:01:23. > :01:27.We asked you to tell us who's left you feeling ripped off. I think
:01:27. > :01:31.this is very, very, very wrong for what they have done. The bank
:01:31. > :01:35.passed charges upon charges, upon charges. Legally, it was right,
:01:35. > :01:38.morally, that's where the question of doubt comes into my view. And
:01:38. > :01:44.you contacted us in your thousands by post, e-mail, even stopping us
:01:44. > :01:48.in the streets and the message couldn't be clearer. You don't
:01:48. > :01:52.always get a straight answer, they just try and fob you off. I'm not
:01:52. > :01:55.happy with them at all. It's always that very small print, that's got
:01:55. > :01:58.the clause in, that you didn't realise. We're being ripped off,
:01:58. > :02:01.big time. Whether it's a deliberate rip-off, a simple mistake or a
:02:01. > :02:05.catch in the small print, we'll find out why you're out of pocket
:02:05. > :02:12.and, indeed, what you can do about it. Keep asking the questions keep,
:02:12. > :02:15.you know, go to the top if you have to. We do get results, that's the
:02:15. > :02:18.interesting thing. Your stories, your money, this is Rip-off Britain.
:02:18. > :02:20.Hello and welcome to Rip-off Britain, where WE are waging a war
:02:20. > :02:27.against unfair charges, poor service and, of course,
:02:27. > :02:36.straightforward rip-offs. If you've paid for something and not got what
:02:36. > :02:40.you expected then we're here to help. It is often hard to know
:02:40. > :02:43.where to turn for advice so we're here to fight your corner and make
:02:43. > :02:47.sure you get the answers you deserve. And if we can help more of
:02:47. > :02:49.you avoid being ripped off in the first place, then so much the
:02:49. > :02:51.better. Now, today we'll be investigating situations where, as
:02:51. > :02:55.far as you're concerned, the companies that you've done business
:02:55. > :02:58.with have not lived up to their part of the bargain and quite
:02:58. > :03:01.simply we'll be asking them why? Also coming up on today's show:
:03:01. > :03:06.Looking to sell your car? Why using the company ByeBuyCar might also
:03:06. > :03:14.mean bye-bye cash. I just didn't know what to feel, it was just a
:03:14. > :03:21.mixture of anger...and upset. I'm probably never going to see the car
:03:21. > :03:25.again, all I really want is to get the money that I am owed. Our pop-
:03:25. > :03:28.up shop proved to be a huge success when you came to tell us your
:03:28. > :03:32.issues and to meet our team of top experts. Actually, being organised,
:03:32. > :03:35.booking things as much as a year in advance, going to the box office
:03:35. > :03:38.and paying in cash, physically, is the way to keep those costs to a
:03:38. > :03:42.minimum. A convenience that most of us just take for granted these days
:03:42. > :03:45.is cash machines. Giving us access to our money 24/7, but if you need
:03:45. > :03:50.cash urgently from one of them then paying for the privilege is
:03:50. > :03:54.becoming increasingly hard to avoid. Many of us are using cash less and
:03:54. > :03:58.less these days, but when we do need it, the easiest way to get it
:03:58. > :04:01.is from the hole in the wall, or at least it is when that's free - but
:04:01. > :04:11.around the country there are now more than 21,000 cash machines that
:04:11. > :04:18.
:04:18. > :04:21.charge to withdraw our own money. Add together the amount made by all
:04:21. > :04:28.of those charges and you're easily looking at at least �130 million a
:04:28. > :04:30.year. In poorer areas of the UK, like Anfield and Toxteth, in
:04:30. > :04:38.Liverpool, free-to-use bank cash machines have virtually disappeared,
:04:38. > :04:44.leaving locals no choice but to use ones that charge. Figures worked
:04:44. > :04:47.out by the Liverpool Echo showed just how bad things are. Nationally
:04:47. > :04:57.34% of cash machines charge, but in Toxteth it's a staggering 81% and
:04:57. > :04:59.
:04:59. > :05:03.in nearby Anfield it's not much better, 71%. City centres you get
:05:03. > :05:07.free ones, but not around here. The more the deprived area it is, the
:05:07. > :05:10.more they hike it up! I'd have to walk a good 15 to 20 minutes to get
:05:10. > :05:16.to the nearest cash machine not to pay, it's frustrating and at times
:05:16. > :05:21.I've had to pay. We sent one of our Rip-off Britain researchers to get
:05:21. > :05:25.some cash in Anfield, starting at the stadium itself. The closest two
:05:25. > :05:31.machines both charged �1.70 for the first and a minute down the road,
:05:31. > :05:35.�1.75 for the second. The third machine she reached also charged,
:05:35. > :05:43.but that one was out of order and though there were ATMs in shops and
:05:43. > :05:47.bars along the route, none of them were free either. But wait, she
:05:47. > :05:57.spotted one! More than 20 minutes high-speed walking later, she's
:05:57. > :05:58.
:05:58. > :06:02.reached a junction with two free cash machines. Finally, she's got
:06:02. > :06:07.her hands on some dosh! Local councillor Paula Keaveney knows all
:06:07. > :06:10.about the issue. It's a tax on poverty and if you look at areas of
:06:10. > :06:13.deprivation where people are on low incomes and they're having to pay
:06:13. > :06:17.to get their own money out, all that is happening is that the
:06:17. > :06:19.problems are being made worse, that they face.
:06:19. > :06:22.So, we've talked to the banks, we've talked to government
:06:22. > :06:29.ministers to try and get some recognition that this is a problem
:06:29. > :06:34.that the banks need to solve. And it looks like more of us will soon
:06:34. > :06:37.be paying to withdraw our cash. The Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds
:06:37. > :06:40.TSB recently announced that customers with their basic bank
:06:40. > :06:46.accounts will soon no longer be able to use cash points of other
:06:46. > :06:49.banks for free because they make a loss from letting them do that.
