:00:40. > :00:44.I'm not happy at all. It is the small print with the clause in,
:00:44. > :00:49.that you didn't realise. We are being ripped off big time. Whether
:00:49. > :00:52.it is a deliberate rip off, a catch in the small print or a mistake. We
:00:52. > :00:56.will find out why you are out of pocket and what you can do about
:00:56. > :00:58.it? Keep asking the questions, go to the top if you have to. We do
:00:58. > :01:07.get results, that is the interesting thing. Your stories,
:01:07. > :01:10.your money. This is Rip-Off Britain. Welcome to Rip-Off Britain, today,
:01:10. > :01:13.as always, we will be challenging the companies that you say have
:01:13. > :01:16.left you feeling short changed. We are here to ask them the tough
:01:16. > :01:19.questions that sometimes you can't. But most of all, to make sure that
:01:19. > :01:23.you are being treated the way you deserve.
:01:23. > :01:26.Absolutely, these are really tough times and who knows, maybe they are
:01:26. > :01:31.about to get worse. So you really do need to know that your cash is
:01:31. > :01:39.working hard for you. Avoiding any suspect schemes, or rip-offs along
:01:39. > :01:41.the way. Every penny counts, and it is frustrating if you get caught
:01:41. > :01:45.out by a charge you didn't expect. We have all been there. It doesn't
:01:45. > :01:50.have to be a huge amount. We know from your letters and e-mails, when
:01:50. > :01:53.you feel ripped off, it is not how much you have lost, it is the
:01:53. > :01:57.principle that matters. That is the case with many of the stories we
:01:57. > :02:01.are investigating today. Also coming up on today's programme.
:02:01. > :02:10.The pricing antics of Britain's best-known comic, why this grandma
:02:10. > :02:16.is boycotting the Beano called gifts. I don't think if something
:02:16. > :02:22.is advertised as a gift you can pay for the privilege. And more
:02:22. > :02:25.problems solved at the Rip-Off Britain one stop shop. Unless you
:02:25. > :02:29.pay by direct debit you have to pay handling charge, I think it is
:02:29. > :02:33.wrong. With all of us paying for more gas and electricity this
:02:33. > :02:38.winter, it is a good idea to try to save money by becoming more energy
:02:38. > :02:42.efficient. Having your old boiler replaced with the shiny new
:02:42. > :02:45.condenser boiler is a great start. There is no instant return, it
:02:45. > :02:48.doesn't come cheap. Imagine the frustration if after you shelled
:02:48. > :02:56.out thousands of pounds to get one, winter strikes and your boiler
:02:56. > :03:01.packs up. It is bound to get you hot under the collar.
:03:01. > :03:05.December 2010, the fiercest cold snap for a century, left us all
:03:05. > :03:10.sheltering in the warmth of our homes. Not everyone was suffering.
:03:10. > :03:15.The UK's biggest domestic energy supplier, British Gas, has reported
:03:15. > :03:19.profits of �742 million. And those profits are a double blow for some
:03:19. > :03:22.British Gas customers. Not only are they facing higher energy bills
:03:22. > :03:27.this year, but thousands of them are now being told they will have
:03:27. > :03:31.to fork out extra to fix a problem with a particular type of boiler,
:03:31. > :03:35.which British Gas sold them. Every year a million people need to
:03:36. > :03:42.replace their boilers. It is now a legal requirement that when you do,
:03:42. > :03:46.you install a condenser-type. These new models may be efficient,
:03:46. > :03:53.they are not always fans of sub zero weather. Breaking down and
:03:53. > :04:00.leading people without heat at the very time they need it more. That
:04:00. > :04:09.is what happened to Jean and Gordon, in 2005 they paid a total of �6,016,
:04:09. > :04:14.to have a Glow worm boiler installed. All was fine when five
:04:15. > :04:18.years ago the boiler threw in the towel. I thought it was a bit cold
:04:18. > :04:24.and felt the radiators, and they should have come on, he said he
:04:24. > :04:27.didn't know. The problem was down to the extreme cold we all felt in
:04:27. > :04:33.December. Temperatures of minus 20 stopped the boiler to stop working,
:04:33. > :04:37.because a small plastic pipe, designed to vent condensation, had
:04:37. > :04:42.frozen and caused the system to break down. An engineer came out
:04:42. > :04:46.and said the pipe would need replacing at a cost of �150.
:04:46. > :04:53.were not happy about that. Because to us, it is a define fault. So
:04:53. > :05:02.whether it is a fault of the manufacturers of the system, or
:05:02. > :05:07.British Gas doing it, it is just not fit for use, really.
