Episode 4 Rip Off Britain

Exposure: Islam's Non-Believers is on ITV, tonight at 10.50pm.

Time now to get more top tips and consumer advice from Gloria,

Angela and Julia in this morning's Rip Off Britain Live.

We are getting to the bottom of some of the stories that affect you. We

will be looking at the effect technology has had on customer

service and looking how aggressive charities are going to be brought

into line. And as one big-name company is said, we unpick the

fallout from another that was not so lucky. So how safe is your next

holiday? When you have to call them, it takes

ages, and the person on the phone does not know what your saying. I'm

not getting value for money. You have asked us to track down the

scammers who stole your money and investigate unfair charges. They do

not deserve to be in any kind of business whatsoever, they just want

shutting down. And when nobody else is to blame, you have come to us to

stop others falling into the same trap. He took the money out of my

account and I do not even know who it was that was scamming me. We are

here to find out why you are out-of-pocket - and what you can do

about it. Your stories, your money. This is Rip Off Britain.

Hello and welcome back to Rip Off Britain Live.

We really have been pleased as punch to hear from so many

of you throughout the week, especially when you tell us just how

much you've benefited from the advice you've heard

It's our penultimate day of live programmes -

which makes us rather sad, as we're having so much fun.

But there's still time to tackle plenty of the things you've told

So do please keep firing off all your comments and questions!

You can email us at [email protected], or look

Lots of you have already sent in questions for today's guest,

He's got a new role making sure that charities don't go too far

We'll hear how he's going to rein them in.

The unstoppable rise of the robot - why the loss of that human

touch in everyday life really gets your goat.

And, he tackles those rogues on a daily basis,

but Matt Allwright oozes consumer charm when he gives me his top tips.

On top of all that, after we managed to help so many of you yesterday,

our drop-in consumer clinic is back with a vengeance.

Our pop-up shop veteran Simon Calder will be answering all your holiday

And Caroline Wells from the financial ombudsman

But first, thousands of customers of travel company

Monarch breathed a collective sigh of relief yesterday,

when it was announced that it had managed to secure

Monarch was able to convince the regulator to renew

its Air Travel Operators Licence until next September,

meaning thousands of people's travel plans were safeguarded.

Unfortunately, there are an awful lot of recent

holidaymakers who haven't been so lucky.

This summer, more of us than ever took a trip abroad, usually a much

anticipated moment which comes after months of planning and saving up.

And that was certainly the case for this family from Rochdale. Mum and

dad had been determined to make sure that this year's holiday was extra

special for their children, Bradley and violet. Normally when we go on

holiday, we go camping. We've been camping for the last couple of

years. But last year when we went, it was not the best weather. So, the

family decided to do their next trip a little differently, I heading for

some guaranteed sunshine overseas. It was to be their first family

holiday abroad, and they found their perfect destination in Mallorca. The

hotel was perfect for what we wanted, right by the beach, a nice,

quiet, small hotel, away from all the nightlife, perfect for the kids.

They booked a package costing ?1510 for the four of them, which they

paid for on their debit card. To us, it is quite a lot of money, so we

had to save up. We got the money together to pay for it, and then we

had a year to basically save up for spending money whilst we were there.

We save as much as we can, the kids have got a team, and they

automatically go to it and put it in. That's their holiday money. .

And we just save whatever extra money we have. And for one of those

children, there was another reason to look forward to the trip. We were

due to fly out on the dot at 6.50, and with her never being on a plane

before, she was really excited about going to a different country, and

she kept telling everybody across her birthday presents to go on

holiday. But when they finally set off in the middle of July, things

didn't get off to a good start. On landing in Mallorca, their names

were not down on the list for a transfer to the hotel. Although the

driver did agree to take them, there was more confusion when they

arrived. When we went to check in, the manager of the hotel looked a

bit as old. He asked if we had the right date. We said we had booked a

holiday a year in advance. The hotel staff did give them a temporary room

and told them they would sort everything out while the family went

out for the day. But on their return, they were in for another

shock. It turned out, despite sending a confirmation e-mail, the

holiday company had never actually completed the booking. So they would

be moving the family to another hotel. We had to pack everything up

in the room and put runners up for her birthday, and the balloons and

everything, in the room, so we had to take all of that down. Exhausted,

and with their daughter's birthday plans scuppered, Daniel and Kelly

had no choice but to take a taxi to the new hotel, ready to start the

holiday afresh in the morning. We got up on the Friday morning, got

the rubber rings that we had bought, and we went on the beach for the

day, and the kids absolutely loved it, didn't they? Spent a full day on

the beach and they were in the same most of the day, they loved it. We

said, we've made it now, we're here, let's just make the most of it.

