Episode 4 Rip Off Britain

I think there's a lot of hidden information about your bills

I don't feel I get treated how I should be.

How do I get my money back? Cos I just think I'm entitled to it.

Keep asking the questions. Go to the top if you have to.

We do get results. I mean, that's the interesting thing.

Hello and welcome to Rip Off Britain where, as ever,

we're going into battle on your behalf

and challenging the companies that you've told us

the really tough questions that sometimes you can't,

and if we can help more of you losing out in the first place

Because, as you know, once you've handed over your well-earned money,

sadly, if you then need to get it back, well,

that can prove very difficult indeed.

How many times have we seen that on the programme?

And, really, that applies whether you're dealing with companies

that are respectable household names or ones that aren't that familiar.

I just feel like they're just daylight robbers.

I just think they're scammers - complete and utter scammers.

this unfortunate feeling that I was not going to the game.

Maggie and Rick Hilton are a couple in the business of making

other people's wedding dreams come true,

but after what they thought was a dream purchase of their own,

they've been left distinctly unhappy themselves,

not to mention thousands of pounds worse off.

That's bad enough, but what really frustrates them is that,

although they've lost an awful lot of money,

there doesn't seem to be anything they can do to get it back.

The car that we've got now, I mean, it's not

really something that we can use physically to transport people.

But it's only really for photography purposes and it's just to add

a little extra to the couples that are getting married,

It was a Beauford Tourer, beautiful 1930s Gatsby-style,

beautiful leather seats, very eco-friendly,

which he agreed to build. I mean, it was special.

And obviously thought that, being a legitimate limited company,

So we were very confident to go ahead with him.

We even got a chauffeur's uniform for you, didn't we?

Oh, yes, yes. A very enchanting chauffeur's uniform for me.

That was like the icing on the cake, to get that little value added thing

to make people's weddings or breaks here something really special.

He was really busy and off work with a bad stomach,

Didn't get back to us as he had the day off.

Couldn't take any more pictures due to the rain.

We were living in hope the whole time, hoping that it was all true.

By the time he did send these pictures,

the car was meant to be near enough completed,

but it was obvious, when you looked at the pictures, that it wasn't.

Looks like probably one of his wedding cars there. Hmm. But...

When I got onto the, I think it's the VOSA,

they confirmed that it hadn't even been in for the test,

all the emails that was he was sending were just total lies.

And, obviously, then we knew that there was something seriously wrong.

We did everything. We went to Trading Standards, Citizen's Advice,

debt collectors, courts and, in the end,

we had a judgement in our favour for nearly £30,000.

"Well, it's been through a court of law,

Unfortunately, obtaining a court order doesn't necessarily mean

that the claimants will receive all their moneys back.

The Hiltons, in this case, had a substantial sum due to them

but they were dependent on the bailiffs being able to

enforce the debt against the company,

and the company having sufficient assets to satisfy the debt.

Bailiffs can't just go into property,

So, quite feasibly, if the director either doesn't answer

the door of the property or moves assets around,

bailiffs will have difficulty locating the assets to

He was brought back into court and they actually ordered him

which he refused or didn't act on it,

I mean, obviously, we were just absolutely devastated.

And because of our financial situation, I mean,

we couldn't just keep getting lawyers to act on our behalf.

Because their contract was with a limited company that

and they'd be unlikely to get any joy joining a list of creditors

they really have reached the end of the road.

We chased him for over three years. I mean, this is the fourth year now

and it does wear you down after a while.

But...we've decided now just to draw a line under it and get on,

and just carry on making people happy.

we get thousands of emails and letters covering a very wide

range of subjects and, by the way, we love hearing from you.

So, when we suddenly get a lot of correspondence,

not just about the same topic but complaining about the same company,

we know straight away that it's something we need to investigate.

And that's exactly what happened with our next story -

one name kept coming up again and again -

a business which has let a lot of people down.

And, in a way, that seems particularly cruel

because all those people in tough times had found a way to

make their lives better, or so they thought.

Constant phone calls, being fobbed off, put on hold.

Your dad's been stupid enough to get ripped off by a dodgy company.

Basically, you're like, cheated out of your money.

It's a massive career change and it's something I've always wanted to do.

There's a brilliant glossy website and it looked really appealing.

I applied for it and everything was fine.

