Episode 13 Rip Off Britain

We asked you to tell us who's left you feeling ripped off. I think

this is very, very, very wrong for what they have done. The bank

passed charges upon charges, upon charges. Legally, it was right,

morally, that's where the question of doubt comes into my view. And

you contacted us in your thousands by post, e-mail, even stopping us

in the streets and the message couldn't be clearer. You don't

always get a straight answer, they just try and fob you off. I'm not

happy with them at all. It's always that very small print, that's got

the clause in, that you didn't realise. We're being ripped off,

big time. Whether it's a deliberate rip-off, a simple mistake or a

catch in the small print, we'll find out why you're out of pocket

and, indeed, what you can do about it. Keep asking the questions keep,

you know, go to the top if you have to. We do get results, that's the

interesting thing. Your stories, your money, this is Rip-off Britain.

Hello and welcome to Rip-off Britain, where WE are waging a war

against unfair charges, poor service and, of course,

straightforward rip-offs. If you've paid for something and not got what

you expected then we're here to help. It is often hard to know

where to turn for advice so we're here to fight your corner and make

sure you get the answers you deserve. And if we can help more of

you avoid being ripped off in the first place, then so much the

better. Now, today we'll be investigating situations where, as

far as you're concerned, the companies that you've done business

with have not lived up to their part of the bargain and quite

simply we'll be asking them why? Also coming up on today's show:

Looking to sell your car? Why using the company ByeBuyCar might also

mean bye-bye cash. I just didn't know what to feel, it was just a

mixture of anger...and upset. I'm probably never going to see the car

again, all I really want is to get the money that I am owed. Our pop-

up shop proved to be a huge success when you came to tell us your

issues and to meet our team of top experts. Actually, being organised,

booking things as much as a year in advance, going to the box office

and paying in cash, physically, is the way to keep those costs to a

minimum. A convenience that most of us just take for granted these days

is cash machines. Giving us access to our money 24/7, but if you need

cash urgently from one of them then paying for the privilege is

becoming increasingly hard to avoid. Many of us are using cash less and

less these days, but when we do need it, the easiest way to get it

is from the hole in the wall, or at least it is when that's free - but

around the country there are now more than 21,000 cash machines that

charge to withdraw our own money. Add together the amount made by all

of those charges and you're easily looking at at least �130 million a

year. In poorer areas of the UK, like Anfield and Toxteth, in

Liverpool, free-to-use bank cash machines have virtually disappeared,

leaving locals no choice but to use ones that charge. Figures worked

out by the Liverpool Echo showed just how bad things are. Nationally

34% of cash machines charge, but in Toxteth it's a staggering 81% and

in nearby Anfield it's not much better, 71%. City centres you get

free ones, but not around here. The more the deprived area it is, the

more they hike it up! I'd have to walk a good 15 to 20 minutes to get

to the nearest cash machine not to pay, it's frustrating and at times

I've had to pay. We sent one of our Rip-off Britain researchers to get

some cash in Anfield, starting at the stadium itself. The closest two

machines both charged �1.70 for the first and a minute down the road,

�1.75 for the second. The third machine she reached also charged,

but that one was out of order and though there were ATMs in shops and

bars along the route, none of them were free either. But wait, she

spotted one! More than 20 minutes high-speed walking later, she's

reached a junction with two free cash machines. Finally, she's got

her hands on some dosh! Local councillor Paula Keaveney knows all

about the issue. It's a tax on poverty and if you look at areas of

deprivation where people are on low incomes and they're having to pay

to get their own money out, all that is happening is that the

problems are being made worse, that they face.

So, we've talked to the banks, we've talked to government

ministers to try and get some recognition that this is a problem

that the banks need to solve. And it looks like more of us will soon

be paying to withdraw our cash. The Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds

TSB recently announced that customers with their basic bank

accounts will soon no longer be able to use cash points of other

banks for free because they make a loss from letting them do that.

They say almost all affected customers will still be able to

withdraw cash free within one mile of their home. But Consumer Focus

see it differently. What we're concerned about is that basic bank

account customers' are going to have to pay more money to access

their money because they won't be able to go to their local branch.

