to help others in the
:21:52. > :21:57.same boat. I can't guarantee anything, obviously, but it will not
:21:58. > :22:01.be through lack of trying. If we don't get justice for them we will
:22:02. > :22:05.try. Sheen courage Paul and Karen to go through the arbitration scheme of
:22:06. > :22:11.the industry body they expect would help, that is still going on. -- she
:22:12. > :22:16.encouraged. After our report went out, the company offered to take a
:22:17. > :22:21.cavity wall insulation out absolutely free, and we were at
:22:22. > :22:25.Paul's house as work got underway. When we were looking into it,
:22:26. > :22:28.several thousand pounds to get it removed, three days of work, for
:22:29. > :22:32.somebody to make that sort of gesture in time and money is very
:22:33. > :22:37.kind. We are looking forward to having it out and being able to get
:22:38. > :22:42.on, it causes a lot of stress. There is a full bag, which we have
:22:43. > :22:46.finished extracting. I would like to thank them... We are grateful for
:22:47. > :22:49.the advice we have been given. It has saved as money and hopefully it
:22:50. > :22:52.is something that is in the past now. Another of our recent
:22:53. > :22:57.programmes highlighted concerns over money raising tactics used by some
:22:58. > :23:01.of Britain's best-known charities. Peter Burrows from Castle Bromwich
:23:02. > :23:04.speaks for many when he says that he is fed up of charities he has
:23:05. > :23:11.already given to writing to asking for more. I find that a bit
:23:12. > :23:16.frustrating, because they are using my money to contact me to try to get
:23:17. > :23:23.more money! That is not the only thing that annoys him. I don't like
:23:24. > :23:27.being contacted by people that I have not contributed to before. I
:23:28. > :23:35.don't like being contacted by people who I think have been sold my
:23:36. > :23:41.address. Concerns over how charities share or trade details were brought
:23:42. > :23:46.into sharp focus in 2015, after lit death of 92-year-old poppy seller
:23:47. > :23:49.Oliver Cook. VOICEOVER: Earlier this month, her body was found in the
:23:50. > :23:53.Avon Gorge, family and friends say that the 92-year-old had a number of
:23:54. > :23:57.worries in the months before she died but she also complained to her
:23:58. > :24:04.local newspaper about the pressure she felt from charities sending her
:24:05. > :24:09.letters asking for money. -- Olive Cooke. After her death, her contact
:24:10. > :24:12.details were found to be on the databases of 99 different charities,
:24:13. > :24:17.she had potentially been sent thousands of mail outs every year.
:24:18. > :24:20.Dame Hilary has worked in the charity sector for 50 years and is
:24:21. > :24:25.disappointing at the way fundraising has changed. Everybody is just
:24:26. > :24:29.concerned with getting the money, squeezing it out of people and
:24:30. > :24:34.indeed bullying them to get the money out of them. It makes for a
:24:35. > :24:37.very unpleasant society. That is an opinion that many of you share.
:24:38. > :24:42.Christopher e-mail to say, the only way he could stop repeated calls
:24:43. > :24:45.from one big charity was by threatening to stop giving
:24:46. > :24:50.altogether. Andreas told us, she gets charities ringing her bell,
:24:51. > :24:57.practically bullying her and shaming her on her own doorstep. -- Andrea.
