:00:00. > :00:00.the programme and thank you for coming and thank you for watching,
:00:00. > :00:10.and up next it is Rip-off Britain. We will see
:00:11. > :00:13.Welcome to another live edition of Rip Off Britain with some
:00:14. > :00:18.devastating examples of the kind of pension fraud I'm sorry to say is on
:00:19. > :00:22.the rise. Savings built up over years and years have effectively
:00:23. > :00:25.vanished, leaving people tens of thousands of pounds out of pocket
:00:26. > :00:30.and facing, when you look at it, a very uncertain future. The thing is,
:00:31. > :00:33.you may well be approached by companies offering plans for your
:00:34. > :00:38.money so we're going to have advised to let you decide and recognise if
:00:39. > :00:40.they really do want to make your pension grow or just disappear
:00:41. > :00:46.altogether. We asked you to tell us what has
:00:47. > :00:49.left you feeling ripped off and you contacted us in your thousands.
:00:50. > :00:52.You've told us about the companies you think get it wrong and the
:00:53. > :00:56.customer service that simply isn't up to scratch. Once they've got your
:00:57. > :01:01.money, they are not interested in coming back to you or to give you
:01:02. > :01:04.customer service. You've asked us to track down the scammers who stole
:01:05. > :01:09.your money and investigate the extra charges you say are unfair. I think
:01:10. > :01:14.prices are going up and nobody is actually doing anything to improve
:01:15. > :01:17.that. And when you've lost out but nobody to blame, you've come to come
:01:18. > :01:23.to us to stop others falling into the same trap. Just leave me alone!
:01:24. > :01:27.So whether it is a genuine mistake or a blatant rip-off, we are here to
:01:28. > :01:33.find out why you are out of pocket and what you can do about it. Your
:01:34. > :01:36.stories, your money. This is Rip Off Britain.
:01:37. > :01:39.Hello, and welcome to the halfway point of our week
:01:40. > :01:43.We're loving being here - and we're thrilled by the response
:01:44. > :01:46.we've had on the topics we've covered so far.
:01:47. > :01:48.Yes, I'm delighted to say we've been inundated
:01:49. > :01:54.So many thanks to everyone who's taken the trouble to get in touch.
:01:55. > :02:00.And we hope you'll do it again today!
:02:01. > :02:04.If you are going to do it, it is very simple.
:02:05. > :02:06.ripoffbritain@bbc.co.uk is the best way you can
:02:07. > :02:10.Or we're on Facebook - just look for BBC Rip Off Britain.
:02:11. > :02:13.And we're sure you'll have plenty to say about the subjects we'll be
:02:14. > :02:20.with wedding season about to get under way - we'll see if some venues
:02:21. > :02:24.might be pulling a fast one by holding onto the money if you end
:02:25. > :02:27.We'll also be asking if the smart meters we're
:02:28. > :02:30.all being encouraged to install are always quite as clever
:02:31. > :02:39.And my friend Aled Jones will be telling us why he leaves everything
:02:40. > :02:47.We'll be back outside with our experts as they get
:02:48. > :02:49.to grips with more of your problems at our pop-up advice clinic.
:02:50. > :02:52.Today it's personal finance whizz Sarah Pennells and our legal expert
:02:53. > :02:59.Gary Rycroft who'll be stepping up to the plate.
:03:00. > :03:01.There they were, standing by ready to answer your questions later in
:03:02. > :03:04.the programme. But before all that,
:03:05. > :03:07.new figures from the City of London Police show that more
:03:08. > :03:09.than ?8 million was stolen from our collective pension pots
:03:10. > :03:11.during the month of March. That's ten times as much
:03:12. > :03:14.as was taken in the previous month. But those figures -
:03:15. > :03:16.however shocking - Because after seeing this report,
:03:17. > :03:20.it's the impactof losing those savings that will stick
:03:21. > :03:38.in your mind the most. My heart hit the floor. It was
:03:39. > :03:42.devastating. I don't really know where my money is and I'm just
:03:43. > :03:47.scared that half of it could of gone, three quarters. I have no idea
:03:48. > :03:50.where it is at. Both these men should be making the most of the
:03:51. > :03:54.money they've paid into their pensions all their working lives but
:03:55. > :03:59.they're not because, effectively, their money has gone. And if you've
:04:00. > :04:06.got a pension, there may be people targeting yours in a similar way.
:04:07. > :04:12.But, for John Fowler from Harrow in west London, it began in 2012, when
:04:13. > :04:16.he received a call out of the blue from somebody describing themselves
:04:17. > :04:20.as a pensions advisor. Normally cold calls I give short shrift to. I'm
:04:21. > :04:24.not rude but I just say "No thank you" and put the phone down. Since
:04:25. > :04:29.he knew who I was and where my pension was, that's when I thought,
:04:30. > :04:33.if they knew where it was, maybe somebody at that side of it was
:04:34. > :04:40.quite happy for them to approach people. It gave it a bit of
:04:41. > :04:46.legality, I suppose. John was told the pension he had had with a
:04:47. > :04:50.previous employer, with ?212,000, wasn't performing well and could be
:04:51. > :04:54.invested more wisely. Not only that, the caller said that right now John
:04:55. > :04:59.could have a tax-free lump sum from his pension of ?75,000. I couldn't
:05:00. > :05:02.believe my luck and because my daughter had been through
:05:03. > :05:07.university, my son was in university, I had a car that was
:05:08. > :05:11.older than myself, the windows were falling out, and if I was sitting
:05:12. > :05:14.outside sometimes, I thought we would get the windows done, which we
:05:15. > :05:20.had been bidding for years, and the car. I thought, I can get a car now.