It was a very big deal cos me and my partner were living together,

I had to put a bit aside to pay Direct LGV,

which all I could afford at the time was £100.

It eventually got to the point where I moved back to my parents

and the last payment I paid to them was £500, and that was it.

They haven't paid me at all for two guys that I've trained.

They've just basically said, "We're not paying you."

They've left me, basically, high and dry.

On another occasion, "I've just paid it ten minutes ago, Andy.

"It's paid directly into your account", and it never happened.

So, without payment, Mark couldn't come on the course.

I thought, "There's no chance of me getting my money back."

I just feel like they're just daylight robbers.

I just think they're scammers - complete and utter scammers.

Now then, Mark, how you doing? Yeah, not so bad.

They need to be outed, this company. Yeah. 100%.

And brought to justice for what they've done,

cos there's not only just me and you,

there must be about 35 others that we've contacted on the internet,

and these guys are just left high and dry.

What kind of advert is that for this industry? It's terrible.

When we're trying to teach people to drive lorries

My dealings with Direct LGV, how it's affected me personally,

is obviously the loss of the money, the £2,199.

That's had a knock-on effect. I borrowed that money off my mother.

Also, part of that money was for my summer holidays,

and now I've got to explain to the two kids that maybe we're not

He's been stupid enough to get ripped off by a dodgy company.