:24:58. > :24:59.One charity contacted us to say that constant pestering is
:25:00. > :25:01.counter-productive and not in the interest of any charity and it is
:25:02. > :25:11.hard to disagree with that. STUDIO: I'm pleased to be
:25:12. > :25:13.joined now by chairman of the Fundraising Regulator,
:25:14. > :25:15.Lord Michael Grade. Michael, your body has been up
:25:16. > :25:20.and running since July. What other kind of things that
:25:21. > :25:25.people are saying that has upset them? Exactly the kind of problems
:25:26. > :25:29.that you have just shown us from members of the public, that seems to
:25:30. > :25:32.be a common cause for complaint. The great sadness of the case of Olive
:25:33. > :25:37.Cooke, other than the personal tragedy, it did highlight a growing
:25:38. > :25:42.concern, growing bad practice in the charity sector. Is the impression
:25:43. > :25:46.you are getting that people are becoming resistant to giving, or
:25:47. > :25:51.that they feel they are being taken advantage of? We are not quite at
:25:52. > :25:56.that point, but we have got to intervene, to make sure that
:25:57. > :26:01.charities raise funds ethically, and do not invade people's privacy is in
:26:02. > :26:04.ways they do not welcome. We do not want to take for granted the
:26:05. > :26:10.wonderful generosity of the British public. Fabulous givers. They
:26:11. > :26:13.respond wonderfully to causes. We cannot take that for granted and we
:26:14. > :26:19.must not abuse it, that is what we are here to stop. What came out of
:26:20. > :26:24.the film was that people were being invaded somehow, either by phone
:26:25. > :26:27.calls, people knocking on their doors... How do you react when that
:26:28. > :26:34.happens to you? I get very cross indeed. I don't like it. I don't
:26:35. > :26:38.like getting unsolicited texts, I tell them that I am a leading
:26:39. > :26:44.litigation QC! And I'm putting them on notice. I do anything. I never
:26:45. > :26:48.hear from them again. I don't like my doorstep being invaded. The
:26:49. > :26:55.overwhelming majority of people in this country, they are willing to
:26:56. > :27:00.respond to a good cause, causes they identify with, we don't need to be
:27:01. > :27:07.pestered. And harassed. Particularly the vulnerable. Would you say that
:27:08. > :27:11.your organisation has teeth? How much will you be able to do to
:27:12. > :27:14.remedy this? We do have teeth, we can name and shame, all the
:27:15. > :27:20.charities not to do certain things, we can go in and audit and
:27:21. > :27:24.investigate. We can ultimately report them to the charity
:27:25. > :27:29.commission, who have power over all charities in this country.
:27:30. > :27:34.Ultimately, there is the backstop that the government could take over
:27:35. > :27:39.the regulation of charities through a statutory regulator, which is not
:27:40. > :27:44.what anybody wants. It is always there. I am very confident we have
:27:45. > :27:48.the powers to stop people. We are there, properly resourced,
:27:49. > :27:52.independent, we are there to hear the public concerns and take action.
:27:53. > :27:55.I'm sure that is going to be very reassuring to all of the people that
:27:56. > :27:59.feel there are good nature has been taken advantage of. What you have
:28:00. > :28:06.shown in the programme, in a sense I knew about it, there are practices
:28:07. > :28:10.out there which do put at risk the public's generosity and it has got
:28:11. > :28:18.to stop. Thank you very much for joining us.
:28:19. > :28:20.Well we've been talking about problems with
:28:21. > :28:23.but outside at our pop up shop Gloria's with someone who's had
:28:24. > :28:28.That's right, among the many people out here with us this
:28:29. > :28:29.morning are Janice Chisholm from Trading Standards
:28:30. > :28:34.Now it is a bit windy here, so we hope that you can hear us.
:28:35. > :28:37.Now Matita, I understand you came over a bit Miss Marple when one
:28:38. > :28:39.of these plastic bags landed on your doorstep asking
:28:40. > :28:43.you to donate clothes and gadgets in aid of a charity for ex servicemen.
:28:44. > :28:45.I had one delivered, three, actually, on three separate
:28:46. > :28:50.occasions, delivered through my letterbox, in aid of a charity.
:28:51. > :28:54.Asking me to put unwanted clothes, etc, in it. I thought, good, an
:28:55. > :28:58.opportunity to get rid of some stuff. I looked at the bag
:28:59. > :29:08.carefully, it had several spelling mistakes on it. Like what? It said
:29:09. > :29:12."His Royal Higness" and I thought that was a bit of a giveaway!
