:00:00. > :00:00.Now here on BBC One, here's Angela, Gloria and Julia
:00:00. > :00:15.Welcome to what, I'm sorry to say, is the last day of our special week
:00:16. > :00:21.As well as plenty of advice on perhaps the widest range
:00:22. > :00:26.And we've a new twist on a story that kicked off the week,
:00:27. > :00:28.as we reveal how fraudsters have already found a way to exploit last
:00:29. > :00:41.We asked you to tell us what has left you feeling totally ripped off
:00:42. > :00:44.and you contacted us in your thousands. You told us about the
:00:45. > :00:50.company did they get it wrong and the customer service which is not up
:00:51. > :00:54.to scratch. They wanted to take money from people. That is what it
:00:55. > :01:01.is all about. You asked us to track down scammers and charges that you
:01:02. > :01:06.say are unfair. What kind of people can do this to an innocent human
:01:07. > :01:12.being? And, when you have lost out and no one else is to blame you have
:01:13. > :01:16.come to as to stop them falling into the same trap. You have to go
:01:17. > :01:21.through various levels of authority and push away through. We are here
:01:22. > :01:28.to find out why you are out of pocket and what you can do about it.
:01:29. > :01:32.Your stories, your money, this is Rip Off Britain.
:01:33. > :01:36.And we're delighted to have you with us as we wrap up our week
:01:37. > :01:39.of live programmes with a real mix of the topics that we know
:01:40. > :01:41.really are the ones that matter most to you.
:01:42. > :01:44.And we know that of course because of all the e-mails
:01:45. > :01:47.and messages you send us - which by the way we're
:01:48. > :01:51.And we hope that you'll keep them coming while we're on air today.
:01:52. > :01:53.Ripoffbritain@bbc.co.uk is the way to get in touch
:01:54. > :01:54.with us right now, or we're on Facebook
:01:55. > :01:59.And we've plenty of stories on their way that I'm sure you're
:02:00. > :02:07.Among them, after some genuinely shocking examples of how the big
:02:08. > :02:12.We'll be making sense of why airlines may deliberately
:02:13. > :02:23.And it could be it's not as bad an idea as you think.
:02:24. > :02:27.We'll also be seeing how the police are able to spot the difference
:02:28. > :02:32.And when you see some of the fakes - as I already have -
:02:33. > :02:34.you start to understand why the fraudsters so often
:02:35. > :02:44.And forget those smart meters, most of us have already got
:02:45. > :02:46.appliances so clever that we barely know what to do with them.
:02:47. > :02:48.Well, we'll be making things simple, while revealing some
:02:49. > :02:52.wonderfully unexpected tips on cleaning your clothes.
:02:53. > :02:55.On top of all that, we'll be paying our last visit to our
:02:56. > :02:58.pop up advice clinic, where travel expert Simon Calder
:02:59. > :03:00.and tech guru David McClelland are already getting
:03:01. > :03:09.As will we, by revealing why a vital service that's helped millions
:03:10. > :03:26.Over the years, a common theme in stories we cover on Rip Off Britain
:03:27. > :03:31.has been the work of trading standards in protecting consumers
:03:32. > :03:34.over the UK. Last week we revealed how one of the organisation was not
:03:35. > :03:40.big as ever investigations had nailed frost is behind the scheme
:03:41. > :03:45.which had left people thousands of pounds out of pocket. I did not
:03:46. > :03:51.realise anything was wrong until I got my bank statement. I saw these
:03:52. > :03:57.endless withdrawals. It was one of only two macro times in my life when
:03:58. > :04:02.my knees gave way beneath me. A huge realisation in my life that I had
:04:03. > :04:07.been duped. Polly and others have been tricked into handing over money
:04:08. > :04:10.to a company promising to promote their business but instead using
:04:11. > :04:14.card details to take money from accounts without permission. After a
:04:15. > :04:18.mammoth investigation by trading standards and the police, the
:04:19. > :04:23.culprits were brought to justice and the ringleader sentenced to six
:04:24. > :04:28.years in prison. This was an enormous, organised fraud on an
:04:29. > :04:33.industrial scale. It sends out a message that we won't tolerate
:04:34. > :04:38.businesses which go to these lengths to defraud consumers and businesses.