of second prize, five balls and the bonus

The glossy website has been replaced with a message saying that they have

ceased to trade. Our shop was inundated with people

winning get a lot higher, don't Our shop was inundated with people

with their concerns. You set our very clearly, at the top of your

letter, how you want this to be resolved... Our experts were amazed

letter, how you want this to be with a variety of topics. They'll

look into it for you and make sure it doesn't happen again. Travel

related problems were high on the list of complaints. Organising a

holiday can take an awful lot of planning, but as our travel expert

Simon Calder has been hearing, that dream holiday can often turn into a

very expensive nightmare. Unfortunately for Joyce and her

companions, it seems there is no way of getting back the money that they

had lost. We intended to go on a cruise, which included the Greek

islands. Lovely. Very nice trip. So, you were all excited about going,

presumably. Oh, absolutely. What could possibly go wrong? That's what

we thought. A few weeks later, we found out the cruise had been

cancelled. When they cancelled the cruise it was because the ship was

going into dry dock at Malaga. Surely if it's going to dry dock,

they must know some time in advance. When that was cancelled, all you can

do is say, "Right, we'll have our money back." What the crucial thing

in this case is that you had bought separately flights and therefore the

airline is going to say, "Well, ladies, the flight's still here,

we're still here, "you can't have your money back." You got the cruise

money back all right, didn't you? We did, yes. So it's purely the flights

that we're talking about. So how much did you lose? Just under £1,400

for the six of us. Next time, make sure you know exactly what would

happen if you booked a flight and, for some reason, the cruise is

changed or doesn't go. I'm really sorry. It is not what you wanted to

hear, I know, but I sympathise with you because you didn't expect the

boat to go into dry dock. Still to come: A card too dangerous

to drive and that can't be fixed. So, why was it sold that way by the

dealer? I literally don't know what to do with it. I'm so tired and so

fed up of this whole situation. It's been going on too long now and I

just want my money back, and I just want it to be over. If you're a

sport or music fan desperate to see your heroes, then a company that

promises it can get you those hard to find, or even sold-out seats, can

seem just the ticket. But those companies can often deliver an

unexpected result, as one of them did for our next viewer. He was

determined to get to Barcelona for a football game, but the company he

used kept moving the goalposts. Let's go! Aside from his day job,

there is only one thing that really takes up the time of Bez, Hezbollah

that Arsenal. -- his beloved had Arsenal. Arsenal. Arsenal's in my

blood. I was raised an Arsenal fan by my father and my uncle. Those

were the days when we used to be able to go and, you know, for £10 we

could go watch the game, buy a programme and a hot dog and the

train fare home. But if I can't get to a game, I like to try and be

involved with the Arsenal community somehow cos it's just a love of

mine. When Arsenal beat Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions

League time, there was no doubt what Bez would need to do next. The very

next day, I was straight online looking to buy some tickets to go

out there and watch the game. This website came up - they were called

onlineticketexpress.com. In hindsight, I didn't put any research

into this company whatsoever and, obviously, it came back to hit me

hard. The tickets were not cheap. But as

it was such a crucial game, Bez was not put off and he ordered two, one

for himself and one for his brother, Oz, at a total cost of £525. 'Having

made the purchase online,' the very next thing that was asked was that I

returned an email signed back to them via fax to confirm that I was

definitely making a purchase of these tickets. I did that

immediately. I'd never made a purchase online for a sporting event

before, so nothing... ..triggered my mind that there was anything

abnormal about that. Tickets apparently sorted, he set about

organising what should have been the perfect holiday, sun, sea and

Arsenal. But then the company sent an unexpected request. I received an

email from onlineticketexpress.com requesting that I make scanned

copies of my passport and card that I'd used to make the purchase. I

called them and said, "What's this all about?" I spoke to a lady who

said to me, "This is completely normal." I said, "OK. Well, I'm

going to need to question that, really." I contacted Barclays and I

was told straightaway, immediately, "Under no uncertainty do you ever

send scanned "copies of your passport to anyone."

So, Bez said no. The company said without the document is the purchase

could not be completed. Despite that, four days later, they took

over £600 from his account. Bez asked them to refund it. Although

they agreed on the phone they would do just that, they then stopped

acknowledging any further calls or e-mails. At that point, I realised I

was just being taken for a fool and that this company was just... You

know, playing me and... At that moment, I got very worried and

thought, "Well, am I going to be losing this money now?" But with his

flights and hotel already booked, a few days later he flew to Barcelona,

resigned to watching the game from outside the stadium. The atmosphere

was brilliant, the buzz was amazing, but there was always this... It just

absolutely killed me, this unfortunate feeling that I was not

going to the game. He could not resist buying a ticket outside the

game. I managed to purchase a ticket, which I had pay a lot of

money for, but I was out there in Barcelona already, so I just had to

see that match. But it really was a Barcelona already, so I just had to

game of two halves. When he got home, he found an e-mail waiting for

him. It was headed, last call. It had been sent by the company just a

few hours before the game, instructing him to pick up his

tickets from an unspecified area near the box office. Bez was

baffled. As far as he had been concerned, the purchase had not gone

ahead and he had still been waiting for a refund. But he was worried to

see that the e-mail also stated that, regardless of if the tickets

were collected, they would be considered delivered, with a refund

not an option. I immediately contact Barclays and informed them of this.

At the same time, I contacted Barcelona FC and asked them if they

knew about this company. Barcelona FC immediately told me, "This

company, we've heard their name before, "they continually do this.

We always have people "coming and asking where is there a pick-up

point for this company. "No such pick-up point exists."

Upon hearing this, in Berkeley is returned the ticket purchase price

to his account in full. However, the ticket site played the game too well

and, as the final whistle blew, they had one last shot. I realised that

this amount of money had gone back out of my account again. I then

contacted Barclays and asked them what was going on here, and Barclays

then told me the amount had been disputed by the company. The company

then told me the amount had been argued that as Bez had signed the

terms and conditions, he had agreed to the company's methods. Regardless

of the fact that the purchase had not been completed and that his

tickets had never materialised, the bank agreed with them and he lost

his money. I said to Barclays that I never received the tickets I paid

for. So then Barclays said that there's nothing that they could do,

that the terms and conditions had been signed, and that the charge

back scheme had been challenged. We contacted the company, based in

Andorra. They did not reply. We also got in touch with Barclays. They

said they did approach Bez to see if he wished to continue with the

dispute. Due to his delay in replying, they are no longer in a

position to challenge the transaction. I didn't do enough

research and it's really cost me now, cos I'm out of pocket by £600

because I never got what I paid for. So, whether it's for a game or a

gig, how can you be confident about where you buy your tickets? Tony

Neat from Get Safe Online has some advice to make sure you don't lose

out. Buying tickets online for sporting

events, for concerts, for festivals is fantastic. The opportunity to get

exactly what you're looking for is great, but we've got to make sure

that we're not being ripped off. 50% of the websites that were selling

tickets last year were unauthorised websites that had no tickets to

sell. One of the problems is it's very

difficult to find out if the ticket that you're buying is from an

authorised reseller. These websites look very, very genuine, they can

even have names of genuine companies linked to it, so you need to do your

background checks or you end up by not having tickets or for buying

tickets for a concert that never really existed in the first place.

