Episode 4 Rip Off Britain


Episode 4

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Now on BBC One, Angela, Gloria and Julia are putting

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the consumer world to rights in their special live

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Thank you very much, and thanks, of course,

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to all of you at home for joining us on another of our special live

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And this morning we really have packed the programme full of tips

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and nuggets on the subjects you've asked us to tackle on your behalf.

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So whether it's your broadband speed, charges that don't make sense

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or businesses that haven't delivered, stand by for 45 minutes

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

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contacted us in your thousands. We are all just numbers at the end of

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the day, profit is all that matters. You asked us to track down the

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scammers who stole your money and investigate the extra charges you

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

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They just try and charge you as much as they can. You have come to us to

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stop others falling into the same trap. When it comes to customer

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services, it is dreadful. So, whether it is a blatant rip-off or a

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genuine mistake, we are here to find out why you are out of pocket and

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what you can do about it. Your stories, your money, this is Rip Off

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Britain. Hello and welcome to

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another morning of putting And we're very much hoping you'll

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want to get involved - as of course you've been

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doing all week. We'll be catching up

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with more of the comments And as you'll see, our item

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yesterday on smart meters really Let's see which of our stories today

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prompts a similar response. I think you know how to get in touch

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by now but just in case, And we're also on Facebook -

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at BBC Rip Off Britain - which leads us seamlessly to a story

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we'll be looking If you buy something after seeing it

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on Facebook and it all goes wrong, does the social media site have ANY

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responsibility to help? I imagine we'll hear strong views

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on both sides of that And we'll be returning to a subject

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that always gets you fired up. And why you don't always get

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what you're promised. Plus - we sent one man

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and his daughter to try and make sense of the inconsistencies around

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child prices, after his nine-year-old daughter was charged

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the full adult rate for a haircut. On top of all that,

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singer Lesley Garrett reveals her own unpleasant

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brush with fraudsters. And we'll be back outside

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with the experts at our Personal finance expert

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Sarah Pennells is with us again, along with technology guru David

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McLelland. But first, the social

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media giant Facebook. Its name pops up in a fair number

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of the stories you send us. But could that be because sometimes

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we're that little bit too trusting on a site where it seems everybody

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wants to be your friend? In the UK, 60% of us now have a

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Facebook account. While that has revolutionised how we stay in touch

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with friends and family, perhaps inevitably, it has also opened up

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new ways for us to lose our cash. They know who they are, the friends

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who convince asked to do this, by this, and talk to him... But the

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site is also home to a busy marketplace, where all manner of

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goods and services are sold. And with the site so successful in

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encouraging us to treat everyone as friends, some fear we might be drawn

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into purchases we would otherwise approach with caution. And if things

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do go wrong, you may not always be as protected as you would hope. Amy

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spotted a Facebook page called South Shields Day Trips, which was

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offering excursions to families. Because she could see friends had

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clicked onto the site, she was keen to have a look. People had booked

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trip is and they all looked great. And then I saw that they were

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offering a deal to go to Disneyland Paris. This had been a dream for Amy

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and her children. And, with the reassurance that the trip was being

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offered by a local woman with a good track record, Amy paid ?300 for

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their weekend away. Probably would have been more hesitant if it was a

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faceless person who was hundreds of miles away. I knew from reading the

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post on the Facebook page that people who lived in her street had

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booked with her, some people went and played at her house in cash.

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People had her address, her mobile number, I did not really have any

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concerns because I saw so much good feedback. But as the day of the trip

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approached, all that changed. Somebody had posted on the Facebook

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page that I think they had tried to confirm the booking at the hotel,

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and the hotel had no record of the booking. When this was queried with

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the woman who ran the page, she was instantly reassuring. She said not

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to panic, she said she had the booking details and she would sort

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it all out. But just hours before they were due to travel, Ashleigh

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Turbitt declared that the trip would not be going ahead. She posted a

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message initially, to say that she had been conned. But in fact,

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Ashleigh Turbitt had pocketed the money herself. When it all came

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about that it was a con, that was three coach falls of Islay is that

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was supposed to go, all local families who could not afford to

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lose that money. It turned out that the dream holiday Amy had seen on

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Facebook had never existed. It would have been my son's first time

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abroad, and was a big deal. I just think, if you're going to concoct a

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way to con money out of people, that has ought to be one of the most

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wicked ways, to upset children by telling them that their dreams are

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going to come true. And they've been shattered. In March this year,

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Ashleigh Turbitt was convicted of fraud by false representation and

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giving a two-year suspended sentence. 151 people had booked

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nonexistent trips to Disneyland Paris, and there were other families

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who had paid for trips to different destinations. Now, Amy had paid

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using PayPal which does usually offer protection if a purchase goes

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wrong. But as so much time had passed since making the payment, she

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was outside the time frame in which PayPal allows you to raise a

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complaint which means it is unlikely that she will get her money back.