:05:07. > :05:12.Not in those circumstances. You can see why they might say that, their
:05:12. > :05:17.broken boiler wasn't a one-off. British Gas has written to 46,000
:05:17. > :05:20.customers who suffered similar breakdowns last year, advising they
:05:20. > :05:28.now need to fit an extra part so the same thing doesn't happen this
:05:28. > :05:32.year. That can cost between �149- �199. Jean and Gordon are having
:05:32. > :05:37.their's replaced today. This is the pipe up here. That is coming down
:05:37. > :05:40.the wall that goes into the guttering. That is the pipe that is
:05:40. > :05:45.freezing in the winter. They put the boiler in, as far as we knew it
:05:45. > :05:50.was a workable boiler. OK it is six years old, but nobody should give
:05:50. > :05:54.you something that you cannot use fuing time, whether it is hot or
:05:54. > :06:01.cold -- full-time, whether it is hot or cold. Two hours later, here
:06:01. > :06:06.is the new-look winter proof pipe, fitted with a part called a trace
:06:06. > :06:10.element, a hot wire that warms the plastic pipe to stop freezing. The
:06:10. > :06:16.couple are nearly �200 lighter. are not happy about it, because we
:06:16. > :06:24.are paying �199 for it. But, we are just going to hope and pray that it
:06:24. > :06:28.will work for us. If every one of the 120,000 new
:06:28. > :06:32.condenser boilers which British Gas have installed each year since 2005
:06:32. > :06:36.needed to be upgraded in this way, what they are charging for the new
:06:36. > :06:39.part would bring in over �107 million. Is that just adding to
:06:40. > :06:46.their profits, or does the boiler have a fundamental flaw which they
:06:46. > :06:51.should repair for free. We asked them and they said, no.
:06:51. > :06:56.They told us: it is only during the prolonged freezing weather of the
:06:56. > :07:01.last two years that the problem came to light, to prevent it they
:07:01. > :07:06.now install pipes on the inside wrfrb possible. For outdoor pipes
:07:06. > :07:13.they supply the part that Jean and Gordon had fitted, they do so at
:07:13. > :07:18.cost price, making no profit. The boiler's manufacturers says there
:07:18. > :07:21.is no external fault and saying the pipes worked adequately for five
:07:21. > :07:28.typical winters, and last year's extreme weather affected all
:07:28. > :07:33.manufacturers, not just them, which the industry's trade body has
:07:33. > :07:38.confirmed. But Jean and Gordon are still disappointed that they had to
:07:38. > :07:42.pay. It doesn't feel fair. It doesn't feel right.
:07:42. > :07:46.Now to something generations of us have grown up loving and trusting,
:07:46. > :07:50.the good old Beano. The nation's favourite comic has been making
:07:50. > :07:55.children laugh for over 70 years. The antics off the page prompted
:07:55. > :08:01.this letter from Christine, who regularly buys a copy for her
:08:01. > :08:05.grandson. She wanted an answer to this question: Why does the Beano
:08:05. > :08:10.feel the need to rip off young children and grandparents? The
:08:10. > :08:14.Beano, ripping people off, that would not be funny. We wouldn't
:08:14. > :08:18.resist picking up the challenge on Christine's behalf, but we needed a
:08:18. > :08:22.dictionary to do it. For children the Beano is as much a
:08:22. > :08:26.part of growing up as riding a bike and washing behind your ears. Since
:08:26. > :08:32.the first issue was sold in 1938, the capers of characters like
:08:32. > :08:36.Dennis the menace, and the Bash Street Kids, have made the comic a
:08:36. > :08:46.national institution. One that still sells 37,000 copies every
:08:46. > :08:56.
:08:57. > :09:06.week. Dennis and Nasher and I like them, they cause drama, the whole
:09:06. > :09:10.of Beano Town is really scared of them.
:09:10. > :09:14.James's grandma, Christine, also has a real soft spot for the Beano,
:09:14. > :09:19.she has been buying it for the best part of 30 years, first for her son,
:09:19. > :09:25.then her grandson. She's pretty keen on it herself. It encourages
:09:25. > :09:30.them to read, because the stories are all short and you can read
:09:30. > :09:35.through them pretty quickly. Of course, it gives them hints and
:09:35. > :09:43.tips on how to be little rascals as well. But Christine wrote to Rip-
:09:43. > :09:47.Off Britain, because she thinks the Beano, just like Dennis and Knasher
:09:47. > :09:56.is up to no good. Christine goes to her local shop to buy the Beano,
:09:56. > :10:06.just as she does every week. She goes to pay the usual price.
:10:06. > :10:11.
:10:11. > :10:17.Only to find it is a pound more expensive than last week. Christine
:10:17. > :10:22.has noticed every time there is a gift with the Beano the price goes
:10:22. > :10:28.from �1.50 to �2.50. She's pretty miffed about it. I think it is a
:10:28. > :10:32.rip-off, if something is advertised as a gift, you should pay for that
:10:32. > :10:37.privilege. To me a gift is a gift and shouldn't have a cost to it.
:10:37. > :10:43.And clearly the Beano do charge an extra �1. The Beano don't actually
:10:43. > :10:47.advertise the supposed gifts as free. Instead using words like
:10:47. > :10:52."amazing" or simply "gifts". Christine, along with Roger, thinks
:10:52. > :10:56.that is just dodging the issue. you are giving a gift, give a gift,
:10:56. > :11:02.don't try charging your poor customers extra for that privilege.