:05:21. > :05:25.John agreed to transfer his pension pot to a particular company and was
:05:26. > :05:30.given his lump sum. The rest of his money, he assumed, was being
:05:31. > :05:34.invested wisely but in 2013, he was shocked to learn that following an
:05:35. > :05:37.investigation the pensions regulator had appointed new trustees to the
:05:38. > :05:41.scheme and a key part of their role was tracking down what has happened
:05:42. > :05:47.to investors' money - in other words, it wasn't clear where his
:05:48. > :05:52.savings had gone. I told my wife and she said, what does that mean? I
:05:53. > :05:56.said, I think I've done something really stupid. I think I've
:05:57. > :05:59.transferred into a company and they've wandered away with our
:06:00. > :06:11.money. My heart hit the floor. It was devastating. It isn't just my
:06:12. > :06:23.pension fund, sorry. It's my wife's as well. It is our pension-fund. And
:06:24. > :06:29.I had stupidly, you know, chucked it the way. But, believe it or not,
:06:30. > :06:34.worse was to follow. It turned out that the lump sum John had received
:06:35. > :06:39.wasn't, as he'd been told, tax-free. He would only have been eligible for
:06:40. > :06:44.any tax-free sum if he had been 55 and, sadly for John, he was just
:06:45. > :06:49.short of that. So HMRC slapped him with a huge tax bill. He would have
:06:50. > :06:55.to pay back over ?41,000, 55% of the lump sum he took out on the advice
:06:56. > :07:02.of the company. It is just distressing because it is on my mind
:07:03. > :07:06.all the time. I go to bed worrying about it. Wake-up worrying about it,
:07:07. > :07:14.and worry about it during the day as well. Of the ?212,000 pension pot
:07:15. > :07:19.that John had diligently saved for years, it seemed only 33,000 is
:07:20. > :07:23.left. Meanwhile, two of the directors of the company had simply
:07:24. > :07:28.gone on to set up another company. There must be some mechanism that
:07:29. > :07:33.would allow them to catch these people and bring them to task. How
:07:34. > :07:38.they are walking around free at the moment, I don't know, with all that
:07:39. > :07:42.money gone missing. Just ridiculous. But it seems John is just one of a
:07:43. > :07:49.string of people whose pension pots were decimated after they got
:07:50. > :07:51.involved with 5G Wealth Management. At the pensions regulator, Andrew is
:07:52. > :07:57.in charge of tackling pension fraud and scams. First of all what I did
:07:58. > :08:00.was to attract about ?60 million of pension money from innocent
:08:01. > :08:07.consumers and legitimate pension schemes and they invested that in a
:08:08. > :08:10.variety of overseas unlisted and unregulated investment vehicles.
:08:11. > :08:15.When we intervened, that 60 million had dwindled to less than ?1
:08:16. > :08:20.million. Three weeks ago, the pensions regulator announced it had
:08:21. > :08:25.banned the directors of 5G Wealth Management from going near anyone
:08:26. > :08:28.else's pension ever again. But that is bittersweet news for John, who is
:08:29. > :08:34.no closer to knowing if he will oversee the rest of his money again.
:08:35. > :08:39.We got in touch with the directors of 5G Wealth Management Limited. One
:08:40. > :08:44.of them chose not to comment for legal reasons, and the others didn't
:08:45. > :08:50.get back to us at all. But the pensions regulator has a huge task,
:08:51. > :08:54.tackling pension fraud, with so many people's savings having been
:08:55. > :08:59.targeted. We know from the police that they get a lot of reports of
:09:00. > :09:02.fraud and theft in relation to pension schemes. If you total it
:09:03. > :09:07.altogether from the various agencies, you get to a number that
:09:08. > :09:12.is many billions of pounds. Some people would say it is as high as 9
:09:13. > :09:16.billion or 10 billion. The answer is, we don't really know. A lot of
:09:17. > :09:19.people are really embarrassed if they have been scammed. They don't
:09:20. > :09:22.like to tell their family or admit it to their friends and they don't
:09:23. > :09:25.even tell the authorities about it, so I suspect that the true number is
:09:26. > :09:30.very much higher than the numbers we know about. Another person who has
:09:31. > :09:34.lost their savings through a different company is Gary Bradley
:09:35. > :09:38.from Manchester. He only realised what had happened after we
:09:39. > :09:42.highlighted on this programme how this type of fraud had increased
:09:43. > :09:47.since 2015, when the industry introduced greater freedom on
:09:48. > :09:51.investing your pension. At almost to being able to breathe because you
:09:52. > :09:59.think, my goodness, what's about to happen here? Seeing that story got
:10:00. > :10:05.Gary thinking. I ended up seeing this pension scam that was on there
:10:06. > :10:10.and the more they went through these two case studies, the more I started
:10:11. > :10:13.thinking I'd gone down a similar Avenue. I hadn't met the people I
:10:14. > :10:17.was supposed to meet, it was all done on e-mails. And you're
:10:18. > :10:21.thinking, these people have lost all their money. Am I going down the
:10:22. > :10:27.same way? Have I gone down the same Avenue as they have done? Gary had
:10:28. > :10:33.transferred just over ?54,000 from his pension pots to a company that
:10:34. > :10:37.cold called him. He signed the paperwork in this very bar. He knows
:10:38. > :10:40.his funds were transferred abroad but now the company he dealt with no
:10:41. > :10:43.longer exists and he has been getting letters from another
:10:44. > :10:48.company, saying his money has dwindled away to talk I don't really
:10:49. > :10:52.know where my money is. I know where I think it has gone. I have some
:10:53. > :10:57.paperwork from these people who have got it and it could possibly still
:10:58. > :11:01.be with them but you just want to put it in a place and have them look
:11:02. > :11:04.after it for you and I'm just scared that half of it could have gone,
:11:05. > :11:10.three quarters, I have no idea where it is that. To help Gary try to find
:11:11. > :11:17.out where his money is, we've enlisted our family Freud lawyer. --
:11:18. > :11:20.fraud lawyer. I understand they had some concerns about the type of
:11:21. > :11:25.pension schemes you were looking to move your money to. They had
:11:26. > :11:31.concerns about the places it was going because they may be a bit
:11:32. > :11:34.risky, and they thought, if you move them to these places, you could end
:11:35. > :11:40.up losing money as well as gaining it. The whole thing to do with the
:11:41. > :11:44.risk, and they said all the right noises. But I was still convinced
:11:45. > :11:47.that I thought the one I was told, that these were the places that were
:11:48. > :11:51.going to make is the best amount of money for a frozen pension pot, so I
:11:52. > :11:55.was quite happy with continuing at that time. But whatever the company
:11:56. > :12:00.promised, where the money has ended up is uncertain. I can say from
:12:01. > :12:06.experience of investigating these cases, when you are having to deal
:12:07. > :12:10.with parties overseas, if they are dishonest they know how to frankly
:12:11. > :12:14.fob you off, they know how to tie you up in circles. You go around and
:12:15. > :12:19.you just can't get to the bottom of it. That was their plan. Because you
:12:20. > :12:23.are overseas, they may not listen to any court orders we have over here
:12:24. > :12:27.or pay attention to those. The sad truth for Gary is that once you lose
:12:28. > :12:30.track of your money in any pension fraud or scam you are unlikely to
:12:31. > :12:35.see it again, which is something the pensions regulator sees frequently.
