Episode 2 Rip Off Britain

We asked you to tell us what's left you feeling ripped off,

and you contacted us in your thousands.

You've told us about the companies you think get it wrong

and the customer service that is simply not up to scratch.

It's my money, and it's not right for anyone to rip you off.

I don't understand how they get hold of my information.

You've asked us to track down the scammers who stole your money

and investigate the extra charges you say are unfair.

You don't get compensated, it takes a long time to get things done

and nobody cares.

In the end, I told them no, because I knew it was a scam.

And when you've lost out but no-one else is to blame,

you've come to us, to stop others falling into the same trap.

So, whether it's a blatant rip off or a genuine mistake...

We're here to find out why you're out of pocket

and what you can do about it.

Your stories, your money, this is Rip-Off Britain.

Hello, and welcome to Rip-Off Britain, where today,

once again, we'll be getting right to the bottom of some of the stories

and problems you've sent to us,

and, in particular, challenging that old expression "safe as houses".

Because it certainly seems that there's nothing safe

about the value of the houses in the cases we'll be hearing about.

Indeed, the owners of all of them feel that they've lost out,

thanks to situations that were not necessarily caused by them.

Now, your home is often a lot more than just bricks and mortar.

Indeed, for many of us, it's a place that's full of memories,

and perhaps it's also the key to our future financial security.

So a bolt out of the blue that puts a huge question mark over whether

or not you'll be able to sell the house for what you think it's worth,

or indeed whether it'll be worth anything at all,

is going to be absolutely devastating.

But that is exactly what happened to some of the people

that we're about to meet.

Yes, they all suddenly discovered that the certainty and security

that their homes had once signified had changed -

they'd say through no fault of their own.

That's news none of us ever wants to hear.

But, by the end of the programme,

we hope that if it ever happens to you,

you'll know exactly what to do about it.

Coming up - the locals who say the threat of fracking has

caused their homes to plummet in value...

if they can even be sold at all.

They all said, "Sorry, it's everything we want,

"but we can't take the risk because of fracking."

The fast-growing menace that could scupper your house sale...

even when it's not on your property.

I love my plants, I love my garden,

but as for knotweed, I definitely don't like that.

And more of your problems solved at the Rip-Off Britain Pop Up Shop.

Now, if you own a property,

you'll know it's not just about having a valuable asset,

it's somewhere that's a home,

with all the memories you've made there over time.

And when you decide to leave, you'll want that to be your own choice

and at the time that's right for you.

But that isn't how it's worked out for the mother and son

that we're about to meet, or indeed for others like them.

And what's particularly upsetting about that is that they've

been let down by a scheme that was supposed to HELP them,

and indeed was specifically sold as the answer to their troubles.

Thousands of people signed up to something similar.

So could they too face losing their home?

Today is a sad day for single mother Janet and her son, Peter.

Peter, come and look at these.

They are getting ready to move out of their home of 23 years.

Peter was only two and a half.

And it was... My husband and I bought the house.

And that's...this is where we came to.

Peter is moving in with friends,

and Janet, at the age of 58, is moving to her mother's spare room.

It means saying goodbye to almost all of her belongings.

I always say that

what you choose to have in your house defines you,

and I'm quite sentimental, so...

-It's a new beginning, isn't it?

-Yes, it is, yeah.

When Janet and her husband split in 1996, they agreed

she could keep the house.

But without her husband's income to help share the mortgage

payments, she started to struggle financially.

I'd run up some debts just being a single mum,

just living on day-to-day.

So when Janet discovered a company that promised a way for her

to stay put, save money AND get a lump sum to pay off her debts,

she immediately thought it could be the answer to her prayers.

The company - Shield4Life - operated what's called "sale and rent back",

which, like similar schemes offered by a number of companies,

sounded like a lifeline for people like Janet.

You sell the company your house, then pay them rent,

so you don't have to move.

It was very well presented

and possibly what I was looking for.

Shield4Life offered to buy Janet's house at the market rate - £190,000.

The company would hold on to 40% of that - £76,000 -

and only pay that to Janet when they sold the house on again.