:29:13. > :29:16.LAUGHTER It had a charity number, it did not
:29:17. > :29:21.add up, it was a fake number. There was a telephone number on the back
:29:22. > :29:30.which did not work... And so I assumed it was a scam, which it
:29:31. > :29:35.turned out to be. Do you hear about this a lot? In terms of crime, it is
:29:36. > :29:39.comparatively low risk for the criminals, so it is the sort of
:29:40. > :29:43.thing that they can actually do and not much chance of them being
:29:44. > :29:45.caught, so we urge the public to be vigilant. What do you do as an
:29:46. > :29:57.organisation? In Islington we have had undercover
:29:58. > :30:02.officers out on the streets, trying to catch people. With results? It is
:30:03. > :30:07.difficult, we cannot be that 24 hours a day, so we are urging the
:30:08. > :30:11.public to help us. And you, what have you done? I got in touch with
:30:12. > :30:14.the police and with the Trading Standards and with the fraud squad.
:30:15. > :30:21.Gosh, that's something to be reckoned with, good for you! Thank
:30:22. > :30:27.you both of you. Back here, I will find Simon Calder again. You should
:30:28. > :30:31.have a coat on or something! Anyway, we have an issue to do with Virgin
:30:32. > :30:35.Trains. Somebody e-mailed us to say that during a visit with his elderly
:30:36. > :30:38.parents, his brother back at home had two cardiac arrests and was
:30:39. > :30:43.taken into intensive care. Obviously, he was desperate to get
:30:44. > :30:46.back, but when he turned up at the station, one of those prepaid ticket
:30:47. > :30:51.things can they would not let him go earlier, which I think was really
:30:52. > :30:55.mean? Most certainly. Now, I think this is really applying the rules
:30:56. > :31:00.too strictly. Of course if you book a ticket of this type, it tells you
:31:01. > :31:04.it is only valid for that train. But of course, train managers are human,
:31:05. > :31:07.and in my experience, if there is a good reason for somebody to travel,
:31:08. > :31:10.like they are very distressed because there is a leanness in the
:31:11. > :31:14.family, of course there has got to be some flexibility. His brother
:31:15. > :31:19.could have died, and I mean, wouldn't you think that in a
:31:20. > :31:24.situation like that, a matter of life and death, that some of the
:31:25. > :31:27.rules could be bent? Most certainly, and there is normally a bit of
:31:28. > :31:34.flexibility. But of course ultimately, the rules are the rules.
:31:35. > :31:37.If everybody just says, no, read what it says, then unfortunately you
:31:38. > :31:40.just have to pay out more money at a time when you are very, very
:31:41. > :31:45.stressed. What do you think yourself? Well, they are being
:31:46. > :31:49.straight down the line, saying, these are the rules. In reality, the
:31:50. > :31:52.people who work on the railways are human and compassionate and normally
:31:53. > :31:56.they would help you out if you're in distress. We contacted Virgin
:31:57. > :31:59.Trains, and we hoped the company might have a change of heart, but
:32:00. > :32:04.they told us that while they sympathise with customers who
:32:05. > :32:08.experience unforeseen changes, it is very important to be consistent in
:32:09. > :32:11.the application of ticket regulations. And buying an advanced
:32:12. > :32:16.ticket at a cheaper price means accepting a lack of flexibility, and
:32:17. > :32:20.Virgin are within their rights to stick to their policy. But we all
:32:21. > :32:26.think that there should be a bit of compassion. I think probably Virgin
:32:27. > :32:31.are quite embarrassed by this. People were not trying it on, they
:32:32. > :32:37.were just in a desperate rush to get home. In one word, would you buy
:32:38. > :32:41.insurance to cover this? No! ?2, and the terms and conditions are
:32:42. > :32:45.terrible! There you go, some great advice!
:32:46. > :32:49.Earlier in the week, we revisited the shocking
:32:50. > :32:52.story of a house that collapsed when the builders started
:32:53. > :32:56.We mentioned a couple of viewers had been in touch offering help.