The sort of things that you should check out is check the actual

website that you're on, ask questions, have a look and see if

there's a postal address. Is there a telephone number? If you're going to

pay, then pay by a credit card. It gives you far more security if

something should go wrong. Make sure you go to the event's website. Make

sure you go to the concert website to find out who are selling their

tickets. If you get a ticket that doesn't look right, if the tickets

never arrive or you suddenly realise that the concert doesn't exist,

contact your local police. Tell the ticket company or the

agents that are dealing with that Tell the ticket company or the

particular concert or festival, tell your credit card company

straightaway, cos you may be able to get a refund.

We all make mistakes. And big companies are no exception. Even if

they have had years of experience. It is what they do to put those

mistakes right that can leave you feeling ripped off. So, you need to

know what your rights are and where to go when you don't think you have

been treated fairly. So, we have put together a booklet of tips and

advice. You can find a link to the free guide on the website. Or you

can send a stamped, self-addressed A5 envelope to the address we will

give you at the end of the programme. Next, a car sold in a

pretty shocking state of repair, but that's perhaps not even the worst

part of the story. Over 6.7 million people bought a

second-hand car in the UK last year. Ruth was one of them. I had my old

car and its time was up, so I thought I'd get a bit of money

together and actually buy something a bit more decent for myself. Is she

soon found a dealer that seemed to be offering something reliable. But

how wrong she was. I came across this website for Kingswood Bargains

and, basically, they said their website had quality used cars, and

all the cars came with full history and MOT certificates, so they seemed

quite trustworthy. Reassured by the website of the company, not to be

confused with other companies with similar names, she headed down to

the dealership in Bristol to take a look. I found this Ford Ka and it

was in my price range - it was £1,395 - and so I put down a £100

deposit on that day. They wouldn't let me take it away with me because

they wanted to check it over in the garage for me to make sure

everything was OK. And they also gave me three months free warranty

as well, in case anything went wrong. When she was able to drive it

away a few days later, she was very happy with the service she had had

so far. Delighted the car had been checked over and that it came with a

three month warranty, she was sure that she had bagged herself a

bargain. It did seem like the perfect little runaround. Or at

least it did until, five months later, she booked it in for an MOT.

The man at the garage gave me a call, basically, to tell me that it

had failed miserably. It needed so much welding but there wasn't any

clean metal to weld to, and also loads of other problems, mainly

corrosion. Even the seat belts are corroding away. Power steering was

leaking, problem with the brakes, all sorts of things, really. So many

things, in fact, that the mechanic said he would not even attempt

repairs. He told me it was dangerous to drive, and so dangerous that it

shouldn't have been sold to me in the first place. I was really upset,

actually. I was... I didn't know what to say. She was even more upset

when she read the report. what to say. She was even more upset

clear that the car had been in this condition when she bought it, even

though they said that they were checking it over. To see for

ourselves the full state of the car, we arranged for it to have a second

MOT. The independent garage we chose came back with the same devastating

results. I failed this car on rust to the front suspension and rust to

the rear and a wheel. The front suspension rust is in a place where,

if it failed, it would cause a serious accident. It could cause the

suspension to collapse. And the front wheel rim, which I failed, has

got a serious dent in it, which could cause a blow-out and obviously

cause an accident. With rust, all of a sudden it can go from a position

where it's an advisory to a fail, but from start to finish the rust

takes years to occur. Although her problems are extreme, recent

research by citizens advice has revealed that used cars bought from

an independent dealer are far and away the most complained about

purchase, with over 45,000 complaints in less than 12 months.

When buying a second hand car, my advice would be, if you don't know a

lot about cars take someone who does. Your local garage would have a

look over the car, probably for a small amount of money, could save

you thousands in the long run. If small amount of money, could save

you are sold a car with an existing fault and that was not made clear

when you bought it, then you should be entitled to a refund, repair or

replacement under the sale of goods act 1979. So, armed with this

knowledge, Ruth contacted Kingswood Bargains to get her money back. He

basically said on the phone that it wasn't his problem and how was he

supposed to know the car was in that state? And if a car has an MOT

certificate, he will sell it. She decided to make a claim through the

courts, which she did over the internet using a Government website.