In the meantime, she'd get a lump sum to pay off debts,

cover their fees, and press the reset button on her finances.

Shield4Life became the official owners of the house,

and Janet just had to pay a small rent to live there.

It was a fantastic answer to every problem, really.

And the relief was absolutely huge.

For the next three years, the scheme seemed to be working well.

But in 2010, their lives were shaken

when Janet suffered a brain aneurism.

I needed to rest more, I couldn't manage the stairs,

the garden was very difficult to manage.

So, after much thought, Janet reluctantly contacted Shield4Life

and told them she wanted to sell the house.

There had been some changes to the initial deal,

but she still reckoned that her share of the proceeds

would be a lump sum of around £50,000.

Janet found a buyer within just a few months,

but when she asked the managing director of Shield4Life

to let the sale go through, she was in for a nasty surprise.

He said, "I am very sorry, Janet, but there is no money to give you.

"And even if I sold the property, there's no money to give you

"because I've re-mortgaged it."

Re-mortgaging the house is something Shield4Life

would have been perfectly entitled to do -

after all, they were the rightful owners.

But, thanks in part to the downturn in the property market,

the house was now worth less than they paid for it.

And selling it wouldn't make enough for Shield4Life to give Janet

the money she was owed.

I cried.

He said to me, "I am so sorry.

"I don't know how I can make amends,

"but I will think of something."

I was completely in limbo,

because, obviously, I then didn't know which way to turn.

Shield4Life's managing director told Janet

he was trying to find the money. But when weeks passed and there was

no sign of that happening, she assumed there was little chance

of ever getting the money she was entitled to if the house was sold.

So, hoping it would encourage the company to keep its end

of the bargain, she stopped paying rent to Shield4Life.

But the situation from then on just got worse.

One morning, just over a year later, in November, 2013,

Janet received an eviction notice.

It seemed Shield4Life could no longer afford to keep up

its mortgage payments on the property.

So the mortgage company decided to repossess the house,

which meant evicting Janet.

She was devastated at how the deal she'd made

with Shield4Life had unravelled.

Far from ending up with the £50,000 she'd always expected

to make from selling the property,

she was now being forced to leave...with nothing.

I was absolutely panic-struck,

because that clearly meant we were definitely homeless,

and with no money.

So I went into a bit of a meltdown, really.

But I am always at great pains to point out that I haven't lost

the house through not paying a mortgage.

Janet isn't the only Shield4Life customer who has ended up

losing their home.

But when we contacted the company's managing director,

he told us the business is "no longer operating",

as "the regulations were so stringent", it couldn't continue.

He said, "The sale-and-rent-back business was a melting pot

"of unscrupulous buyers," but that Shield4Life

"strived to be the best of the breed,"

and that it helped "families remain in their much-loved homes,"

avoid eviction, and "put their lives back on track."

Ultimately, though,

"the company was never able to build up a sufficient contingency fund."

He stressed that Janet's rent was "considerably below the average

"monthly mortgage payment,"

and also below "the fair market rate."

He says he tried to contact Janet after she stopped paying rent -

something she disputes -

and while he's upset to hear how things have turned out, he claims

he did everything he could to help her, including allowing her to stay

in the house for "15 months rent free" before it was repossessed.

But Shield4Life wasn't the only business of this type

that ran into trouble.

The whole sale-and-rent-back concept was relatively new

when Janet signed up in 2007.

But the economic downturn that followed meant

many of the houses that companies like this had bought were

suddenly worth less than they paid for them.

And following an official investigation in 2008,

there was a crackdown on the industry.

It was found that most sale-and-rent-back schemes

were unaffordable and should never have been sold in the first place.

The industry was regulated, and all but disappeared.

We went out into the marketplace

to find out what was actually happening in practice,

and what we saw was widespread

poor practice. Our activities

have meant that this marketplace has effectively shut down,

and there are very, very few firms that offer these schemes today.

Although that's good news,

it's no comfort to the estimated 50,000 people like Janet who

are already signed up to contracts that could leave them with nothing.

And with interest rates forecast to rise in the next few years,

there are fears that more people could be tempted

to turn to the handful of schemes still out there as they struggle to

pay their mortgage. But you don't have to resort

to sale-and-rent-back schemes to keep your house.