:06:49. > :06:55.They say almost all affected customers will still be able to
:06:55. > :07:02.withdraw cash free within one mile of their home. But Consumer Focus
:07:02. > :07:05.see it differently. What we're concerned about is that basic bank
:07:05. > :07:10.account customers' are going to have to pay more money to access
:07:10. > :07:13.their money because they won't be able to go to their local branch.
:07:13. > :07:16.These are the consumers that, after all, have got basic bank accounts
:07:16. > :07:19.cos they've got the least money, so why are the poorest consumers
:07:19. > :07:22.paying more to access their money? It's compulsory for all fee-
:07:22. > :07:26.charging cash machines to display an early warning to customers,
:07:26. > :07:30.either an on-screen message or a sticker on the machine itself. If
:07:30. > :07:33.you want to avoid paying fees, do keep in mind that a lot of banks,
:07:33. > :07:36.including the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds TSB, do allow
:07:36. > :07:41.customers to take cash out over- the-counter at the Post Office for
:07:41. > :07:44.free. Remember too that cashpoints outside banks or building societies
:07:44. > :07:46.usually don't charge, while machines operated by companies such
:07:46. > :07:49.as Cardpoint, YourCash, and NoteMachine normally will have a
:07:49. > :07:59.fee and if you're stuck, try and get cash back in those shops or
:07:59. > :08:02.
:08:02. > :08:06.bars that offer the service, or use a debit card instead of cash. Later
:08:06. > :08:10.in the programme, you can see what happened when we quizzed the boss
:08:10. > :08:14.of the company that runs the cash machine network about the charges.
:08:14. > :08:17.Almost every transaction which is going on in the UK is cash and
:08:17. > :08:20.almost all of that cash comes out of the ATM network, so as a citizen,
:08:20. > :08:25.people like you and me need to have a really healthy, easy-to-access
:08:25. > :08:31.ATM network or we're not going to be able to live our lives properly.
:08:31. > :08:34.And it was a meeting that had quite a result. It is estimated that
:08:34. > :08:37.every year we're now being asked to pay �250 million just for the
:08:37. > :08:40.privilege of withdrawing our own cash and even though not all of
:08:40. > :08:43.that money actually goes to the banks, the proportion that DOES is
:08:43. > :08:53.still something that you've told us you would much rather keep in your
:08:53. > :08:58.own pockets. The same is true for another charge to do with money and
:08:58. > :09:01.that is the fees that you'll pay to buy or sell foreign currency. Now,
:09:01. > :09:04.anyone who's been abroad will have been hit by these at some point,
:09:04. > :09:09.whether it's at a travel agent, a bank or the place that is usually
:09:09. > :09:12.the absolute worst for changing your cash - the airport. But you
:09:12. > :09:16.may not have realised just how dramatically the fees can vary or
:09:16. > :09:21.that a deal that says it's 0% commission may not be as good a bet
:09:21. > :09:31.as they would have you believe. Duncan Fiskin is running his next
:09:31. > :09:34.trip abroad. He's an executive with an IT company and a very frequent
:09:34. > :09:38.flyer. In the last 12 months alone he's done 55 international trips.
:09:38. > :09:42.Like the rest of us, he wants the best deal when it comes to buying
:09:42. > :09:45.his foreign currency. Well, a lot of the trips that I do are actually
:09:45. > :09:48.very short notice, so I don't have a great deal of time to plan, I'm
:09:48. > :09:51.usually booking a ticket online at pretty short notice, packing very
:09:51. > :09:55.quickly, typically I'm leaving a bag half-packed, rushed to the
:09:55. > :09:58.airport. And I think I fall into the trap that a lot of people fall
:09:58. > :10:01.into, is that the currency desks at the airport, right after security,
:10:01. > :10:07.they're very convenient and, clearly, what I discovered was I'm
:10:07. > :10:10.paying a premium for the convenience. Duncan decided to work
:10:10. > :10:13.out exactly how much he was being charged for his foreign currency
:10:13. > :10:22.and calculated that he was paying a staggering �400 annually in
:10:22. > :10:26.exchange fees and poor buy-back rates. When I think that I'm paying
:10:26. > :10:33.a �3 transaction fee every time I change money, and I don't think I'm
:10:33. > :10:37.getting a really good rate. That was bothering me. The other side of
:10:37. > :10:41.this is that if you have euros left over, and you change them when you
:10:41. > :10:43.come back in, it's the double whammy. You've got another
:10:43. > :10:47.basically disadvantageous exchange rate, so you're getting caught
:10:48. > :10:51.twice and you're paying another �3 transaction fee.
:10:51. > :10:55.Duncan is in good company. Consumer Focus has estimated that every year
:10:55. > :11:01.in the UK, we spend about a billion pounds in charges to get our
:11:01. > :11:04.foreign currency. The windows of foreign-exchange shops and travel
:11:04. > :11:11.agents often boast that they offer 0% commission deals on foreign
:11:11. > :11:14.currency. And though that might make you think you're getting a
:11:14. > :11:20.bargain, anything saved is likely to be clawed back through their
:11:20. > :11:23.exchange rates, which they set themselves. Of course, instead you
:11:23. > :11:28.could do a buy-back deal, where any money you return is bought back at
:11:28. > :11:34.the same rate you paid for it. But there's normally a fee for this, so
:11:34. > :11:41.you end up losing out either way. So, what's the alternative? Well,
:11:41. > :11:45.here's what Duncan does. The solution for me is a pre-paid
:11:45. > :11:48.euro debit card, because so many of my trips are in the Euro-zone. I
:11:48. > :11:53.load the card online - it's a hassle-free transaction, there's no
:11:53. > :11:56.transaction fee associated with it. I can do it at my leisure and the
:11:56. > :12:03.only cost for using the card is a 1.50 euro transaction fee when you
:12:03. > :12:11.withdraw money using an ATM machine. Duncan reckons he'll save a
:12:11. > :12:17.whopping �500 a year using these pre-paid cards. A saving he will
:12:17. > :12:20.pocket...and the bureaux de change won't.