:12:36. > :12:38.Our mission really is to try to prevent people from getting into the
:12:39. > :12:43.scam in the first place, to make them aware of the hallmarks of a
:12:44. > :12:45.scam, to stop them making the transfer. Once the scammers have got
:12:46. > :12:51.your money, the chances of getting it back are very, very low indeed.
:12:52. > :12:56.That's why the organisation has a website with simple advice on how to
:12:57. > :12:59.spot if a scheme is a scammed. We've got this need to check list at the
:13:00. > :13:05.bottom which sets out what the hallmarks of a scam are, so if they
:13:06. > :13:09.bothered me a free pension review, if you text that box, it is almost
:13:10. > :13:13.certainly a scam. Guaranteed return on your investment is the hallmark
:13:14. > :13:19.of a scammed. Exotic sounding investments overseas is a favourite.
:13:20. > :13:24.I click submit and that says, that is a scam. Run, basically. Andrew is
:13:25. > :13:30.clear that one thing above all should sound alarm bells. No
:13:31. > :13:35.reputable pension company will cold call you or come knocking at your
:13:36. > :13:37.door or send you unsolicited texts. Any kind of unsolicited contact in
:13:38. > :13:44.relation to pension schemes should be illegal. That won't stop it
:13:45. > :13:47.happening but it allows us to say to consumers, if anybody contacts you,
:13:48. > :13:52.it is a scam, definitely, because it is against the law to do it, so that
:13:53. > :13:56.would help enormously. All this is too late for John, of course, though
:13:57. > :14:01.he has his own tips on how to avoid falling into the trap he did. My
:14:02. > :14:05.advice is just, do your checking. The internet is a fantastic
:14:06. > :14:09.resource. You can really go through all the different avenues that are
:14:10. > :14:14.available to you instead of actually listening to some sweet talking scam
:14:15. > :14:22.artist on the end of a phone. They promise you the world and deliver
:14:23. > :14:22.you nothing. I think it is worth reiterating the advice from the
:14:23. > :14:27.pensions regulator. Whatever you do, don't be seduced
:14:28. > :14:30.by the promises of anyone contacting you out of the blue
:14:31. > :14:32.about your pension - however convincing
:14:33. > :14:38.the line they spin you. We all felt so sorry but it is
:14:39. > :14:41.savings that are hard to get and how to hold onto. Sorry for the family.
:14:42. > :14:43.Well, a ban on cold calling about pensions has been mooted,
:14:44. > :14:47.And, in the meantime, do let us know if anyone's
:14:48. > :14:50.targeted your savings - particularly if they might be trying
:14:51. > :15:06.If you can forewarn viewers that is the first line of defence.
:15:07. > :15:08.Meanwhile, you sent us plenty of comments
:15:09. > :15:10.You'll remember we revealed how used car
:15:11. > :15:15.dealers may be breaking the law by not telling you about any
:15:16. > :15:17.outstanding safety recalls on the vehicle you're buying.
:15:18. > :15:22.Which prompted all manner of car-related emails.
:15:23. > :15:26.One was from Denis Williams - a former policeman -
:15:27. > :15:30.who got in touch to emphasise that under the Consumer Protection from
:15:31. > :15:33.Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, anything that may affect a decision
:15:34. > :15:37.to purchase must be declared at the point of sale.
:15:38. > :15:42.He reckons that's something not all car dealers may want you to know!
:15:43. > :15:47.I think our report yesterday showed that.
:15:48. > :15:49.We also talked about the tactics some retailers use
:15:50. > :15:56.And David Ashbridge emailed to say he occasionally buys things
:15:57. > :15:58.from TV shopping channels - where presenters excitedly tell
:15:59. > :16:00.you how fast you need to act if you don't want
:16:01. > :16:04.David thinks they should be compelled to make clear how many
:16:05. > :16:07.items are actually in stock - perhaps with an icon in the corner
:16:08. > :16:10.of the screen that goes down every time one is sold.
:16:11. > :16:13.That way viewers will know exactly what the true situation is.
:16:14. > :16:15.David, interesting idea but who knows - perhaps
:16:16. > :16:21.as the number went down, it would just add to the pressure?