The things you should do are talk to your mortgage lender

and see if you can renegotiate your payments

so that you can remain in your home. There are lots of options,

and we would not recommend this one as your first.

As for Janet, she bitterly regrets ever signing up to the arrangement

in the first place.

If anyone was even considering doing the sale and lease back,

I would think very, very carefully about it,

because there are many pitfalls that I hadn't realised.

There are other options.

Buying a house these days quite often involves trying to predict

the future, and of course it isn't an exact science

estimating what might happen to a particular area's property

prices in five, ten or even 20 years' time.

You might hope that you're going to be moving to an up-and-coming

neck of the woods, or close to a new transport route

that's not yet open -

all in the expectation that prices will have gone up

by the time you want to sell.

But equally, of course, it might be that something

totally out of your control

could make the value of your house go DOWN.

And there doesn't have to be anything definite

on the cards for that to happen.

Well, that's the situation that some residents

of one tiny Lancashire village say that they're now facing,

not because of hard facts,

but thanks to a lot of uncertainty and speculation

surrounding a big story that's in the news.

Roseacre in Lancashire.

Nine miles outside Blackpool,

this sleepy spot consists of little more than 20 houses and two farms -

all with uninterrupted views over the rolling countryside beyond.

A beautifully-set, four-bedroom, semi-detached house here

would typically be expected to sell for something in the region

of £300,000.

Or at least that WAS the case.

But now, some fear that Roseacre's sleepy solitude

could be about to change.

Shale is important for our country.

It could bring 74,000 jobs, over £3 billion of investment,

give us cheaper energy for the future

and increase our energy security.

Yes, the controversial process of hydraulic fracturing -

better known as fracking - could be on its way to Roseacre.

If the energy exploration company Cuadrilla gets its way,

this will be one of the first sites in the country where the practice

is able to happen on this scale.

And while fracking has been safely carried out in other parts

of the country, in 2011, it was temporarily banned,

after something very unexpected happened.

'The 1.5 magnitude quake is the second in the area in two months.'

An industrial process that causes earthquakes

clearly isn't great, even if it is only small local tremors.

After two minor earthquakes in 2011 close to an earlier fracking site

also near Blackpool, the government called a halt to any more drilling,

while Cuadrilla investigated.

And although it was found that the Blackpool earthquakes were

likely to have been caused by the drilling,

that's unusual, and there's no evidence that fracking

could always have such side effects.

Indeed, in the USA, where it's becoming increasingly common,

tremors linked to fracking are rare.

So now - with its promise of cheap and plentiful energy -

fracking is back.

And in February of 2014,

Cuadrilla announced that Roseacre would be one of just two sites

where it would apply for permission to test for shale gas.

But some local residents weren't happy with that,

fearing that the news might have an impact on the value of their homes.

It's going to put people off wanting to move here -

you're not going to choose a home near a fracking site.

If the fracking goes ahead, we would want to move,

due to the potential health risks and the noise and the traffic.

But my fear is that we won't be able to, that we'll be financially

trapped with a huge mortgage and unable to sell the property.

One man who has managed to sell his house,

which was half a mile from the proposed site,

says he was only able to sell it

by accepting a hugely knocked down price.

We were very disappointed in the offer.

Under normal circumstances, I think we would have rejected it.

But after going on the Internet

and doing some research,

we found that, on quite a few websites,

it said house prices in fracking areas would drop 20-30%.

So we took the offer and took the loss.

However, other locals who've had difficulties selling their home

put it down to simply a tough local market,

and say that it's too easy for the blame to be put on an issue

on which the community is already split.

I think there is a fear of fracking.

Personally,

I'm not really against it.

Cuadrilla stresses that evidence from elsewhere suggests that

fracking shouldn't have any effect on house prices.

But while the arguments rumble on,

some residents say that, whatever the long-term reality,

the short-term uncertainty

has already led to potential buyers pulling out.

Rowland and Marie Taylor had decided to sell their home

for health reasons, before the fracking proposals

had even been announced.