:12:20. > :12:23.To help you stop feeling short- changed before you've even left the
:12:23. > :12:28.country, here's Prashant Vaze from Consumer Focus with advice on how
:12:28. > :12:32.to get the best deal on your holiday cash.
:12:32. > :12:35.Try and arrange your money at least two or three weeks in advance.
:12:35. > :12:38.That'll give you time to shop around for the best exchange rate.
:12:38. > :12:42.Try and avoid the airport and the ferry as you get bad rates there.
:12:42. > :12:46.If you are in a rush, you can purchase the currency over the
:12:46. > :12:53.internet, then collect it at the airport and ferry port. That way,
:12:53. > :12:55.you can take advantage of the more attractive internet rates. Some of
:12:55. > :13:00.the bureaux de change offer very attractive exchange rates, but
:13:00. > :13:03.there are a few steps to make sure you get the best deals. The first
:13:03. > :13:08.thing is to use a price comparison site to shop around to get the best
:13:08. > :13:11.bureaux de change. Try to avoid using your debit or credit card to
:13:11. > :13:17.pay for it, because quite often your bank will charge for the
:13:17. > :13:21.privilege. If you're going overseas for a long period of time, it's
:13:21. > :13:24.quite good value to get a pre-paid card in the currency of the country
:13:24. > :13:27.you're travelling to. If, for instance, you're travelling in
:13:27. > :13:36.Europe, get a Euro Travellers pre- paid card. The advantages of this
:13:36. > :13:39.is that they offer good exchange rates. You can top them up on the
:13:39. > :13:42.internet and they are also more secure than taking lots of cash
:13:42. > :13:46.with you. Most debit cards and credit cards charge you between �1-
:13:46. > :13:51.4 every time you use a foreign ATM. That means if you are going to use
:13:51. > :13:54.foreign ATMs, try not to take out small sums of money at the time.
:13:54. > :13:59.Often when you're in a country, an ATM or a hotel will offer the
:13:59. > :14:02.option of either settling in the local currency or sterling. Always
:14:02. > :14:09.go for the local currency, because you never know what exchange rates
:14:09. > :14:13.the ATM or hotel will be using for its own conversion.
:14:13. > :14:16.Still to come on Rip-Off Britain: The fees and charges that really
:14:16. > :14:20.get you down. Credit brokers - they say they'll
:14:20. > :14:23.find you a loan if you're desperate for cash, but beware, it may not
:14:23. > :14:29.come cheap. That was the difference between us
:14:29. > :14:37.having food on the table...decent food. I'm not talking about
:14:37. > :14:42.luxuries, just normal food. And more advice from Rip-Off's one-stop
:14:42. > :14:51.consumer advice stop. Because your household income is below �25,000 a
:14:51. > :14:55.year, you could be entitled to the full grant, which is �3,250 a year.
:14:55. > :15:00.Next, where do you go if you want to sell your car and get a fair
:15:00. > :15:03.price for it? You could go to a garage, of course, but these days
:15:03. > :15:07.many of you are turning to the growing number of firms springing
:15:07. > :15:10.up online, offering to do all the legwork for you. Some of them say
:15:10. > :15:14.that as well as getting you the best price, they'll even come and
:15:14. > :15:16.collect your car from your house. So when our next viewer contacted a
:15:16. > :15:26.company called ByeBuyCar.co.uk, he thought he'd soon be saying "bye-
:15:26. > :15:28.
:15:28. > :15:36.bye" to his old wheels and a big "hello" to some cash. Things are
:15:36. > :15:40.rarely that simple. When Adrian Andrews took out a loan to buy a
:15:40. > :15:44.new car, he had no idea that before long he wouldn't be able to use it.
:15:44. > :15:49.A couple of years ago, I started having problems with one of my legs,
:15:49. > :15:52.which then progressed to my lower back. This means I'm now on long-
:15:52. > :15:55.term sick leave from my work and there are quite a few limitations
:15:56. > :16:05.to what I can and cannot do, be it walking, lifting and certainly
:16:06. > :16:09.
:16:09. > :16:15.driving. Unable to work and with bills mounting, there seemed an
:16:15. > :16:17.obvious solution. I took a loan out to buy a new car, essentially for
:16:17. > :16:21.getting to and from work, um...but since, obviously, the problems with
:16:21. > :16:23.my back, the driving has been limited, and I had - essentially -
:16:23. > :16:33.a brand-new car sitting on the drive doing nothing...and obviously
:16:33. > :16:34.
:16:34. > :16:44.still costing money, so we made the decision to sell the car. First,
:16:44. > :16:47.