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Because Facebook itself does not offer any protection in this kind of

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situation. And while you might assume that the site has

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responsibility for what you see advertised there, as far as the

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deputy head of Action Fraud is concerned, very often, it may not be

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much different to buying from someone you have just met in the

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pub. When you are buying from social media, you're not protected at all.

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Essentially you have no idea who you are buying from. It's not like

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online shopping, where you know who the retailer is, you are directed to

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their websites. Because it is a local environment that you're

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dealing with, you're almost treating these people as a friend, and you're

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not doing the checks that you would normally do. But with more than a

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billion people using Facebook every day, should we really expect the

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company to take responsibility for the contracts we make through the

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site, if they turn out to be not what we think? In some ways,

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Facebook works in a similar way to classified ads, in other words,

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buyer beware. But we do often hear from people who tell us that they

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feel disappointed, or even that they have lost out as a result of

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responding to ads on the site. For example, shallots from Epsom was

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drawn to a company with a particularly strong presence on

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Facebook, Perfectly Precious Pearls. It offered jewellery made with

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high-grade saltwater. Part of the sale was a special pearl party for

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customers during which the pearls they had ordered were opened in a

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live Facebook stream. People who place orders on that day have their

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oysters open to live on Facebook. It was more the thrill of seeing the

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colour, the size and the value of it. Charlotte says it was partly

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this live stream that drew her in, and she ordered five items of

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jewellery, costing ?172. At that stage they seemed really, really

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genuine, I thought I was getting the pearls, really high quality, worth a

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lot of money, very desirable. The first order didn't turn up, but the

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second order, for my sister-in-law, my mother and my daughter, did

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arrive but with the wrong pearls and the wrong lettuces. The company

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offered to put things right but as Charlotte continued to check the

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companies Facebook page, she began to worry. I noted that a lot of bad

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reviews were being posted, people not receiving their jewellery, that

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they were genuine, and then I started to wonder what was going on.

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Charlotte says she tried contacting the company on numerous occasions,

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but didn't receive the replacement goods she was promised. Because

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shallots hasn't had paid using PayPal she HAS had most of her money

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back, but she has been left wary of responding to anything she sees on

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sites like Facebook again. If I see adverts on Facebook now, or

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generally online, I will not buy, just because of the risk you take.

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But adding to her frustration is the fact that the pearls she had ended

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up with were not actually the ones she was promised. Instead, she was

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sent something far less valuable, as the president of the British Pearl

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Association confirmed. Very low quality, in my opinion hugely

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overpriced, and I was expect to pay about ?2 for something like this,

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such a low-grade quality. Based on the peachy colour of this pearl and

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the lay around the pearl, I am confident that this is a freshwater

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pearl, not an Okoye pearl. When we got in touch with the Company, it

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says its supplier was responsible for providing the wrong pearls. As

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soon as it found out, it updated its Facebook page accordingly, it said.

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Although the company accepts it has experienced teething problems come

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it says it has been the subject of a hate campaign on social media, and

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the vast majority of its customers are happy. It says it has never

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misled customers, was transparent about issues with the supplier, and

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all refund requests will be processed via PayPal, as long as

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customers return the goods. While Facebook is not directly connected

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to the many businesses that you will find on it, there are many people

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who would say that their confidence in those businesses comes from the

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reassurance of having found them on such a familiar, friendly site. But

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some people think that is a mistake. Be very wary of what you are buying,

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look closely at what it is and do some market research, see what those

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goods look like from a genuine online shopping site. There are

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elements of, if it looks too good to be true, it definitely is. Good

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comment. Well, Facebook didn't directly

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comment on any of this, but referred us to its commerce

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policies and community standards, which it says

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all sellers must comply with. And it DOES have plenty

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of publicly available advice Our technology expert

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David McClelland is with us. David - not all the purchases

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people complain to us about were actually

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made ON Facebook. It is a bit like an advertisement in

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a newspaper, or a postcard in the newsagents, they are just telling

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you about it. So do they have any responsibly at allit doesn't, its

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role is to facilitate communication between someone who wants to sell

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something and someone who wants to buy that thing. Once those big

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people have made contact, Facebook is out of the game. So how can you

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check that accompany you are dealing with is genuine? Often you are not

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dealing with companies, you are dealing with individuals. All you

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have got to go on on Facebook is their profile. There are ways of

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looking at people's profiles on Facebook but obviously you can only

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see what people want to share. If somebody's profile goes back for

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years, you might have more of an idea that they might be genuine, but

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it is very difficult to tell. Said it yourself, lots of other people

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are talking about it, Facebook is a place where you have lots of

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friends, so does that mean you let your guard down a bit because you

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think it is a friendly site and if somebody else has said it is OK, it

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is bound to be? I think so. Facebook is a social network, people are

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sharing things, that makes it better for business for Facebook. So, we

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need to be careful, essentially, unless they are a friend on

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Facebook, they are not a friend. They may try and be your friend, but

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you have got to be so careful. And very briefly, how can you protect

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yourself? I beware, treat everything with suspicion, be very cautious.

