Episode 1 Rip Off Britain

But now on BBC One, back with a new series

of consumer investigations, it's over to Gloria, Angela

And welcome to the start of one of our very special weeks of live

Today, we'll be looking at two big stories in the news.

One of them that global cyber attack.

And the other, the companies charging up to ?23.97 a minute

Well, we've got their number all right.

And what's being done to keep those costs down?

We asked you to tell us what has left you feeling ripped off and you

have contacted us in your thousands. You told us about companies you

think get it wrong and the customer service that is not up to scratch.

We are all just numbers at the end of the day. Profit comes before

anything else and that's all that matters. You have asked us to track

down scammers who stole your money and investigate extra charges you

say are unfair. Why can't they give you the price it should be. They try

and charge as much as you can. When you have lost out but no one is to

blame you come to us to stop others falling into the same trap. When it

comes to customer services, it's dreadful. Whether it's a rip-off or

a genuine mistake 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. Good morning and many thanks

for joining us on one of the weeks of Rip Off Britain that,

I must say, we all love the best. And that's because being live we can

get your comments right away on the stories that matter

most to you. As ever, our team of

experts is standing You can e-mail us at

[email protected]. Well, I'm sure you'll have plenty

to say on that directory inquiries And indeed on the other topics we've

been looking into on your behalf. We'll be unpicking a new scam that

any one of us could be fooled by. Just wait until you see

what the fraudsters And with the news over the weekend

dominated by that huge cyber attack on the NHS,

we've advice on what to do We've also been testing out wi-fi

on the go after a disgruntled train traveller told us he's fed up

of paying a fiver a pop for a service that, he says,

just isn't reliable. All that, plus consumer champion

Dominic Littlewood tells us why And outside we'll be

opening our pop-up advice clinic where our experts will be tackling

some of your problems. I'm not sure what the collective

word for a group of experts is, so I'll just say we've a whole bunch

of them out there today and they're going to be answering some

of your questions later First, though one of two big stories

we're looking at today that are very much in the news,

the rising cost of those And it's not just us who think

the charges are getting out of hand. ?5. 61 for a 20-second call.

?103 for a 27-minute call that the person making it had agreed to have

connected. You have sent us a steady stream of

complaints about the cost of a call to directory inquiry services. But

in recent months some of the prices involved have spiralled and gone far

beyond what many would consider a reasonable charge for finding out a

phone number. What a great day today. It is. In Southport Mike is

great friends with his father-in-law Ron. Last October 88-year-old Ron

received an unusually high phone bill he turned to Mike for help. You

are younger than me. You are more experienced. He had been charged ?68

for an 18-membership call to the directory inquiries number, a call

he couldn't remember making. When I first saw the bill I was shocked. I

couldn't believe it. I was very worried. Got upset about it and I

rang Mike. It turned out that that what had happened to Ron was

something that's caught out a lot of people. He had been trying to call

the local hospital but after misdialing one digit he got a

recorded message suggesting he call a 118 service for the number he

really wanted. So Ron had done just that, not appreciating that when he

then agreed to have his call put through to the hospital the entire

cost of his chat would be charged at a directory inquiries rate, in this

case, ?10. 47 for the first minute and then ?3. 49 for every minute

thereafter. Ron had called the 118 number

without realising he was ringing a directory inquiry number. He didn't

know. I think the charges are unbelievably bad. How can anybody

possibly justify ?6 a minute or thereabouts for a call to anything?

I wouldn't pay that if I was ringing Australia. I think people like Ron

here are very vulnerable to this sort of thing, older people who are

used to people behaving more honestly than people sometimes do

nowadays. They're almost too trusting.

And, for Mike, the point isn't so much how Ron ended up using this

particular service, but the amount it ended up costing. Basically,

these people should not be allowed to get away with charging these

amounts. Regulation should be in force to specify a maximum charge

per minute. Vulnerable people are being hit with ridiculous charges

which they can ill-afford to pay and there's no way out of it.

The company behind the 118820 number has been criticised for its pricing

before. Back in 2014 it was fined ?60,000 for several breaches of the

regulator's code, including fair treatment of customers, and the

prominence of price information. The company is now dissolved and

when we contacted its former director he declined to comment.