:16:47. > :16:50.Adrian tried to sell it privately. But when he had no luck, he decided
:16:51. > :16:53.to try one of the growing number of online companies who offer to buy
:16:54. > :16:56.your car. After hunting around on the web, he found one called
:16:56. > :16:59.ByeBuyCar.com. Based in Wokingham and not to be confused with other
:16:59. > :17:02.companies with similar names, for Adrian they seemed the perfect
:17:02. > :17:05.solution. Not only would they buy his car, they'd come and collect it
:17:05. > :17:08.too. I chose ByeBuyCar.com because the value they were offering were
:17:08. > :17:11.one of the better I'd been given, and they were also offering a
:17:11. > :17:13.collection service, which meant that I didn't have to sort of go
:17:13. > :17:20.anywhere...basically go anywhere that I couldn't actually physically
:17:20. > :17:23.do. A salesman from ByeBuyCar.com came round, gave Adrian's car the
:17:23. > :17:31.once-over and promised that once it had been collected, he'd be paid
:17:31. > :17:34.�3,875. Adrian was pleased with the deal and looking forward to turning
:17:34. > :17:38.something he no longer used into something he really did need -
:17:39. > :17:47.money. The guy came...checked the car over, went through all the
:17:47. > :17:55.paperwork with me and everything seemed to be fine. They took the
:17:55. > :17:57.car away and I was told... I got the email to confirm that I'd
:17:57. > :18:01.receive payment within three to five working days. Adrian waited
:18:01. > :18:06.for the money to come through. He waited. And he waited. And he
:18:06. > :18:12.waited. When nothing came, he rang the company and he was in for a
:18:12. > :18:15.shock. It seemed they'd gone out of business. When I phoned them up a
:18:15. > :18:18.week later to chase up the payment for the car and received the
:18:18. > :18:27.message saying that they had now ceased trading, I was just...I was
:18:27. > :18:35.just gutted. I didn't know what to feel. It was a mixture of anger and
:18:35. > :18:41.upset. I just felt like I'd been conned and...sick. Very sick. The
:18:41. > :18:45.message suggested customers would be contacted by the insolvency team.
:18:45. > :18:52.But there were no details of how to get in touch with them, leaving
:18:53. > :18:59.Adrian confused and desperate. I now feel that I cannot contact the
:18:59. > :19:02.company because there's no-one there. Basically, I've got no point
:19:02. > :19:06.of contact to deal with this company whatsoever. I don't know
:19:06. > :19:09.where to turn to get any further with addressing this matter. As it
:19:09. > :19:19.stands now, I'm probably never going to see the car again. That's
:19:19. > :19:20.
:19:21. > :19:24.been sold on by them. All I really want is two things - to get the
:19:24. > :19:26.money that I'm owed and for the company to get addressed for the
:19:26. > :19:29.actions they've taken. Although internet car buying may seem
:19:29. > :19:32.convenient, John McIlroy from What Car? Says it's an area where you
:19:32. > :19:35.need to choose your company carefully. The Sale Of Goods Act
:19:35. > :19:40.will protect you when it comes to buying a car from a dealer, but
:19:40. > :19:43.when it comes to selling, it's more of a grey area. Some of the online
:19:43. > :19:45.buyers do offer a site where you can take your car, a physical
:19:45. > :19:51.presence is a good thing. Others promise...the valuation guy will
:19:51. > :19:55.wait with you while the funds are being cleared in your account. We
:19:55. > :20:03.recommend you use one of those buyers. We managed to get in touch
:20:03. > :20:06.with ByeBuyCar.com, who say: But that unfortunately they became
:20:06. > :20:09.another small business to become a victim of the recession. They say
:20:09. > :20:17.escalating costs and a downturn in the market meant the business was
:20:17. > :20:23.no longer cost-effective, so there was no option but to shut down.
:20:23. > :20:26.Meanwhile, since we've filmed with Adrian, he's had some good news.
:20:27. > :20:30.Though his car had been sold on, because he'd never had money from
:20:30. > :20:33.the original sale, the police impounded it and he has now got it
:20:33. > :20:38.back. If he tries to sell it again, it's unlikely he'll be doing it
:20:38. > :20:41.online. Well, Adrian's not the only
:20:41. > :20:46.motorist who this company has left wondering if they've said "bye-bye"
:20:46. > :20:52.to their car for good. Later in the programme, we'll hear from another
:20:52. > :20:55.unhappy customer, although his tale has quite a twist. Here at our pop-
:20:55. > :21:00.up consumer advice shop, it's not just banks, bills and dodgy
:21:00. > :21:03.dealings we're helping with. Margaret, you're the very proud
:21:03. > :21:08.granny that wrote to us because you've obviously got a very bright
:21:09. > :21:15.granddaughter. Tell us what the problem is. When she was in junior
:21:15. > :21:17.school, she was moved up a year in class. Melissa left school last
:21:17. > :21:21.year and started college and applied for the EMA grant. We
:21:21. > :21:24.filled in a form, sent it off and got a reply that it had been
:21:24. > :21:27.refused because of her age. It would seem as far as you're
:21:27. > :21:30.concerned, she's being penalised for being bright which is why they
:21:30. > :21:33.won't give her the allowance. It's really unfortunate because you did
:21:33. > :21:36.really well at school, you moved up a year and for the sake of just
:21:36. > :21:39.over a couple of weeks, you're missing out and as the Educational
:21:39. > :21:49.Maintenance Allowance has been abolished, you couldn't apply this
:21:49. > :21:52.
:21:52. > :21:55.year, either. The next thing to do is look at some of the universities
:21:55. > :22:05.you're thinking of applying to for 2012, find out how much they are
:22:05. > :22:08.
:22:08. > :22:11.charging and crucially look at any help, grants, bursaries that might
:22:11. > :22:16.be available because with fees going up in 2012, many students are
:22:16. > :22:19.going to need every penny they can get. We'll see if we can find that
:22:19. > :22:23.out now. It looks as if we've got the website, you've got all the
:22:23. > :22:25.information, I'm going to leave you to it, good luck. It's not only
:22:25. > :22:29.Margaret and Melissa who are concerned about grants and fees.
:22:29. > :22:32.Our gripe box has been very busy as well. Hi. I'm here today to have a
:22:32. > :22:35.gripe about tuition fees. What I'm worried about really is the student
:22:35. > :22:39.tuition fees for when my daughter goes to university. It seems to me
:22:39. > :22:42.that we're not going to get past university and not get past college
:22:42. > :22:44.and not get any further because of university fees. Sarah has helped
:22:44. > :22:47.Margaret and Melissa research grants on the directgov website and
:22:47. > :22:49.the news may help ease their financial worries.' So, because
:22:49. > :22:56.your household income is below �25,000 a year, you could be
:22:56. > :22:58.entitled to the full grant, which is �3,250 a year. And this is
:22:58. > :23:08.designed to help with food, travel and accommodation and doesn't have
:23:08. > :23:16.