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Let's catch up on some of the emails you sent

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You'll remember we looked at smart meters and how they may not stay

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But lots of you have raised other concerns with them, too.

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In particular, whether or not they'll work if you have solar

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Brian Exley, Carol Bolton and John Morris are just some

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of the people to tell us it doesn't seem that they do.

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Carol says that when the engineer who came to fit her meter saw

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that she had solar panels, he made clear it wouldn't work

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Well, we asked Smart Energy GB about this -

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that's the body which does all the PR for the smart

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It's all a little complicated, but it seems the smart meter

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basically will clock the energy you take from the grid,

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but they won't recognise the energy you put in -

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in other words what's generated from your solar panels.

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Smart Energy GB also responded to a question asked

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by Sheila Mayberry, among others - does a smart

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meter make you more vulnerable to cyber attack?

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The answer we're told is no, and these meters have been

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specifically designed to stop that happening.

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But we'll give the last word on this for now to Martin Leeming,

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who emailed with the very sensible point that smart meters

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are only useful if you take notice of the readings.

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And they're not a magic way to save money.

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And we had a flurry of emails when we said we'd be talking

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His house has been "speedchecked" as being able to receive 79

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But in fact, he only gets 2.7 megabits.

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And Gloria is with a man who won't like that at all.

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Yes, Pete Moorey is from the consumer

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organisation Which, which is campaigning

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To be promised 79 and only get 2.7 is pathetic and it shows that three

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quarters of household are doing the same thing, being promised something

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they are not getting. That's right and sadly that story is all too

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familiar. We hear from people who struggle to do some of the basic

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things, sending e-mails, accessing bank accounts, working from home,

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and even watching this show on the BBC iPlayer because they have such

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bad speeds. That is why we have launched our campaign because we

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want to fix bad broadband. Sometimes with the advertising I feel it is

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misleading because a lot of the ads promised the world in terms of speed

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but we don't get it. You might see adverts that promise is 80, 100

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megabits, but the rules say that only one in ten people have to get

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the speed promised in those adverts. So what is happening about that? Is

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the advertising standards agency getting involved? They are reviewing

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these rules and they say that new rules will come in which means that

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a majority of people hopefully will receive the speed promised. But we

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need to make sure people are able to sort out the problems they have with

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their broadband now and not wait for the rules to change. You have a lot

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of information from Which which is on your website and on ours. Before

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we go, a couple of good tips about how we can improve things for

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ourselves? Personally, check your speed, make sure you're getting the

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speed that they are promising to you. Secondly, look into what you

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can do yourself. You might need a new route, to move the route, and

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also go to the company to see what they can do. Maybe they can help.

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And finally, if they can't, you can get out of your contract. All of

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that information is available on our website and we want people to use it

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so they can fix bad broadband. It took me two months to get a new

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route are sorted out so it's not always easy but thank you very much.

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Even with these early starts, I don't feel a day over 30.

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I guess that makes me a proper grown-up!

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But for those so young they're not yet an adult,

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it seems some companies want the magic of childhood

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to end a little earlier than you might expect.

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Every parent knows that children can be pretty expensive so it is always

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a relief when you're able to pay less for a child than for an adult

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but when does a child become an adult? Legally it is 18 but ask a

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teenager and they will tell you they are there already. We took to the

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streets to find out what you think. I think a child becomes an adult

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when they are 18, legally. But maybe 16 to 18, a bit of a grey area. In

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this country 18 is the legal age and that is when they should be

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responsible and mature enough to know right from wrong. I would say

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about 16, when they leave senior School. But as you have been telling

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us, things are not always so clear cut. And different companies can

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have different ideas as to when those child reductions should end,

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as Richard discovered when he took his nine-year-old daughter Jasmine

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for a simple haircut at a salon they had used before. On that day we were

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out shopping and we decided to get her hair cut at Supercuts. The first

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thing the girl asked was how old she was and I said she was nine and she

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said she was an adult mouth. I was taken aback by that asked her to

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explain why that was and all could save was that it was company policy.

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I was not prepared to play adult prices for a nine-year-old child

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when she is not even double digits. Faced with paying almost doubled the

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price, Richard went elsewhere, but the later checked the Supercuts

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website which confirmed that childhood does indeed end at age

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eight in its view. It seems such a price hike to go from eight to nine

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years old and they almost double the price. I tweeted them to ask why.