:11:02. > :11:06.The Oxford egg English Dictionary agrees. It describes a gift as a
:11:06. > :11:10.thing given willingly to someone without payment. So if a gift is
:11:10. > :11:13.something you don't charge for, how can the Beano put the price up
:11:13. > :11:19.every time one is included. Christine wrote to the comic twice
:11:19. > :11:23.to ask. When they didn't respond. She wrote to us. We asked the Beano
:11:23. > :11:27.the name question. They said the cost of producing comics has risen
:11:27. > :11:29.substantially over the last year, while at the same time sales have
:11:29. > :11:33.been declining. To help them compete effectively with rivals,
:11:33. > :11:37.and also attract new readers, they have adopted a flexible pricing
:11:37. > :11:42.policy. Which depends on the overall package presented. They
:11:42. > :11:46.stress they are kaifrt not to say the gifts are free. Pointing out
:11:46. > :11:50.there is an additional cost to them as well as to the readers. Because
:11:50. > :11:58.these issues cost more to produce. They say research and sales have
:11:58. > :12:03.shown most readers like the gifts. Five for minutes and I want you in.
:12:03. > :12:08.Christine thinks the Beano should forget all about gifts and
:12:08. > :12:13.concentrate on what it has been doing so well for years, making a
:12:13. > :12:17.magazine that children love. I will buy it at its normal retail price,
:12:17. > :12:26.because it is, at that price, fairly good value for money. And it
:12:26. > :12:34.does keep him occupied in the back of the car, in his bedroom. I will
:12:34. > :12:39.not buy it at the inflated price with amazing gifts for � 2.50.
:12:39. > :12:44.James will get the magazine some of the time, good for him, but not for
:12:44. > :12:49.the rest of the family. Beano is a very good way of thinking of stuff
:12:49. > :12:53.to menace about. It gives you ideas to what you could do to your
:12:53. > :13:03.parents when they are asleep, like draw moustaches on them, with
:13:03. > :13:04.
:13:04. > :13:09.marker. Have you ever done that? but I'm going to try it! Before you
:13:09. > :13:15.get seduced by any sort of offer, whether a gift, a buy-one-get-one-
:13:15. > :13:18.free, or a three-for-two, James from the Office of Fair Trading has
:13:18. > :13:22.really good advice to help you decide if what you are getting is
:13:22. > :13:26.as good as it teams. The OFT was interested in how pricing practices
:13:26. > :13:29.used by retailers can influence purchasing decisions made by
:13:29. > :13:33.consumers. What we found is the presentation of the prices is often
:13:33. > :13:37.as important as the prices themselves. We looked at reference
:13:37. > :13:42.pricing, where a price is presented as being relative to another price,
:13:42. > :13:46.such as was �50, now �20. What we found is consumers often perceived
:13:46. > :13:49.the product to be much better value when it is put in the context of a
:13:49. > :13:55.higher reference price, even if that reference price had never been
:13:55. > :14:00.charged at all for the product. Another pricing practice we looked
:14:00. > :14:03.at were time-limited offers, such as must end today, or this bank
:14:03. > :14:05.holiday we found these are particularly powerful, it prevents
:14:05. > :14:09.consumers from shopping around. Without shopping around it is
:14:09. > :14:16.difficult to know whether you are getting a good deal or not. We also
:14:16. > :14:19.looked at deals like, buy-one-get- one-free, or three-for-two. We
:14:19. > :14:22.found this makes it difficult for consumers to understand the value
:14:22. > :14:26.of the product they are getting. Particularly where the
:14:26. > :14:28.circumstances are that the product is routinely offered in that way.
:14:28. > :14:32.All of the different pricing practices can result in an
:14:32. > :14:37.information overload for consumers, that is particularly harmful where
:14:37. > :14:41.they are being manipulated in such a way, that they use prices that
:14:41. > :14:45.may or may not have been used as a sales price at some point in the
:14:45. > :14:48.past. The way to combat that is be aware the pricing practices are
:14:48. > :14:51.used, to shop around and not purchase anything until you are
:14:51. > :14:56.confident you are getting a good deal.
:14:56. > :15:00.There can't be too many of us who haven't, at some point or another,
:15:00. > :15:04.received letters in the post promising the chance to win big
:15:04. > :15:10.cashes, in return for fining up for something or taking out a
:15:10. > :15:19.subscription. What are the chances of actually winning? Here is one
:15:19. > :15:23.Rip Off viewer who has been waiting for his prize for quite a long time.