We need to be on one level,

because I've just gone through quite a trauma, with a major op,

and we think, if we leave it any longer,

it'll be too late to move, because we'll be too old to do it.

The couple originally put their house on the market in the middle

of 2013, and by the New Year they'd found a buyer and agreed a sale.

But when they found out that Cuadrilla had identified

Roseacre as a potential fracking site, the buyers pulled out.

Disappointed, Rowland and Marie put the house back on the market,

and, sure enough, another couple became interested.

And we could tell that they liked it.

And I did bring the subject of fracking up, because I thought

there's no point in them viewing and then going away

and then finding out.

So they obviously went home, read about fracking...

..rang the estate agent and said,

"Sorry - it's everything we want, but we can't take the risk

"because of fracking," so we lost the sale yet again.

So, despite the fact there's no concrete proof that fracking

might regularly cause ground tremors, health issues

or indeed any of the concerns some locals and campaigners have voiced,

it seems just the fear that it might has already put some buyers off.

Rowland and Marie have now decided to put their house up for rent

rather than risk any further delay.

We have to move while we're fit to move.

We can't just sit here forever and say,

"Well, we'll see what happens,"

and in another 20 years, the worst comes to the worst

and we'll have to move then, it will be too late.

It may seem absurd that

before the final decision on fracking is even made,

just the simple possibility that it might happen

could have any sort of impact.

But, as property expert Henry Pryor explains,

uncertainty can be a killer for the house market.

The threat of fracking is one of those things that can have a

detonating effect on house prices. For many people, it not just knocks

off a percentage from the value of the house,

it can, in some circumstances, make it utterly unsalable.

The big problem at the moment is that the threat is unquantifiable.

We haven't yet got case studies to be able to talk to people

and say that we can quantify the problem that might exist

with even the threat of fracking.

Henry says that any buyer, wherever they're looking, has to look years,

often decades, into the future

before spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on a house.

When you're looking that far ahead, even the slightest possibility

of something going wrong can mean the end of a deal.

We asked Cuadrilla about the effect locals say the proposed drilling

has had on house prices in Roseacre.

As well as reiterating that

"there are no proven scientific health risks"

associated with fracking, they are confident that

"nor is there any evidence, since the process began in the 1970s,

"that house prices have been impacted negatively".

They point out that there's already been some fracking just one

and a half miles from Roseacre,

and it has had "no impact on house prices"

in the 20 years since it began.

And they also to wanted to allay other concerns about

the possible effects of fracking - such as heavier traffic -

stressing there's been "extensive consultation with residents,"

and that they will pay a "community benefit" of £100,000 per wellhead,

plus 1% of the revenue in areas where it does take place.

We also spoke to the Government, who said fracking presents

"a huge economic benefit to communities,"

and that there is "no reason to expect any adverse effects

"on property values".

Instead, the impact is likely to be broadly similar to

the effects of traditional mining, with "the same robust safety

"and environmental regime".

Shortly after that, however,

the issue hit the news again, when an official report into the impact

of fracking was published

with information about this very point apparently censored,

doing little to alleviate the fears of those locals who remain convinced

that the uncertainty is having

an effect on the area's property prices.

Nobody knows what is going to happen, nobody can answer

the questions truthfully...

..and people are quite afraid.

Still to come on Rip-Off Britain -

why a throw back from the reign of Henry VIII has homeowners worried

that they could be hit with a bill for thousands of pounds.

It is quite bizarre that the law can ask us to pay for a church

that we don't even attend.

We've come to the heart of the West Midlands

with our Rip-Off Britain Pop Up Shop.

This year, we're going to be offering even more help

and advice on consumer issues than ever before!

Yes, not only do we have our top team of experts here to give

face-to-face advice one-to-one, but we've got special workshops

so people can come along and get all sorts of tips on everything,

from staying safe online to how to avoid getting ripped off on holiday.

Actually, we are covering an enormous range of topics.

And as you can see, all our experts are already in place.

We also have a whole queue of people waiting outside

the Pop Up Shop to get in, so will we get down to business?

-Let's go.

-Let's go!

You came to sound off in our gripe corner in your droves.

I find it frustrating how you have to pay for the privilege

of printing off e-tickets.