:04:39. > :04:43.That is just one element of the work of trading standards. Its teams also
:04:44. > :04:47.raining any businesses treating customers unfairly, crack down on
:04:48. > :04:51.rogue traders and keep tabs on product safety. Most important of
:04:52. > :04:55.all quite trading standards officers issue warnings about the latest
:04:56. > :05:00.scams and step in to help those most at risk. For the last three years,
:05:01. > :05:03.that has been a key part of the work of Beverly Burns will trading
:05:04. > :05:08.standards in Northern Ireland was she often visits people who have
:05:09. > :05:18.found themselves on what is usually known as the suckers list. If you
:05:19. > :05:20.have sent money off just to one scam, ?5, that is your details on to
:05:21. > :05:23.the suckers list. Those scammers will sell your details around the
:05:24. > :05:27.world to others. When it is on that list, it is on it for life is that
:05:28. > :05:32.even when you pass away, your details are still circulating
:05:33. > :05:35.somewhere around the world. Today, Beverly is visiting an elderly
:05:36. > :05:41.gentleman who has been repeatedly targeted by scammers. I discovered
:05:42. > :05:46.he had been sending money off regularly. I'm hoping to return and
:05:47. > :05:54.making sure he has taken on board as vice I have given him. Hello. How
:05:55. > :05:59.are you? 89-year-old artist spends lives on his own just outside
:06:00. > :06:07.Belfast. How many letters where you getting a day? Some days it was five
:06:08. > :06:14.or six, may be more. I just looked at them and I was taken in. You
:06:15. > :06:18.really believed when they said, Mr Spence, you have one a sum of money.
:06:19. > :06:23.We have to do is place an order and we will send you the prize-winning
:06:24. > :06:33.check. How much will you sending off every week to the scams? Sometimes
:06:34. > :06:38.it was ?30, ?40, ?50. You are leaving yourself short? Leaving
:06:39. > :06:45.myself short. Over the last five years it is thought he has spent
:06:46. > :06:48.?8,000 on various scam offers. You have to be careful how you are
:06:49. > :06:52.handling these scam victims. You must not make them feel that they
:06:53. > :06:57.are stupid. You want to put them back in control of the situation and
:06:58. > :07:01.make them aware there are a range of scams and their details are being
:07:02. > :07:06.circulated around the world and they need to be really, really careful.
:07:07. > :07:09.This kind of help for people like RTE is under threat. Trading
:07:10. > :07:16.standards teams across the country have been hit hard by severe cuts to
:07:17. > :07:20.local authority funding. Since 2009, staff numbers nationally have been
:07:21. > :07:27.reduced by more than half. 20 services in England have lost 60% of
:07:28. > :07:32.their funding with some just left with one trading standards officer.
:07:33. > :07:36.Keith is at Bournemouth University. His team has been researching the
:07:37. > :07:42.scale of the problem. He believes the work of trading standards is
:07:43. > :07:46.more vital than ever as scams continue to increase. This crime is
:07:47. > :07:51.affecting people all over the place, causing terrible psychological,
:07:52. > :07:56.emotional and economic damage. Research over the last few years has
:07:57. > :08:00.suggested it is accelerating and is more sophisticated. Criminals are
:08:01. > :08:04.turning to this sort of crime because often they recognise that
:08:05. > :08:09.they are unlikely to be caught and they are unlikely to be prosecuted.
:08:10. > :08:14.Keith knows at first hand the effect such scams can have. I spoke to him
:08:15. > :08:19.on rip-off Britain a few years ago after his own late mother, who
:08:20. > :08:23.suffered from dementia, was duped into spending thousands of pounds on
:08:24. > :08:30.vitamin pills. Have you any idea how much your mum has spent? Over the
:08:31. > :08:34.space of seven months, she has spent over ?2200 on one company on
:08:35. > :08:40.vitamins and vitamin supplements. I have had days when I wanted to cry,
:08:41. > :08:45.my guts turning inside out, frustration and anger. My mum is a
:08:46. > :08:49.great woman, a great mother. I am feeling slightly emotional talking
:08:50. > :08:55.about it. I really love my mum. What is going on? How can this happen to
:08:56. > :08:59.my mum? That terrible experience inspired Keith to investigate the
:09:00. > :09:06.consequences of such scams and made him see how crucial trading
:09:07. > :09:10.standards can be. The cases you work with, it described to us how they
:09:11. > :09:15.have literally broken down in tears in sheer relief they have been able
:09:16. > :09:21.to tell their story and change their way of life and not to be conned
:09:22. > :09:24.anymore, not be scanned anymore. As part of his research the case has
:09:25. > :09:30.studied the effect that cuts are having on the work of trading
:09:31. > :09:34.standards. One of the ways I like to describe this is what I call a
:09:35. > :09:39.perfect storm. The tragedy of more scamming going on and huge pressure
:09:40. > :09:43.on the resources because of cutbacks. Keith worries that
:09:44. > :09:48.reducing trading standards funding is counter-productive and could end
:09:49. > :09:55.up costing more long-term. If elderly people are scant of their
:09:56. > :09:59.life savings if they lose 50,000, 100,000, ?200,000, a significant
:10:00. > :10:03.number of those people at some point in their lives will provide some
:10:04. > :10:08.form of care. Normally a local authority would ask the person to
:10:09. > :10:13.make a contribution, or find that out of their life savings. If they
:10:14. > :10:16.have been scammed of life savings, the local authority picks up the tab
:10:17. > :10:22.for the long-term care of that person in the future. However,
:10:23. > :10:25.according to Simon Blackburn from the Local Government Association,
:10:26. > :10:30.with their own funding cut by six S if governments, local councils have
:10:31. > :10:34.little choice. Every element of local authority spending is under
:10:35. > :10:40.pressure. Every council is full to make very difficult decisions about
:10:41. > :10:46.how they allocate those resources. Now are no easy answers to any of
:10:47. > :10:49.this. What I do seek not just in trading standards but across council
:10:50. > :10:53.services in general, is a huge amount of innovation and commitment
:10:54. > :10:58.and joint working from staff which means we are getting extremely good
:10:59. > :11:03.value for money for the public. But at the chartered trading standards
:11:04. > :11:07.Institute, the chief executive says, services have been slashed so much
:11:08. > :11:10.they are now at crisis point, especially in local authorities
:11:11. > :11:18.where the trading standards team has been cut to just one person. That
:11:19. > :11:23.one trading standards officer has 250 different bits of legislation to
:11:24. > :11:30.enforce. That includes workaround product safety, integrity of the
:11:31. > :11:35.food chain and the stuff we do to protect elderly victims from scams
:11:36. > :11:40.you cannot do that with one person. The help of a trading standards
:11:41. > :11:45.officer has been invaluable. You have not sent any more money off
:11:46. > :11:52.since I was last out? No, I have a lot to be thankful for. I have not
:11:53. > :11:57.sent one brown penny. You're going to send me your scan post now on a
:11:58. > :12:03.regular basis? Comes now, I will forwarded on to you. That is great.