:15:23. > :15:28.Reader's Digest is something of an institution, it was published in
:15:28. > :15:35.1958, and established itself as a family magazine, and a trusted
:15:35. > :15:40.brand. 3 years later, it is still a popular read. Enjoyed by some 70
:15:40. > :15:45.million people worldwide. One big fan is Roy, an 87-year-old war
:15:45. > :15:50.veteran, and Military Cross holder. He's been a subscriber of the
:15:50. > :15:57.magazine for years, he also loves its regular book offers. I decided
:15:57. > :16:01.I would buy books from Reader's Digest and build up a reasonable
:16:01. > :16:05.library of interesting books. A good plane are about the war years,
:16:05. > :16:09.because that's -- many are about the war years, that is something I
:16:09. > :16:14.was interested in, having been involved myself. So this is how I
:16:14. > :16:20.built up the collection. Which I hope will benefit my children and
:16:20. > :16:23.also my grandchildren in due course. But when Roy orders his books, he
:16:23. > :16:30.also receives letters from the company, offering him the chance to
:16:30. > :16:35.take part in regular prize draws. They send a catalogue of books,
:16:35. > :16:42.then they say if you choose one book or two books out of the
:16:42. > :16:47.selection, you will enter for a prize that might be worth �10,000-
:16:47. > :16:52.�15,000, something of that sort. And for Roy's daughter, Anne, it is
:16:52. > :16:55.those prize draw letters that are causing concern. She says the
:16:55. > :16:59.language used in them has left her father convinced that the more
:16:59. > :17:04.books he buys, the better his chances of winning a prize. As a
:17:04. > :17:11.result, in the last five years, she estimates he has spent around
:17:11. > :17:15.�2,000. Some of the letters make it plain that he doesn't have to say
:17:15. > :17:20.yes to win a prize, but they then subsequently have gone on to say,
:17:20. > :17:23.if you do say yes, you will get an extra prize, or there will be an
:17:23. > :17:30.extra bonus for you. They give the impression, I think, that your
:17:30. > :17:34.chances of winning are very, very good. "To claim your �30,000
:17:34. > :17:38.opportunity, simply browse through the enclosed catalogue now." Then
:17:38. > :17:43.it says, "to order one or mo products and ensure your
:17:43. > :17:46.opportunity to win the �30,000 customer reward prize, complete
:17:46. > :17:49.your joint confirmation certificate." Well if that doesn't
:17:49. > :17:53.sound like you have to buy something to win a prize, I don't
:17:53. > :17:57.know what does, frankly. Roy has bought dozens of books over the
:17:57. > :18:01.years, and entered many of the draws, but so far he has yet to
:18:01. > :18:06.scoop the big prize. Having recently been told he's down to the
:18:06. > :18:11.final stages in one draw, he's convinced that the �100,000 prize
:18:11. > :18:17.really could be coming his way. In fact, he is so hopeful he asked us
:18:17. > :18:22.not to use his surname, to make sure that his future chances won't
:18:22. > :18:28.be scuppered. I don't know the number of people in the draw, but
:18:28. > :18:33.I'm assuming it is probably two or three in the final stages. You
:18:33. > :18:40.don't get a letter from the liaison officer for winners, unless there
:18:40. > :18:45.is something in the offing. So I interpret that accordingly. I feel
:18:45. > :18:47.he may be in for a disappointment. I feel it is cruel. If he really
:18:47. > :18:52.isn't close to winning the big prize, I don't think these people
:18:52. > :18:55.should be writing him letters which make him think he is. I think
:18:55. > :19:00.that's wrong. Chances are, those letters are
:19:00. > :19:04.going to many more people than Roy realises. And Anne believes, if
:19:04. > :19:08.customers like her dad, knew their real chances of winning, they would
:19:09. > :19:13.feel differently about the prize draws. Suppose they say when you
:19:13. > :19:17.enter the prize draw your chance of winning is going to be one in
:19:17. > :19:22.10,000. How would you feel about that? What would you think?
:19:22. > :19:25.very enthusiastic about it. Probably not bother. I probably
:19:25. > :19:29.wouldn't bother. Reader's Digest does state in the small print that
:19:29. > :19:32.you don't need to buy anything to take part in the prize draws. But
:19:32. > :19:36.Anne believes they should make this much clearer, and she's so
:19:36. > :19:42.concerned about the letters that she has passed some of them on to
:19:42. > :19:44.the advertising standard authority. I said if I could please collect
:19:45. > :19:49.more correspondence from my father, they would be prepared to look at
:19:49. > :19:54.the case again. They felt, from what they had seen, that there were
:19:54. > :19:58.issues which might need to be investigated. Anne hopes that by
:19:58. > :20:02.telling her dad's story, it is going to help raise awareness of
:20:02. > :20:06.the marketing tactics that even trusted companies often use, but
:20:07. > :20:10.which she believes can be misleading. People who, of an age,
:20:10. > :20:17.if they receive an official-looking letter, from a company, which they
:20:17. > :20:24.trust, will take the contents at face value. It won't be younger
:20:24. > :20:32.people, they might be a little more sceptical about the contents.
:20:32. > :20:36.Reader's Digest told us that Roy is a valued customer and while every
:20:36. > :20:42.competition has an element of excitement about the possibility of
:20:42. > :20:45.winning, it isn't their aim to raise unrealistic expectations.
:20:45. > :20:51.They said they will take Anne's comments into account when they
:20:51. > :20:56.review how to contact customers. In the meantime, while her dad
:20:56. > :21:00.holds on to the hope of a big win, Anne is determined to try to get
:21:00. > :21:04.the rules on prize draws changed, to stop vulnerable customers being
:21:04. > :21:13.persuaded to make the sort of purchases they neither want nor
:21:13. > :21:16.need. Do remember, with any sort of
:21:16. > :21:19.unsolicited mail, though they may phrase things as though they are
:21:19. > :21:23.your best friend, they are usually only after your cash. Don't be
:21:23. > :21:29.persuaded to hand it over, unless it is for something that you are
:21:29. > :21:34.sure you really want. At a time when money is tighter
:21:34. > :21:37.than ever, you need to know that your cash is working hard for you,
:21:37. > :21:41.avoiding rip-offs and sharp practice along the way. We have put
:21:41. > :21:51.together a booklet of tips and advice to help safeguard your money.
:21:51. > :22:01.
:22:01. > :22:06.You can find a link to the free Still to come on Rip-Off Britain
:22:06. > :22:10.Britain. You have certainly kept us busy with stories and complaints,
:22:10. > :22:14.our pop-up shop gave us a chance to solve some of them face-to-face.