It makes me very angry to think that the petrol prices and taxes

on the petrol rise so much. What's the reason for it?

It just seems like everything's really going up.

And one of the first people through the door to see our experts

was Roisin Kelly.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-How can we help you today?

Roisin wanted advice from our legal expert, Gary Rycroft,

after her builder discovered a structural problem

with her recently purchased house.

The roof is sitting on top of the wall and pushing the wall out.

-Whoa! Pushing the wall out?

-Yeah.

And what did the builder say exactly about it in terms of danger?

It's not going to collapse straight away, but in time

if something isn't done about it, then it will eventually collapse.

-So you obviously went back to your surveyor.

-Uh-huh.

-And what happened?

They sent someone out to do a post survey.

And then I got a letter saying they weren't going to be liable for it.

On what grounds?

Because of the survey that was carried out -

it was for mortgage purposes only.

Now, there are three different types of survey you can get on a house,

and Roisin had gone for the cheapest -

the basic valuation survey -

which isn't as thorough as other surveys available,

such as the more detailed HomeBuyers Report.

The loophole that you've fallen into here is that the valuation

was carried out for the bank and not for you.

If you had a HomeBuyers Report carried out,

if you had entered into a contract with a surveyor,

you could now definitely rely on that HomeBuyers Report.

Because I actually paid for that survey, I thought that was enough.

A valuation survey won't typically highlight structural problems,

but the form Roisin's surveyor completed had contained a box

asking for evidence of any structural movement.

And the fact that he had ticked "no",

suggesting there wasn't a problem,

was one of the factors that gave her the confidence

to go ahead with the purchase.

He did put on the survey report, "Is there any structural defects?"

And he put "no". He crossed "no".

One option you've got is to go to the bank and say,

-"Well, I would never have borrowed that money from you..."

-Exactly.

"..if your valuer had had a duty of care to you

"to carry out the valuation properly." So that's one route in,

-is to get in touch with the bank.

-Which I've done.

-What did they say?

They offered me £100 compensation.

£100? And what did you pay for the survey, do you know?

I think the survey was 167.

It seems to me that there's no doubt, in this case,

that the surveyor has been negligent.

-Mm.

-The question is - where does the buck stop...

-Yeah.

..as far as the surveyor is concerned?

So, the bank can't just wash their hands and offer you 100 quid.

-Oh, I'll be in contact with the bank.

-Excellent.

Thanks very much indeed, Roisin. Very nice to see you.

With Gary so confident that Roisin has a case,

she's determined to keep on fighting,

so fingers crossed all round

Roisin will get resolution on this very soon.

Next, a problem that's becoming increasingly common,

and one that, if it ends up affecting you and your home,

really can have disastrous consequences.

I'm talking about Japanese knotweed -

words that send shivers through lenders, home buyers

and sellers alike. This particular type of fast-growing plant

can make it impossible to sell your home or borrow money against it.

Jean Hale from Dudley is just one of the people whose plans have

been ruined because of it. And what makes it worse

is that there isn't even any of it growing on HER property.

Tough, destructive

and extraordinarily hard to get rid of,

this plant is spreading relentlessly

in a way that's being likened to an invasion.

And if it's growing in your garden, or even just spotted nearby,

the value of your property could plummet overnight.

This is the dreaded Japanese knotweed.

It's officially considered a pest species thanks to its ability

to shoot up to more than seven feet tall,

and suppress every other plant around.

So it's no surprise that Jean Hale is worried by what's growing

just a few metres away from her garden,

on land owned by the local council.

That's some of the knotweed there.

And also it's also growing up the bank up there.

Jean's lived here in Dudley, in the West Midlands, for 40 years.

But for the last ten of those, she's been nervously watching

what's growing on the other side of her fence.

The council has treated the knotweed regularly ever

since it was first spotted. But it's still there.

I'm worried because, you know, it could damage my property.

And it's quite concerning, really.

The knotweed hasn't spread onto Jean's land.

Even so, it's already had a direct impact on her home.

Jean suffers from osteoarthritis, and two years ago she attempted

to borrow £4,000 against her house

so that she could adapt her bathroom to make it easier for her to use.