These are the consumers that, after all, have got basic bank accounts

cos they've got the least money, so why are the poorest consumers

paying more to access their money? It's compulsory for all fee-

charging cash machines to display an early warning to customers,

either an on-screen message or a sticker on the machine itself. If

you want to avoid paying fees, do keep in mind that a lot of banks,

including the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds TSB, do allow

customers to take cash out over- the-counter at the Post Office for

free. Remember too that cashpoints outside banks or building societies

usually don't charge, while machines operated by companies such

as Cardpoint, YourCash, and NoteMachine normally will have a

fee and if you're stuck, try and get cash back in those shops or

bars that offer the service, or use a debit card instead of cash. Later

in the programme, you can see what happened when we quizzed the boss

of the company that runs the cash machine network about the charges.

Almost every transaction which is going on in the UK is cash and

almost all of that cash comes out of the ATM network, so as a citizen,

people like you and me need to have a really healthy, easy-to-access

ATM network or we're not going to be able to live our lives properly.

And it was a meeting that had quite a result. It is estimated that

every year we're now being asked to pay �250 million just for the

privilege of withdrawing our own cash and even though not all of

that money actually goes to the banks, the proportion that DOES is

still something that you've told us you would much rather keep in your

own pockets. The same is true for another charge to do with money and

that is the fees that you'll pay to buy or sell foreign currency. Now,

anyone who's been abroad will have been hit by these at some point,

whether it's at a travel agent, a bank or the place that is usually

the absolute worst for changing your cash - the airport. But you

may not have realised just how dramatically the fees can vary or

that a deal that says it's 0% commission may not be as good a bet

as they would have you believe. Duncan Fiskin is running his next

trip abroad. He's an executive with an IT company and a very frequent

flyer. In the last 12 months alone he's done 55 international trips.

Like the rest of us, he wants the best deal when it comes to buying

his foreign currency. Well, a lot of the trips that I do are actually

very short notice, so I don't have a great deal of time to plan, I'm

usually booking a ticket online at pretty short notice, packing very

quickly, typically I'm leaving a bag half-packed, rushed to the

airport. And I think I fall into the trap that a lot of people fall

into, is that the currency desks at the airport, right after security,

they're very convenient and, clearly, what I discovered was I'm

paying a premium for the convenience. Duncan decided to work

out exactly how much he was being charged for his foreign currency

and calculated that he was paying a staggering �400 annually in

exchange fees and poor buy-back rates. When I think that I'm paying

a �3 transaction fee every time I change money, and I don't think I'm

getting a really good rate. That was bothering me. The other side of

this is that if you have euros left over, and you change them when you

come back in, it's the double whammy. You've got another

basically disadvantageous exchange rate, so you're getting caught

twice and you're paying another �3 transaction fee.

Duncan is in good company. Consumer Focus has estimated that every year

in the UK, we spend about a billion pounds in charges to get our

foreign currency. The windows of foreign-exchange shops and travel

agents often boast that they offer 0% commission deals on foreign

currency. And though that might make you think you're getting a

bargain, anything saved is likely to be clawed back through their

exchange rates, which they set themselves. Of course, instead you

could do a buy-back deal, where any money you return is bought back at

the same rate you paid for it. But there's normally a fee for this, so

you end up losing out either way. So, what's the alternative? Well,

here's what Duncan does. The solution for me is a pre-paid

euro debit card, because so many of my trips are in the Euro-zone. I

load the card online - it's a hassle-free transaction, there's no

transaction fee associated with it. I can do it at my leisure and the

only cost for using the card is a 1.50 euro transaction fee when you

withdraw money using an ATM machine. Duncan reckons he'll save a

whopping �500 a year using these pre-paid cards. A saving he will

pocket...and the bureaux de change won't.

To help you stop feeling short- changed before you've even left the

country, here's Prashant Vaze from Consumer Focus with advice on how

to get the best deal on your holiday cash.

Try and arrange your money at least two or three weeks in advance.

That'll give you time to shop around for the best exchange rate.

Try and avoid the airport and the ferry as you get bad rates there.

If you are in a rush, you can purchase the currency over the

internet, then collect it at the airport and ferry port. That way,

you can take advantage of the more attractive internet rates. Some of

the bureaux de change offer very attractive exchange rates, but

there are a few steps to make sure you get the best deals. The first

thing is to use a price comparison site to shop around to get the best

bureaux de change. Try to avoid using your debit or credit card to

pay for it, because quite often your bank will charge for the

privilege. If you're going overseas for a long period of time, it's

quite good value to get a pre-paid card in the currency of the country

you're travelling to. If, for instance, you're travelling in

Europe, get a Euro Travellers pre- paid card. The advantages of this

is that they offer good exchange rates. You can top them up on the

internet and they are also more secure than taking lots of cash

with you. Most debit cards and credit cards charge you between �1-

4 every time you use a foreign ATM. That means if you are going to use

foreign ATMs, try not to take out small sums of money at the time.