:16:22. > :16:27.And you may recall we discussed flight
:16:28. > :16:29.delays yesterday too - after which Jen and Ian Aldridge
:16:30. > :16:32.told us they'd been delayed five and a half hours a couple
:16:33. > :16:36.But they got nothing back because the holiday company said
:16:37. > :16:39.it was due to a bird striking the plane - and therefore
:16:40. > :16:47.They ask, is that really a genuine excuse to not pay compensation?
:16:48. > :16:50.To which the answer I'm afraid is now yes, after a test case
:16:51. > :16:52.in the European Union Court of Justice confirmed the point
:16:53. > :17:06.Next this morning, chances are you've had a letter
:17:07. > :17:08.encouraging you to get a smart meter fitted to keep better track
:17:09. > :17:13.But some of you have asked whether those meters are smart
:17:14. > :17:15.enough when it comes to switching supplier.
:17:16. > :17:26.I have come to fit your meter. With more than 5 million devices fitted,
:17:27. > :17:30.Smart meter installation is well under way. You will be able to see
:17:31. > :17:36.exactly how much energy you are using. As this advert shows smart
:17:37. > :17:41.meters are aimed at making our lives easier by helping us keep track of
:17:42. > :17:47.the energy we are using and on the whole the idea seems to have gone
:17:48. > :17:51.down very well. I have got one and I think it is fantastic. It makes you
:17:52. > :17:57.turn things off. Use things like this. I do not fill the kettle like
:17:58. > :18:01.I used to. I have just had a smart meter put into a flat we have and we
:18:02. > :18:07.are not always there though it is handy that I do not have to always
:18:08. > :18:11.keep going and reading my meter downstairs. Because I have this
:18:12. > :18:15.meter installed I tend to switch the lights off and I will say to my
:18:16. > :18:20.wife, do not leave the lights on in the kitchen, switch it off and let
:18:21. > :18:29.us try to save some money. The aim is that every UK home has the smart
:18:30. > :18:32.reader installed by the end of 2020. Peter from a price comparison
:18:33. > :18:37.website believes the idea is a good one. The benefits of a smart meter
:18:38. > :18:40.are they provide information to the supplier for the consumption of
:18:41. > :18:44.energy in the home. From a customer point of view it means the end of
:18:45. > :18:51.estimated bills because it allows the supplier accurately calculate
:18:52. > :18:56.how much the customer spending. This man loves converted mill outside
:18:57. > :19:01.Sheffield and energy prices is something he has been wary of
:19:02. > :19:04.particularly in the winter. A large part of your expenditures for gas
:19:05. > :19:10.and electricity so the more you can save the better. About three years
:19:11. > :19:15.ago we noticed the prices were going up so much and we were trying to
:19:16. > :19:19.think of ways of reducing the cost. He was interested when his supplier
:19:20. > :19:24.British Gas told about a new way he could monitor his energy consumption
:19:25. > :19:28.even more closely. We had a lot of pressure to have a meter from the
:19:29. > :19:34.energy company that we were with at the time. The thing that convinced
:19:35. > :19:40.us in the end was that on a number of occasions the rural Michigan is
:19:41. > :19:44.by the energy company of our meters. Our neighbour's meters were close to
:19:45. > :19:48.ours and often they would read the wrong meter and it would take
:19:49. > :19:52.several months to sort out and get the Bell correct. Ken was careful to
:19:53. > :19:55.make sure that his new gadget would not become an issue if he chose to
:19:56. > :20:01.switch supplier again in the future. I asked the engineer who installed
:20:02. > :20:06.it whether or not we would have a problem if we moved another
:20:07. > :20:12.supplier. He said no, it would not be a problem. In fact nine months
:20:13. > :20:16.later when Ken fancied switching supplier it turned out it was a
:20:17. > :20:21.problem and his smart meter was not smart enough to work with SSE, the
:20:22. > :20:25.company he hoped to move to. We thought this would be a simple
:20:26. > :20:31.change however we spoke to SSE and said we had a smart meter and they
:20:32. > :20:35.said it is an incompatible system. Rather than have the hassle of
:20:36. > :20:40.getting his new supplier's smart meter installed he decided to stick
:20:41. > :20:44.with British Gas because he knows he is likely to switch suppliers again
:20:45. > :20:48.and cannot bear the idea of having to change his meter every time, even
:20:49. > :20:53.if that means he has been left without a meter that is no longer
:20:54. > :20:58.very smart at all. It means we have none of the functionality we had
:20:59. > :21:02.before. So that we have a monitor which is useless and everything has
:21:03. > :21:10.to go back to as if it was a -- manual meter. Ken thinks the rush to
:21:11. > :21:15.rule out manual meters it has not been made clear that a meter may
:21:16. > :21:18.only work with one supplier. I contacted the regulator and sent
:21:19. > :21:23.them an email saying that this seemed a ridiculous state of our
:21:24. > :21:26.fears and as this was a government initiative I had presumed that would
:21:27. > :21:31.be more effort put in the first place to make sure a standardised
:21:32. > :21:35.meter was used. We got in touch with his old supplier who denied that its
:21:36. > :21:41.engineer would have told him he did keep his smart meter if he switched
:21:42. > :21:46.but they told a smart meters are not just about easier switching but have
:21:47. > :21:50.a whole host of other benefits. It said it ensures that customers
:21:51. > :21:54.switching to British Gas to retain their smart services but when
:21:55. > :21:58.customers switch from British Gas it is up to the new supplier to make
:21:59. > :22:04.sure the smart benefits are maintained. His new provider SSE
:22:05. > :22:06.blamed the issues he and others had experienced on significant delays to
:22:07. > :22:13.the UK smart meter infrastructure going live. SSE said that it makes
:22:14. > :22:16.customers aware of this when they book a smart meter installation and
:22:17. > :22:20.both companies stressed that steps are being taken to ensure that in
:22:21. > :22:25.the future switching will not mean losing your smart meter
:22:26. > :22:29.functionality. Ken is not the only person to get in touch about there
:22:30. > :22:35.not so smart meter. We have also heard from you in Northampton who
:22:36. > :22:41.was to discover his smart meter would not function in smart mode
:22:42. > :22:45.after he switched suppliers. Stewart wrote to see how irritated he was
:22:46. > :22:52.when after changing to a cheaper tariff he found his smart meter was
:22:53. > :22:54.no longer quite so clever. One of the problems with the first
:22:55. > :22:58.generation of smart meters is that the information that should go
:22:59. > :23:03.between suppliers is not happening with some of those smart meters and
:23:04. > :23:05.in essence that is leaving customers in switching Limbaugh not knowing
:23:06. > :23:10.whether the right decision as to stay with their current supplier,
:23:11. > :23:13.which might mean they are overpaying, or move to a new
:23:14. > :23:17.supplier and potentially lose some of that smart functionality.