I have difficulty getting my legs over to get into the bath.

That's the only assistance I've got to get in the bath,

but when you need...

you can't bend your knees properly because it's painful.

Jean applied for the loan and a surveyor came round to make

sure the house was enough security for the debt.

He just checked the house to see if that was fine.

And then he went down out of the gates and down the bank

to the side of the house, and that's when he saw the knotweed.

The surveyor told Jean that even though the nearest plant

is a few metres away from the house and on council land

rather than her own, the knotweed could still be a problem.

And so it proved.

A few days later, she received news that the lender,

a company called Just Retirement,

wouldn't lend her the money she needed.

They said the roots of the knotweed could pose a threat to the house

and be an insurance risk.

It was a shock, because I didn't know that knotweed was such a problem,

and apparently there's quite a lot of it about.

Jean wrote to Dudley Council to ask if there was anything they

could do to help - after all, the knotweed was their responsibility.

The council wrote back saying they had been treating the knotweed

since 2004, and the surveyor should have seen that it was dying.

But Jean wonders if the council were fighting a losing battle.

They've been treating it now ten years and it's still there.

It makes you feel powerless and you just don't know where to go next.

So, as things stand, Jean's been unable to borrow money against

her house because of something that's nothing to do with her.

And she's worried that she'll end up with a bigger

problem by the time she starts thinking of selling up.

I wouldn't want to move from this house yet because of the view

and everything, and all the work we've put into it,

but eventually, I'm going to have to consider it...

..because I shall have difficulty getting up the stairs and up

the steps outside, eventually.

As Jean's discovered, some lenders, including big-name banks

and building societies, can take a hard line on this,

refusing mortgages on properties where knotweed may be an issue.

Mike Clough is a leading expert in this most invasive of plants

and knows better than most how quickly it can threaten homes.

So this is a typical example of Japanese knotweed

growing in a hedgerow.

Err, three, four weeks ago,

-there would've been nothing there at all.

-Really?

-Yeah.

It grows at a rate of about a foot a week at this time of year.

Very rapidly it gets to this height.

Typical red-flecked stems, broad, bamboo-like arching growth.

Thick, waxy leaves - very, very thick.

It's one of the ways you can identify Japanese knotweed.

The quick growth above ground is mirrored beneath the soil,

where the knotweed can spread for up to seven metres before

shooting up above the surface. And wherever knotweed wants to go,

next to nothing can stand in its way,

even hard surfaces like tarmac and concrete.

So, if you are a householder

and you're under attack by Japanese knotweed, what can you do about it?

What I would always try and do is find out where

the knotweed has originated from,

and then contact the land owner that the knotweed is on.

Don't do it in an aggressive manner - don't threaten to sue them,

just say, "Are you aware that you have Japanese knotweed on your land?

"Let's try and come up with a strategy whereby we get rid

"of the plants."

If that fails, there are legal precedents in place for you

to take action against the adjacent landowner,

even if that's the council.

The fundamental issue here is that mortgage lenders simply don't have

a blanket approach to how Japanese knotweed should be dealt with.

Each will have its own policy, which can vary from what

seems like panic at the mere mention of the name

to a more flexible approach tailored to individual cases.

But there ARE signs that the industry wants to end

the confusion and the inconsistency.

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors worked with mortgage

lenders to grade knotweed risk from one - low risk -

to four - very high.

Since then, some mortgage lenders have agreed to lend to homes

with a risk level of one or two,

providing there was a weed management plan in place.

Under those criteria, Jean's house would be considered low risk,

meaning a loan could be possible.

But when we spoke to Just Retirement,

who had refused Jean the loan, they weren't budging.

They told us that they

"have a low-risk approach to property underwriting"

and they "do not accept properties where saleability

"is negatively impacted".

They say that's definitely the case with houses affected by knotweed,

and they're confident most other lenders would agree with them.

They also point out that homes like Jean's, where knotweed is

"within influencing distance" but not on her land can be worse,

as the homeowner is "not in control of the eradication process".

So, next, we contacted Dudley Council, who in this case

IS in control of that process.