Although it seemed their troubles were behind, in fact they were only

just beginning. While they were on the beach, the rest of the world was

hearing the news that the Low Cost Holiday Group had gone bust. 130,000

people have been affect the after the holiday firm the Low Cost

Holiday Group has gone bust... It blamed the financial uncertainty due

to the EU referendum... From small beginnings in 2004, Low Cost Holiday

Group had come to be one of the biggest names in holiday travel,

albeit one that after receiving lots of complaints, we had looked into

before. Its collapse not only affected 27,000 customers already

abroad but 110,000 others who had booked and paid for holidays still

to come. But during that one day on the beach, the family were

blissfully unaware of any of this, and it was only when they were

turned to their room that Daniel had a call asking him to go to

reception. They just had a print of saying that Low Cost had gone into

administration, and they told us we have to pay the hotel fee or we have

to leave. It was a scene being played out countless times across

the globe. Holiday-makers who had long since paid for their trips in

full were discovering that their Hotels had not received any payment

from Low Cost Holiday Group. So families like there's were being

told that if they wanted to stay, they would need to stump up the

cash, in this case, 3500 euros. Bear in mind, we only paid ?650 for our

initial hotel. The hotel they moved us to because they had made a

mistake was ?4000 so it was a big difference! We did not have that

sort of money. It was just shocked, I felt sick. I just said to the

hotel staff, I said, we can't afford to pay that. We won't be able to get

home, we will not be able to fly home because we have only brought

cash with us, we don't have credit cards. We'll have to leave tonight,

we'll have to leave now, we can't stay another night. So we went back

up to the room, again, told my wife and kids that we were going to have

to leave, and the kids were devastated, trying. After seeing the

family in tears, the hotel took pity on them and agreed not to charge

them for their night's stay. In the absence of any assistance from the

now-defunct company that they had booked with, it also helped organise

transport back to the airport, where the family was forced to head home

eight days early. Here at Rip Off Britain, we continue to hear similar

stories from others affected by the collapse of Low Cost Holidays. We've

just been told the hotel where we are staying, there was no room, and

our hotel booking had been cancelled because the hotel had not got paid!

Where were we going to stay? I mean, how could you be ripped off so

badly, when you've spent so much time saving money for this, and we

were really looking forward to a holiday which we both needed. For

tens of thousands of suspect and customers, this was a complete bolt

out of the blue, especially as just the day before it went under, the

company was offering 60% off holidays. Among those unwittingly

making a last-minute booking was Sandra from Eastbourne. She had

booked a diving holiday to Mexico with her friend Jessica, each of

them paying ?3384 for the privilege. They, too, had paid using their

debit cards. But less than 24 hours after Sandra had made the booking,

Jessica Korda are in a panic. On the Saturday evening, I was getting

ready to go out and celebrate my birthday, and Jessica Fullalove

about five o'clock in the afternoon, crying her eyes out, and I thought,

somebody has died or something. She said, Low Cost Holidays have gone

bust. I was standing there on the phone in shock. I said, is this a

wind-up? This can't be true! Sandra immediately went online to check her

bank account. But Low Cost Holidays had already taken the cash. And

there was more bad news to come. After almost ten years of trading

from the UK, in 2013, Low Cost Holidays had moved its headquarters

to Spain. This meant it no longer offered Atol protected packages. And

without Atol protection, Sandra's travel insurance would not cover any

of the money that had been lost. When I travelled with Low Cost

before, like in 2009, they were with Atol so it did not cross my mind to

check them out again. Travelex Burke premises there are things we could

all do to make sure that any holiday we book is protected if something

goes wrong. -- travel expert Emma. It's really important that you're

buying an air package holiday with air and car hire as a package,

because only that will be protected. You will not be protected with Atol

if you buy something without a flight. Another really good tip is

to book with a credit card. If the company goes asked, the credit

provider is liable just as much as the provider of the service. And

there is also a chargeback service as well which means that you get

your provider to ask the retailer's bank to get back your money. What

you really, really, really should never do is, don't pay in cash or by

bank transfer, on a prepay card, any of those methods are a complete

no-no, because you will not have any protection. But that's little

protection for those who have already been left out of pocket,

with their holidays ruined. How they can do it not only to us but to

everyone else. When we found out that it was more than 100,000 people

in the same boat, who had paid the money, we were just, what have they

done with that money which everybody has paid them? How can someone do

that? That is one of the big questions in this case.