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Even then all I got back was that it was company policy. They were not

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prepared to explain themselves at all. When we got in touch with

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Supercuts, it explained, telling is that children eight and under

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generally only require a trim when they visit but as they get older

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they can be spend more time consulting with the stylist to

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decide on the best cut for them. Supercuts said the whole process can

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take just as much time as an adult's appointment. The headers Simtek

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added that as a child prices are displayed clearly both online and in

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salons -- at the hairdresser added. We have come across confusion in the

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past with child pricing. In 2015 when Caroline wanted to take her

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newborn baby on a cruise, she was told she would have to pay the full

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adult fare for the child, which she considered ridiculous. Obviously

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they can't see the shows, they can't take part in any of the activities,

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so you expect that the baby would have a minimal fee. When it comes to

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pricing there are no rules on exact what age a child becomes an adult

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and there is nothing illegal about charging different amounts. But

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Richard is keen to get his teeth into this issue so he and Jasmine

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are going to compare all sorts of price policies they might come

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across as a family. Firstly, flights. This is British Airways.

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The adult price of to Alicante is ?58. Young adult is 58 pounds, child

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is ?58, it is all the same for a 12-year-old as it is for an adult.

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Is that fair? No. There are discounted seats for children on

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some British Airways reads like long wool but generally you are classed

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as a child up to the age of 11 and after that you are classed as a

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young adult and any reduction may be smaller. It is similar on other

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airlines. Ryanair, Richard found a seat for Jasmine would cost the same

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for an adult before taxes and fees. The same amount of money as an adult

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for a child is ridiculous. Again, you might find additional child

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discount offered by Ryanair but we wanted to know white airlines often

:22:54.:22:58.

charge the same and adults so we asked. They didn't really want to

:22:59.:23:03.

tell us. Ryanair said there are security and information reasons for

:23:04.:23:06.

the age categories. The Ellen told us that it is crucial to identify

:23:07.:23:11.

each customer at an adult, teenager, child or infant so it can ensure

:23:12.:23:18.

that no child under 16 who is travelling alone is seated in an

:23:19.:23:21.

emergency row or pays passenger duty. Head to the high street and

:23:22.:23:26.

you will find plenty more examples of how policies on child pricing can

:23:27.:23:32.

vary. We are keen to find out what the pricing policy is at different

:23:33.:23:42.

restaurants. Fancy going to Nando's? The children menu caters for those

:23:43.:23:45.

under ten. At Frankie and bennies, the kids meals are designed for 11

:23:46.:23:52.

and under. At Pizza Express they are for anybody under age ten but all of

:23:53.:23:56.

these restaurants said that these ages were a guide and anyone with a

:23:57.:24:01.

small appetite can order from the kids menus. Meanwhile, Pizza Hut

:24:02.:24:07.

advised its kids meals were only suitable for 12 and under but when

:24:08.:24:10.

we phoned some local branches we found this policy is not always set

:24:11.:24:15.

in stone. With their tummies full, it was time for a spot of

:24:16.:24:21.

entertainment. How about if we try out the cinema to see what prices

:24:22.:24:28.

they charge? Maybe go and see Beauty And The Beast. Cineworld's prices

:24:29.:24:36.

vary across the country but they were charged at 14 and under but at

:24:37.:24:40.

the Odeon child might apply only up to 12 when the chain as a separate

:24:41.:24:46.

team rate and the same is true at Vue and don't expect child tickets

:24:47.:24:50.

to be half price although he could get a bargain on special weekend

:24:51.:24:55.

family screenings. This man works for the British youth Council which

:24:56.:24:58.

has long campaigned on the issue of child pricing. We would like to call

:24:59.:25:03.

on the UK Government to get some companies around the table and

:25:04.:25:07.

really think about how we can ensure that this issue is an issue of the

:25:08.:25:14.

past. What is important for us is some kind of standardisation, it is

:25:15.:25:17.

clear that across the country this huge disparity on the age at which

:25:18.:25:22.

young people are having to pay adult prices, and we would like to see

:25:23.:25:28.

some sort of parity across the country. After a busy fact-finding

:25:29.:25:36.

day, what have our pair learnt? I get the picture we got is that it is

:25:37.:25:40.

all pretty confusing. There doesn't seem to be any set rules, it could

:25:41.:25:44.

be they decide a child is nine, ten, 14, 16. It is confusing for the

:25:45.:25:50.

consumer to know exactly if you're getting a discount or not. We are

:25:51.:25:56.

all left in the dark. What is a consumer? That's you and me,

:25:57.:26:05.

shoppers! Love I think Jasmine could be a good reporter! A consumer

:26:06.:26:07.