They stressed that the treatment they have been applying to the

knotweed since 2004 has had "significant success"

in both killing it and "controlling any re-growth".

They say further treatment is planned,

but an assessment "shows that the knotweed is under control",

and they're not aware of it causing any damage to her house.

They made clear that they sympathise with Jean's predicament,

adding that, in their opinion,

surveyors and mortgage lenders can "show a lack of understanding"

and indeed "over-react" when it comes to knotweed.

But there is now hope for Jean,

and indeed for anyone else in the same situation.

The Royal Institute Of Chartered Surveyors has told us about a group

called the Property Care Association, who understand

exactly what information lenders are looking for in cases like this.

They can do an independent assessment on the knotweed -

usually free of charge - and then advise on the best way to manage it.

All being well, the plan they come up with will reassure

mortgage companies that houses like Jean's aren't high risk.

It's a positive new avenue for Jean to pursue.

But in the meantime, she's frustrated that something

so completely outside her control has affected her this way.

It's a very depressing thing. You know, it gets to you some days.

I love my plants, I love my garden,

but as for knotweed, I definitely don't like that.

Well, here we have a wonderful piece of history on the green,

with good old Churchill.

But if I asked you to come up with three things you might

associate with another great person from history, King Henry VIII,

you might say "eating, beheading

"and, of course, all those wives and marrying".

Now, you probably wouldn't have suggested that there could be

any connection whatsoever to the price of your house.

And yet, thanks to a 500-year-old law that back in Henry's day

made private landowners responsible

for the upkeep of parts of their parish church,

some 21st-century homeowners have been horrified to discover

that they could be made to pay thousands of pounds for repairs

to the local church, regardless of whether they go there or not.

But the chance that this ancient charge might need to be paid

has spread uncertainty throughout some communities,

with some of those affected worrying that it could even stop them

selling their homes.

Edingale is a tiny village in the Mease Valley, in Staffordshire.

It's a very picturesque part of England that Helen Bailey

and her late husband, Chris,

thought would be perfect for their retirement.

They moved here in 1999 and embarked on a year-long project

to renovate this old barn to create the home of their dreams.

It was quite a challenge, but it was fun, looking back on it.

The view from here is lovely.

It's very open, it's very peaceful.

The family spent over five years living happily in the village

until, unfortunately, Chris was diagnosed with cancer.

Helen nursed him at home for two years before he died.

But in October 2013, Helen received an unexpected letter.

In it was bombshell news that, right out of the blue, seemed to

jeopardise her future security.

At first, she couldn't actually believe what she was reading.

The letter told Helen that she could be forced to foot the bill

for repairs to her local parish church,

a church she had never even visited.

The very first thing I knew of it was when the land registry documents

arrived on my doorstep.

I was more shocked, stunned.

Not only that, but the deeds to her house were being changed so that

any future buyer of the house

would have to foot any possible bill as well.

It is quite bizarre that the law can ask us to pay

for a church that we don't even attend, and have no connection with.

It beggars belief.

Bizarre it may be, but it's true,

and it's down to what's called Chancel Repair Liability -

a centuries-old law that made the property owners in a community

responsible for repairs to the local church.

Most of the land in England and Wales is owned by the church

and divided into parishes.

Henry VIII came along and had his spat with Rome.

He decided to break up the monasteries, take away the lands

of the church and give it to his nobles

and also to private individuals. But when they bought the land,

they also took on the responsibility to repair the chancel.

Now, fast forward a few hundred years,

and whilst many of the laws from Henry VIII's time

have been done away with, this one remains,

and it means that, right across the country, the owners of land

that used to be linked to the church could still be legally bound to pay

for any repairs to the chancel -

the area of the church, by the way, around the altar.

Chancel repair liability is thought to affect

around 5,200 parishes in the country.

The problem is, for 99% of people,

it's just not mentioned in their deeds.

The first thing they know about it is a letter from the Land Registry

landing on their mat.

Which is exactly what happened to Helen.

Although I had heard of chancel repair,

I never for one moment thought it affected me and my property.

The letter had been prompted by a change in the law,

which required parish councils nationwide to register

who might be liable for chancel repairs by October 2013.