:12:04. > :12:06.That is a lovely part of of my job when you visit someone you have gone
:12:07. > :12:11.out to and given advice and discovered they have taken on board
:12:12. > :12:16.that advice and have stopped sending money off to scams. With such
:12:17. > :12:19.drastically reduced resources, it is exactly this kind of interventions
:12:20. > :12:27.that the trading standards Institute fears may no longer be able to
:12:28. > :12:30.happen. We know that most locals trading standards departments cannot
:12:31. > :12:36.deal with all of this. The struggle to find why this is not getting
:12:37. > :12:40.higher consideration because these of vulnerable people we are letting
:12:41. > :12:44.down. Our colleagues up and down the country are working hard, doing
:12:45. > :12:49.really great work, but they have not got the resources to cope. You can
:12:50. > :12:53.see the dilemma for councils to have to make tough decisions to balance
:12:54. > :12:59.the books. Some fear next time, anyone like RTE is targeted by
:13:00. > :13:06.scammers, there may be no one to help. I was scared of not having
:13:07. > :13:13.enough money to get my daily living. This lady turned up and told me what
:13:14. > :13:21.it was. Now I can go to bed at night more relaxed, knowing that I'm going
:13:22. > :13:25.to work it out and still have a few shillings in my pocket.
:13:26. > :13:26.Well, as we heard, cash-strapped councils can have
:13:27. > :13:30.But when you hear someone like Artie explain the difference
:13:31. > :13:33.Trading Standards has made to HIS life, you can't help
:13:34. > :13:35.but worry about what might have to give if the service
:13:36. > :13:44.Let us know your thoughts on that, as you have on the stories we've
:13:45. > :13:50.Yesterday's item on broadband speeds prompted a number
:13:51. > :13:53.of you to get in touch - I'd say straight away,
:13:54. > :13:56.but I suppose that depends if your connection is quick enough
:13:57. > :14:10.She contacted us to say that for six years she's had a MAXIMUM
:14:11. > :14:17.She reckons line rental should be charged according
:14:18. > :14:21.Those listening carefully may have noticed you said
:14:22. > :14:29.Larry Simons e-mailed querying that point,
:14:30. > :14:31.and he's right to, because there's actually a big difference
:14:32. > :14:39.BITS refer to speed and BYTES to storage size.
:14:40. > :14:45.So, in this context, it's definitely BITS!
:14:46. > :14:47.And you sent us a real range of opinions after our piece
:14:48. > :14:51.on the baffling world of child prices.
:14:52. > :14:53.Janet Reeves is still unhappy that she had to pay the full adult
:14:54. > :14:56.price when she took a three and a five-year-old to a panto.
:14:57. > :14:59.But, on the other hand, Charles King is among those to say
:15:00. > :15:01.that, though he agrees in some instances children shouldn't cost
:15:02. > :15:04.the same as an adult, on flights, he thinks they should,
:15:05. > :15:16.as you pay for the seat, whatever the age of the person who's in it.