Reporter. Incidentally, we mentioned BA's

:26:08.:26:10.

child prices in that film. But it's worth flagging

:26:11.:26:13.

that the airline's just launched a summer offer where, on six routes,

:26:14.:26:16.

kids can fly absolutely free. We've been scouring today's papers

:26:17.:26:20.

for consumer stories and I was struck by this headline

:26:21.:26:27.

in The Times, "Air pollution in Britain worse than Mexico,

:26:28.:26:30.

global health body finds." That's a report on new figures

:26:31.:26:34.

from the World Health Organisation. Using the same data,

:26:35.:26:40.

other papers report that deaths from air pollution

:26:41.:26:43.

here are apparently 64 times more likely than in the cleanest

:26:44.:26:46.

European country, Sweden. That is an appalling figure. And you

:26:47.:26:55.

might be interested in this. And The Mirror says,

:26:56.:27:04.

"Cheapie sun creams Tests by the consumer

:27:05.:27:05.

organisation Which? offered the sun protection claimed

:27:06.:27:08.

on the label. You may remember we did

:27:09.:27:11.

similar tests on our holiday series last year,

:27:12.:27:13.

so as we head into summer, remember you won't get better

:27:14.:27:16.

protection by splashing out But they don't smell as nice! That

:27:17.:27:18.

is true. Well, all week we've been

:27:19.:27:29.

tackling your problems Whenever I've been out

:27:30.:27:31.

there, it's rained. But Julia's enjoying

:27:32.:27:34.

a bit of sunshine. That is because I did my son dance

:27:35.:27:39.

last night! And over here is personal finance

:27:40.:27:45.

expert Sarah Pennells, along with Nick Fewkes,

:27:46.:27:46.

who got in touch with a problem involving

:27:47.:27:49.

the high street chain Next. He was actually buying it through a

:27:50.:27:56.

third-party company which went bust and he didn't get his kitchen and

:27:57.:28:01.

Next said nothing doing. A terrible situation. Very sad, it left that in

:28:02.:28:09.

a lot of problems. How did you go about approaching Next? I have

:28:10.:28:14.

written to them a few times to get them to accept that responsible at

:28:15.:28:17.

the what they advertised which was not what we received. What is your

:28:18.:28:23.

take? I can understand why Mick was reassured by seeing the details on

:28:24.:28:26.

the Next website, it seemed many people were, but he was buying from

:28:27.:28:30.

a separate kitchen company. My advice would be that if you think

:28:31.:28:34.

you're buying from a company do you know and trust and you start dealing

:28:35.:28:38.

with somebody else, ask some searching questions about what

:28:39.:28:41.

happens if there is a problem and where the buck stops. And where does

:28:42.:28:45.

this leave him in terms of his money? The company has stopped

:28:46.:28:49.

trading and around 1500 people are owed either a deposit or full price

:28:50.:28:52.

and the illustrated say they are unlikely to get their money back. It

:28:53.:28:56.

is worth pointing out that if they had paid the deposit or full price

:28:57.:29:01.

by credit card they would have been protected -- at the administrators.

:29:02.:29:05.

Next has made it clear it is not accountable and it did not get any

:29:06.:29:09.

commission on the sale. He was dealing with a separate company

:29:10.:29:12.

which they say both the contract and a payment went to the kitchen

:29:13.:29:15.

company and it was three months after they had stopped dealing with

:29:16.:29:19.

them. They said they understand if he had made a payment of ?3000 to

:29:20.:29:24.

accompany that arose from the ashes of the supplier, a good about his

:29:25.:29:28.

kitchen fitted. Presumably you did not fancy paying any more cash? We

:29:29.:29:33.

didn't and it was more than the original quote. I doubt that I can

:29:34.:29:37.

add a tiny ray of sunshine to this, but here goes. This is what

:29:38.:29:41.

Tabernacle is saying. It is not a complete solution -- what Next is

:29:42.:29:48.

saying. It reiterates it has no legal responsible at the end without

:29:49.:29:51.

admitting liability is offering a goodwill gesture of ?3000 which is

:29:52.:29:56.

the amount you could have paid the successor company. What do you think

:29:57.:30:00.

about that? I'm very surprised and thank you them every bit helps, we

:30:01.:30:03.

are in a difficult situation with the money we've lost so to get that

:30:04.:30:08.

much back is very nice to know. I'm glad that you came along and we were

:30:09.:30:09.

able to help out. Thank you. Well, that certainly leaves Nick

:30:10.:30:15.

in a better position And we've also heard of positive

:30:16.:30:17.

developments on some stories we've Just last week, we reported how

:30:18.:30:34.