:22:14. > :22:17.There is savings to be made for consumers by bundling your
:22:17. > :22:21.broadband and home phone together. We investigate whether the
:22:21. > :22:29.donations going in the charity bags that drop through your letterbox
:22:29. > :22:34.really do end up where you think. Over the last two years, we have
:22:34. > :22:39.lost up �4.6 million in bags that haven't been given to us.
:22:39. > :22:43.A problem that we looked at in our first series has cropped up again
:22:43. > :22:48.in a lot more of your letters. That's the charges for watching
:22:48. > :22:53.television, if you are snuk a hospital bed. Hospitals, of course,
:22:53. > :22:58.are where you might need some cheering up. Having access to a
:22:58. > :23:02.tele can seem a life saver, but it may not come cheap. It is usually a
:23:02. > :23:12.case of pay up or switch off, you might find there is another catch
:23:12. > :23:12.
:23:12. > :23:18.too. After a spell in hospital, Archie is glad to be back at home,
:23:18. > :23:21.he struggled with his health, after suffering two strokes, the 57-year-
:23:21. > :23:26.old from Scunthorpe has also developed lung problems. He relies
:23:26. > :23:31.on his family, including his nephew, Rob, for help around the house.
:23:31. > :23:38.can hardly breathe. If I'm going out for a walk, I have to stop,
:23:38. > :23:42.every so often, to catch my breath. Archie loves to watch TV, it fills
:23:42. > :23:46.his time while he gets plenty of rest to build up his strength. He
:23:46. > :23:52.spent just over a week in nearby scorn Thorpe General, which like
:23:52. > :23:56.many hospital -- Scunthorpe General, which, like many hospitals in
:23:56. > :24:01.Britain has a television system. But patients have to pay to use
:24:01. > :24:06.them. Archie bought a �5 card, which apparently gave him 12 hours
:24:06. > :24:11.of TV Times. He was amazed to discover those 12 hours had to be
:24:11. > :24:15.used continuously. I knew I was being ripped off, basically. Paying
:24:15. > :24:18.all that money to watch something, that even if you switch it off at
:24:18. > :24:23.nightime, you have used it, your hours are gone, you don't save
:24:23. > :24:27.anything. To me it is just a big con. But, with little else to do,
:24:27. > :24:32.Archie kept buying the cards. During eight days in hospital, he
:24:32. > :24:39.spent �40, just to watch television. He wasn't watching it all the time.
:24:39. > :24:43.But, of course, he couldn't store up those unused hours. I just can't
:24:43. > :24:48.afford it, I'm on the dole i get �65 a week. You go into hospital
:24:48. > :24:56.and you have to pay out for that for a tele. You can watch it at
:24:56. > :24:59.home for nothing. Ridiculous. It was around ten years ago that
:24:59. > :25:03.pay-for-TV and telephone systems were introduced into hospitals
:25:03. > :25:07.across the UK. They are expensive to install, and have no cost to the
:25:07. > :25:12.NHS. So, that optional bedside entertainment, brought with it a
:25:12. > :25:18.price for the patient. If Archie was at home, the cost of watching
:25:18. > :25:24.TV, with his license, would be 40p a day. Quite a lot less than the �5
:25:24. > :25:28.he was charged for 12 hours viewing in hospital.
:25:28. > :25:35.Archie isn't the only patient agrieved over the charges. It is an
:25:35. > :25:39.issue that is debated in the local press, and MP, Nick Dakin has heard
:25:39. > :25:43.from several other constituents who are unhappy. I'm concerned about
:25:43. > :25:48.the impact on people with low incomes and can't afford to be 3ing
:25:48. > :25:52.up large bills. There is a long -- to be picking up large bills. There
:25:52. > :25:55.is a long history of communal places where people can access
:25:55. > :26:00.television. Why that should be taken away so people don't have a
:26:00. > :26:06.choice, I have a concern about that. If there was still the communal
:26:06. > :26:12.areas and the axe sets to -- access to TVs over the bed, that seems a
:26:12. > :26:16.fair choice, and people can make the decision that best suits them.
:26:16. > :26:19.The company that operates the bedside TV system, says, unusually,
:26:19. > :26:24.they haven't been able to find Archie's details in their records.
:26:24. > :26:29.But, in any case, there are better value pricing options he could have
:26:29. > :26:32.chosen, which would have halved the cost. They have trialed pay-per-
:26:32. > :26:38.unit system, but for various reasons, they didn't work. Although
:26:38. > :26:43.they are exploring alternative methods ofing for the future, of
:26:43. > :26:46.10,000 patients who took part in a survey in September, 65% described
:26:46. > :26:51.the current set-up as value for money.
:26:51. > :26:56.Meanwhile, it is likely that Archie will need more treatment for his
:26:56. > :27:01.condition, and another stay in hospital. Even if he chooses a
:27:01. > :27:11.different package, he fears facing another hefty bill. The people are
:27:11. > :27:15.going to be in there for months. How can they afford it? How does a
:27:15. > :27:20.company like that explain themselves to people's relatives
:27:20. > :27:26.that it's costing that much to keep them there. Just to keep them a
:27:26. > :27:32.little bit entertained. Unfortunately it appears these are
:27:32. > :27:36.charges we can't escape and are not going to go away. We have some
:27:36. > :27:42.pointers on other charges you can expect when you are in hospital.