Well, Paul Evans, the former boss of the Low Cost Holiday Group,

tells us he's extremely sorry for what his customers experienced.

He says bookings were being taken right up to the last minute

because until that point, discussions on selling the company

gave a realistic possibility that it would continue to trade.

He blames the need for finding a buyer on difficult trading

conditions, further impacted by terrorism, Brexit

He went on to stress that all passengers in resorts

had their return flights home booked and paid for,

and the company had placed a bond of over 1 million euros specifically

He added that the company had traded for 12 years

and taken 12 million people on holiday,

but it was overwhelmed by economic circumstances.

Well, with me is our travel guru Simon Calder.

You are a man in the know, is this something you expected with low-cost

holidays? There is always rumours about companies being in

difficulties, always will always has been, I had heard rumours but

unfortunately, travel accounting is such a dark art, and it all depends

when you actually count the money is having arrived and whether you are

counting surprises, it is difficult to tell. As this is whom the

unfortunate family found out, they had not booked a proper package

holiday, if they had done, it would have been very different. Here we

are reporting on Monarch continuing their business, if the worst had

happened, and its shutdown, a couple of weeks ago that looked like it was

possible, people on holiday would be having a very easy time. Going back

to the company, Low Cost, were taking money but not paying it to

hotels at the other end, is that common practice and is it legal? It

is legal, online travel agents, the airline say, pay us the money right

now, so you pay the money to the company and they pass it the

airline. The hotels can come up with whatever deal they want to. Very

sadly, quite often, companies will take people's money in, not pass it

on, because it does wonders for your cash flow! You mentioned Monarch and

people breathed a huge sigh of relief when they realise that they

have been rescued, as it were, at its not been, we would have been in

a position today when thousands of people were in the same situation.

They would not have been in the same position, anything like that,

because every British passenger is covered by Atol whether you are

booking flight only, unusually with Monarch and with Monarch capital at

the holidays. The Civil Aviation Authority would have organised right

times and said to the hotel owners, we are the British government, we

will pay, that would have been smoother. If you want gold-plated

protection, that is the way to do it, booking a British holiday with

Atol-protection. We heard that this was because of Brexit, and concerns

over the pound falling, you have had a look at what it is doing today.

Not good news. Heading the wrong way, that means if you are going on

holiday, your euros and dollars will cost you more. If you are going to

Dubai, it is awful, it is as though... I have just come back from

Abu Dhabi, actually, and it is as though all of the prices have gone

up by one fifth, that is the problem we are facing. We asked in the

European Union but down the line, what are the problems we will face

with Brexit? We will face issues, I wouldn't say problems, European

health insurance card entitles you to treatment in all the other EU

countries, clearly, if we are not in the EU, that will no longer apply.