Josie from County Down was among those caught out by Anne Ewing

:30:35.:30:41.

creasing the common scam. She received a call saying that not only

:30:42.:30:44.

did she know more than ?900 in backdated tax, but that she could

:30:45.:30:47.

face prison if she did not pay it immediately. I thought I was going

:30:48.:30:53.

to jail, I thought, what is going to happen to me here? It was

:30:54.:30:56.

terrifying, it was really terrifying. Georgie was told the

:30:57.:31:00.

quickest way to settle the debt was to pay using iTunes vouchers, which

:31:01.:31:03.

are normally used to purchase music and films online. I said to him, is

:31:04.:31:13.

this a scam? That's when he said, if I was scamming you, I would be

:31:14.:31:17.

asking for your bank details. I am trying to help you so you don't have

:31:18.:31:21.

to go to court tomorrow. But the whole thing WAS a scam. These

:31:22.:31:25.

vouchers are increasingly being used by fraudsters because they work

:31:26.:31:30.

effectively in the same way as cash. They are difficult to trace and once

:31:31.:31:33.

you have handed over the vital number on the back, you have lost

:31:34.:31:38.

your money. Josie was not the only one the fraudsters got their claws

:31:39.:31:43.

into. A hoax caller persuaded Peter from Sheffield to hand over ?500 in

:31:44.:31:48.

iTunes vouchers in order to secure a loan. I have tried to recover the

:31:49.:31:54.

?500 in vouchers that I paid them, but obviously all of my requests

:31:55.:31:59.

were denied. Making it worse was the fact that he borrowed the money to

:32:00.:32:03.

buy the vouchers from friends and family. This is really upsetting,

:32:04.:32:06.

no-one likes to see the family upsets. And... Sorry! And it has

:32:07.:32:20.

really upset me. Well, since that report went out, the company that

:32:21.:32:25.

produces iTunes vouchers, Apple, has told us about new measures it hopes

:32:26.:32:28.

will make things harder for the fraudsters. It has limited the

:32:29.:32:31.

amount of vouchers that can be bought in any one day and added a

:32:32.:32:35.

warning to the cards and packaging to make clear that they can't be

:32:36.:32:40.

used for anything other than iTunes purchases. And Apple has reiterated

:32:41.:32:46.

the advice, to ignore any calls you may get trying to get you to pay in

:32:47.:32:50.

this way, because they are simply a scam. Next, some good news on a

:32:51.:32:55.

story we featured on our Holidays series earlier this year. Harold and

:32:56.:33:00.

his partner had to cancel their crews to South Africa after she

:33:01.:33:04.

received some life-changing news from her doctor. She said, sorry,

:33:05.:33:11.

it's cancer. And I just started shaking, the tears rolled down my

:33:12.:33:19.

face and I thought... Oh, my god, I have got to tell my husband! She was

:33:20.:33:25.

advised by her doctor not to travel, so Harold set about trying to cancel

:33:26.:33:30.

the ?4200 trip with the company they had booked with, called Infiniti

:33:31.:33:38.

Cruises. But as we often hear in similar situations, the company said

:33:39.:33:41.

that in line with its terms and conditions, it was non-refundable. I

:33:42.:33:45.

could not understand why a company should behave like that, somebody

:33:46.:33:50.

with a genuine illness, and traumatic stage of their life that

:33:51.:33:55.

they are going through... But things aren't as simple as that

:33:56.:34:01.

non-refundable line might suggest. This retired barrister told us he

:34:02.:34:04.

had successfully challenged a big name on the same point, arguing that

:34:05.:34:09.

as the company had ample time to resell the holiday they had no right

:34:10.:34:15.

to hold onto his money. It smacks of profiteering, out of somebody else's

:34:16.:34:22.

personal calamity. Well, at the time we featured the story, after we made

:34:23.:34:27.

exactly those points to Infiniti Cruises, gave the couple back ?1750.

:34:28.:34:35.

And now, after Rip Off Britain contacted the company again, it has

:34:36.:34:40.

given the couple an additional ?216 to cover the cost of some of the

:34:41.:34:45.

flights they were not able to take. It told us it was happy to have

:34:46.:34:49.

refunded the money and apologised for the way the situation was

:34:50.:34:52.

handled, and added that it is contacting the couple to explain how

:34:53.:34:57.

the cancellation process works. Staying with treble, in 2014, we

:34:58.:35:02.

reported that a growing number of people travelling from the UK to

:35:03.:35:06.