Often when you're in a country, an ATM or a hotel will offer the

option of either settling in the local currency or sterling. Always

go for the local currency, because you never know what exchange rates

the ATM or hotel will be using for its own conversion.

Still to come on Rip-Off Britain: The fees and charges that really

get you down. Credit brokers - they say they'll

find you a loan if you're desperate for cash, but beware, it may not

come cheap. That was the difference between us

having food on the table...decent food. I'm not talking about

luxuries, just normal food. And more advice from Rip-Off's one-stop

consumer advice stop. Because your household income is below �25,000 a

year, you could be entitled to the full grant, which is �3,250 a year.

Next, where do you go if you want to sell your car and get a fair

price for it? You could go to a garage, of course, but these days

many of you are turning to the growing number of firms springing

up online, offering to do all the legwork for you. Some of them say

that as well as getting you the best price, they'll even come and

collect your car from your house. So when our next viewer contacted a

company called ByeBuyCar.co.uk, he thought he'd soon be saying "bye-

bye" to his old wheels and a big "hello" to some cash. Things are

rarely that simple. When Adrian Andrews took out a loan to buy a

new car, he had no idea that before long he wouldn't be able to use it.

A couple of years ago, I started having problems with one of my legs,

which then progressed to my lower back. This means I'm now on long-

term sick leave from my work and there are quite a few limitations

to what I can and cannot do, be it walking, lifting and certainly

driving. Unable to work and with bills mounting, there seemed an

obvious solution. I took a loan out to buy a new car, essentially for

getting to and from work, um...but since, obviously, the problems with

my back, the driving has been limited, and I had - essentially -

a brand-new car sitting on the drive doing nothing...and obviously

still costing money, so we made the decision to sell the car. First,

Adrian tried to sell it privately. But when he had no luck, he decided

to try one of the growing number of online companies who offer to buy

your car. After hunting around on the web, he found one called

ByeBuyCar.com. Based in Wokingham and not to be confused with other

companies with similar names, for Adrian they seemed the perfect

solution. Not only would they buy his car, they'd come and collect it

too. I chose ByeBuyCar.com because the value they were offering were

one of the better I'd been given, and they were also offering a

collection service, which meant that I didn't have to sort of go

anywhere...basically go anywhere that I couldn't actually physically

do. A salesman from ByeBuyCar.com came round, gave Adrian's car the

once-over and promised that once it had been collected, he'd be paid

�3,875. Adrian was pleased with the deal and looking forward to turning

something he no longer used into something he really did need -

money. The guy came...checked the car over, went through all the

paperwork with me and everything seemed to be fine. They took the

car away and I was told... I got the email to confirm that I'd

receive payment within three to five working days. Adrian waited

for the money to come through. He waited. And he waited. And he

waited. When nothing came, he rang the company and he was in for a

shock. It seemed they'd gone out of business. When I phoned them up a

week later to chase up the payment for the car and received the

message saying that they had now ceased trading, I was just...I was

just gutted. I didn't know what to feel. It was a mixture of anger and

upset. I just felt like I'd been conned and...sick. Very sick. The

message suggested customers would be contacted by the insolvency team.

But there were no details of how to get in touch with them, leaving

Adrian confused and desperate. I now feel that I cannot contact the

company because there's no-one there. Basically, I've got no point

of contact to deal with this company whatsoever. I don't know

where to turn to get any further with addressing this matter. As it

stands now, I'm probably never going to see the car again. That's

been sold on by them. All I really want is two things - to get the

money that I'm owed and for the company to get addressed for the

actions they've taken. Although internet car buying may seem

convenient, John McIlroy from What Car? Says it's an area where you

need to choose your company carefully. The Sale Of Goods Act

will protect you when it comes to buying a car from a dealer, but

when it comes to selling, it's more of a grey area. Some of the online

buyers do offer a site where you can take your car, a physical

presence is a good thing. Others promise...the valuation guy will

wait with you while the funds are being cleared in your account. We

recommend you use one of those buyers. We managed to get in touch

with ByeBuyCar.com, who say: But that unfortunately they became

another small business to become a victim of the recession. They say

escalating costs and a downturn in the market meant the business was

no longer cost-effective, so there was no option but to shut down.