:27:42. > :27:45.Where possible, how to avoid them. If you are going to hospital for
:27:45. > :27:52.treatment, you might assume that because it is NHS treatment that it
:27:52. > :27:57.is free, however, you may find that you are being charged for amenities
:27:57. > :28:00.that don't constitute treatment. Car parking charges will vary
:28:00. > :28:04.throughout the country. In Wales, for example, there are no charges,
:28:05. > :28:14.they have been scrapped all together, in Scotland certain
:28:15. > :28:16.
:28:16. > :28:24.conditions have been exempt from charges. In England, exempts and
:28:24. > :28:27.discounts -- he can exceptions and discounts vary from hospitals to
:28:27. > :28:31.hospitals. If you want to make telephone calls from a bedside
:28:31. > :28:35.phone, you might find the charges are quite say. Relatives who want
:28:35. > :28:39.to call you might be hit with very high in coming call charges. You
:28:39. > :28:49.might be able to use your mobile phone on the ward, you should
:28:49. > :28:53.
:28:53. > :28:57.always check with the ward sister first. You might be charged for
:28:57. > :29:00.taking money out at a hospital cash machine, take money with you.
:29:00. > :29:03.Hospital shops are more expensive than high street shops. Think about
:29:03. > :29:09.taking what you need, such as packed lunches with you when you
:29:10. > :29:14.travel. Hundreds of you e-mail and write
:29:14. > :29:18.into us at Rip-Off Britain Britain. So we decided we wanted -- Rip-Off
:29:18. > :29:22.Britain, so we decided to have the opportunity to meet you face-to-
:29:22. > :29:28.face and hear your stories. We have teemed up with BBC Learning to open
:29:28. > :29:35.our own Pop Up Shop in Manchester. It is going incredibly well, we
:29:35. > :29:38.have had lots of responses. Simon, we have a queue outside the door.
:29:38. > :29:42.What are you expecting today? think it will be mostly to do with
:29:42. > :29:46.flights. First of all, booking the flipping things, and why you have
:29:46. > :29:51.to pay a charge with some airline, just to hand over money. Also, if
:29:51. > :29:55.your flight is delayed or cancelled, what are your entitlements. The
:29:55. > :29:58.biggest rip-off today that I want to persuade people to avoid, is the
:29:58. > :30:02.changing money at the airport scenario. If you do that you might
:30:02. > :30:06.as well just hand over your purse to someone and say help yourself,
:30:06. > :30:13.ultimately you are just being ripped off massively. It is not
:30:13. > :30:19.just the travel industry that is affected by hidden charges. Carolyn
:30:19. > :30:27.has found out that she's paying for the prove lij of paying her phone
:30:27. > :30:32.and broadband bill. They introduced a �5 non-direct debit charge.
:30:32. > :30:36.you want to write a cheque for your bill it costs �5 to pay that way.
:30:36. > :30:42.Unless you pay by direct debit you have to pay the �5 handling charge.
:30:42. > :30:47.Which I think is wrong. They have now introduced a paper billing
:30:47. > :30:51.charge, of �1.50. What do you make of this case? Unfortunately it is
:30:51. > :30:54.not unique in the market nowadays. Providers in all sorts of
:30:54. > :30:59.industries nowadays consider cheques to be an expensive way to
:30:59. > :31:04.take the money from you, certainly within broadband, there is only one
:31:05. > :31:10.or two providers that will allow a cheque for free. Two or three
:31:10. > :31:13.providers won't allow you to take a cheque at all. The best way is to
:31:13. > :31:22.bundle your home phone and broadband together. If you go down
:31:22. > :31:26.the route where you have to pay by cheque premium it is only one
:31:26. > :31:30.payment. In conclusion to your case, you are getting a better rate with
:31:30. > :31:34.one company and they are charging a smaller amount for paying. If you
:31:34. > :31:39.eliminate the charge per month, as Mike says, possibly you will be
:31:39. > :31:44.paying for more your service. I'm a little bit confused, you access
:31:44. > :31:48.your computer regularly, why are you so resistant to paying your
:31:48. > :31:51.bills on-line? Because of the security. I have never paid
:31:51. > :31:55.anything on-line, I have never bought anything on-line, I don't
:31:55. > :31:59.like my bank details being on-line. Because you never know these days
:31:59. > :32:02.what might happen. A lot of the big providers in the market now are
:32:02. > :32:05.very security conscious, if you are leaving your bank details on the
:32:05. > :32:09.account, you really should feel quite sure that nothing will happen
:32:09. > :32:13.to them, and you will be able to make your payments without issues.
:32:13. > :32:18.Carolyn feels she should learn more about on-line security, BBC
:32:18. > :32:21.Learning have good advice. It has recommended guides, it shows how to
:32:21. > :32:26.shop safely with a credit card on- line. It has all that information
:32:26. > :32:33.for you. There is a beginners guide to using the Internet. You click on
:32:33. > :32:37.to it, it says safety. Skillswise website has been a great
:32:37. > :32:42.starting point for Carolyn, that should open more doors for her as a
:32:42. > :32:46.consumer. We're all finding more and more
:32:46. > :32:51.charity bags pushed through our letterboxes, asking us to fill them
:32:51. > :32:54.with our unwanted items. A perfect excuse to clear out the cupboards
:32:54. > :32:58.and help a good cause at the same time. But do you really know where
:32:58. > :33:02.your donations end up. Not all these bags are quite what they seem.