:15:17. > :15:20.I suppose on that logic if you put them in the overhead locker they go
:15:21. > :15:25.free! But an e-mail we've had
:15:26. > :15:27.from Kirsten Hackman sums up how bonkers it can be to work
:15:28. > :15:30.all this out. She has a 12-year-old
:15:31. > :15:31.and a 15-year-old. And when she goes to her local
:15:32. > :15:34.cinema, the 15-year-old is classed as a teen,
:15:35. > :15:36.so is excluded from the It actually ends up cheaper
:15:37. > :15:44.for her to buy what ends up as five tickets -
:15:45. > :15:48.so a family ticket plus a teen ticket -
:15:49. > :15:51.than it is to get the four tickets A situation she calls
:15:52. > :15:55."utter madness." All this week we've been bringing
:15:56. > :16:14.you updates on stories we've covered At the start of 2016, on our holiday
:16:15. > :16:18.series, we looked into how many airlines carry a life-saving piece
:16:19. > :16:22.of kit and told how a medical student ended up being drafted in to
:16:23. > :16:29.use it when a passenger was suddenly taken ill on his flight. It was only
:16:30. > :16:33.really after words when he went off the plane and everybody kind of
:16:34. > :16:38.believed out and you realised what had happened. Certainly the
:16:39. > :16:43.disability gave this man the best shot of survival and if they had not
:16:44. > :16:47.had that his chances would have been much slimmer than they were. You
:16:48. > :16:53.might have expected it would be standard practice to carry --
:16:54. > :17:00.defibrillators. But it is up to airlines to decide. It is important
:17:01. > :17:03.because life is precious than something so simple, a small piece
:17:04. > :17:10.of equipment that does not cost a lot of money can save a life. It is
:17:11. > :17:13.as simple as that. We asked the ten UK alone for carry the most
:17:14. > :17:21.passengers whether their planes had defibrillators on board. While most
:17:22. > :17:26.did, three of them, Flybe, log-linear and do to, either carried
:17:27. > :17:31.them rarely or not at all. That has changed. These airlines have revised
:17:32. > :17:34.their policies and this invaluable equipment is either already or soon
:17:35. > :17:44.will be on board their flights as well. Meanwhile in 2015 we reported
:17:45. > :17:48.on an auction website driving some of you mad including Paul Taylor
:17:49. > :17:54.from Northamptonshire who had come across that looking for a new phone
:17:55. > :17:57.for his son. I am used to bidding sites and auction sites, I have been
:17:58. > :18:03.doing it for several years, so when I saw the advert I thought this is
:18:04. > :18:13.great. The ad he had seen was from a company called Madbid which was
:18:14. > :18:18.promising high end electrical goods at 80% less than on the High Street
:18:19. > :18:24.but the site did not work as he expected and every time he bit he
:18:25. > :18:31.was racking up the cost. Shocking was the word I would use for my
:18:32. > :18:35.stark realisation that I felt that I had done something really stupid.
:18:36. > :18:40.Other viewers told us they did not think the way Madbid works was made
:18:41. > :18:52.sufficiently clear. I did not realise you were actually paying to
:18:53. > :18:57.bed. At the time Madbid completely rejected such criticisms saying the
:18:58. > :19:01.money poll had spent was not lost but converted into credit that he
:19:02. > :19:06.could use against purchases. It is the speed that is how the site works
:19:07. > :19:10.and it is made perfectly clear but earlier this year the advertising
:19:11. > :19:14.standards authority looked into five issues around the practices of
:19:15. > :19:20.Madbid and several other auction sites I'm ruled against the company
:19:21. > :19:24.on each one, in particular finding that Madbid failed to sufficiently
:19:25. > :19:29.explain the costs of bidding and the savings were not backed up by
:19:30. > :19:33.sufficient evidence. The company tells us it has made changes to
:19:34. > :19:37.address the points raised, for example adding to its how it Works
:19:38. > :19:42.section and removing in active advertising content from the web. In
:19:43. > :19:44.one of programmes last week we went behind the sea is with the
:19:45. > :19:50.Metropolitan Police, cracking down on the criminals producing all too
:19:51. > :19:55.convincing fake ID in towns across the country. They will get loads of
:19:56. > :19:59.different specialist equipment together and be generated these
:20:00. > :20:06.documents on a daily basis. You have holograms, watermarks, UV, cards, so
:20:07. > :20:12.they would be mass-producing these on request for individuals. When you
:20:13. > :20:18.see ID you are looking for a driving licence? Criminals can use a machine
:20:19. > :20:24.like that to print driving licences, identity cards, security industry
:20:25. > :20:31.cards. The fraud busting team has stopped hundreds of crooks in their
:20:32. > :20:34.tracks and say various organisations over ?60 million but we wanted to
:20:35. > :20:39.know more about how they can tell which documents are fake.
:20:40. > :20:43.Well, to show us exactly that, DCI Gary Miles who we saw in that
:20:44. > :20:49.Last year identity fraud reached the highest levels ever recorded -
:20:50. > :20:55.with almost 173,000 cases reported in the UK.