:23:16. > :23:19.to be paid back. Sarah was very helpful. She showed us a lot of
:23:19. > :23:22.websites we can go on to find out about grants and bursaries and
:23:22. > :23:25.things for uni. We're glad we came along and listened to her advice.
:23:25. > :23:28.Issues with fees aren't just affecting students, as theatre-
:23:28. > :23:31.lover Paul explains. You can book online for theatre tickets and by
:23:31. > :23:37.telephone, but there's always a booking fee added to them, which I
:23:37. > :23:41.object to. How much do they actually charge you for booking? It
:23:41. > :23:44.can be any amount from �1 to �3 per ticket. To �3 per ticket? That's a
:23:44. > :23:54.lot. It is a lot. Paul, you obviously feel pretty incensed
:23:54. > :23:56.
:23:56. > :23:59.about this. It's your passion, you love theatre. How do you get around
:23:59. > :24:02.the issue? If I'm in London, I'll buy the tickets direct from the box
:24:02. > :24:04.office for a future performance. Like, well in advance? Yes. How
:24:04. > :24:07.long? Three months, four months, five months. James, what's your
:24:07. > :24:10.assessment of this hideous booking fee we're talking about? I mean,
:24:10. > :24:13.you know, I think everyone can agree these aren't fair and I think
:24:13. > :24:15.the important thing to differentiate here is if you're
:24:15. > :24:19.buying a ticket through a third- party ticket agency like See
:24:19. > :24:22.Tickets, those kinds of ones, it's fine, but they're going to charge a
:24:23. > :24:26.booking fee because that is their whole business. All they do is sell
:24:26. > :24:29.tickets on behalf of theatres, so they have to take a cut somewhere.
:24:29. > :24:32.But if you're going to the theatre, the actual theatre, they're not
:24:32. > :24:36.selling it through a third party, so they can't really justify that.
:24:36. > :24:43.I feel as if I'm paying their wages. So there's a bit of a Catch-22 in
:24:43. > :24:45.this situation. What's your final word of advice for Paul? Ultimately
:24:46. > :24:49.keep doing what you're doing. Being organised, booking things as much
:24:49. > :24:52.as a year in advance, go into the box office and paying in cash
:24:52. > :24:55.physically is the way to keep those costs to a minimum but
:24:55. > :24:59.unfortunately, it doesn't seem like there's any way to avoid them.
:24:59. > :25:01.Thanks for coming to see us. I hope you've enjoyed the day. Now here at
:25:01. > :25:05.Rip-Off Britain, we're getting used to hearing from people who say
:25:05. > :25:11.they've been short-changed by credit brokers. But this next tale
:25:11. > :25:14.has an extra twist. Credit brokers of course are the companies that
:25:14. > :25:24.act as middlemen if you're looking for a loan. They usually charge a
:25:24. > :25:27.one-off fee for their trouble but a lot of you feel you haven't got
:25:27. > :25:30.what you expected in return. It's often the up-front fee that's the
:25:30. > :25:36.bone of contention, so imagine how annoying it would be to end up
:25:36. > :25:39.paying it more than once. 'Meet Alison Handley from Hailsham in
:25:39. > :25:42.East Sussex and her daughter Jacqueline. 'When Alison needed to
:25:42. > :25:45.take time off work to have an operation, 'she decided she needed
:25:45. > :25:49.a bit of financial help to see her through the month.' It was for �100
:25:49. > :25:53.and it was just a payday loan just to get me through to buy food, just
:25:53. > :25:57.to tide us over until I could get back to work again. I looked at
:25:57. > :26:06.options of credit cards but I don't want one because I think it's too
:26:06. > :26:09.easy to fall into the trap of just spending. And then you're out of
:26:09. > :26:11.control. So in March, Alison applied online with a company
:26:11. > :26:16.called Ezeloans.net who she hoped would find her a quick,
:26:16. > :26:19.straightforward loan. Not to be confused with other companies with
:26:19. > :26:25.similar names and with a registered address in London, it looked as
:26:25. > :26:29.though Ezeloans.net charged a one- off fee of �75 to join. Alison
:26:29. > :26:33.signed up and the same day they came back to her with a number of
:26:33. > :26:36.options. They offered me a guarantor loan, but the guarantor I
:26:36. > :26:44.had didn't meet the criteria for the amount of income you had to
:26:44. > :26:50.have for a month. Also, they offered me a pawnbroker site. Yet,
:26:50. > :26:54.I didn't really want to go with them. I didn't get anything on the
:26:54. > :26:59.site for a payday loan. It was all loans for �5,000 or more which was
:26:59. > :27:05.not what I wanted. OK, well, the first and most important one is
:27:05. > :27:07.council tax. That's �100. With nothing quite right for her needs,
:27:08. > :27:12.Alison cancelled her contract, accepting that she'd still have to
:27:12. > :27:17.pay the initial joining fee. But a few days later, when she tried to
:27:17. > :27:22.pay her TV licence, there was a problem. According to her bank, she
:27:22. > :27:29.didn't have enough money in her account. I thought, "Hang on, I had
:27:29. > :27:33.plenty in there." So I phoned my bank. And asked them what was going
:27:33. > :27:36.on. The wages had just gone in, but there's all this money missing.
:27:36. > :27:44.They checked for me and this company had actually asked for the
:27:44. > :27:50.payment six times. This left a �450 dent in her bank account and with
:27:50. > :27:53.no overdraft facility, it put her in a financial mess. She was unable
:27:53. > :27:56.to pay bills that were due so, through no fault of her own, found
:27:56. > :28:01.herself hit with bank charges for unpaid direct debits and going into
:28:01. > :28:09.the red. I went from furious to crying to then thinking, "What am I
:28:09. > :28:14.going to do?" That was the difference between having food on
:28:14. > :28:22.the table... Decent food, I'm not taking about luxuries, just normal
:28:23. > :28:27.standard food. Alison contacted her bank to query the extra payments.