:23:18. > :23:21.Fortunately there is light at the end of the smart meter tunnel
:23:22. > :23:26.because it is expected that these early smart meters will be upgraded
:23:27. > :23:30.so they are smart enough to do the job if you switch supplier and a
:23:31. > :23:34.second generation of smart meters is being developed. These will
:23:35. > :23:37.eliminate the problem is the current generation of meters have and will
:23:38. > :23:41.allow consumers to switch supplier very freely. Unfortunately the
:23:42. > :23:46.second generation will only be implemented later this year and by
:23:47. > :23:50.that stage up to 10 million customers will be on the first
:23:51. > :23:54.generation of meter. At the moment smart meters only save the average
:23:55. > :24:02.customer ?11 a year but it is hoped it will rise to ?43 by 2020.
:24:03. > :24:05.Consumers say it is not always clear that the benefits of those smart
:24:06. > :24:11.meters will not always transferred to a different supplier. I felt so
:24:12. > :24:14.strongly about this than I am not somebody who normally complains but
:24:15. > :24:22.there seems to me crazy because you lose out.
:24:23. > :24:24.Well, Smart Energy GB, which describes itself as the voice
:24:25. > :24:27.of the smart meter roll-out, says that even if customers do
:24:28. > :24:29.temporarily lose some smart functionality after switching
:24:30. > :24:30.supplier, they'll be switching with more confidence,
:24:31. > :24:33.because they'll have an accurate picture of their previous energy use
:24:34. > :24:42.and therefore be better able to choose the right tariff.
:24:43. > :24:45.It says eight out of ten people with a smart meter
:24:46. > :24:48.Well, joining me is Lawrence Slade from Energy UK, which represents
:24:49. > :24:51.Lawrence, we've sparred many times on energy prices,
:24:52. > :24:54.so it's nice to be talking about something else.
:24:55. > :25:05.I do, I have a smart electricity and gas meter. What are the advantages?
:25:06. > :25:10.They are great. We moved house and change supplier and I kept my smart
:25:11. > :25:15.functionality and it gave us a guide as to how the house, how efficient
:25:16. > :25:19.it is and allowed us to save quite a lot of money. You're one of the few
:25:20. > :25:25.where the functionality remained because some say 6 million, some say
:25:26. > :25:29.a million, on the first batch of smart meters, they are not
:25:30. > :25:35.functional. This is a huge programme. 53 million metres or
:25:36. > :25:39.something in that nature. We are at the beginning of the programme and
:25:40. > :25:43.while I share very much your contributors' frustrations of losing
:25:44. > :25:47.that smart functionality there are programmes under way to make sure
:25:48. > :25:54.you get that back and I want to make sure no one is put off switching.
:25:55. > :25:58.You do not have to have your meter replaced. I am about to query my gas
:25:59. > :26:02.bill and when the gas man came he said you have to put in a smart
:26:03. > :26:09.meter. How much of a role with that cost me? About ?60 as an
:26:10. > :26:14.installation fee including your bill in the same way as your current
:26:15. > :26:21.meter cost. It would be on my bill. At my stage in life I am looking at
:26:22. > :26:26.the figure, ?43 by 2030, I will be in a box by then. It seems a small
:26:27. > :26:30.amount of saving. It is about saving and helping you understand your
:26:31. > :26:34.efficiency and making sure you get accurate bills all the time so every
:26:35. > :26:39.month of you want to pay by direct debit you are paying for the energy
:26:40. > :26:47.you use so you're not rubbing up debit or credit with your company.
:26:48. > :26:52.You can understand your energy better, get accurate bills and pay
:26:53. > :26:57.for the energy you are using... What I do not understand, why it was a
:26:58. > :27:03.meter not made that would do all? We are all being encouraged to switch,
:27:04. > :27:06.why did you not make a meter that would fit everything? It is a
:27:07. > :27:10.development of the meter so these were the first meters rolled out
:27:11. > :27:17.nationally and a under way now to looked how we can make sure you keep
:27:18. > :27:20.the smart functionality. When? As I discovered for some companies it is
:27:21. > :27:26.there now and it will be rolled out over others over the next months.
:27:27. > :27:31.Somebody said later this year, is that accurate or will it be next
:27:32. > :27:35.year? Towards the end of this year, air early next year, it is a huge
:27:36. > :27:41.programme that has had some challenges. We are talking about
:27:42. > :27:45.moving from analogue meters effectively to digital meters and
:27:46. > :27:51.they will give more benefits as we get down the line. Thank you. I am
:27:52. > :27:54.sure I will see you again. I look forward to it.