Meanwhile, since we've filmed with Adrian, he's had some good news.

Though his car had been sold on, because he'd never had money from

the original sale, the police impounded it and he has now got it

back. If he tries to sell it again, it's unlikely he'll be doing it

online. Well, Adrian's not the only

motorist who this company has left wondering if they've said "bye-bye"

to their car for good. Later in the programme, we'll hear from another

unhappy customer, although his tale has quite a twist. Here at our pop-

up consumer advice shop, it's not just banks, bills and dodgy

dealings we're helping with. Margaret, you're the very proud

granny that wrote to us because you've obviously got a very bright

granddaughter. Tell us what the problem is. When she was in junior

school, she was moved up a year in class. Melissa left school last

year and started college and applied for the EMA grant. We

filled in a form, sent it off and got a reply that it had been

refused because of her age. It would seem as far as you're

concerned, she's being penalised for being bright which is why they

won't give her the allowance. It's really unfortunate because you did

really well at school, you moved up a year and for the sake of just

over a couple of weeks, you're missing out and as the Educational

Maintenance Allowance has been abolished, you couldn't apply this

year, either. The next thing to do is look at some of the universities

you're thinking of applying to for 2012, find out how much they are

charging and crucially look at any help, grants, bursaries that might

be available because with fees going up in 2012, many students are

going to need every penny they can get. We'll see if we can find that

out now. It looks as if we've got the website, you've got all the

information, I'm going to leave you to it, good luck. It's not only

Margaret and Melissa who are concerned about grants and fees.

Our gripe box has been very busy as well. Hi. I'm here today to have a

gripe about tuition fees. What I'm worried about really is the student

tuition fees for when my daughter goes to university. It seems to me

that we're not going to get past university and not get past college

and not get any further because of university fees. Sarah has helped

Margaret and Melissa research grants on the directgov website and

the news may help ease their financial worries.' So, because

your household income is below �25,000 a year, you could be

entitled to the full grant, which is �3,250 a year. And this is

designed to help with food, travel and accommodation and doesn't have

to be paid back. Sarah was very helpful. She showed us a lot of

websites we can go on to find out about grants and bursaries and

things for uni. We're glad we came along and listened to her advice.

Issues with fees aren't just affecting students, as theatre-

lover Paul explains. You can book online for theatre tickets and by

telephone, but there's always a booking fee added to them, which I

object to. How much do they actually charge you for booking? It

can be any amount from �1 to �3 per ticket. To �3 per ticket? That's a

lot. It is a lot. Paul, you obviously feel pretty incensed

about this. It's your passion, you love theatre. How do you get around

the issue? If I'm in London, I'll buy the tickets direct from the box

office for a future performance. Like, well in advance? Yes. How

long? Three months, four months, five months. James, what's your

assessment of this hideous booking fee we're talking about? I mean,

you know, I think everyone can agree these aren't fair and I think

the important thing to differentiate here is if you're

buying a ticket through a third- party ticket agency like See

Tickets, those kinds of ones, it's fine, but they're going to charge a

booking fee because that is their whole business. All they do is sell

tickets on behalf of theatres, so they have to take a cut somewhere.

But if you're going to the theatre, the actual theatre, they're not

selling it through a third party, so they can't really justify that.

I feel as if I'm paying their wages. So there's a bit of a Catch-22 in

this situation. What's your final word of advice for Paul? Ultimately

keep doing what you're doing. Being organised, booking things as much

as a year in advance, go into the box office and paying in cash

physically is the way to keep those costs to a minimum but

unfortunately, it doesn't seem like there's any way to avoid them.