:20:56. > :21:04.I was scammed and very briefly last year on a fake driving licence and
:21:05. > :21:12.that freaks me out a little bit. Tell me what we can look out for. We
:21:13. > :21:17.would ask people to look at the driving licence they have got. This
:21:18. > :21:22.is a genuine license. If you were to feel along the top of the licensee
:21:23. > :21:26.will feel different things. It is raised at the top. There is a
:21:27. > :21:31.texture to it all the way down. If you do not feel that when you are
:21:32. > :21:34.comparing it to the licence presented to you then there is
:21:35. > :21:41.something wrong. This one is smooth so I would know that it's fake. I
:21:42. > :21:46.called this a hologram. There is a device on the back that shows you
:21:47. > :21:52.two types of photograph when you twist it which is difficult to
:21:53. > :21:55.counterfeit. Can you see that? I tried this on my real licence that
:21:56. > :22:03.whole mount it is actually quite easy. On the counterfeit they cannot
:22:04. > :22:07.do it. Nothing to the eye or the camera. All of the photographs on
:22:08. > :22:10.the driving licence are in black-and-white or if there's
:22:11. > :22:17.anything any colour... I probably would have said colour if you had
:22:18. > :22:27.asked me in isolation. Now, everything is black-and-white. What
:22:28. > :22:31.are you demonstrating here? All passports, EU, UK rest of the world
:22:32. > :22:35.to be exactly the same size and have exactly the same dimension is. If
:22:36. > :22:38.you were to compare your passport with the passport you are looking at
:22:39. > :22:43.and it is bigger or smaller there is something wrong. You can also look
:22:44. > :22:49.at a genuine passport has rounded corners whereas counterfeit, because
:22:50. > :22:55.it is difficult to cut them, usually have square corners. I saw that
:22:56. > :23:03.machine that cuts the corners. There is a machine for everything. You
:23:04. > :23:07.have a big office with about 30 or 40 people working looking at the
:23:08. > :23:12.differences. I am thinking of all the people in banks and post offices
:23:13. > :23:16.and airports. Surely that has to be more training for those people to
:23:17. > :23:22.understand exactly what is fake and what is not. I agree. It is a fine
:23:23. > :23:26.line. They have to be trained more on the things that are easy to
:23:27. > :23:33.detect and pick up in their day-to-day work without having to
:23:34. > :23:37.actually make them experts. The fake licence in my case was made in a
:23:38. > :23:40.sitting room and it got them right through the bank system without any
:23:41. > :23:45.further checks. Unfortunately that is common. I will be feeling my
:23:46. > :23:51.driving licence or we tend! Next this morning, you may remember
:23:52. > :23:54.some really quite upsetting footage that made headlines last month
:23:55. > :23:57.after an incident on one of the best ADVERT: That's what makes
:23:58. > :24:01.the world's leading United Airlines describe themselves
:24:02. > :24:06.as the friendly fliers. But you can't get much more
:24:07. > :24:09.unfriendly than this? In shocking scenes filmed
:24:10. > :24:12.by other passengers, a 69-year-old doctor was dragged
:24:13. > :24:15.from his seat to make way United Airlines was heavily
:24:16. > :24:32.criticised for what happened but has since offered a wholehearted apology
:24:33. > :24:34.and announced a complete shake-up It will now offer passengers up
:24:35. > :24:49.to $10,000 for giving up their seats Probably considerably more than the
:24:50. > :24:51.cost of the tickets in the first place.
:24:52. > :24:54.Travel expert Simon Calder joins me now.
:24:55. > :24:56.Simon, this was obviously an extreme example but less
:24:57. > :24:59.dramatically enforced overbooking is actually rather common, isn't it?
:25:00. > :25:07.Absolutely. It is much easier to list the ones that do not overbook,
:25:08. > :25:14.jet two, monarch, Ryanair, than the ones who do. You might think that is
:25:15. > :25:18.terrible. There are advantages. They are lying makes more money which
:25:19. > :25:22.they say keeps fares down. It enables people who are desperate to
:25:23. > :25:26.travel to get on an apparently full flight and if you're like me and
:25:27. > :25:30.your travel plans are flexible you can actually earn more than the cost
:25:31. > :25:36.of your ticket for fallen tidily getting the next flight. You are
:25:37. > :25:43.somebody who welcomes this? Very much so. What united airlines did
:25:44. > :25:49.wrong was not offer enough cash. If they had had an on-board auction and
:25:50. > :25:52.said $1000, $2000, they would have eventually found people who would
:25:53. > :26:00.have walked off the plane voluntarily. They should have done
:26:01. > :26:05.it when he checked in at the gate? They should be offering lots of
:26:06. > :26:10.money. If you do not want to go, if you want to stay on the plane, what
:26:11. > :26:16.right do you have to stay there? Can they make you come off? Absolutely.