But of course it's not just one directory inquiries number that has

had high prices. And that's something about which Martin James,

who works for the complaints website Resolver, has real concerns. He is

particularly worried when he hearse stories like Ron's. A lot of the

complaints we see at Resolve are in relaelgs to misdials where one

number can result in you being directed through to a premium rates

line. These businesses must let you know before they connect you or when

you call through to them what your potential charges might be or the

fact they could be quite high but the fact that people are still using

them suggests that those warnings simply can't clear enough. So how

have we got into this position? You may remember the days when to call

directory inquiries all you had to do was ring 192. That number was

operated by BT initially for free. Then later at a fixed price of 40p a

call. In 2002 the regulator decided to do away with BT's monopoly

leaving the door open for independent companies to compete for

the market. It was predicted it would drive prices down. In fact,

the opposite has happened. In many ways deregulation was that great

promised land but it didn't deliver very much for many people.

Competition should mean exactly that, competitive prices. We ended

up with was a lot of competition looking at different ways to charge

more money for people. Around 430 companies now offer a directory

inquiries service. Most of them begin with the numbers 118. But the

price you will pay with each of them can vary considerably. The most

expensive charge we found is ?23. 97 for the first minute of a call. As

stoningishly eight different directory inquiries companies are

known to have been charging this. Currently the market is dominated by

two giants which take up around 80% of the business.

The first remains BT. And although the company has more than one way of

searching for a number, it is best known service is on 118500. Call

that number and you will pay an initial charge of ?2. 75. Plus, a

cost per minute of another ?2. 75. So a total of ?5. 50 for a one

minute call. As for the other main player, well,

over the years we have probably all seen the ads.

# If you are someone new and need help... Who you gonna call...

A call to 118118, otherwise known as The Number, will cost you ?8. 98 for

the first minute, a charge that has risen by 2145% since 2003. And the

phone operator could charge up to 5p a minute on top of that cost. While

the ads do state these charges it seems we haven't all taken on board

how much a typical inquiry will cost. As was made clear when we

asked some shoppers in London to tell us how much they thought they

would pay for a one minute call to this particular number. I reckon it

would cost about this much. That's what I expect to pay. I wouldn't be

surprised if it was that one. This is what I think. It shouldn't be

higher than that. I would say probably 99p. I would say ?1. 98. I

would go for... This one. But when we revealed the true cost it caused

quite a stir. I would never have thought it was

that much! Shocking! I could buy meat for dinner for the family and

have change. That is shocking. Wow. No way! Oh my God! It's actually a

lot, yeah. I wouldn't expect it to be that much. I would never do that.

Internet is free. While it is true that most phone

numbers can be found online, directory inquiries remains a

valuable service for many, including some older people and those who

aren't online. But not every company makes charges

clear when you call. They're only obliged to do so if they go on to

connect you. So some people using the service may not know exactly how

much it costs or how quickly charges can mount up.

Older people are traditionally more likely to use directory inquiries

services and are disproportionately affected by these potential charges.

If you are used to trusting a telephone number you call through

to, and it seems straightforward, you would have no reason to believe

the charges would be as high as they could be. And certainly 93-year-old

Annie from Manchester had no idea how she ended up having to pay such

a huge amount. Her Goddaughter Mary got in touch with us ever Annie, who

is hard of hearing, received an unexpectedly large bill after

unwittingly calling a 118 number. I was so shocked when you got this

bill, Annie. I couldn't believe you paid so much for this bill. Then

when I investigated, I mean, it stood out straightaway, because it

was ?67, over ?67 for an 18-minute call. I called down to see Annie and

she was in a terrible state. She was really in a dreadful state saying

about this phone bill. Of course it gave me a shock. She decided what to

do with it. I just paid it and that was it. Just wanted to get out of

trouble! Annie had been trying to speak to

someone about a fault on her line. And she has no idea how it was she

came to phone the directory inquiries number 118080, run by a

company called Simuex. Nor was it initially clear why the call went on

so long but Mary doesn't think it's right that a call of this nature can

end up costing so much. I just don't know how it is completely legal.