:33:02. > :33:09.In fact, doing what you think is a good deed, so end up having a
:33:09. > :33:12.really adverse effect on your local charity shops. With so many
:33:12. > :33:16.collection bags arriving through our letterboxes, it seems charity
:33:16. > :33:20.really does begin at home. But instead of being delighted at what
:33:20. > :33:23.appears to be an effective way of getting us to give. One of the
:33:23. > :33:28.country's best known charities is warning against it, saying only a
:33:28. > :33:32.third of the items put into these bags will end up for sale in
:33:32. > :33:38.charity shops. The way that the world is at the moment, the price
:33:38. > :33:41.of rag is the highest it's been in my ten years of service with the
:33:41. > :33:46.British Heart Foundation bs, that obviously encourages more
:33:46. > :33:49.collection companies to sipt. The glut of commercial collect -- set
:33:49. > :33:53.up. The glut of commercial collecting companies has made it
:33:53. > :33:58.hard for us to get the stuff we need. It is not justs the
:33:58. > :34:01.collections that upset the heart foundation, they say the public
:34:01. > :34:04.don't realise when charity companies deal with private
:34:04. > :34:08.companies to collect on their behalf, the private companies are
:34:08. > :34:12.able to sell on the goods themselves, and only give a small
:34:12. > :34:14.percentage to the charities themselves. The items are resorted
:34:14. > :34:19.and sold on to Third World countries, the money that then goes
:34:19. > :34:23.back, sometimes it is as little as 5% that goes across to the original
:34:23. > :34:26.charity. Every single charity needs money, without the vital funds none
:34:26. > :34:31.of us continue the hard work. A small percentage is better than no
:34:31. > :34:35.percentage at all. The British Heart Foundation uses
:34:35. > :34:39.its own vans to pick up donated goods, and driver, Joe, is
:34:39. > :34:43.concerned about the dwindling number of collections he is making.
:34:43. > :34:47.I have been a British heart foundation van driver for ten years,
:34:47. > :34:51.I have noticed doorstep donations drop dramatically from full van
:34:51. > :34:55.loads every day, to half a van load. I will drive around the housing
:34:55. > :34:58.estates, there is less and less doorstep donations, the
:34:58. > :35:00.householders are confused, they don't know what they are doing.
:35:01. > :35:04.charity claims that two-thirds of the bags drop through our doors are
:35:05. > :35:08.delivered by commercial companies. And while many of those are working
:35:08. > :35:15.with charities, a growing problem is that some collectors are doing
:35:15. > :35:19.nothing of the kind. Over the last two years we have
:35:19. > :35:22.lost up to �4.6 million in bags that haven't been given to us.
:35:22. > :35:24.There is a huge difference between the commercial collectors who are
:35:25. > :35:27.giving a small percentage to charities, but there is also a lot
:35:27. > :35:32.of bogus collectors out there giving absolutely nothing to
:35:32. > :35:35.charities. The charities say this can make it
:35:35. > :35:40.hard for anyone wanting to support a particular cause, to be confident
:35:40. > :35:45.that their donations will do so effectively. Which is why, in
:35:45. > :35:49.Ipswich, another charity, Mind, has stopped delivering bags all
:35:49. > :35:53.together. I have noticed in the last three to four years, massive
:35:53. > :35:58.increase in the amount of companies representing charities, putting
:35:58. > :36:03.bags through the doors, for collections. It has become
:36:03. > :36:08.increasingly hard to find an area that hasn't been blanket dropped by
:36:08. > :36:11.these massive companies. They collect clothing and shoes, and
:36:11. > :36:15.give a very small percentage of the money that they make on those
:36:15. > :36:19.collections back to the charities that they represent.
:36:19. > :36:24.I think it is vital that these private companies are regulated in
:36:24. > :36:28.some way. So that they show exactly how much profit they are making,
:36:28. > :36:31.from these charitable organisations. So it gives the public an informed
:36:31. > :36:34.choice about whether they should support these people or not, or
:36:34. > :36:40.whether they can support the charities in a different way, that
:36:40. > :36:46.could actually make a real difference.
:36:46. > :36:51.In a British Heart Foundation survey, 65% of the people asked and
:36:51. > :36:55.wonder why these companies exist, and wrongly assume whether all
:36:55. > :36:58.their donated -- wrongly assume all their donations are going to the
:36:58. > :37:01.charity. Both Jill and Louise are determined to get the message out.
:37:01. > :37:05.My advice to the general public is, if they are putting their stock
:37:05. > :37:09.into a bag, really read the detail on the bag, check with the local
:37:09. > :37:13.shops, check with the charities of their choice, but the absolutely
:37:13. > :37:19.best and most guarantee way to get your stock into your local charity
:37:19. > :37:23.is take it to the shop. I think people would be horrified if they
:37:23. > :37:27.realise what had a small percentage was going back to the charity and
:37:27. > :37:30.how much profit these corporates were making on the back of what
:37:30. > :37:33.would appear to be a very charitable gesture.