:26:17. > :26:19.The airline will see we reserve the right to off load you. An airline
:26:20. > :26:26.ticket is a pretty flimsy promise but if the make you work assuming
:26:27. > :26:31.you are in Europe they have to give you either a cheque or bank transfer
:26:32. > :26:36.or cash compensation up to ?500 and put you on the next available flight
:26:37. > :26:39.and give you meals and accommodation until you can catch that. Some
:26:40. > :26:43.people saying there should be outlawed and they should not be
:26:44. > :26:47.overbooking. You would not agree because it would do you out of free
:26:48. > :26:53.flights. When it is handled well everybody is happy, the hurling, the
:26:54. > :26:57.passenger like me who has been invited to leave for a good
:26:58. > :27:02.incentive than the person who gets to travel, maybe it is a family
:27:03. > :27:08.emergency. Every time I hear something bad about it it is because
:27:09. > :27:13.the airlines have handled properly. I hope next time I am travelling you
:27:14. > :27:20.are one of the passengers and then you can get up instead of me!
:27:21. > :27:23.Next, if you're buying a new appliance, chances are you'll
:27:24. > :27:25.make sure you get one with all sorts of snazzy functions.
:27:26. > :27:32.But how many of them will you actually go on to use?
:27:33. > :27:43.Washing clothes used to be so simple. From now on wash days are
:27:44. > :27:47.going to be different. But in these high-tech times getting to grips
:27:48. > :27:52.with your washing machine can seem such an impossible task that most of
:27:53. > :27:57.us do not bother trying. Research shows 70% of us use the same wash
:27:58. > :28:05.cycle almost every time and nearly half are put off by complex
:28:06. > :28:09.multi-setting controls. This woman from north London has a football mad
:28:10. > :28:14.family so she knows more than most about dirty clothes. My husband is a
:28:15. > :28:21.coach and both of my children play for the teams. I have three lots of
:28:22. > :28:26.kit to clean. Also bids for 120 children who are also playing. When
:28:27. > :28:29.it comes to working out how all the different items need washing and
:28:30. > :28:34.understanding all the settings on her machine Mickey struggles. I
:28:35. > :28:38.would love to know what they all mean but I only use the max settings
:28:39. > :28:44.because I do not know what the others, all the other buttons do. I
:28:45. > :28:52.have shrunk a few things. I am known for that. I press a button which
:28:53. > :28:56.makes it a shorter cycle. I do not know why, but I am just thinking if
:28:57. > :29:03.it is a shorter cycle to saving you money. On top of the various
:29:04. > :29:08.programme options to mull over there are all of the symbols on the labels
:29:09. > :29:12.to figure out. When I look at the instructions on the label I know
:29:13. > :29:15.what the number means and I know what dry-clean only means and that
:29:16. > :29:21.is about it, all of the other boxes I do not know. If not, look at the
:29:22. > :29:31.number, puppets in the machine. All the best. She is by no means the
:29:32. > :29:35.only person who does that as we discovered when we ask you how many
:29:36. > :29:47.symbols you recognise. I do not know that one. You can wash it? Something
:29:48. > :29:51.like that? Not sure. Another person equally baffled is Bob from west
:29:52. > :29:58.London who does not really know what all the buttons on his washing
:29:59. > :30:02.machine do. I just put it on 40 and put the start button on and all the
:30:03. > :30:12.rest of the mynah bird use. I put everything in one go, jumpers,
:30:13. > :30:19.shirts, all the whites, colours. I put a white sheet with a black sheet
:30:20. > :30:22.and it came out great. When we are shopping for any appliance we will
:30:23. > :30:26.actively seek out the ones that have the most functions but when we get
:30:27. > :30:34.them home we just stick to the basics. Help is at hand. A member of
:30:35. > :30:37.the domestic appliance service association is going to give them
:30:38. > :30:45.both a masterclass in getting the most from their machines. He wants
:30:46. > :30:53.the rest of us to get to grips with all of those settings as well,
:30:54. > :30:59.however daunting that may seem. It can be a little bit daunting to go
:31:00. > :31:03.through the manual but it is a good idea to understand how best you can
:31:04. > :31:08.use your products instead of using one programme that fits all. Today
:31:09. > :31:13.they do not need that manual because Ross is going to give them a crash
:31:14. > :31:17.course in how to get the best value out of their machines, explaining
:31:18. > :31:30.each of the buttons that could revolutionise their washing.
:31:31. > :31:39.Confusion over how many buttons there are and what they do. For
:31:40. > :31:48.example, speed perfect. It is more for an emergency that I need to wash
:31:49. > :31:52.a few items quickly. The eco-setting could save you up to 20% over the
:31:53. > :32:01.energy that washing machine uses. What else is confusing? What reduced
:32:02. > :32:05.ironing does is it will continue to slightly rotate so when you pull
:32:06. > :32:12.them out they are not quite as squashed as they are immediately
:32:13. > :32:18.after the spin cycle. Unfortunately, we don't all have a Ross on hand. We
:32:19. > :32:27.have some tips on cleaning your clothes without even needing to
:32:28. > :32:31.switch it on. This woman is from the love your close campaign for that
:32:32. > :32:36.she has some fantastic ways to spruce up your clothes and help the
:32:37. > :32:41.environment. Jeans, if you wash them, they can lose their shape and
:32:42. > :32:47.fade. You can put them in the freezer. Get a freezer bag, fold
:32:48. > :32:52.them up and leave them overnight. That kills the bacteria and gets rid
:32:53. > :32:59.of any smells so that they will keep their shape. You might want to take
:33:00. > :33:05.them out again before putting them on. If you have too fresh in
:33:06. > :33:12.something, you can do it at home with things you find in the kitchen.