:32:57. > :32:58.But catching up again with the couple still battling
:32:59. > :33:01.to sort this out, it seems that however well-intentioned,
:33:02. > :33:05.It still appears the best hope of finally getting things resolved
:33:06. > :33:07.is through the various insurance companies involved.
:33:08. > :33:09.Well, we'll be keeping a very close eye on what happens next,
:33:10. > :33:13.as it does feel wrong that they've been left picking up
:33:14. > :33:16.the pieces when the insurance you'd expect would help,
:33:17. > :33:21.from big companies, too, has so far done no such thing.
:33:22. > :33:23.Yesterday we touched briefly on reports that robots
:33:24. > :33:34.While fans of automation claim it's more efficient,
:33:35. > :33:35.lots of you are missing that personal connection
:33:36. > :33:48.One for this, two for that. Everything is moving potentially a
:33:49. > :33:54.bit robotic, which can be quite unfriendly. I always refuse to go to
:33:55. > :34:00.a machine. For me, I find the personal touch better. By the time
:34:01. > :34:09.you get to the third number, I'm a bit like, I just want to speak to a
:34:10. > :34:14.person! If all of that sounds familiar, then this music probably
:34:15. > :34:19.will as well. Vivaldi could never have imagined that his Four Seasons
:34:20. > :34:24.would become so irritating, if it is played countless times when we're
:34:25. > :34:27.stuck. And even when you do get through on the phone, it is unlikely
:34:28. > :34:33.that in the first instance you will speak to a real, live person, a bone
:34:34. > :34:37.of contention which brought some folks to our pop-up shop. I got a
:34:38. > :34:41.pre-recorded voice. You're trying to say what the problem is, and this
:34:42. > :34:46.will voice says, I'm sorry, I did not get that. So they've obviously
:34:47. > :34:52.got a bank of about ten different things that they accept, and after
:34:53. > :34:58.about three attempts, Iceland the phone down and swore, I'm afraid!
:34:59. > :35:01.It's a far cry from when even getting your call connected might
:35:02. > :35:07.actually involve a genuine human voice. I am connecting your call to
:35:08. > :35:11.New York... Up today, all aspects of our lives seem to be moving away
:35:12. > :35:16.from personal interaction. Shopping for groceries has gone from this to
:35:17. > :35:20.this. Most everyday banking can be done via a machine rather than
:35:21. > :35:24.queueing at the counter. And the same is true of everything from
:35:25. > :35:30.borrowing library books to booking train tickets and ordering food.
:35:31. > :35:36.Your nearest walk-in centre is at this hospital... Under new plans, we
:35:37. > :35:42.could be self diagnosing all our smartphones via the NHS website.
:35:43. > :35:49.Technology champion Jeremy is all for such developer is. There is a
:35:50. > :35:53.great amount that can be done faster, and, more reliable, more
:35:54. > :35:58.convenient and allow you to get a lot more done. Furthermore, it's
:35:59. > :36:01.exciting, and it's just on your doorstep, waiting for you to grasp
:36:02. > :36:07.it. It would be a shame if you did not try it. Jeremy worked on recent
:36:08. > :36:12.research which found that by 2020, 30 5% of jobs are likely to involve
:36:13. > :36:19.some element of automation or be completed read-out by technology. --
:36:20. > :36:26.35%. One of the most exciting areas is trifle as taxis. This is a case
:36:27. > :36:30.of if not win. The technology exists today. Secondly, in hospitality, we
:36:31. > :36:35.will have restaurants which might have no waiting staff. You go in at
:36:36. > :36:40.whatever time you like and order what you want and it comes to you on
:36:41. > :36:44.an electronic trade or automated robot service. When you're done, you
:36:45. > :36:48.touch a card to pay. What we're talking about is offering the
:36:49. > :36:52.consumer more choice. And some of you can see the benefits. I think
:36:53. > :36:56.it's great for the days when you've got an agenda, you want to go into
:36:57. > :37:01.the supermarket and pick up a cereal and go straight to the till and pay
:37:02. > :37:07.without anyone asking you, as weird as it sounds, how is your day, love?