:37:33. > :37:36.We do feel ripped off, most importantly we feel the public are
:37:36. > :37:40.being ripped off. They are not clearly informed about where their
:37:40. > :37:46.stock is going. Commercial collectors, if you have nothing to
:37:46. > :37:49.hide, be transparent on your bags. The public deserve the truth.
:37:49. > :37:53.a depressing picture of people feeling their charitable instincts
:37:53. > :37:56.are being taken advantage of. We pride ourselves on being a
:37:56. > :37:59.charitable nation, but if we lose our faith in the system of
:37:59. > :38:04.collection, we may stop giving, and then the people we want to help
:38:04. > :38:10.will lose out. What can the Government do to help? I have come
:38:10. > :38:14.to speak to the minister for civil society, to see what he has to say.
:38:14. > :38:19.Minister, there is a crisis for charities about the bags that are
:38:19. > :38:22.left in people's houses, which they fill in good faith, and the
:38:22. > :38:26.charities say that two-thirds of the stuff never ends up in their
:38:26. > :38:30.shops. My concern as minister for charities is what it is doing to
:38:30. > :38:34.undermine public trust in giving. We have two potential problems here,
:38:34. > :38:38.one is public dissatisfaction with how much of the proceeds from that
:38:38. > :38:42.go to the charities. The second issue is the one that is concerning
:38:42. > :38:46.me most at the moment, is actually about crime and left and fraud, and
:38:46. > :38:51.the fact that in some cases this isn't going to charities at all, it
:38:51. > :38:55.is going into Eastern Europe, in many cases, as really organised
:38:55. > :38:59.crime. That is very, very serious indeed, and costing charities in
:38:59. > :39:03.this country, estimates vary, but up to �50 million a year. There is
:39:03. > :39:07.a lot of money to be made by the wrong kind of people out of this, I
:39:07. > :39:11.think the figures are something like nearly �1,000 for a tonne of
:39:11. > :39:16.clothing, and yet the maximum fine I believe that the police can levy
:39:16. > :39:20.on people is �1,000. Is there anything that you can do to perhaps
:39:20. > :39:24.create a greater match between the offence and the punishment?
:39:24. > :39:28.convened a meeting of everyone who has an interest in this area,
:39:28. > :39:35.charities, licensing authorities, the police, to say OK, there is a
:39:35. > :39:39.problem here, what can we do to work together to make this more
:39:39. > :39:49.effectively. Critically the missaid they know they can do more and
:39:49. > :39:49.
:39:49. > :39:51.should -- the police said they know and should do more. The authorities
:39:51. > :39:55.are taking "zero tolerance" approach to this. That is one of
:39:55. > :39:59.the key developments. People are generous, they want to do the right
:39:59. > :40:04.thing, they want to make good use of the things they no longer want,
:40:04. > :40:07.they want to give them to charities, what should they do? Please don't
:40:07. > :40:09.be discouraged about giving, now more than ever charities need your
:40:09. > :40:16.support. Secondly, there is a requirement for anyone collecting
:40:16. > :40:18.on behalf of a charity, to print on the bag, the registration number of
:40:18. > :40:22.the charity. Not a company registration number, but the
:40:22. > :40:25.registration of the charity, check that. If you have any doubts, check
:40:25. > :40:31.that number on the charities commission website to recognise
:40:31. > :40:34.this is a bona fide operation. If you have any further doubts check
:40:34. > :40:39.with your local authorities that it is legitimate. If you still, at the
:40:39. > :40:44.end of that process, have any doubts, please consider taking the
:40:44. > :40:46.clothes directly to your local charity shop, or if you have a
:40:46. > :40:53.recycling bin near you. Simple steps to give yourself the
:40:53. > :40:58.confidence that you are not being ripped off. Here at Rip-Off Britain,
:40:58. > :41:03.we are always ready to investigate more of your stories. Confused over
:41:03. > :41:07.your bills? Trying to wade through endless small print that leaves you
:41:07. > :41:11.none the wiser. I might have been stupid for not reading it, or I
:41:11. > :41:16.have read it and not took it in. I could kick myself, I really could.
:41:16. > :41:20.Unsure what to do when you discover you have lost out, and that called
:41:20. > :41:27.great deal has ended up costing you money. I thought this cannot be
:41:27. > :41:33.true. It is totally unacceptable. I was so angry. You might have a
:41:33. > :41:37.cautionary tale of your own, and want to share your mistakes with us,
:41:37. > :41:41.so other people won't do the same. Nobody knows about this, and it is
:41:41. > :41:51.very strange to me I would like to get it clearer. You can write to us
:41:51. > :42:03.
:42:03. > :42:06.The team is ready and waiting to investigate your stories.
:42:06. > :42:09.I think you will agree it is obvious from the experiences we
:42:09. > :42:12.have heard today that quite understandably most of us want to
:42:13. > :42:16.know exactly where our money is going. So when that's not clear,
:42:17. > :42:20.always do your research, and never be afraid to ask questions, that is
:42:20. > :42:24.the motto. Absolutely, it is what we do on this programme. It can
:42:24. > :42:27.seem that everyone is after your money. So you really do have to
:42:27. > :42:31.protect it. You can never do too much research or price comparison
:42:31. > :42:34.when you are being asked to hand over your cash. Not least, because
:42:34. > :42:38.you just might discover another company that will give you a better
:42:38. > :42:41.deal. That is always a good thing, that's it for today. Please join us