It's so unfair, you know, Annie lives alone and it needs to be

stopped. We contacted the company that runs

the number Annie called. It told us that calls to this line are charged

at 3. 60 per minute which it said isn't high compared to the

outrageous charges that have become the industry norm. Annie's high bill

must have been because she agreed to have her call connected, so it was

all charged at a higher rate. But the company stressed the costs are

made clear in the call so that customers can decide whether to

continue. We also contacted the two market

leaders, BT and The Number. BT, which provides 118500 pointed

customers to its free online directory inquiries. And to its

lower priced no-frills 118700 service that costs ?1. 45 a minute T

said the price of calls to 118500 ensures BT can provide a quick,

accurate and professional directory inquiries service.

And The Number, which runs 1118118 didn't get back to our e-mails or

calls but has previously said it offers a range of services at

different price points because while for some speed and convenience is

paramount, for others, it may be cost.

But if you don't have access to the internet, there are ways that you

can get a number without costing you money. For example, The Number

offers an entirely free automated service line. That is if you don't

mind listening to an advert before getting the number you are after.

BT also offers a free directory inquiries number for people with

disabilities although to use it you do need to fill out a form to be upt

countersigned by a GP. Back in Southport after his father-in-law

Ron's experience, Mike would like to see the regulator take more action.

Lots of vulnerable people are being charged ridiculous amounts of money

for short phone calls and in most cases they've no idea they're being

charged that amount. This needs to be sorted and sorted now.

Well, I'm glad to say he may well get his wish.

We've been talking to the regulator Ofcom about this for some time,

and it too is concerned over 118 prices, as the cost of more

expensive services has risen significantly in recent months.

So Ofcom has just announced it will look into these as part

of a Call Cost Review, to ensure people are protected

from higher prices, and indeed any unfair practices.

I am one of those people who use that, I don't Google. I am horrified

at the price. I will never do it again. When you say Ofcom will bring

out this report are they going to crack down on charges?

I don't see the words "crack down" in what they've told us.

But Ofcom says callers should expect to be told very

clearly what prices are - and that they are getting

So it's going to consider whether we get that,

It expects to publish detailed plans around that later this year.

What really shocked me in that report wasn't just

the cost of the calls but the sheer number

of companies all offering a directory enquiries service -

I'm sure it will help with that Ofcom review to know what YOU think.

And some of you have been telling us while we've been on air.