:27:55. > :27:57.Well, all this week our experts have been tackling your problems
:27:58. > :28:08.We have all decided that by 2030 will not be in your box, you will be
:28:09. > :28:17.on the box! Simon Marcus, who's had trouble
:28:18. > :28:20.trying to sort an issue Simon, your home had damp
:28:21. > :28:23.proof coursing installed by the previous owner and it came
:28:24. > :28:26.with a ten year guarantee. So why hasn't the company
:28:27. > :28:32.honoured its guarantee Tell me what the problem is. When I
:28:33. > :28:36.bought the property I was told was a guarantee and there has always been
:28:37. > :28:45.our problem with damp since I bought it. I was told it was guaranteed.
:28:46. > :28:50.The guy said because I do not have a physical copy of the guarantee that
:28:51. > :28:55.I cannot do anything about it. It is quite frustrating. It must be
:28:56. > :28:58.because you have no physical proof this work was done. I have an
:28:59. > :29:05.invoice that purchased the guarantee but I do not have the guarantee
:29:06. > :29:10.itself. What is your advice? It is all about the paperwork. If you are
:29:11. > :29:15.told there is a guarantee get the paperwork, and then make sure it is
:29:16. > :29:19.assigned to you because you have to have a legal relationship with the
:29:20. > :29:23.man who bids in the dump row. Should that be in the huge document we sell
:29:24. > :29:28.it when we sell our house giving the new purchaser all the information
:29:29. > :29:32.they need? Yes, the property information form. The seller should
:29:33. > :29:36.disclose guarantees, the conveyancer should get a hold of the copy and
:29:37. > :29:40.explained to you how you can get that assigned to you. You have to
:29:41. > :29:45.have the benefits of the guarantee personally to claim later. Brilliant
:29:46. > :29:49.advice for in a buddy watching. In the meantime you should talk because
:29:50. > :29:54.he should be able to give you advice.
:29:55. > :29:58.Hopefully we will have a better outcome to this one with Sarah
:29:59. > :30:02.because we've had a letter from Margaret, who can't be with us
:30:03. > :30:08.today, but she has a problem with a prepaid virtual visa card for
:30:09. > :30:12.shopping online. I don't know what that is. These prepaid cards are
:30:13. > :30:15.very similar to a debit card that you use the shopping. Charity-macro
:30:16. > :30:18.key differences. The first is that you can only spend money you've
:30:19. > :30:22.loaded up on in advance and the second is, you don't get physical
:30:23. > :30:26.card but in your wallet or purse, you just get the details online.
:30:27. > :30:30.Margaret says that the problem is that many of the shops she's tried
:30:31. > :30:34.shopping won't accept the card because she's not been using it,
:30:35. > :30:38.they are now charging her a fee because it is inactive and she wants
:30:39. > :30:42.to stop the card and get all her money back. What can she do? The
:30:43. > :30:47.problem with these cards is that many of them do have these either
:30:48. > :30:50.for loading up or if you don't use them. The card company has actually
:30:51. > :30:54.said they will help Margaret to close her account and they won't
:30:55. > :30:58.charge her. All she needs to do is give some additional information and
:30:59. > :31:01.to redress for compliance reasons. I can understand why she was
:31:02. > :31:04.frustrated because having looked at the terms and conditions, it does
:31:05. > :31:09.seem to imply you can use it anywhere visa card is accepted but I
:31:10. > :31:12.will be keeping an eye on them just to make sure they do close her card
:31:13. > :31:15.as they promised. Sarah is on the case so we will get that result!
:31:16. > :31:21.Thank you very much. That's it from the Piazza. It's all yours!
:31:22. > :31:22.Lots of consumer stories are making news again today.
:31:23. > :31:25.Most papers report on the latest inflation figures, which show prices
:31:26. > :31:31.rising at their fastest for four years.
:31:32. > :31:34.You can see here the Guardian cites two main reasons for that,
:31:35. > :31:40.Electricity Costs And Air Fares Push Up Inflation.
:31:41. > :31:44.I smiled at her story in the Daily Mail today that says that eggs are
:31:45. > :31:47.so good for you that they should be on the script and. I agree with that
:31:48. > :31:51.because I love eggs and always have but when you read on in this report,
:31:52. > :31:59.it is based on a study by the British egg industry council. Well,
:32:00. > :32:03.you would expect them to say that but I do food programme last year
:32:04. > :32:07.and the professor in question said an egg has everything in it that you
:32:08. > :32:15.would want, even better than a stake. That is unexpected news! Have
:32:16. > :32:20.a look at this headline. Figures say that an rise in adolescent obesity
:32:21. > :32:24.is down to teenagers being hooked on their mobiles. No surprise there but
:32:25. > :32:28.what does stand out is that it is you girls in Scotland that are
:32:29. > :32:32.number one in the world for that. I wonder how they arrived at that!
:32:33. > :32:37.They are probably not watching, they are on their phones.
:32:38. > :32:39.Well, all this week we're updating some of the stories we've featured
:32:40. > :32:43.And here's the latest on a couple more.
:32:44. > :32:47.One of the biggest consumer stories of last year was the news that 5
:32:48. > :32:53.million tumble dryers manufactured by one of the biggest names in the
:32:54. > :32:55.business, Whirlpool, were at risk of catching fire. Investigators
:32:56. > :33:02.discovered they had been linked to at least 750 house fires since 2004.
:33:03. > :33:06.A review discovered potential safety issues where excess fluff in the
:33:07. > :33:10.dryers could catch in the heating element. As we reported in our last
:33:11. > :33:17.live series, one such fire in the home of John Wood from Hampshire led
:33:18. > :33:22.to the death of a family pet, Holly. I broke down in tears that night. I
:33:23. > :33:27.have been for the past few nights after that. The wife was devastated
:33:28. > :33:31.because it was our first family pet that we had together. It was a
:33:32. > :33:36.member of the family. The problem affected models sold under the
:33:37. > :33:42.Hotpoint, Creda and Indesit brands, manufactured between 2004 and 2015.