Mecca for the once-in-a-lifetime Hajj pilgrimage for finding that the

:35:07.:35:12.

travel arrangements they had booked failed to materialise. It is a

:35:13.:35:16.

spiritual journey which every Muslim is expected to make if they can. But

:35:17.:35:21.

each year, hundreds of people find their trip simply doesn't happen,

:35:22.:35:25.

including a specialist eye doctor who was left thousands of pounds out

:35:26.:35:30.

of pocket. It was a disappointment, leave alone the financial

:35:31.:35:39.

indications. In January this year, the director of the company he had

:35:40.:35:44.

booked with, was jailed for 14 months for fraud. It appeared that

:35:45.:35:48.

an increasing number of the companies that have sprung up to

:35:49.:35:52.

organise Hajj trips don't end up supplying what was promised.

:35:53.:35:59.

Well, now's the time of year when bookings for most Hajj

:36:00.:36:01.

pilgrimages are made, so joining me are

:36:02.:36:03.

Rashid Mogradia from the Council of British Hajj, and David Clover

:36:04.:36:06.

from the Civil Aviation Authority, which runs the Atol

:36:07.:36:08.

It is a very special thing for people of the Muslim faith, it must

:36:09.:36:28.

make them open to fraud? Absolutely, people aspire all their lives to do

:36:29.:36:35.

the Hajj. With an economy package costing ?4500 per person and 5-star

:36:36.:36:43.

packages around 6000 or a ?7,000, it is not surprising that people will

:36:44.:36:47.

try and defraud people carrying out something which is part of their

:36:48.:36:50.

faith. And we are sometimes talking about whole family is going, so you

:36:51.:36:54.

can multiply that considerably? Absolutely, and our main advice is

:36:55.:36:57.

that people should book with Atol-protected holders, and people

:36:58.:37:04.

should have a Hajj license well. But is it not a problem that people are

:37:05.:37:07.

unhappy about making complaints about something which is a

:37:08.:37:13.

pilgrimage? There is an embarrassment within the community

:37:14.:37:15.

and we need to get beyond that. What is more surprising now is reports of

:37:16.:37:19.

intimidation and some people actually being threatened, if they

:37:20.:37:23.

were to go to law enforcement, we have got to break that taboo, we

:37:24.:37:27.

have got to encourage people to go out and report these fraudsters, who

:37:28.:37:32.

are working amongst our communities, so that the authorities can take the

:37:33.:37:36.

necessary action. And indeed, we have had a very successful case at

:37:37.:37:39.

the beginning of this year but only absolutely right. It demonstrates

:37:40.:37:44.

the severity of the situation and it sends a strong signal to the

:37:45.:37:48.

community, that this is something they should work with us on. The

:37:49.:37:52.

company involved claimed to be Atol-protected, which is that gold

:37:53.:37:57.

standard, and indeed they weren't. How can people double-check? It is

:37:58.:38:02.

very simple, the Atol has all the information you need to check

:38:03.:38:07.

whether a company is a genuine Atol holder. But in the number, the name

:38:08.:38:10.

of the company, if it rings true, though ahead, if it doesn't, don't

:38:11.:38:15.

book. So, having checked that, I suppose the advice then to make sure

:38:16.:38:20.

you don't lose your money is much the same for the Hajj pilgrimage as

:38:21.:38:25.

it is for any holiday, and that is, check how you pay for it? Yeah, and

:38:26.:38:30.

there's two ways, one is a bank transfer. Or pay by card, but the

:38:31.:38:40.

Atol protection scheme will provide financial protection in the event of

:38:41.:38:43.

that company failing, and you will not be stranded abroad as well.

:38:44.:38:46.

Unfortunately this is something which is on the increase, so you

:38:47.:38:52.

have got to get the message across? Yeah, we are working with the

:38:53.:38:54.

authorities to reinforce the message. The important message is

:38:55.:38:58.

that people should look for unlicensed companies, and pay by a

:38:59.:39:02.

card so that they are getting protection from that. On our

:39:03.:39:08.

website, the Council of British Hajj, you can get information. As

:39:09.:39:11.

well as going to the Atol website as well. Thank you both of you very

:39:12.:39:13.

much indeed. Now, all week some well-known faces

:39:14.:39:18.

have been spilling the beans And today it's a good friend

:39:19.:39:23.

of mine revealing a really She's one of Britain's best-known

:39:24.:39:34.

female sopranos, winning critical acclaim and an army of firms. Lesley

:39:35.:39:41.

Garrett has appeared in Opera, musical theatre, concerts and on

:39:42.:39:46.

television. And she's a familiar face on BBC Proms, as well as songs

:39:47.:39:50.

of praise. But can she hit the right notes when it comes to all things

:39:51.:39:55.

consumer? As a consumer, would you rate yourself? I think I am pretty

:39:56.:40:00.

poor, actually. I think your programme, Rip Off Britain, was made

:40:01.:40:06.

for me, because I am so easily ripped off, I am so trusting of what

:40:07.:40:09.

people are trying to sell me. Have you ever been ripped off? Quit a few

:40:10.:40:15.

years ago, our debit card was cloned and our account was completely

:40:16.:40:19.

emptied, and so was our overdraft facility that we had never touched.