Chris Todman said his elderly, disabled mother always uses

Directory Enquiries and agrees to be connected. By so doing, her last

quarterly bill included nearly ?400 of charges. Janet, who is also

watching, has come up with a good point. How hard would it be to make

it law for premium rate lines to have a recording of the price before

the call starts? Well, I'm sure we'll return

to this topic again. But, next this morning,

another way of staying connected... You may be using it

to contact us right now. And, if you're out and

about at the moment, you may well have to PAY

for the service. But is it reliable enough to give

good value for money? Wi-Fi has revolutionised the way we

communicate. So much so that we now expect to be online rebel we are,

outside the home or office and even on the move. Train, bus and tram

services across the UK increasingly offer Wi-Fi services. Communications

manager Smith Harper has been among those telling us their Wi-Fi

experience has not so much been wonderful but distinctly wobbly. He

regularly travels on the virgin West Coast line between Manchester and

London. When they brought in Wi-Fi I'd thought, great. Be able to do

work and stay connected in this hyper connected world. The first

time I tried it, I was, that didn't really work. Smith says things did

not get better which he finds frustrating put up the Wi-Fi he is

trying to use is not free from. Virgin charge him ?5 every trip. I

e-mailed them and said I had been on this train journey trying to do my

e-mails and have not been able to do it I have my money back? Virgin

would not refund the money. Record showed that during the journey he

had got online and use much more data than is allowed and it's fair

usage policy. I went back and forth with them. They then tried to say

you have downloaded all these megabytes. I can't say I haven't

done that but the e-mail itself just does not work. Smith could not

understand how he could possibly have used as much data as virgin

said. As far as he was concerned he could barely send an e-mail. The

company told him this could be caused by such factors as programmes

running in the background, system updates all streaming movies. He was

adamant he had not done this. I thought, it's a fiver, it's not

worth losing any sleep. It niggles and it is a frustration. We want to

see if the train Wi-Fi is as patchy as Smith claims? We are joining him

on the train from Manchester to London and we made sure that there's

nothing running on his laptop which would use updater. I'm going to give

Virgin Trains one more chance. To test the connection, Smith will be

trying to link up with technology expert Graham wild to see how the

Wi-Fi is performing. As Smith sets off on his train, Graham is heading

to the BBC's New Broadcasting House in London where he will be ready to

receive Smith's Munich and is. I am on the internets I have a speed test

running. -- communications. It is perfectly fast enough to make most

things work. The Wi-Fi at the BBC and that most homes and offices

connects to a fixed, physical source. The Wi-Fi on trains work

through the mobile phone networks which can be unreliable. Imagine

sharing four and six Mobile internets connections between 300

people. Sometimes there are places where there is no mobile signal from

any operator. There it will not work at all. Let's see how Smith gets on.

I'm just leaving from Manchester Piccadilly on the way to London. I

will look into the Wi-Fi and see what happens. Smith pays ?5 for

24-hour 's worth of Wi-Fi access. As he leaves the more populated areas,

is internets connections start to the Syria -- deteriorate. I am

coming up with the request, please try again later. Nothing on

Facebook, e-mails. I cannot even go on the BBC website. It

disappointment. As the train comes into Stoke, the Wi-Fi springs back

into life. To see if any of his communications have got through, he

gives Graham a call. How are you? How is short train journey? I have

been struggling to get messages to you from Facebook or e-mail. I had

something when you set off from Manchester but nothing since then. I

did send G1 since then. I wonder where it went too. I think it may

have got lost in the ether. I will have to check my e-mails. I have one

from you now, so I replied back to that one. Fantastic. While some rail

companies charge, on others you can get it for free. On this virgin

train that Smith uses there is no Wi-Fi charge for passengers in first

class. We know it is a real bone of contention for many of you that in

this day and age you ever have to pay for Wi-Fi at all. I never paid

for it on the trains. I have before but it was bad so I did not do it

again. If you are not in a good place, you feel like you are being

ripped off. I have used it on trains before but it is better on the

mobile. The laptops you do not get a good signal or usage. What about

other forms of transport like coach travel? Graham is going to try for

himself the Wi-Fi on national express. He tries to get onto the

BBC website. It has loaded quite quickly. That took about a second or

so. Mobile coverage along major roads and motorways and so one is

much better than it is along the railways, especially in rural areas.

That means it is actually a little bit easier for coach companies to

offer good Wi-Fi than it is for train companies to do that. So,

comes up for coach travel. When a grey and Smith meet up at Euston

station in London, Smith is still very unhappy with his experience on

the train. -- Graham. It was pretty poor. That has been my experience on

Virgin Trains before. The good news is that services like that will get

better. The new technology called 5G is much faster and it will make a

difference to your Wi-Fi experience. There are special radio networks is

being built alongside the railway especially for use for the train. I

guess there is good use coming down the track. To use a very cheesy

analogy, yes, there is. Well, Virgin Trains accepts

their Wi-Fi doesn't fully meet customers' needs,

but told us that though they want all customers to have free,

fast and uninterrupted Wi-Fi, unfortunately - as the company

relies on mobile phone networks for the internet -

there's often a very limited service in rural areas,

cuttings and tunnels. They say they're working

with mobile phone companies to improve the signal,

and in the meantime have introduced a free, on-board entertainment

service which lets customers stream movies and TV without

the need for Wi-Fi at all. Well, difficulties with getting

connected are one thing, but - staying with problems online -

the big story over the weekend was that global cyber assault

that targeted the NHS. It's been described

as an historic moment - Joining me now is the the BBC's

technology correspondent, Even the headlines today are a

wake-up call for the world. 200,000 organisations in 150 countries.