Thanks for coming to see us. I hope you've enjoyed the day. Now here at

Rip-Off Britain, we're getting used to hearing from people who say

they've been short-changed by credit brokers. But this next tale

has an extra twist. Credit brokers of course are the companies that

act as middlemen if you're looking for a loan. They usually charge a

one-off fee for their trouble but a lot of you feel you haven't got

what you expected in return. It's often the up-front fee that's the

bone of contention, so imagine how annoying it would be to end up

paying it more than once. 'Meet Alison Handley from Hailsham in

East Sussex and her daughter Jacqueline. 'When Alison needed to

take time off work to have an operation, 'she decided she needed

a bit of financial help to see her through the month.' It was for �100

and it was just a payday loan just to get me through to buy food, just

to tide us over until I could get back to work again. I looked at

options of credit cards but I don't want one because I think it's too

easy to fall into the trap of just spending. And then you're out of

control. So in March, Alison applied online with a company

called Ezeloans.net who she hoped would find her a quick,

straightforward loan. Not to be confused with other companies with

similar names and with a registered address in London, it looked as

though Ezeloans.net charged a one- off fee of �75 to join. Alison

signed up and the same day they came back to her with a number of

options. They offered me a guarantor loan, but the guarantor I

had didn't meet the criteria for the amount of income you had to

have for a month. Also, they offered me a pawnbroker site. Yet,

I didn't really want to go with them. I didn't get anything on the

site for a payday loan. It was all loans for �5,000 or more which was

not what I wanted. OK, well, the first and most important one is

council tax. That's �100. With nothing quite right for her needs,

Alison cancelled her contract, accepting that she'd still have to

pay the initial joining fee. But a few days later, when she tried to

pay her TV licence, there was a problem. According to her bank, she

didn't have enough money in her account. I thought, "Hang on, I had

plenty in there." So I phoned my bank. And asked them what was going

on. The wages had just gone in, but there's all this money missing.

They checked for me and this company had actually asked for the

payment six times. This left a �450 dent in her bank account and with

no overdraft facility, it put her in a financial mess. She was unable

to pay bills that were due so, through no fault of her own, found

herself hit with bank charges for unpaid direct debits and going into

the red. I went from furious to crying to then thinking, "What am I

going to do?" That was the difference between having food on

the table... Decent food, I'm not taking about luxuries, just normal

standard food. Alison contacted her bank to query the extra payments.

After all, no-one should pay a one- off fee six times. The bank agreed

and refunded her the money while they investigated. But Alison's

relief was short-lived. Ezeloans.net told the bank the

payments they'd received were valid so the bank said she'd have to pay

and took the money back. Let me just go in there and I'll show you.

Incensed, Alison kept pursuing the loan company, hoping they'd soon

realise they'd made a mistake. Eventually, she got an e-mail

asking for more details and promising a response. I want that

money back. That's my money. That's money that I've had to work hard to

get. And my husband's had to work hard to get. And I don't see why

they should have that money. Ezeloans.net told Rip-Off Britain

that they no longer trade in the UK and when they did, all their

collections and admin were outsourced to another company,

although they accept that's no excuse for the poor service Alison

received. They blame all this on an IT error and say it didn't show up

later because the payment was only entered on their own systems once.

They claim the company they use didn't make them aware of Alison's

request for a refund, but they promise she'll now get back the

five incorrect payments and the first correct one, along with an

apology. But, for Alison, that doesn't make up for the problems

and hardship she's been caused. I was hoping to plan to have a family

meal out because it was my 40th wedding anniversary. I couldn't go.

I could not afford to celebrate my Since filming, Alison's confirmed

that she's received all her money back from Ezeloans.net - a total of

�448.50. The number of complaints to Consumer Direct about credit

brokers more than doubled in the years between 2008-10, so if you've

ever had trouble with one or want to know how they work, Rafat Nasda

from the Money Advice Trust has some tips. A credit broker, put

simply, is the person who'll put you in touch with organisations

that'll lend you money. Essentially, they're the middle man. A credit

broker will quite often charge you a fee which will not be explained

up front and sometimes you can be charged that fee even when you

don't get the credit so it might not be clear that you are paying

for a service from the onset. If you are thinking about using a

credit broker, you need to think about these three things first.

Number one - do you need further credit? Is that really your best

option? Number two - is there a way of you getting that credit yourself

without using the middle man and getting a fee? And lastly - is

there a better source of credit out there for you? You can get

affordable credit from places such as credit unions. We would

generally recommend that you don't use a credit broker unless you're

looking at a large amount of credit, for example, a mortgage. From my

experience in National Debtline, we often speak to people who are

trying to apply for credit when in fact they actually need advice.