:33:43. > :33:47.Once it was discovered, whirlpool embarked on the biggest safety alert
:33:48. > :33:51.in British history. Good afternoon, you're through to whirlpool,
:33:52. > :33:54.speaking to Heather, how can I help? At the company was criticised for
:33:55. > :33:58.the advice it was giving for customers while it was waiting
:33:59. > :34:02.further dryers to be checked and modified. Whirlpool insists that the
:34:03. > :34:07.drivers are still used to -- dryers are still safe to use the meantime
:34:08. > :34:10.but just to be sure, the company has told customers not to leave their
:34:11. > :34:14.appliance unattended when it is switched on and to check out through
:34:15. > :34:18.the filter after every use. But on this programme, after a dramatic
:34:19. > :34:23.blaze in a tower block in Shepherd's Bush, London Fire Brigade's head of
:34:24. > :34:25.investigations disagreed. London Fire Brigade believes they should
:34:26. > :34:29.change their advice to their customers, that they should not use
:34:30. > :34:33.those tumble dryers until they have been fixed by one of their
:34:34. > :34:37.engineering team. In February of this year, Whirlpool did finally
:34:38. > :34:40.change its advice. The company issued a new statement telling
:34:41. > :34:44.owners of affected models to unplug it and not use it again until the
:34:45. > :34:49.necessary modification had taken place. The company says safety is
:34:50. > :34:53.always its number one priority and that it has gone to extraordinary
:34:54. > :34:58.lengths to trace owners of the affected products and rectify the
:34:59. > :35:03.issue. It also says an independent review has confirmed that it has
:35:04. > :35:04.acted responsibly. You can find out how to check if your dryer is
:35:05. > :35:16.affected on our website. In April last year, we met these
:35:17. > :35:19.unhappy brides, both of whom were horrified when the caterer they had
:35:20. > :35:25.booked for their wedding failed to deliver the food she promised. It
:35:26. > :35:28.was really, really embarrassing and devastating for us. I did a lot of
:35:29. > :35:33.crying and no bride should have to go through that. Following that
:35:34. > :35:39.report, it emerged that those two brides were among no less than 700
:35:40. > :35:44.customers all let down by the same company, Bake A Cake Catering
:35:45. > :35:49.Services, with a funeral and birthday parties world as well as
:35:50. > :35:53.weddings. You shouldn't feel, oh, my wedding was ruined because I didn't
:35:54. > :35:57.have any food, but it is part of the whole day and it is a day that I
:35:58. > :36:01.should have been looking forward to, not dreading. And in March this
:36:02. > :36:06.year, the woman behind the business was jailed for three years after
:36:07. > :36:12.pleading guilty to several counts of fraud. The judge described her
:36:13. > :36:14.actions as irresponsible, cruel and deceitful. Her husband was also
:36:15. > :36:21.jailed for laundering the proceeds. Well, as someone knee-deep
:36:22. > :36:29.in planning a wedding myself, Actually, that is not true, my
:36:30. > :36:32.daughter is doing all the planning and I am just signing the checks!
:36:33. > :36:34.I must confess that story filled me with horror.
:36:35. > :36:37.But catering isn't all that can go wrong with a wedding.
:36:38. > :36:39.And with me to discuss that are wedding expert George Watts
:36:40. > :36:49.George, ?25,000 as the average spend on a wedding. That staggers me to
:36:50. > :36:52.drop it is crazy and quite often people spend their whole life saving
:36:53. > :36:56.for a wedding and with their families. It is a big investment so
:36:57. > :37:01.you do have to spend wisely. You will find in some cases just
:37:02. > :37:05.mentioning the word wedding adds 40 present a certain venue so you have
:37:06. > :37:08.to watch carefully. What about the issue of the deposit? Supposing you
:37:09. > :37:11.have to cancel your wedding, but because you have fallen out of love
:37:12. > :37:22.with your intended but perhaps there has been a drama of illness or
:37:23. > :37:24.something in the family, you have no alternative but to cancel, and yet a
:37:25. > :37:27.lot of these companies won't give you back your deposit, even if you
:37:28. > :37:29.give them lots of motors? The important thing in the beginning is
:37:30. > :37:32.to check the schedule of payments and also the deposit, because it
:37:33. > :37:36.should be quite a small deposit. Most good venues will just take a
:37:37. > :37:40.small deposit in the beginning, so then if you do need to cancel, you
:37:41. > :37:45.are in a better room to negotiate and barter what you can get back.
:37:46. > :37:47.Gary, what is the legal position? Obviously, wedding companies are
:37:48. > :37:51.entitled to be payback for their expenses but it has to be fair so if
:37:52. > :37:55.you are cancelling three months before, you may be looking at losing
:37:56. > :37:59.all the deposit, 12 months may be quite a lot of it but 18 months,
:38:00. > :38:01.certainly not, that's not fair. Wedding companies would be able to
:38:02. > :38:06.resell the date and mitigate their loss that way. Say you've given them
:38:07. > :38:11.plenty of notice and they are still playing hardball, do you have any
:38:12. > :38:13.redress? It is all about the terms and conditions, which should be
:38:14. > :38:16.explained to you at the outset. It is not very romantic but sit down
:38:17. > :38:19.and look about contract because that will be the basis of your argument
:38:20. > :38:23.with the wedding venue and that should be explaining to you have the
:38:24. > :38:27.deposit will be repaid. Gary used the word not very romantic but,
:38:28. > :38:31.actually, you would endorse that. You've got to be very hard-headed.