:33:13. > :33:16.One way is to use cheap vodka and put it in a spray dispenser and I
:33:17. > :33:20.will get rid of the smells. Finally a cooking ingredient which can help
:33:21. > :33:24.more than just your baking. Bicarbonate of soda is a great
:33:25. > :33:31.ingredient. You can rub it on to the stain and soak it into cold water.
:33:32. > :33:35.That should do the trick. Back at the masterclass, Bob and Nicky feel
:33:36. > :33:41.ready to unleash the potential of the washing machine say have finally
:33:42. > :33:45.begun to understand. I have to see how it will go. I know my settings
:33:46. > :33:50.now. I will look at the labels more and look at the manual. It is a
:33:51. > :33:51.really good insight into the machines and the settings and why
:33:52. > :34:10.they are there as well. I might just hijack that man and
:34:11. > :34:22.take him home. I am not convinced that is the most cost-effective use
:34:23. > :34:23.of vodka. I am sure manufacturers would save their manuals are very
:34:24. > :34:30.clear. In today's papers The Sun says
:34:31. > :34:33.Own Brand Is Better For You - That's after a comparison found that
:34:34. > :34:36.some branded products can have more sugar,
:34:37. > :34:38.fat, salt and calories than the supermarkets'
:34:39. > :34:45.own brand equivalent. The Mail reports that a record
:34:46. > :34:51.2.1 million used cars were sold in the first three months
:34:52. > :34:54.of this year. If that trend continues let's hope
:34:55. > :34:56.the dealers were watching our item earlier in the week when we reminded
:34:57. > :35:00.them what the law says they need to tell customers about any
:35:01. > :35:14.outstanding recalls. Look at this story also in the Mail.
:35:15. > :35:20.I love scented candles. Now I find out they might be polluting my home.
:35:21. > :35:27.Apparently they released particles linked to heart and lung disease. If
:35:28. > :35:32.I pop my clogs, I have these moments. We are thrilled to be able
:35:33. > :35:40.to get one man ?3,000 that he and his wife had
:35:41. > :35:55.all but given up hope the person we are about to meet
:35:56. > :36:04.needs no helpful touches on top of things. This scam takes advantage of
:36:05. > :36:08.our fears over cyber crime. Fiona is with our technology Guru. It is all
:36:09. > :36:15.about and e-mail you received just two macro days ago. What does it
:36:16. > :36:19.say? It was from BT and it was from the cyber attack and to upgrade
:36:20. > :36:25.security. Such an authentic looking e-mail. The logos were identical to
:36:26. > :36:31.BT. The magenta clicking link was the same. The signature of the
:36:32. > :36:36.managing director. I thought, well, that was the right thing to do, for
:36:37. > :36:40.them to upgrade. Then I thought, perhaps that's not quite right. I
:36:41. > :36:47.read the wording. There was one particular word that I thought, that
:36:48. > :36:54.doesn't seem right. I was going through more carefully then. I know
:36:55. > :37:00.you did not fall for it thanks to a very clever trick. Tell us about
:37:01. > :37:05.that. It came from Beattie internet. When you click on that, it tells you
:37:06. > :37:11.where the link comes from. Hovering with your mouse. That was very
:37:12. > :37:16.clever with you. Thank goodness you went ahead and did that. David, what
:37:17. > :37:31.is your take on all of this? This is the latest in a long line of
:37:32. > :37:38.phishing attacks. They want you to click onto a link to try to get some
:37:39. > :37:41.of your personal details or install malware on your machine to make more
:37:42. > :37:44.of the attacks happened was that you did the right thing by hovering on
:37:45. > :37:48.the link and noticing it did not seem to go to the address you would
:37:49. > :37:53.expect it to go to. There are a number of things. Checking to see
:37:54. > :37:58.and there was a spelling mistake. All of this paints a picture that
:37:59. > :38:06.this is not a genuine e-mail. Treat any e-mail you get like this with a
:38:07. > :38:12.healthy dose of scepticism. I believe you have something else to
:38:13. > :38:18.show me. Action fraud set and out any manner like this, it is not
:38:19. > :38:25.genuine. I imagine you are still in a state of delayed shock, thinking
:38:26. > :38:29.how close you came. I am. I was watching Rip-off Britain at the
:38:30. > :38:33.time. When I saw the e-mail address, I thought, that is the answer. Will
:38:34. > :38:36.contact you let the general public know. That is what we like to do.
:38:37. > :38:46.Back to the studio. One of the real joys of the
:38:47. > :38:57.programmers seeing people taking our advice.