It's best to start at a neutral point and get some advice if you're

struggling with finances to ensure there aren't other options

available to you first. As there's so many complaints around this area

of practice, the Office Of Fair Trading has produced some new

guidance for credit brokerage. This guidance states that a credit

broker should be clear with you about any fees they will charge and

that, if you've been using a credit broker for six months and not been

able to get the credit you've been promised, you should be able to get

your fees back. At a time when money is tighter

than ever, you need to know that your cash is working hard for you,

avoiding rip-offs and sharp practice along the way. So, we've

put together a booklet of tips and advice to help safeguard your hard-

earned money. You can find a link to the free guide on our website.

Or, if you want to receive a copy in the post, send an A5 self-

addressed envelope to the address we'll give you at the end of the

Earlier in the programme, we heard from Adrian Andrews who wanted to

sell his car really quickly. But when he contacted a company called

ByeBuyCar to sell it for him he ended up with no cash and no car,

either. We also heard from another Rip-Off viewer who ran into

problems with the same company. His story had a very different outcome,

but only after an extraordinary Buying a new car has always been a

purchase that needs to be thought about very carefully, but that's

especially the case these days, with higher costs for petrol and,

of course, insurance. So, when Sean Thomas decided to buy a family car,

it may not have been a decision that he took lightly, but it was

certainly one he was thrilled to have made. I had my wife and

daughter in it, I felt like the chauffeur. All I needed was a

peaked cap. People would look at it, and I was proud because I was

driving an '05-plate BMW. To me it was a bargain. But his dream didn't

last long. A few months down the line, with money increasingly tight

and his family to support, he realised that he'd no option but to

sell his pride and joy. I was gutted, my daughter was upset, my

wife was upset, but at the end of the day, priority, needs must. Sean

tried to sell his car privately, but with no luck. And so he turned

to the internet. He found a company that promised selling would be a

pleasant, stress-free experience. I have to tell you, that was exactly

what he needed. That company was ByeBuyCar.com, and, just as we

heard earlier in the programme, the Wokingham-based firm - not to be

confused with others of similar names, even offered to collect the

car. Sean was promised �3,700 for it. But when a man from

ByeBuyCar.com came to pick it up, the price had dropped. He knocked

it down to 3,500, because he said it costs �400 to get new tyres and

the wheels done and a bit of spraying done. So they said, he'd

go 200 if I went 200, so I agreed to that price, and the deal was

done. I looked out of my lounge window and watched it drive away.

ByeBuyCar.com promised to pay within a few days, but after five

days and no sign of any money, Sean rang the company. He was told they

had problems with his bank details and it would go through very

shortly. Several more days passed until, exasperated, he rang again,

and this time he got a recorded message saying the company was no

longer trading. I was really, really frustrated, really angry

with myself knowing I'd been suckered into something. With no

car, no payment and a company that seemed to be out of business, you

can imagine that Sean was very worried indeed. But he'd been told

ByeBuyCar.com usually sold vehicles to the trade, so he did some

research online, where he found something very familiar. I went on

to local websites, and, believe it or not, I found my car at a garage

near them looking... Basically, it upset me because it was looking

brand-spanking-new, wheels had all been buffed up, a bit of paint work

done to it, nice, shiny, gleaming car, and the price choked me, it

was near enough double for what I'd sold it for. Pretty upsetting.

Sean hoped that the garage advertising his car would be able

to give him some answers. They offered to contact ByeBuyCar.com on

his behalf, and, later that day, he had a call from a man claiming to

be a director of the online car company.

I was basically telling them I wanted the car back or the funds

put into my account, and he said he'd have to speak to an insolvency

team and he would come back to me. And that seemed to do the trick,

because later that day Sean was surprised and very relieved to

discover the money had now suddenly appeared in his account - more than

four weeks after the deal had been done. When I saw the money had gone

into the count, basically I jumped up and "Yippeed!" And I phoned up

my wife and told her, and she was over the moon.

As we heard before, ByeBuyCar.com say there was no intention to rip

anyone off and that they were a small business that simply fell

victim to the recession. The company says it's now in the hands

of an insolvency practitioner, and planning to register as insolvent.

But, as yet, the insolvency service has no knowledge of them. The

company stresses the price Sean saw on his car for sale is down to the

garage they sold it to, and nothing to do with them. And they claim

that, prior to the two incidents we've heard about, they've had many

satisfied customers. Although, during his internet research, Sean

did come across a number of other customers who seemed to have had a

similar experience. At the moment I am one of the lucky

ones, but maybe that's because I did a lot of my own detective work

and tracing back, and I found my car. I do worry buying anything on

the internet now, unless it's a well, well-known company.