Since then, thousands of letters

have been sent out by the Land Registry,

informing startled homeowners that this liability rests with them.

Once Helen had got over the shock,

she started looking into what this would actually mean for her.

I realised that it wasn't going to go away,

that it was being left to individuals to try and sort it out,

and that therefore we had to do something for ourselves.

In Edingale, three other homes had received the same letter.

And what worried Helen and her neighbours the most

was the effect this could have on the value of their homes,

because selling a house with such a potential liability

would most likely make any property less attractive.

It could make it very difficult for me to sell my property,

or at least certainly involve me having to sell it at a discount,

which actually for me is quite significant,

because this is my main asset.

The church was able to give them some reassurance.

The warden came round and told Helen that the building was in good

repair, so they were very unlikely to make a claim.

It was good news for the short term,

but it didn't remove the concern over future buyers.

And it certainly didn't mean a claim at some stage could be

completely ruled out.

That's something that homeowners Andrew and Gail Wallbank,

from a completely different parish in Warwickshire,

found out, after learning that they, too, had a liability

for chancel repair.

Well, in 1990, we received a letter asking for help repairing

the chancel. Originally, they were sort of looking at the window

repairs, and I think they were looking at about £2,000 a window.

When they queried it, they were told that they were in fact legally

obliged to help pay, so they decided to fight the case.

An 18-year-long legal battle ensued,

and, ultimately, the couple lost their case.

They were forced to pay to fix the chancel,

and they had to pay the legal costs as well.

Something like 250,000 for repairs to the chancel.

And, I mean, our legal bills were almost as much again.

Although that was devastating news for the Wallbanks,

it did at least mean that such potential liabilities

started to be looked into more carefully.

Since the judgement came down,

most conveyancing solicitors do,

as a matter of course, search to see whether there may well be

a potential liability to chancel repair on your property.

And if there is,

buyers can take out insurance against any claims that the church

might make in the future,

all of which is encouraging for people buying houses now,

but not for those like Helen,

who bought their home before the Wallbanks lost their court case,

and have been left wondering what the future impact could be.

The property could be unmortgageable,

or I could have to sell it at a significant discount.

I think it is the fact that the legislation isn't fit

for purpose that makes the impact of chancel repair liability

far worse than it needs to be.

But for Helen, after months of worry, there is now good news.

Since we filmed in Edingale,

she and the other villagers have been able to reach an agreement

with the Parochial Church Council that resolves the situation.

It will see the homeowners each pay a small one-off fee to the

local Diocese of Lichfield, which, as well as going towards

any repairs in the future,

completely wipes out the liability from all the houses affected,

meaning therefore that no home will be devalued,

and they can now live free of the fear of an unexpected repair bill.

The Diocese told us it's "delighted"

that "a workable co-operative solution has now been found".

It's not necessarily a solution that would work in other parishes

elsewhere. But here, too, there is some positive news.

A bill has been introduced to the House of Lords that,

if passed, would abolish chancel repair liability forever.

So the ghost of Henry VIII's long-lived law could soon

finally be laid to rest.

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

more of your stories. You can write to us at...

Or send us an e-mail to...

The Rip-Off team is ready and waiting to investigate your stories.

Well, as we've seen, if the security of your home is

thrown into doubt, it can be absolutely devastating,

especially when the threat is down to something

that's completely outside your control,

or to do with an event that hasn't even happened yet.

But it certainly does seem that in at least some of the cases

that we've been hearing about, there is a lot more that could be done

either to help or to stop

the situation from spiralling out of control in the first place.

For instance, in the case of the Japanese knotweed,

there's absolutely no reason why a plant like that,

however fast-growing, should make a house effectively unsellable.

-That's awful, isn't it?

-It's just terrible.

But, you know, in cases like that, it's not always easy to know where

or who to turn to.

So hopefully we've at least given you confidence that there can

be a solution, and even the most unexpected news to do

with your property doesn't have to be a disaster.

Now, at this point, may I say thank you very much indeed

for joining us for Rip-Off Britain? We'll see you again very soon.

So, until then, from all of the team...

ALL: Bye-bye.