:38:32. > :38:36.You have to be very hard-headed. I have known venues charge to cut up
:38:37. > :38:39.the wedding cake it up if you don't want a white tablecloth, you have to
:38:40. > :38:43.pay extra, if you want the party to go on past midnight, you have to pay
:38:44. > :38:47.extra. It is so important to look after those venues. Thank you very
:38:48. > :38:50.much indeed. Next, it's time to reveal
:38:51. > :38:52.the spending secrets But, as a consumer,
:38:53. > :39:04.is his head in the clouds? He's been a household name for over
:39:05. > :39:07.30 years. So we're a few days into the season of Lent. If you given
:39:08. > :39:11.something up or have taken something on, our opening hymn should give you
:39:12. > :39:15.some strength and encouragement. Aled Jones began his career as
:39:16. > :39:22.Britain's most famous choirboys and now presents radio and TV programmes
:39:23. > :39:25.including Songs Of Praise. He still makes records and on a recent album
:39:26. > :39:33.even duetted with recordings of his 15-year-old self. Allott, literally,
:39:34. > :39:38.you travel all the time, whether it is in this country or abroad, so who
:39:39. > :39:42.looks after all the bills and the Finance in your household? OK, time
:39:43. > :39:47.to come clean, Gloria. Who do you think doesn't it? My wife! I am
:39:48. > :39:51.hopeless with money. The way I see it is, as long as I'm earning money,
:39:52. > :39:57.then I can spend it, but how it all works, without my wife I would be in
:39:58. > :40:01.a ruin. Do you never check the bills are anything? Would you know what
:40:02. > :40:05.your electric and gas bill is? No, my wife does it all. Even when I'm
:40:06. > :40:09.in arrest in the bill comes, sometimes I just pay without even
:40:10. > :40:14.looking. That's so bad, isn't it? Does your wife do that on your
:40:15. > :40:17.behalf? Yes, she is there in every aspect of bills and where the money
:40:18. > :40:24.goes in the household. I'm quite lackadaisical. I've never told
:40:25. > :40:28.anyone that! Do you ever go shopping together? She's completely useless
:40:29. > :40:34.at shopping. I'm really, really good at shopping. If anyone wants to
:40:35. > :40:41.check out your outfits, I'm your man. Love that one, Gloria, maybe
:40:42. > :40:45.not that one. Mum and Dad worked really hard. Dad was an engineer,
:40:46. > :40:53.Mum was a teacher so we weren't loaded. I think dad was very much a
:40:54. > :40:58.saver. Did he teach you to save? No. I know you got two children, one
:40:59. > :41:02.daughter, one son. Do they ever ask you to go shopping with them or to
:41:03. > :41:06.take them shopping? My son is not interested at all. The only shop in
:41:07. > :41:10.his life is one that sells bricks that go on top of one another, you
:41:11. > :41:13.know where I'm going with this? He lives for Lego so would be much
:41:14. > :41:22.easier in the grand scheme of things if I just gave Tampa sent my wage to
:41:23. > :41:25.Denmark! It honestly would. -- 10% of my wage. It is lovely to see you
:41:26. > :41:29.because I have been seeing you since you are in short trousers and you
:41:30. > :41:35.had lovely knees either men! Thanks a million.
:41:36. > :41:38.He is such a nice boy! We have to say apologies if anyone was offended
:41:39. > :41:41.by an odd, that one of our contributors made on the pop-up shop
:41:42. > :41:43.this morning! Sarah Pennells and Gary Rycroft
:41:44. > :41:46.are still with us, poised to answer some of the questions you've sent us
:41:47. > :41:52.while we've been on air. One for you and maybe you, Gary,
:41:53. > :41:56.about the fact that he went into jury service and lost ?700 for the
:41:57. > :42:00.two weeks he was in court because employer wouldn't pay. Is that
:42:01. > :42:03.right? It is a great thing to do jury service, it is what we should
:42:04. > :42:06.all do in a civilised society, and you should be paid for it so he
:42:07. > :42:10.needs to have a word with the court service and they will advise him
:42:11. > :42:14.where he needs to go. Sarah, I have one for you. Mick Buchanan has got
:42:15. > :42:18.one for us. He bought hot air balloon tickets for ?260 but every
:42:19. > :42:22.time he calls to book the flight is cancelled because of bad weather.
:42:23. > :42:26.They won't give him a refund because he has on-board insurance. Help, he
:42:27. > :42:29.says. This is a real problem with hot air balloon rides because, as
:42:30. > :42:33.you can imagine, the weather has to be very calm, it can't be windy, and
:42:34. > :42:36.there are cases where people have bought these as gifts and then can't
:42:37. > :42:50.take the right. Unfortunately, the terms and
:42:51. > :42:52.conditions of these contracts normally say that these rights are
:42:53. > :42:55.weather dependent. What companies generally will do is extend the life
:42:56. > :42:58.of the voucher. Some of them, if you've cancelled over a long period
:42:59. > :43:00.of time, we'll give you your money but the that is and ex-grazier
:43:01. > :43:04.payment and not something they to do by law. He might have to wait until
:43:05. > :43:07.he is 120? Wait for a sunny day! I have a comment from Lorna Curran.
:43:08. > :43:11.She says something that sums up what we are all about which is on the
:43:12. > :43:15.pension story we told you about earlier. She says she has been
:43:16. > :43:19.contacted by somebody offering a free pension review. Suspicion! She
:43:20. > :43:24.said it was due on Friday and she will now decline and I think that is
:43:25. > :43:29.a very good decision, Lorna. Well done. We've given you hopefully lots
:43:30. > :43:33.of good information today but it's all we've got time for on this
:43:34. > :43:37.programme but we will be back tomorrow, asking when we buy things
:43:38. > :43:40.on social media, where everything is all about likes and how many friends
:43:41. > :43:43.you have, are we all too quick to let down our guard?
:43:44. > :43:46.We'll also be looking at why the age at which child discounts give way
:43:47. > :43:48.to the full adult price can vary so wildly.
:43:49. > :43:56.And we'll see why broadband speeds still aren't always
:43:57. > :44:01.Have a good day and we will see you in the morning. Goodbye.