We may have a similar deal. Your good old British passport which will

get you happily into those countries, without formality, it

could be they are looking at a new scheme where we would have to

register online and tell the system the plans for travelling to Spain or

France or Italy, and quite possibly have to pay for it as well. But that

is down the line. At the moment, we are still all right, except we still

won't -- we won't have quite so much money in our pockets. Indeed, we are

the poor people of Europe. I love Simon, he's always brimming

with brilliant advice. Yesterday we told how Amanda Jackson

was scammed out of the money to buy her new home,

after being tricked into transferring the cash

into the fraudster's account, Well quite a few of you sent

in the same simple tip to make sure any money transferred ends

up in the right place. He says he always sends an initial

payment of one pound, then confirms the other party

has received it before It not only prevents fraud

but protects him if he's made a mistake typing

in the right account details. Something else we covered

yesterday was the safety

of contactless bank cards. John Clarke emailed to say that

after watching the piece he got hold

of the sort of mobile phone app and was horrified to see it did

indeed pick up his card details. He tells us he'll be buying

those protective wallets Sheila Tennant says she never

misses the programme, not only for the stories, but to see

what necklace Gloria is wearing. She asks, "How many

does this lady own?" The answer... I would hate to tell

you, once I snuff it, we will have a big job sorting through it! I was in

Croatia last week, I tell you, jewellery in Croatia is really

cheap! Some other recent stories that are

prone to quite a response. Lots of you who own pets really loved a

great money tip we featured on the programme last month. Sarah from

Bristol wrote to us after discovering she could get her cat's

asthma medication much cheaper from an ordinary chemist than from the

vet. I was very surprised that I could find this medication at a

human pharmacy, quite angry at the vet, actually, not sure how they

could justify such a mark-up in medication. Sarah still pays the vet

?15 for the prescription but by taking it to buy and the

prescription at the local chemist, she can save ?20 a time. Looking at

the savings I have made, over ten years, I have saved an incredible

amount of money and buying courage others to do the same. Some of you

when to do that straightaway, including Annette, she e-mailed to

say how her labrador's medicine had been costing ?97 a month, but after

hearing the advice from Sarah, she discovered she could get it at the

high-street chemist for ?12, that is a massive saving. And there has been

great news on another story that we featured last month, Paul Scott

Bates had taken up an offer to have cavity wall insulation installed in

news home, free of charge, to make it more heat efficient. Then, damp

began to appear, over time it only got worse. Paul discovered that

while the installation was free to put in, taking it out could cost

dozens of pounds. To find now that it is causing problems... --

thousands of pounds. It is a problem that we cannot afford to have

rectified. Karen Easton from Preston is in the same position, now. It

worries me that we will have to pay to take it out, if they will not

take responsibility, because we are talking thousands of pounds that we

do not have. We introduced Paul and Karen to Pauline Saunders, who after

experiencing similar problems are self campaigns to help others in the

same boat. I can't guarantee anything, obviously, but it will not

be through lack of trying. If we don't get justice for them we will

try. Sheen courage Paul and Karen to go through the arbitration scheme of

the industry body they expect would help, that is still going on. -- she

encouraged. After our report went out, the company offered to take a

cavity wall insulation out absolutely free, and we were at

Paul's house as work got underway. When we were looking into it,

several thousand pounds to get it removed, three days of work, for

somebody to make that sort of gesture in time and money is very

kind. We are looking forward to having it out and being able to get

on, it causes a lot of stress. There is a full bag, which we have

finished extracting. I would like to thank them... We are grateful for

the advice we have been given. It has saved as money and hopefully it

is something that is in the past now. Another of our recent

programmes highlighted concerns over money raising tactics used by some

of Britain's best-known charities. Peter Burrows from Castle Bromwich

speaks for many when he says that he is fed up of charities he has

already given to writing to asking for more. I find that a bit

frustrating, because they are using my money to contact me to try to get

more money! That is not the only thing that annoys him. I don't like

being contacted by people that I have not contributed to before. I

don't like being contacted by people who I think have been sold my

address. Concerns over how charities share or trade details were brought

into sharp focus in 2015, after lit death of 92-year-old poppy seller

Oliver Cook. VOICEOVER: Earlier this month, her body was found in the

Avon Gorge, family and friends say that the 92-year-old had a number of

worries in the months before she died but she also complained to her

local newspaper about the pressure she felt from charities sending her

letters asking for money. -- Olive Cooke. After her death, her contact

details were found to be on the databases of 99 different charities,

she had potentially been sent thousands of mail outs every year.

Dame Hilary has worked in the charity sector for 50 years and is

disappointing at the way fundraising has changed. Everybody is just

concerned with getting the money, squeezing it out of people and

indeed bullying them to get the money out of them. It makes for a

very unpleasant society. That is an opinion that many of you share.

Christopher e-mail to say, the only way he could stop repeated calls

from one big charity was by threatening to stop giving

altogether. Andreas told us, she gets charities ringing her bell,

practically bullying her and shaming her on her own doorstep. -- Andrea.