:37:08. > :37:11.I don't mind, if you need to get quicker to where you need to be,
:37:12. > :37:15.automated cars in the future, for me, it's a bonus. But for many of
:37:16. > :37:23.you, including this consumer psychologist, the personal touch is
:37:24. > :37:27.still very important. Technology systems which do use language are
:37:28. > :37:32.not very good at recognising all of our language. And certainly cannot
:37:33. > :37:38.recognise important, essential human things like sarcasm and humour or
:37:39. > :37:43.the emotion in our voice or the fact that we sound a bit low to date. And
:37:44. > :37:49.that's a major problem to combat. Consumers need to feel that they
:37:50. > :37:52.are, to earn they can trust the thing that's listening to them. I
:37:53. > :37:57.think some people can feel quite cheated when companies only provide
:37:58. > :38:01.a technological way of interacting, because it says to the consumer
:38:02. > :38:06.that, we don't really care enough to provide a person. And of course,
:38:07. > :38:10.some people cannot use that technology effectively. Which is why
:38:11. > :38:14.the professor believes that we may see some companies doing a U-turn
:38:15. > :38:24.and bringing back people to interact with. I think that overall, we can
:38:25. > :38:28.automation in more places. -- we are going to Seymour automation in more
:38:29. > :38:31.places. But there will be places, and it's happening in the banking
:38:32. > :38:35.industry, that will find value in having people to speak to, because
:38:36. > :38:40.that is what customers really want. I agree with that. If you're
:38:41. > :38:45.frustrated by your customer service experience, technology even provides
:38:46. > :38:47.a way to make that clear. Speak on social media, voice your opinion and
:38:48. > :38:52.give them the opportunity and the space to come back to you. If you do
:38:53. > :38:57.it in the right way, it's very likely to give you the results you
:38:58. > :39:00.need. And if you're still not happy, then I suggest vote with your feet
:39:01. > :39:08.and try and find a company that has humans to interact with. Well, I for
:39:09. > :39:13.one prefers speaking to a real person, it has to be said!
:39:14. > :39:18.Love it or hate it, everyone is talking about Marmite today,
:39:19. > :39:23.Also in the news, claims that we will all face
:39:24. > :39:25.higher bills this winter, with reports that energy suppliers
:39:26. > :39:27.are withdrawing some of their cheapest deals.
:39:28. > :39:29.It's been blamed on rising wholesale costs.
:39:30. > :39:33.And after we talked about the frustrations with
:39:34. > :39:35.voice-recognition technology, a story today of a man who struggled
:39:36. > :39:40.for 11 hours to get his voice-activated kettle
:39:41. > :39:48.It would have taken him seconds just to push the button, why didn't he do
:39:49. > :39:51.that?! On yesterday's show,
:39:52. > :39:52.Naga Munchetty revealed there's nothing she likes
:39:53. > :39:56.less than shopping. Well, today, Matt Allwright goes
:39:57. > :40:07.one better, and admits Nobody chases down those rogues
:40:08. > :40:11.Wighton-like all right. It was an if handful chat during which he stuck
:40:12. > :40:16.his Burrow up my nose. Weather on rogue traders or watchdog come soon
:40:17. > :40:20.to start, by the way, he has been hot on their trail for nearly two
:40:21. > :40:25.decades. Some stories that we deal with on Rogue Traders are all about
:40:26. > :40:29.the money, and that's it. But some of them aren't. But away from the
:40:30. > :40:36.cameras, what type of consumer is Mac? Here I am in your empire. This
:40:37. > :40:43.is where it all happens! I never pay full price. I can't do it. And if
:40:44. > :40:46.something is full price, I just mistrust it. I actually don't really
:40:47. > :40:50.like new things. I will never buy new things if I can avoid it,
:40:51. > :40:54.because I think, if you buy them new, you waiting for them to go
:40:55. > :40:59.wrong, whereas if summary else has had them for a while... This makes
:41:00. > :41:02.me sound terrible cheapskate, but genuinely I'm not comfortable with
:41:03. > :41:05.buying something full price. What do you think is the best way to
:41:06. > :41:08.complain? Without a doubt, the best way to complain is to appeal to
:41:09. > :41:12.somebody's human nature and humanity. If you can tap into that
:41:13. > :41:16.and just say, can you imagine how I'm feeling worried that is a really
:41:17. > :41:21.useful phrase - can you imagine what it is like to be in my position?