:38:58. > :39:02.Some people say they love this programme because they love all of
:39:03. > :39:07.the advice our experts give and they follow it. As a result they do not
:39:08. > :39:14.get hacked, scanned, and they save money. Over the years I saved ?2000
:39:15. > :39:22.on bank charges that should not have been paid with my house and contents
:39:23. > :39:27.insurance last year. I saved nearly 40% of the same insurance company
:39:28. > :39:36.for my house and contents. All sorts of things. Listening to our own
:39:37. > :39:39.advice. When my car was due to be reinsured, the insurance company
:39:40. > :39:45.with whom I'd been for about three years suddenly almost doubled the
:39:46. > :39:50.premium. I went online, I went to various companies on the telephone,
:39:51. > :39:56.and ended up with one who came back almost half price. You do have to
:39:57. > :40:01.query it and stick with it. All week we have been sharing tips and
:40:02. > :40:02.secrets from very familiar faces. Here is our final one this
:40:03. > :40:18.stop Fiona Phillips has been a very familiar face on this programme, as
:40:19. > :40:23.well as appearing in a documentary about stress. According to latest
:40:24. > :40:28.surveys, half of us feel we are too stressed. I am definitely one of
:40:29. > :40:33.those people. Away from the screens, what she liked as a consumer? Do you
:40:34. > :40:39.complain a lot? I never complain. Given if I have had an awful meal in
:40:40. > :40:45.a restaurant... The weight will come along and say, is everything all
:40:46. > :40:49.right? I go, yes, it is lovely. My mother was like that. We always
:40:50. > :40:53.don't like to hurt people's feelings. If you are dealing with
:40:54. > :41:01.your household bills, are you good at complaining? I am terrible. My
:41:02. > :41:05.bills are all estimated every time I see them I am furious. The person I
:41:06. > :41:10.am most annoyed at in all of this is me. I could be doing something about
:41:11. > :41:16.it. Have you ever got yourself into debt? When you are only 18 you have
:41:17. > :41:22.to have a guarantor to open your first bank account. My guarantors
:41:23. > :41:26.when my mum and dad. Yes, unfortunately, I had got myself into
:41:27. > :41:33.a bit of a mess moneywise. My mum phoned me and she was Welsh, my mum.
:41:34. > :41:38.Everyone would say I have a lovely man in the front room says he is a
:41:39. > :41:42.paler. The bailiff was saying, I'm afraid your daughter is this and
:41:43. > :41:47.that. They were responsible for it, or otherwise there were going to
:41:48. > :41:52.take the furniture. So, they paid you up. I did pay them back. I think
:41:53. > :41:55.you would have to watch the programme a bit more often to teach
:41:56. > :42:00.you how to complain and not be so nice. I would not like to get anyone
:42:01. > :42:04.into trouble. Even though they completely rip me off. You are too
:42:05. > :42:09.nice. Anyway, that is a good thing. Maybe. She is a good girl but she
:42:10. > :42:13.needs to learn. Well, we're rapidly running out
:42:14. > :42:16.of time so let's dive into some of the questions you've been sending
:42:17. > :42:24.us this morning. I plucked up the courage to contact
:42:25. > :42:28.BT over my poor broadband coverage and struck a good deal with them.
:42:29. > :42:35.Following the fake BT e-mail, lots of you are telling us you have had
:42:36. > :42:39.similar e-mails, supposedly from H some issues about driving licence
:42:40. > :42:46.could be used to be in colour until 2007 but they are now done in black
:42:47. > :42:49.and white. James Taylor says we are told to have numerous PIN numbers
:42:50. > :42:54.and passwords and to keep changing them that she is Janet, sorry. She
:42:55. > :43:00.cannot remember so many. I am with her on this. What is the advice?
:43:01. > :43:04.Don't try to remember them and do not use the same one on your
:43:05. > :43:09.different accounts. Use a secure password manager full you might pay
:43:10. > :43:14.a small fee. There are a handful of reputable ones online you can hunt
:43:15. > :43:19.out. Wendy went on holiday and there was lots of building work in the
:43:20. > :43:24.hotel next door for that she was not offered any refund or a change of
:43:25. > :43:28.hotel? Presumably it was a package holiday booked through ABTA. They
:43:29. > :43:32.should have told her in advance there was building work which would
:43:33. > :43:36.impair the holiday. If they didn't, they should have given her an
:43:37. > :43:41.alternative hotel or whatever. It sounds as if she should be taking
:43:42. > :43:47.this up with ABTA or with a lawyer. That is telling it like it is. That
:43:48. > :43:53.is it from us this week. We have had such a ball being here. We are so
:43:54. > :43:59.grateful to everyone who has been in touch. I am thrilled to say we will
:44:00. > :44:02.be doing another week of life programmes later this year we will
:44:03. > :44:10.be back with a brand-new series of food programmes. That starts the
:44:11. > :44:18.week after next and is full of good information. For now, from the three
:44:19. > :44:19.of us and all in the studio, divide. Thank you. -- goodbye.