So, I paid £70. You write out your case and you submit it, and then

what happens is the court will write a further two letters to the

dealership. Despite having the weight of the law behind her, she

dealership. Despite having the still got no response from the

company. When the court sent a bailiff to visit Kingswood

Bargains, he was told that a different dealership was now trading

from the premises and they insisted they knew nothing about Ruth's Case.

Well, I felt devastated again because I thought, "I've gone

through this whole process, I've paid for the bailiff, the court

fees, "and I'm still not going to get my money back." When we got in

touch, the man that now runs the dealership denies having had

anything to do in the business in the days when it was called

Kingswood Bargains. So, Ruth has hit something of a brick wall. Although

Kingswood Bargains. So, Ruth has hit she is fighting on to get her money

back and has been to court, she is hindered by the fact that, despite

asking, she was never given the name of the man that ran the original

dealership. So, although she is convinced that the new business is

connected to the old one, with the dealership so adamant that it isn't,

moving her caisson has not proved straightforward is. In the

meantime, I'm afraid she is stuck with a car that cost her £1395, has

no MOT and has been branded too dangerous to drive. I don't know

what to do with it. I'm so tired and so fed up of this whole situation.

It's been going on too long now and I just want my money back, and I

just want it to be over. Since we first featured the story, she has

had a breakthrough. She finally did receive a refund from Kingswood

Bargains, through the owner of the new business. Although he stressed

he was just the middleman. He also came and towed the car away. But

Ruth says, for now, she is steering well clear of second-hand car

dealers. Judging from the correspondence that

we get, one of your biggest frustrations is paying for goods or

services and then discovering that you actually receive neither, and

moreover that the company concerned is in no hurry to put things right.

In those circumstances, your only option may be to take them to the

small claims court, but how many of us know exactly how to do that?

As far as I can understand it, if you get no satisfaction from the

retailer, you threaten them with the small claims court. I haven't got a

clue what a small claims court is or does, to be honest. I mean, I'm

pretty sure the clue is probably in the title but the specifics,

couldn't tell you. In the past year, over 79,000 trials and hearings went

through the Small Claims Court in the UK. They are open to any

individual or business. And although it may sound like a lot of hassle,

it's actually a lot less complicated than you might think. In fact, these

days, you can even do most of the process online. Ministry of Justice

figures shows that it takes an average of 30 weeks for small claims

hearings. But even if you win the case, there is no guarantee you will

get the money that you are owed. Costs to make a claim start at £25.

If you have to take further action to get your money, this could cost

more. However, quite often the threat of court action may in itself

be enough to get the other party to saddle. Or at least pay what they

owe you. -- settle. Just one word of caution. Some cases can take quite a

long time to be processed through the courts, so make sure that you've

examined every other avenue before you take that particular route. It

isn't always going to be a quick fix. But research from Consumer

Focus has demonstrated that some 75% of cases do have a successful

outcome, and only 12% of those have needed to send in the enforcement

agencies to get hold of the money. So, for most people, it really is a

successful exercise. But if you'd like to find out more about how to

go through the small claims court, then just go to our website where

you'll find a lot of information. We are always ready to investigate

more of your stories. Confused over your bills? Trying to wade through

never-ending small print? We should read it, but it's not in plain

English. It should be simple - A, B, C - very basic stuff. Unsure what to

do when you discover you have lost out and that great deal has ended up

costing you money? You get home, you get your bill and it's like £70 when

it's meant to be £35. And it's just basically... You get ripped off,

don't you? You might have a basically... You get ripped off,

cautionary tale of your own and want to share the mistakes you have made

with others so that others do not do the same. We paid them good money to

act in our best interests - they didn't. You can write to us at:

the Rip Off Britain team is ready and waiting to investigate your

stories. Well, sadly, as we've been hearing

today, even when you do all your research or think you've gone about

things in exactly the right way, it doesn't guarantee that you won't end

up feeling ripped off. Now, perhaps the biggest frustration of all is

that, even when the law says you should have your money back, you may

not end up seeing a single penny. So, I'm afraid the best advice we

can give is still what we always say, check and check again exactly

who you're giving your hard-earned money to before you agree to hand it

over. And we can't say that often enough, can we? Because what it

means is that you may not be able to avoid all of the risks, but at least

you can reduce them as much as possible. Well, I'm afraid that's

all we've got time for today but I do hope that you will join us again

the next time that we investigate even more of your stories. But until