Reducing it down to people like myself who are not very good on the

website at all, how does the ransomware really manifest? This is

the biggest type of cyber crime we are seeing. A recent statistics

showed 50% of all offences shown to the police now relate to cyber

crime. This is the most serious. What happens is you somehow get

malicious software on your computer. The next thing, a message pops up on

your screen and says all of your files, your valuable data, is

locked. The only way to get it back and unlock it is to pay a fee to the

crooks, a ransom. They are quite clever in a way. They do not ask for

huge amount of money. Was speaking to a charity and months ago. The

manager said they had had one of these ransom things and it was only

like 400 quid, proportionately not that much. He said he paid it. He

hated himself to pay but he said it would have taken three months

because he was not backed up properly to get the info and the

cost of an spurt would have cost far more than 400. -- and expert. I

think it is sadly the trees. It has taken a global assault. Lots of

organisations have experienced this. There are simple lessons around

this. You should be keeping your data backed up. You should have a

separate hard drive you plug into your computer from time to time,

backing up your data. If the worst happens, you should be all right. In

this particular case, the one we are hearing about over the weekend, it

is mainly directed at large organisations. That is who has the

kind of networks where this sort of thing can spread quickly put a bid

is not targeted at individuals at home. Would you pay the ransom? I

would not be falling for it in the first place, Gloria. You can see why

there is a tent Asian to do that. What one hears sometimes is that

these criminals are pretty well organised and they will unlock your

data if you pay the fees. They know their business. The important thing

out of the conversation is to make sure you are backed up and up to

date with the companies say. People could have avoided this had they

applied a regular Microsoft security update back in March.

Well, as Gloria said, that story is still all over the papers,

with worries about what other businesses and people might

The front page of The Mirror is warning Web Hackers to Strike Again.

It goes on to have two full pages of the story inside. It says we are

under cyber attack and this is the greatest threat to civilisation

since World War II. Probably less of a threat is this story. Busy water

can make you fat. That can trigger a hunger hormone which makes you

overweight. The Mail is following up

on suggestions that Amazon may allow refunds on low-cost items

WITHOUT you needing The company wouldn't

comment but certainly that It means you get the refund and the

item as well. Good idea. And finally the FT says Pension

Fraud Losses Hit Record High - that's something we'll be looking

at on Wednesday's programme. Well, all this week we'll have

updates on some of the stories we've And I'm afraid we've uncovered

a whole new twist to a scam we've You may remember a scan we first

told about in 2015. Fraudsters have found a convincing to make take

calls appear to be from a genuine, trusted number for that they can use

widely available at two show a number as coming from, for example,

your bank. These two people received an unexpected call and it showed up

on their phone as being from their bank, Santander. The number that

showed up on my phone was the same number as the back of the Santander

card. That convinced me he must be from the bank. We thought that that

is it. It cannot be anything else. They were about to become victims of

what is called number spoofing by disguising the number they are

really calling from to look like one we know. Criminals are able to get

around the fact that we're all becoming more wary about who might

be on the line. In this case got it meant they could convince the couple

their bank accounts were at risk from fraudsters and they should move

their money elsewhere. I was in a panic we were losing our money. He

said from your cash Isa, we'll move that first found we will take a

whole lot out. Trish transferred ?50,000 into supposedly safer

accounts that belonged to the fraudsters. The realisation they had

been conned hit couple hard. My overall feeling is devastation, to

be honest. I did go down into a depression afterwards for quite a

long time because we have lost a lot of money. I was thinking, that is

our retirement fund gone up the creek. I did feel... I felt really

stupid to have been conned. The bank was able to recover ?27,500 of the

couple's money. They were left ?22,500 out of pocket. As Trish

Adudu authorise transactions, the bank said it could not accept any

responsibility for the losses. There has been a further development. In

February this year, a man was jailed 18 months for his part in this scam.

Unfortunately, as with many scams, this one has continued to evolve and

now fraudsters are not only using this method to trick people with

calls, they are doing it with texts as well.

Well, with us to tell us more about this new version of the scam

is fraud lawyer Arun Chohah and Claire Pearson who,

I'm sorry to say, fell victim to one of these fraudulent texts.

To the tune of ?71,000. That's awful. Terrible. Why did the whole

thing seem plausible? I received a text message on a thread of genuine

text messages which I thought were from my bank. I had no reason to

believe this wasn't a real message from my bank. What were they asking

you to do? How did they approach it, they talked about a possible fraud?

They said is this your transaction, this is a possible fraudulent

transaction, did you make it? Call this number. I was in a rush, I

panicked. I was seven months pregnant. I thought I have to get

this sorted quickly. Rang the number from the text message. It was all to

do with the length of time they kept you on the phone, wasn't it? Yeah, I

spoke to the guy for half an hour. Went through a full security check.