One charity contacted us to say that constant pestering is

counter-productive and not in the interest of any charity and it is

hard to disagree with that. STUDIO: I'm pleased to be

joined now by chairman of the Fundraising Regulator,

Lord Michael Grade. Michael, your body has been up

and running since July. What other kind of things that

people are saying that has upset them? Exactly the kind of problems

that you have just shown us from members of the public, that seems to

be a common cause for complaint. The great sadness of the case of Olive

Cooke, other than the personal tragedy, it did highlight a growing

concern, growing bad practice in the charity sector. Is the impression

you are getting that people are becoming resistant to giving, or

that they feel they are being taken advantage of? We are not quite at

that point, but we have got to intervene, to make sure that

charities raise funds ethically, and do not invade people's privacy is in

ways they do not welcome. We do not want to take for granted the

wonderful generosity of the British public. Fabulous givers. They

respond wonderfully to causes. We cannot take that for granted and we

must not abuse it, that is what we are here to stop. What came out of

the film was that people were being invaded somehow, either by phone

calls, people knocking on their doors... How do you react when that

happens to you? I get very cross indeed. I don't like it. I don't

like getting unsolicited texts, I tell them that I am a leading

litigation QC! And I'm putting them on notice. I do anything. I never

hear from them again. I don't like my doorstep being invaded. The

overwhelming majority of people in this country, they are willing to

respond to a good cause, causes they identify with, we don't need to be

pestered. And harassed. Particularly the vulnerable. Would you say that

your organisation has teeth? How much will you be able to do to

remedy this? We do have teeth, we can name and shame, all the

charities not to do certain things, we can go in and audit and

investigate. We can ultimately report them to the charity

commission, who have power over all charities in this country.

Ultimately, there is the backstop that the government could take over

the regulation of charities through a statutory regulator, which is not

what anybody wants. It is always there. I am very confident we have

the powers to stop people. We are there, properly resourced,

independent, we are there to hear the public concerns and take action.

I'm sure that is going to be very reassuring to all of the people that

feel there are good nature has been taken advantage of. What you have

shown in the programme, in a sense I knew about it, there are practices

out there which do put at risk the public's generosity and it has got

to stop. Thank you very much for joining us.

Well we've been talking about problems with

but outside at our pop up shop Gloria's with someone who's had

That's right, among the many people out here with us this

morning are Janice Chisholm from Trading Standards

Now it is a bit windy here, so we hope that you can hear us.

Now Matita, I understand you came over a bit Miss Marple when one

of these plastic bags landed on your doorstep asking

you to donate clothes and gadgets in aid of a charity for ex servicemen.

I had one delivered, three, actually, on three separate

occasions, delivered through my letterbox, in aid of a charity.

Asking me to put unwanted clothes, etc, in it. I thought, good, an

opportunity to get rid of some stuff. I looked at the bag

carefully, it had several spelling mistakes on it. Like what? It said

"His Royal Higness" and I thought that was a bit of a giveaway!

LAUGHTER It had a charity number, it did not

add up, it was a fake number. There was a telephone number on the back

which did not work... And so I assumed it was a scam, which it

turned out to be. Do you hear about this a lot? In terms of crime, it is

comparatively low risk for the criminals, so it is the sort of

thing that they can actually do and not much chance of them being

caught, so we urge the public to be vigilant. What do you do as an

organisation? In Islington we have had undercover

officers out on the streets, trying to catch people. With results? It is

difficult, we cannot be that 24 hours a day, so we are urging the

public to help us. And you, what have you done? I got in touch with

the police and with the Trading Standards and with the fraud squad.

Gosh, that's something to be reckoned with, good for you! Thank

you both of you. Back here, I will find Simon Calder again. You should

have a coat on or something! Anyway, we have an issue to do with Virgin

Trains. Somebody e-mailed us to say that during a visit with his elderly

parents, his brother back at home had two cardiac arrests and was

taken into intensive care. Obviously, he was desperate to get

back, but when he turned up at the station, one of those prepaid ticket

things can they would not let him go earlier, which I think was really

mean? Most certainly. Now, I think this is really applying the rules

too strictly. Of course if you book a ticket of this type, it tells you

it is only valid for that train. But of course, train managers are human,

and in my experience, if there is a good reason for somebody to travel,

like they are very distressed because there is a leanness in the

family, of course there has got to be some flexibility. His brother

could have died, and I mean, wouldn't you think that in a

situation like that, a matter of life and death, that some of the

rules could be bent? Most certainly, and there is normally a bit of

flexibility. But of course ultimately, the rules are the rules.