:28:27. > :28:32.After all, no-one should pay a one- off fee six times. The bank agreed
:28:32. > :28:35.and refunded her the money while they investigated. But Alison's
:28:35. > :28:39.relief was short-lived. Ezeloans.net told the bank the
:28:39. > :28:46.payments they'd received were valid so the bank said she'd have to pay
:28:46. > :28:48.and took the money back. Let me just go in there and I'll show you.
:28:48. > :28:54.Incensed, Alison kept pursuing the loan company, hoping they'd soon
:28:54. > :28:58.realise they'd made a mistake. Eventually, she got an e-mail
:28:58. > :29:02.asking for more details and promising a response. I want that
:29:02. > :29:09.money back. That's my money. That's money that I've had to work hard to
:29:09. > :29:11.get. And my husband's had to work hard to get. And I don't see why
:29:11. > :29:15.they should have that money. Ezeloans.net told Rip-Off Britain
:29:15. > :29:17.that they no longer trade in the UK and when they did, all their
:29:17. > :29:20.collections and admin were outsourced to another company,
:29:20. > :29:27.although they accept that's no excuse for the poor service Alison
:29:27. > :29:31.received. They blame all this on an IT error and say it didn't show up
:29:31. > :29:34.later because the payment was only entered on their own systems once.
:29:34. > :29:37.They claim the company they use didn't make them aware of Alison's
:29:37. > :29:40.request for a refund, but they promise she'll now get back the
:29:40. > :29:46.five incorrect payments and the first correct one, along with an
:29:46. > :29:51.apology. But, for Alison, that doesn't make up for the problems
:29:51. > :29:57.and hardship she's been caused. I was hoping to plan to have a family
:29:57. > :30:06.meal out because it was my 40th wedding anniversary. I couldn't go.
:30:06. > :30:09.I could not afford to celebrate my Since filming, Alison's confirmed
:30:09. > :30:17.that she's received all her money back from Ezeloans.net - a total of
:30:17. > :30:20.�448.50. The number of complaints to Consumer Direct about credit
:30:20. > :30:24.brokers more than doubled in the years between 2008-10, so if you've
:30:24. > :30:34.ever had trouble with one or want to know how they work, Rafat Nasda
:30:34. > :30:37.
:30:37. > :30:40.from the Money Advice Trust has some tips. A credit broker, put
:30:40. > :30:43.simply, is the person who'll put you in touch with organisations
:30:43. > :30:46.that'll lend you money. Essentially, they're the middle man. A credit
:30:46. > :30:49.broker will quite often charge you a fee which will not be explained
:30:49. > :30:53.up front and sometimes you can be charged that fee even when you
:30:53. > :30:56.don't get the credit so it might not be clear that you are paying
:30:56. > :30:59.for a service from the onset. If you are thinking about using a
:30:59. > :31:02.credit broker, you need to think about these three things first.
:31:02. > :31:06.Number one - do you need further credit? Is that really your best
:31:06. > :31:09.option? Number two - is there a way of you getting that credit yourself
:31:09. > :31:12.without using the middle man and getting a fee? And lastly - is
:31:12. > :31:19.there a better source of credit out there for you? You can get
:31:19. > :31:22.affordable credit from places such as credit unions. We would
:31:22. > :31:27.generally recommend that you don't use a credit broker unless you're
:31:27. > :31:30.looking at a large amount of credit, for example, a mortgage. From my
:31:30. > :31:38.experience in National Debtline, we often speak to people who are
:31:38. > :31:42.trying to apply for credit when in fact they actually need advice.
:31:42. > :31:44.It's best to start at a neutral point and get some advice if you're
:31:44. > :31:47.struggling with finances to ensure there aren't other options
:31:47. > :31:50.available to you first. As there's so many complaints around this area
:31:50. > :31:52.of practice, the Office Of Fair Trading has produced some new
:31:52. > :31:55.guidance for credit brokerage. This guidance states that a credit
:31:55. > :31:59.broker should be clear with you about any fees they will charge and
:31:59. > :32:02.that, if you've been using a credit broker for six months and not been
:32:02. > :32:09.able to get the credit you've been promised, you should be able to get
:32:09. > :32:13.your fees back. At a time when money is tighter
:32:13. > :32:17.than ever, you need to know that your cash is working hard for you,
:32:17. > :32:20.avoiding rip-offs and sharp practice along the way. So, we've
:32:20. > :32:29.put together a booklet of tips and advice to help safeguard your hard-
:32:29. > :32:33.earned money. You can find a link to the free guide on our website.
:32:33. > :32:36.Or, if you want to receive a copy in the post, send an A5 self-
:32:36. > :32:45.addressed envelope to the address we'll give you at the end of the
:32:45. > :32:48.Earlier in the programme, we heard from Adrian Andrews who wanted to
:32:48. > :32:52.sell his car really quickly. But when he contacted a company called
:32:52. > :32:56.ByeBuyCar to sell it for him he ended up with no cash and no car,
:32:56. > :33:00.either. We also heard from another Rip-Off viewer who ran into
:33:00. > :33:10.problems with the same company. His story had a very different outcome,
:33:10. > :33:14.