:41:22. > :41:24.That is when I find you get the best response from people. Someone used
:41:25. > :41:27.to say to people, there was nothing wrong with my money when I handed it
:41:28. > :41:32.over, but there is something wrong with your product. That's great! I'm
:41:33. > :41:37.going to take that and use it as if it was mine! Thank you! Where do you
:41:38. > :41:43.think you waste money? My bigwig this is guitars. But you see I don't
:41:44. > :41:46.consider it a waste because I think guitars are multifunctional. You can
:41:47. > :41:51.hang them on the wall and they look beautiful, and you can play them,
:41:52. > :41:55.and in the end, you can sell them. What about clothes? Well, you can
:41:56. > :42:00.see for yourself. I was about to say, you haven't spent a fortune!
:42:01. > :42:06.This is how I go to work most days, if I am not in leather. No, I don't
:42:07. > :42:10.spend a lot of money on clothes. I have to say, it's been a revelation.
:42:11. > :42:14.You have this very hard face on the screen. I love it when you bang on
:42:15. > :42:19.those doors. And you're actually a big softy. Listen, if you can
:42:20. > :42:23.recommend me a good plumber, I would love to know! I have met all of the
:42:24. > :42:31.worst ones! But I need one for my house! Thank you very much. Imagine
:42:32. > :42:35.Mac answering the door if you're going to do a job for him!
:42:36. > :42:44.As usual, you've been sending in your questions all morning.
:42:45. > :42:47.Someone is fed up with people knocking at her door after dark.
:42:48. > :42:50.And here to help answer some of those are Simon Calder
:42:51. > :42:58.Laura says, her bag was lost for three days after flying home and
:42:59. > :43:04.when she got it back, it was badly damaged. The airline will not pay
:43:05. > :43:10.for a replacement, so what should she be doing? She is theoretically
:43:11. > :43:14.entitled up to ?1000, but it all depends on the definition of badly
:43:15. > :43:19.damaged. Because the airline say, normal wear and tear, and that can
:43:20. > :43:22.include things like tearing handles off, the wheels coming off the case,
:43:23. > :43:26.part of the normal business of baggage handling, they might say.
:43:27. > :43:32.She could try her travel insurers to see, but of course, the first rule
:43:33. > :43:38.is, don't check in anything you don't want to lose. And this one,
:43:39. > :43:42.from Geoff, he says, I have just had a smart metre fitted, and if I want
:43:43. > :43:46.to change my energy supplier, will it still work? It depends. Smart
:43:47. > :43:51.metres do lots of great things, and you might find that if you switch
:43:52. > :43:55.supplier, you might lose some of the functionality. But check, they have
:43:56. > :43:56.got some good information on their websites. Good luck with that,
:43:57. > :44:02.Geoff, if you're listening! Sorry we don't have time to read out
:44:03. > :44:07.ALL your questions - but we will use them to help us
:44:08. > :44:10.decide what to cover In the meantime, it's our last
:44:11. > :44:14.live show tomorrow - so there's even more
:44:15. > :44:20.incentive to keep sending We'll be investigating mounting
:44:21. > :44:23.concerns over the safety of the tumble dryers that have
:44:24. > :44:27.sparked devastating fires. And we'll find out how instruction
:44:28. > :44:31.manuals suddenly got