If everybody just says, no, read what it says, then unfortunately you

just have to pay out more money at a time when you are very, very

stressed. What do you think yourself? Well, they are being

straight down the line, saying, these are the rules. In reality, the

people who work on the railways are human and compassionate and normally

they would help you out if you're in distress. We contacted Virgin

Trains, and we hoped the company might have a change of heart, but

they told us that while they sympathise with customers who

experience unforeseen changes, it is very important to be consistent in

the application of ticket regulations. And buying an advanced

ticket at a cheaper price means accepting a lack of flexibility, and

Virgin are within their rights to stick to their policy. But we all

think that there should be a bit of compassion. I think probably Virgin

are quite embarrassed by this. People were not trying it on, they

were just in a desperate rush to get home. In one word, would you buy

insurance to cover this? No! ?2, and the terms and conditions are

terrible! There you go, some great advice!

Earlier in the week, we revisited the shocking

story of a house that collapsed when the builders started

We mentioned a couple of viewers had been in touch offering help.

But catching up again with the couple still battling

to sort this out, it seems that however well-intentioned,

It still appears the best hope of finally getting things resolved

is through the various insurance companies involved.

Well, we'll be keeping a very close eye on what happens next,

as it does feel wrong that they've been left picking up

the pieces when the insurance you'd expect would help,

from big companies, too, has so far done no such thing.

Yesterday we touched briefly on reports that robots

While fans of automation claim it's more efficient,

lots of you are missing that personal connection

One for this, two for that. Everything is moving potentially a

bit robotic, which can be quite unfriendly. I always refuse to go to

a machine. For me, I find the personal touch better. By the time

you get to the third number, I'm a bit like, I just want to speak to a

person! If all of that sounds familiar, then this music probably

will as well. Vivaldi could never have imagined that his Four Seasons

would become so irritating, if it is played countless times when we're

stuck. And even when you do get through on the phone, it is unlikely

that in the first instance you will speak to a real, live person, a bone

of contention which brought some folks to our pop-up shop. I got a

pre-recorded voice. You're trying to say what the problem is, and this

will voice says, I'm sorry, I did not get that. So they've obviously

got a bank of about ten different things that they accept, and after

about three attempts, Iceland the phone down and swore, I'm afraid!

It's a far cry from when even getting your call connected might

actually involve a genuine human voice. I am connecting your call to

New York... Up today, all aspects of our lives seem to be moving away

from personal interaction. Shopping for groceries has gone from this to

this. Most everyday banking can be done via a machine rather than

queueing at the counter. And the same is true of everything from

borrowing library books to booking train tickets and ordering food.

Your nearest walk-in centre is at this hospital... Under new plans, we

could be self diagnosing all our smartphones via the NHS website.

Technology champion Jeremy is all for such developer is. There is a

great amount that can be done faster, and, more reliable, more

convenient and allow you to get a lot more done. Furthermore, it's

exciting, and it's just on your doorstep, waiting for you to grasp

it. It would be a shame if you did not try it. Jeremy worked on recent

research which found that by 2020, 30 5% of jobs are likely to involve

some element of automation or be completed read-out by technology. --

35%. One of the most exciting areas is trifle as taxis. This is a case

of if not win. The technology exists today. Secondly, in hospitality, we

will have restaurants which might have no waiting staff. You go in at

whatever time you like and order what you want and it comes to you on

an electronic trade or automated robot service. When you're done, you

touch a card to pay. What we're talking about is offering the

consumer more choice. And some of you can see the benefits. I think

it's great for the days when you've got an agenda, you want to go into

the supermarket and pick up a cereal and go straight to the till and pay

without anyone asking you, as weird as it sounds, how is your day, love?

I don't mind, if you need to get quicker to where you need to be,

automated cars in the future, for me, it's a bonus. But for many of

you, including this consumer psychologist, the personal touch is

still very important. Technology systems which do use language are

not very good at recognising all of our language. And certainly cannot

recognise important, essential human things like sarcasm and humour or

the emotion in our voice or the fact that we sound a bit low to date. And

that's a major problem to combat. Consumers need to feel that they

are, to earn they can trust the thing that's listening to them. I

think some people can feel quite cheated when companies only provide

a technological way of interacting, because it says to the consumer

that, we don't really care enough to provide a person. And of course,

some people cannot use that technology effectively. Which is why

the professor believes that we may see some companies doing a U-turn

and bringing back people to interact with. I think that overall, we can

automation in more places. -- we are going to Seymour automation in more

places. But there will be places, and it's happening in the banking

industry, that will find value in having people to speak to, because

that is what customers really want. I agree with that. If you're

frustrated by your customer service experience, technology even provides

a way to make that clear. Speak on social media, voice your opinion and

give them the opportunity and the space to come back to you. If you do

it in the right way, it's very likely to give you the results you

need. And if you're still not happy, then I suggest vote with your feet

and try and find a company that has humans to interact with. Well, I for

one prefers speaking to a real person, it has to be said!