Cancelled my debit card. At the end of the phone call I was ?71,000

short. They had been milking your account. While I was on the phone. I

imagine this is a story you have heard before, something similar,

Arun. Her bank has taken very hard line with her, saying you did this

to yourself, therefore, it's not a fraud that we can say we will

compensate you. Do you think that's being harsh? To an extent I think

it's being harsh. The criminals are out there intercepting text messages

and telephone calls but banks do have monitoring software, they have

the ability to delay transactions. So, I think there is more banks

could do. But I suppose their worry is opening the flood gaits to saying

they could do that and take responsibility. What about us as

individuals, what are the dangers we should be looking out for and what

should we never do? This new-age type of attack, you have to take a

moment and consider the situation. Don't react swiftly. If you are

going to make contact with your bank because you see something like this,

call the number on the back of the card, don't use the same phone you

received the messages from, use another phone. Banks aren't going to

ask you to transfer money to an account they set up. They're not

going to make you part with money to deliver a card. Take time and keep

control of the situation. Do you think if you heard that before it

would have helped you in your situation? Yes. I wish I had taken

five minutes to stop and think. I would be in a different position.

It's great to be wise after the event. Sorry for what happened to

you. Thank you. Thank you for sharing that story with us. Thank

you, Arun too. Well, all week our experts will be

tackling your problems in our pop-up Yes, our experts are already

busy getting stuck in. Personal finance expert

Sarah Pennells is here along with Lyma Blay who's had rather

a lot of trouble with, and indeed Tell us what happened

when yours developed a problem. Yes, that's true. It was faulty. It

was considered faulty. Taken away and essentially we didn't have a

fridge for ten days until it was replaced. Ten days for anybody

without a fridge is pretty bad, in kaur case there was a reason why you

needed that fridge. At that point I had a 12-month-old baby who was on

antibiotics that had to be kept cold and milk and food and so forth. It

was really hard. You did eventually get a replacement fridge number two

after ten days. Sarah, what are the rules carding -- regarding

replacement or moneyback when you have a problem with something you

need like a fridge or oven. The law is clear, as the fridge went wrong,

soon after she bought it, if it had gone wrong within 30 days she should

have been offered a refund. She could have got a fridge the next

day. If they wanted to give a replacement, the laws is less clear

about how quickly you have to do that. But common sense surely would

tell you you shouldn't leave a mother and a young baby without a

fridge for ten days. Absolutely not. We know that they did replace it

after ten days. That also you feel developed a problem. Yeah. You went

back to Samsung. We have spoken to Samsung and they say they have sent

an engineer and he can find no fault with the fridge. However, because

they believe they believe customer satisfaction is paramount for them

they're going to replace that fridge so you are going to get fridge

number three. With luck, that one won't have a fault. Do tell fuss it

does because we would like to follow it up. Sarah, thank you very much.

Join me here. Over here is Andy Webb

from the Money Advice Service and Christine Barnwell who's had

quite a drawn out process trying to We won't get into all of the detail

of what happened but there was something very interesting

you were told when you eventually tried taking it up with your

credit card company. I missed the opportunity, the window

of opportunity was too late. What do you mean? They have a restriction on

how long before I can claim the money back. How long was that? They

told me 105 days. You were outside of that? I was, yes. Andy, in the

office we found this extraordinary because we had never come across

this before. We always assume if you have a problem with a credit card

that means that you have good protection. I don't think any of us

have thought that was a time limit on it. It's important to know we are

talking about disputed payments. Maybe you have been charged too much

or something you don't even recognise at all. Now, what they've

said is contact the person that's on there first of all and say what is

this charge and money back or whatever. You should also at the

same time contact the credit card provider as well because they'll be

able to tell you exactly what these windows are and you are not going to

fall out of time like we have here. It varies. Visa and Mastercard is

120 days. American Express is 105 days. That's when you have to put

your claim in and say I want my money back and hopefully you will

get that cash back for a disputed claim. Still got all that credit

card consumer protection we talk about like section 75, if something

doesn't turn up or it is broken you have longer to get money back. Who

would have known there was a time limit on anything we do with our

credit cards. Thank you very much, Christine, for flagging that up.

Thank you very much to our experts. Still lots of people here with us.

We are going back to the studio now. I love the idea that it's all live

and you can join us in the pop-up shop any day this week.