:40:20.:40:24.

We lost about ?25,000. We got it back. But I think we have just got

:40:25.:40:30.

to be very aware now that these things might happen. Again, it

:40:31.:40:34.

didn't occur to me that that could happen. I am much more will now

:40:35.:40:40.

about keeping sight of my debit card or credit card, much more careful

:40:41.:40:46.

about not letting people see my pin number. There are sharks out there,

:40:47.:40:53.

that is the point, and you ought to protect yourself? Yes, I think it is

:40:54.:40:56.

important for all of us to protect ourselves from our scrupulous

:40:57.:41:01.

people. And I do try, I am trying to be a bit more streetwise. If things

:41:02.:41:06.

are not quite right, are you a good complain? I have to be very polite

:41:07.:41:10.

if I complain face-to-face. I have to say, I'm sorry to have to ask

:41:11.:41:15.

this, but I am just wondering how you arrived at that figure, could

:41:16.:41:19.

you just break that down for me? I make it a constructive thing, I'm

:41:20.:41:23.

sure you don't realise this, but... But I do think we are put off

:41:24.:41:28.

complaining, certainly by telephone, because as we all know, if you want

:41:29.:41:32.

to get through to talk to somebody, it is all most impossible. You have

:41:33.:41:35.

to press various buttons and wait for hours. But I have written the

:41:36.:41:41.

odd complaining e-mail. I am much more assertive in that situation.

:41:42.:41:45.

Did it bear fruit? Alan in fact I think I might complain more often!

:41:46.:41:51.

Sohaib Maqsood me a new, assertive goal coming up! She always says it

:41:52.:41:53.

with a smile! Sarah Pennells and David McClelland

:41:54.:41:56.

are here to answer This one says, once you have bought

:41:57.:42:06.

an appliance like washing between or a freezer, is it good to get

:42:07.:42:09.

additional insurance, once the initial guarantee has expired? Now,

:42:10.:42:17.

this is often called an extended warranty, a few years ago, they were

:42:18.:42:21.

very expensive and often mis-sold. Personally I think it is more

:42:22.:42:25.

important to buy a reliable brand in the first place, and I would also

:42:26.:42:28.

buy from a retailer which takes customer service seriously. Having

:42:29.:42:32.

said that, if you want to buy one of these policies, shop around, because

:42:33.:42:35.

there is quite big difference in price. You do not have to buy them

:42:36.:42:38.

the retailer you by the appliance from. There is also a difference in

:42:39.:42:44.

what the policy might cover. Yes or no, in the end? Personally I would

:42:45.:42:48.

go more on the brand, than buying such a policy. And David, a howl of

:42:49.:42:55.

pain, this one, he says, I received scam letters from all over the world

:42:56.:42:59.

in my post, how can I stop this? I guess first of all, the mail

:43:00.:43:03.

preference service which only works with companies which adhere to those

:43:04.:43:07.

rules. But also, to try to stop it in the first place, be careful where

:43:08.:43:10.

you leave your address, be careful which forms you fill in online,

:43:11.:43:13.

because those details can go anywhere just people might even

:43:14.:43:17.

start sending out physical mail to you from anywhere in the world, so

:43:18.:43:22.

watch out where you give your address in the first place. And lots

:43:23.:43:25.

of people have sent us comments about the child pricing item that we

:43:26.:43:32.

had, saying that on and a craft or in a cinema, a child takes up

:43:33.:43:35.

exactly the same space, so why shouldn't they pay the same amount?

:43:36.:43:39.

And also, on broadband, this person has said, he is not even getting 1

:43:40.:43:43.

megabit per second, which he says is a disgrace! And Charlotte says she

:43:44.:43:49.

would like her broadband company to send out an engineer. Anything you

:43:50.:43:53.

can add to this? There are any number of reasons why you might not

:43:54.:43:55.

be getting the speed which you paid for, but get in touch with your

:43:56.:43:59.

broadband provider and put the onus on them to try to fix it, maybe a

:44:00.:44:04.

new route IS the solution. But you need to tell them that you've got a

:44:05.:44:07.

problem in the first place. We have to stop it there.

:44:08.:44:10.

We'll be back tomorrow for what - all too soon -

:44:11.:44:14.

We'll reveal the vital consumer resource under threat

:44:15.:44:19.

and why some say that puts millions of us at risk.

:44:20.:44:23.

We'll also take a look at examples of all-too

:44:24.:44:25.

convincing fake ID and unravel why some

:44:26.:44:27.

airlines seem so keen on overbooking their flights.

:44:28.:44:33.

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