Love it or hate it, everyone is talking about Marmite today,

Also in the news, claims that we will all face

higher bills this winter, with reports that energy suppliers

are withdrawing some of their cheapest deals.

It's been blamed on rising wholesale costs.

And after we talked about the frustrations with

voice-recognition technology, a story today of a man who struggled

for 11 hours to get his voice-activated kettle

It would have taken him seconds just to push the button, why didn't he do

that?! On yesterday's show,

Naga Munchetty revealed there's nothing she likes

less than shopping. Well, today, Matt Allwright goes

one better, and admits Nobody chases down those rogues

Wighton-like all right. It was an if handful chat during which he stuck

his Burrow up my nose. Weather on rogue traders or watchdog come soon

to start, by the way, he has been hot on their trail for nearly two

decades. Some stories that we deal with on Rogue Traders are all about

the money, and that's it. But some of them aren't. But away from the

cameras, what type of consumer is Mac? Here I am in your empire. This

is where it all happens! I never pay full price. I can't do it. And if

something is full price, I just mistrust it. I actually don't really

like new things. I will never buy new things if I can avoid it,

because I think, if you buy them new, you waiting for them to go

wrong, whereas if summary else has had them for a while... This makes

me sound terrible cheapskate, but genuinely I'm not comfortable with

buying something full price. What do you think is the best way to

complain? Without a doubt, the best way to complain is to appeal to

somebody's human nature and humanity. If you can tap into that

and just say, can you imagine how I'm feeling worried that is a really

useful phrase - can you imagine what it is like to be in my position?

That is when I find you get the best response from people. Someone used

to say to people, there was nothing wrong with my money when I handed it

over, but there is something wrong with your product. That's great! I'm

going to take that and use it as if it was mine! Thank you! Where do you

think you waste money? My bigwig this is guitars. But you see I don't

consider it a waste because I think guitars are multifunctional. You can

hang them on the wall and they look beautiful, and you can play them,

and in the end, you can sell them. What about clothes? Well, you can

see for yourself. I was about to say, you haven't spent a fortune!

This is how I go to work most days, if I am not in leather. No, I don't

spend a lot of money on clothes. I have to say, it's been a revelation.

You have this very hard face on the screen. I love it when you bang on

those doors. And you're actually a big softy. Listen, if you can

recommend me a good plumber, I would love to know! I have met all of the

worst ones! But I need one for my house! Thank you very much. Imagine

Mac answering the door if you're going to do a job for him!

As usual, you've been sending in your questions all morning.

Someone is fed up with people knocking at her door after dark.

And here to help answer some of those are Simon Calder

Laura says, her bag was lost for three days after flying home and

when she got it back, it was badly damaged. The airline will not pay

for a replacement, so what should she be doing? She is theoretically

entitled up to ?1000, but it all depends on the definition of badly

damaged. Because the airline say, normal wear and tear, and that can

include things like tearing handles off, the wheels coming off the case,

part of the normal business of baggage handling, they might say.

She could try her travel insurers to see, but of course, the first rule

is, don't check in anything you don't want to lose. And this one,

from Geoff, he says, I have just had a smart metre fitted, and if I want

to change my energy supplier, will it still work? It depends. Smart

metres do lots of great things, and you might find that if you switch

supplier, you might lose some of the functionality. But check, they have

got some good information on their websites. Good luck with that,

Geoff, if you're listening! Sorry we don't have time to read out

ALL your questions - but we will use them to help us

decide what to cover In the meantime, it's our last

live show tomorrow - so there's even more

incentive to keep sending We'll be investigating mounting

concerns over the safety of the tumble dryers that have

sparked devastating fires. And we'll find out how instruction

manuals suddenly got