Some might say that cash machines are fantastic. They allow you, of

course, the convenience of getting money out as and when you want.

However, the downside is that in some cases you have to pay to get

access to your own money. Now, a lot of you just don't like it, so

John Howells from Link might have some of the reasons why.

I thought for the benefit of our viewers, and even myself, maybe we

should talk first about the infrastructure of ATM machines. How

does it work? Some you have to pay for your money to get it out, some

you don't, so what is the structure like?

We have a fabulous structure in the UK of ATMs. We've got 64,000, and

that is really, really good compared to much of the rest of the

world, and also we have a really high number of free-to-use ATMs,

which is absolutely critical, because at the moment almost every

transaction in the UK is cash, and almost all of that cash comes out

of the ATM network. So, as a citizen, people like you and me

need to have a really healthy, easy-to-access ATM network or we

won't to be able to live our lives properly.

What's the criteria as to what is free and what's not? We have a

scheme called Link in the UK, which is what joins up all the ATMs. It's

up to the members of Link - and those are the banks and companies

who put ATMs in - about whether they want to have charges or not.

At the moment, 40,000 of those ATMs - which is at an all-time high -

are free to the consumer. We do allow, under the Link rules,

machines which you pay for, as well, where there is demand.

Yet, in some areas, those free machines are disappearing. For

example, the banks are diminishing, they're centralising and so the

free machine goes. In an area that's really deprived, there are

practically no free machines, everybody has to pay for it. We

actually have a scheme which Link runs on behalf of the industry to

make sure that we look at where are the most deprived areas, is there a

free-to-use cash machine there? And if there's not, the industry puts

the subsidy in to get one in there, so, of the various areas across the

UK - and there are thousands which we've identified - I think we've

only got 300 left. What do you say to the people, though, who simply

say you are cashing in? Whatever way you want to look at it, you're

just cashing in on people running out of money or being in an

inconvenient spot - how do you address that?

We try hard to make sure we do not have that situation, so we've got a

very broad and large, free-to-use ATM network in the UK. We do think

there's a case for allowing pay-to- use machines where there's consumer

demand and it's a matter of convenience.

So what can people do, then, if they feel, "I don't want to walk 45

minutes to a free machine," or, "This is ridiculous, we're on the

breadline, "yet we've got to go somewhere else to get a free

machine on principle?" There should not be any deprived areas in the UK

which do not have a free-to-use ATM. If there are, then we're working

with consumer organisations to identify those. Can the individual

write and say, "In my community there's no free machine. What will

you do about it?" The Link website is there asking for that

information with our address on and absolutely we would welcome it and

look at it. Thank you very much indeed for

explaining all of that. My pleasure. 'Following that

interview, John went away to look more closely 'into the issue of

free cash machines around Liverpool 'and came back with a great result.

'He says Link and its members have a programme 'to subsidise free cash

machines in deprived areas 'and since his discussions with Rip-Off

Britain, 'they're going to be contacting the local councillors,

'MPs and media in Liverpool to help them work out where to put more.'.

Here at Rip-Off Britain, we're always ready to investigate more of

your stories. Confused over your bills? Trying to wade your way

through never-ending small print that leaves you totally confused? I

might have been stupid for not reading it, or I've read it and not

took it in. I could kick myself. I really could.

Unsure what to do when you discovered you've lost... I thought,

"This cannot be true. It's totally unacceptable." I was so angry.

You might have a cautionary tale of your own and want to share the

mistakes you've made with us so that other people don't do the same

thing. No-one knows about this, so this is very, very strange to me

and I would really like to get this much clearer. Don't forget, you can

always write to us at: Or you can always get in touch by sending us

an email. Don't forget, the Rip-Off Team is ready and waiting to

investigate your stories. I'm afraid that's all we've got time

for in Rip-Off Britain, but I do hope after joining us you are going

to be just that little bit wiser about the things that you can do to

avoid being taken advantage of and losing out as a result.

Whether it's pounds or pennies, there's nothing worse than knowing

you've had a raw deal, so keep the stories coming in and we'll see if

we can put it right. We'd certainly like to live up to

that reputation, so if you feel like you've been had, left short-

changed or are out of pocket, I hope you'll get in touch. We'll see