:33:15. > :33:17.but only after an extraordinary Buying a new car has always been a
:33:17. > :33:20.purchase that needs to be thought about very carefully, but that's
:33:20. > :33:25.especially the case these days, with higher costs for petrol and,
:33:25. > :33:29.of course, insurance. So, when Sean Thomas decided to buy a family car,
:33:29. > :33:33.it may not have been a decision that he took lightly, but it was
:33:33. > :33:37.certainly one he was thrilled to have made. I had my wife and
:33:37. > :33:41.daughter in it, I felt like the chauffeur. All I needed was a
:33:41. > :33:51.peaked cap. People would look at it, and I was proud because I was
:33:51. > :33:51.
:33:51. > :34:01.driving an '05-plate BMW. To me it was a bargain. But his dream didn't
:34:01. > :34:02.
:34:02. > :34:06.last long. A few months down the line, with money increasingly tight
:34:06. > :34:09.and his family to support, he realised that he'd no option but to
:34:09. > :34:12.sell his pride and joy. I was gutted, my daughter was upset, my
:34:12. > :34:20.wife was upset, but at the end of the day, priority, needs must. Sean
:34:20. > :34:23.tried to sell his car privately, but with no luck. And so he turned
:34:23. > :34:26.to the internet. He found a company that promised selling would be a
:34:26. > :34:29.pleasant, stress-free experience. I have to tell you, that was exactly
:34:29. > :34:32.what he needed. That company was ByeBuyCar.com, and, just as we
:34:32. > :34:34.heard earlier in the programme, the Wokingham-based firm - not to be
:34:34. > :34:40.confused with others of similar names, even offered to collect the
:34:40. > :34:43.car. Sean was promised �3,700 for it. But when a man from
:34:43. > :34:47.ByeBuyCar.com came to pick it up, the price had dropped. He knocked
:34:47. > :34:51.it down to 3,500, because he said it costs �400 to get new tyres and
:34:51. > :34:55.the wheels done and a bit of spraying done. So they said, he'd
:34:55. > :35:03.go 200 if I went 200, so I agreed to that price, and the deal was
:35:03. > :35:06.done. I looked out of my lounge window and watched it drive away.
:35:06. > :35:13.ByeBuyCar.com promised to pay within a few days, but after five
:35:13. > :35:16.days and no sign of any money, Sean rang the company. He was told they
:35:16. > :35:19.had problems with his bank details and it would go through very
:35:19. > :35:22.shortly. Several more days passed until, exasperated, he rang again,
:35:22. > :35:28.and this time he got a recorded message saying the company was no
:35:28. > :35:36.longer trading. I was really, really frustrated, really angry
:35:36. > :35:39.with myself knowing I'd been suckered into something. With no
:35:39. > :35:49.car, no payment and a company that seemed to be out of business, you
:35:49. > :35:50.
:35:50. > :35:52.can imagine that Sean was very worried indeed. But he'd been told
:35:52. > :35:59.ByeBuyCar.com usually sold vehicles to the trade, so he did some
:36:00. > :36:03.research online, where he found something very familiar. I went on
:36:03. > :36:07.to local websites, and, believe it or not, I found my car at a garage
:36:07. > :36:10.near them looking... Basically, it upset me because it was looking
:36:10. > :36:13.brand-spanking-new, wheels had all been buffed up, a bit of paint work
:36:13. > :36:21.done to it, nice, shiny, gleaming car, and the price choked me, it
:36:21. > :36:24.was near enough double for what I'd sold it for. Pretty upsetting.
:36:24. > :36:27.Sean hoped that the garage advertising his car would be able
:36:27. > :36:31.to give him some answers. They offered to contact ByeBuyCar.com on
:36:31. > :36:36.his behalf, and, later that day, he had a call from a man claiming to
:36:37. > :36:40.be a director of the online car company.
:36:40. > :36:43.I was basically telling them I wanted the car back or the funds
:36:43. > :36:50.put into my account, and he said he'd have to speak to an insolvency
:36:50. > :36:52.team and he would come back to me. And that seemed to do the trick,
:36:52. > :36:56.because later that day Sean was surprised and very relieved to
:36:56. > :37:02.discover the money had now suddenly appeared in his account - more than
:37:02. > :37:08.four weeks after the deal had been done. When I saw the money had gone
:37:08. > :37:14.into the count, basically I jumped up and "Yippeed!" And I phoned up
:37:14. > :37:17.my wife and told her, and she was over the moon.
:37:17. > :37:20.As we heard before, ByeBuyCar.com say there was no intention to rip
:37:20. > :37:24.anyone off and that they were a small business that simply fell
:37:24. > :37:28.victim to the recession. The company says it's now in the hands
:37:29. > :37:32.of an insolvency practitioner, and planning to register as insolvent.
:37:32. > :37:36.But, as yet, the insolvency service has no knowledge of them. The
:37:36. > :37:40.company stresses the price Sean saw on his car for sale is down to the
:37:40. > :37:43.garage they sold it to, and nothing to do with them. And they claim
:37:43. > :37:47.that, prior to the two incidents we've heard about, they've had many
:37:48. > :37:51.satisfied customers. Although, during his internet research, Sean
:37:51. > :37:56.did come across a number of other customers who seemed to have had a
:37:56. > :37:59.similar experience. At the moment I am one of the lucky
:37:59. > :38:03.ones, but maybe that's because I did a lot of my own detective work
:38:03. > :38:11.and tracing back, and I found my car. I do worry buying anything on
:38:11. > :38:15.the internet now, unless it's a well, well-known company.
:38:15. > :38:18.Some might say that cash machines are fantastic. They allow you, of
:38:18. > :38:21.course, the convenience of getting money out as and when you want.
:38:21. > :38:27.However, the downside is that in some cases you have to pay to get
:38:27. > :38:31.access to your own money. Now, a lot of you just don't like it, so
:38:31. > :38:35.John Howells from Link might have some of the reasons why.
:38:35. > :38:38.I thought for the benefit of our viewers, and even myself, maybe we
:38:38. > :38:42.should talk first about the infrastructure of ATM machines. How
:38:42. > :38:44.does it work? Some you have to pay for your money to get it out, some
:38:44. > :38:48.you don't, so what is the structure like?