We'll be tackling more of your problems in our pop-up shop

And each day too we'll be sharing the spending secrets

First to spill the beans is this very cheeky chap.

He is known to millions from shows such as Don't Get Done, Get Dom and

Right On The Money which is back on BBC soon. When you pay for the

policy, do you pay in a lump sum? That's the wrong answer! It seems

Dominic Littlewood has always had it in him to be a consumer champion. In

his 20s he took three companies to the small claims court after getting

fed up with them fobbing him off. He won every case. So what are his

consumer secrets? Dominic, you are here because you are a red hot

consumer expert. I want to quiz you about you as a shopper. What is it

like when you go into the shop, do they recognise you and think oh-oh!

? A mile away they see me coming and the reaction is entertaining. One

example, this has happened a few times, people know I am a good

haggler, I haggled once on a backet of biscuits to prove you can get a

discount. The shopkeeper found it funny someone was bothering,

whatever it was 20 off a packet of biscuits. I did it to say look, you

can haggle. As long as you do it the right way you can do it, people will

have fun with it. Yeah, OK, it's a ?1. 50 packet of biscuits, so what,

have fun. You have been a consumer expert for ten years now. What's the

main thing you have learned in that time? One bit of advice I would give

to anybody, whenever possible pay for everything on a credit card.

Now, a few reasons for that. You have to have discipline. I have a

direct debit set up so every month it is paid off but benefit of paying

by credit card, straightaway you have protection, covered by section

75, which means if you have a problem and something goes wrong you

can go back to the credit card company and say this person isn't

honouring the warranty or anything, they'll step in so you have added

level of protection. If I buy a pint of milk in the supermarket, credit

card, credit card, credit card. Everything is covered. Job done. No

interest. Credit card companies probably hate me. We get a lot of

letters and so on from people who are aggrieved because they've paid

for something that hasn't worked out the way they wanted it to. What

would your recommendation be? For starters, keep calm. Keep cool. I

always try and do everything as a normal punter. For starters, when I

am on the phone to anybody I record all my calls. Have you noticed when

you phone up they say just to let you know, our calls are recorded for

training and exercise purposes. I say just to let you know so are

mine. Keep a record, it's brilliant because you can go back and say

yeah, I did say that or they said that. That helps, if you can't

record them make notes just so you have a diary of that, I tell you

what you need to fall back on it and if it is there, it's worth its

weight in gold. He is a real character.

He is. Two of our experts are still with

us. They're going to answer some questions. I have to thank Barbara

from Bradford and Robbie. This question to Sarah ray, how can we

stop nuisance calls from abroad, they're both already signed up to

stop unwanted UK calls. TPS does cut down on calls but doesn't get rid of

all of them, especially from those calls where they're from overseas

companies. Basically, the law changed a year ago and companies,

whether they're overseas or nr the UK, should display their number so

you can find out who is calling you and unfortunately sometimes they

display false numbers, this happened to me. The TPS only covers companies

that are registered in the UK. I would recommend if neither of these

wr are working and the calls are beginning to bug you, invest in call

blocking software, some are very effective. Thank you for that. A

question for you, Rory, from John. Morning, John. If the recent cyber

attack locks your computer, do you need to reinstall the operating

system even if all your files have been backed up, a lot of people will

want to know that? Absolutely. I should stress again it's unlikely

that people at home will be affected by this. It's mainly big

organisations. But if you are, I think you will have to reinstall

your operating system, take advice first. Because if you have a backup

of your files, the virus, the bug, may still be in your system and you

don't want to set it running all over again and possibly infect other

computers. For you, Sarah, from David. He wants to know if an

unmarried couple can get travel insurance, he and his girlfriend had

to come back early from holiday and insurers are not paying out because

they're not married. That's an odd one, some will class you as a couple

if you have been living together for six months or more. So I think the

insurers need to move with the times. There are some that will

cover you. I agree with that. Well, I have to stop

you there because I'm afraid we're Thanks to everyone who's

contacted us this morning. We'll be back tomorrow

with a shocking story anyone thinking of buying a used car really

won't want to miss. And we'll be looking at some

of the online tactics retailers use to make us hurry up

and spend our money. We'll see you back

here at 9.15am sharp.