:38:48. > :38:51.We have a fabulous structure in the UK of ATMs. We've got 64,000, and
:38:51. > :38:54.that is really, really good compared to much of the rest of the
:38:54. > :38:57.world, and also we have a really high number of free-to-use ATMs,
:38:57. > :39:00.which is absolutely critical, because at the moment almost every
:39:00. > :39:03.transaction in the UK is cash, and almost all of that cash comes out
:39:03. > :39:06.of the ATM network. So, as a citizen, people like you and me
:39:06. > :39:14.need to have a really healthy, easy-to-access ATM network or we
:39:14. > :39:19.won't to be able to live our lives properly.
:39:19. > :39:23.What's the criteria as to what is free and what's not? We have a
:39:23. > :39:27.scheme called Link in the UK, which is what joins up all the ATMs. It's
:39:27. > :39:32.up to the members of Link - and those are the banks and companies
:39:32. > :39:35.who put ATMs in - about whether they want to have charges or not.
:39:35. > :39:40.At the moment, 40,000 of those ATMs - which is at an all-time high -
:39:40. > :39:45.are free to the consumer. We do allow, under the Link rules,
:39:45. > :39:48.machines which you pay for, as well, where there is demand.
:39:48. > :39:50.Yet, in some areas, those free machines are disappearing. For
:39:50. > :39:54.example, the banks are diminishing, they're centralising and so the
:39:54. > :39:59.free machine goes. In an area that's really deprived, there are
:39:59. > :40:02.practically no free machines, everybody has to pay for it. We
:40:02. > :40:06.actually have a scheme which Link runs on behalf of the industry to
:40:06. > :40:11.make sure that we look at where are the most deprived areas, is there a
:40:12. > :40:15.free-to-use cash machine there? And if there's not, the industry puts
:40:15. > :40:18.the subsidy in to get one in there, so, of the various areas across the
:40:19. > :40:22.UK - and there are thousands which we've identified - I think we've
:40:22. > :40:25.only got 300 left. What do you say to the people, though, who simply
:40:26. > :40:29.say you are cashing in? Whatever way you want to look at it, you're
:40:29. > :40:31.just cashing in on people running out of money or being in an
:40:31. > :40:35.inconvenient spot - how do you address that?
:40:35. > :40:41.We try hard to make sure we do not have that situation, so we've got a
:40:41. > :40:44.very broad and large, free-to-use ATM network in the UK. We do think
:40:44. > :40:48.there's a case for allowing pay-to- use machines where there's consumer
:40:48. > :40:51.demand and it's a matter of convenience.
:40:51. > :40:54.So what can people do, then, if they feel, "I don't want to walk 45
:40:54. > :40:57.minutes to a free machine," or, "This is ridiculous, we're on the
:40:57. > :41:01.breadline, "yet we've got to go somewhere else to get a free
:41:01. > :41:06.machine on principle?" There should not be any deprived areas in the UK
:41:06. > :41:12.which do not have a free-to-use ATM. If there are, then we're working
:41:12. > :41:15.with consumer organisations to identify those. Can the individual
:41:15. > :41:20.write and say, "In my community there's no free machine. What will
:41:20. > :41:23.you do about it?" The Link website is there asking for that
:41:23. > :41:26.information with our address on and absolutely we would welcome it and
:41:26. > :41:35.look at it. Thank you very much indeed for
:41:35. > :41:38.explaining all of that. My pleasure. 'Following that
:41:38. > :41:41.interview, John went away to look more closely 'into the issue of
:41:41. > :41:45.free cash machines around Liverpool 'and came back with a great result.
:41:45. > :41:47.'He says Link and its members have a programme 'to subsidise free cash
:41:47. > :41:49.machines in deprived areas 'and since his discussions with Rip-Off
:41:49. > :41:59.Britain, 'they're going to be contacting the local councillors,
:41:59. > :42:02.'MPs and media in Liverpool to help them work out where to put more.'.
:42:02. > :42:08.Here at Rip-Off Britain, we're always ready to investigate more of
:42:08. > :42:11.your stories. Confused over your bills? Trying to wade your way
:42:11. > :42:14.through never-ending small print that leaves you totally confused? I
:42:14. > :42:18.might have been stupid for not reading it, or I've read it and not
:42:18. > :42:26.took it in. I could kick myself. I really could.
:42:26. > :42:36.Unsure what to do when you discovered you've lost... I thought,
:42:36. > :42:37.
:42:37. > :42:41."This cannot be true. It's totally unacceptable." I was so angry.
:42:41. > :42:44.You might have a cautionary tale of your own and want to share the
:42:44. > :42:50.mistakes you've made with us so that other people don't do the same
:42:50. > :42:53.thing. No-one knows about this, so this is very, very strange to me
:42:53. > :42:57.and I would really like to get this much clearer. Don't forget, you can
:42:57. > :43:05.always write to us at: Or you can always get in touch by sending us
:43:05. > :43:13.an email. Don't forget, the Rip-Off Team is ready and waiting to
:43:13. > :43:17.investigate your stories. I'm afraid that's all we've got time
:43:17. > :43:20.for in Rip-Off Britain, but I do hope after joining us you are going
:43:20. > :43:23.to be just that little bit wiser about the things that you can do to
:43:23. > :43:26.avoid being taken advantage of and losing out as a result.
:43:26. > :43:29.Whether it's pounds or pennies, there's nothing worse than knowing
:43:29. > :43:34.you've had a raw deal, so keep the stories coming in and we'll see if
:43:34. > :43:37.we can put it right. We'd certainly like to live up to
:43:37. > :43:41.that reputation, so if you feel like you've been had, left short-
:43:41. > :43:44.changed or are out of pocket, I hope you'll get in touch. We'll see