Episode 5 Rip Off Britain

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

'and you've contacted us in your thousands.'

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

'and the customer service that simply isn't up to scratch.'

There's a lot of blurb written down,

but in practice, the words are absolutely meaningless.

I mean, people just can't afford these prices. It's ridiculous.

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

'and investigate the extra charges that you'd say are unfair.'

They're in a win-win situation and you're in a lose-lose situation.

If you don't do something about it, I think it's your own fault.

'And when you've lost out, but nobody 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 it.'

'Your stories, your money.

'This is Rip-Off Britain.'

Hello and welcome to Rip-Off Britain,

the programme that fights your corner,

whenever you've spent your hard-earned cash

on something that does not live up to expectations.

Now, sometimes, of course, accidents will happen

and mistakes are made that really turn out to be nobody's fault.

And in situations like that, there's absolutely no reason at all

why it should be you that's out of pocket. Would you agree?

I'd totally agree with that. Which is where warranties,

guarantees and insurance come in,

giving us all peace of mind that we won't have to

pick up the bill for problems that crop up once we're covered.

Now, often we pay a bit extra to get that peace of mind.

But an awful lot of you have been telling us that when you've tried to

claim on it, different story altogether.

It turns out you are not covered in quite the way you expected.

Begging, of course, the big question,

what is the point of having a guarantee

if it doesn't really guarantee what you thought it did?

Good one. Well, it's a question we're going to be

getting to the bottom of today.

If you've spent months, or even years, paying for

some sort of warranty, you'll want to know it'll do what it says

on the tin when something goes wrong.

But it doesn't always work out that way.

We'll be finding out why.

And we'll also have plenty of advice on whether the sort of guarantee that

costs extra is really worth it.

'Coming up, the fragile deliveries that arrive smashed.

'What are the courier companies doing to them?'

They've got to start treating people's parcels with respect,

not using them as rugby balls or footballs.

'And millions of us buy extended warranties every year.

'But are they worth the money?'

I was so frustrated and so angry,

I was in tears.

One topic that, year after year,

gets an awful lot of you hot under the collar

is that of delivery companies.

Whether it's because they haven't come when they said they would,

or you'll recognise this one,

you've had to sit around all day waiting,

or they've damaged, in the end, what they were carrying,

they can drive some of you absolutely mad.

Not least because, when it comes down to it,

they're only in business, after all, to do just one thing -

get that package from A to B, on time and in one piece.

'Peter Rumsey runs Rainbows End,

'a small gift shop in North Yorkshire.'

Thank you very much, indeed, young man.

-Have a good day.

-Thank you.

-Bye.

'Three years ago, Peter decided the shop needed to diversify.

'And that's when he started to sell ornate Tiffany-style lamps.'

I've never looked back with it.

Everybody loves Tiffany lighting - everybody.

'Peter now buys and sells around 300 Tiffany-style lamps every year.'

Once I have refurbed them and put them onto a base,

I can sell them anything up to £300.

'With most of Peter's stock coming from individual second-hand sellers,

'he has to rely on the care and attention of courier companies

'to deliver the lamps safe and sound.

'And that is the problem.

'Because Peter says, even if they're labelled as fragile,

'about four out of ten of the delicate lamps he buys

'arrive broken.'

Smashed.

Smashed.

"Handle with care." Smashed.

'The cellar of the shop has become the final resting place

'for these shattered shades and battered lamps.'

When I open a box and I see the damage done,

it really, really hurts.

You think to yourself, all that time to make

that beautiful shade and somebody has smashed it within a few seconds.

Just sheer, utter carelessness.

'And as a result, Peter says his business is

'losing money hand over fist.'

Unfortunately, I have to recoup that money by putting

the price of the other lamps in the shop up.

That is disgraceful.

That has really annoyed me.

It has to have been stood on!

There's no other possibility!

'With so many of Peter's lamps getting damaged in transit,

'he lays the blame squarely in one place -

'the courier companies.'

GLASS RATTLES

'Peter books most of his deliveries and collections

'through a site called Parcel2Go.com,

'who work with most of the best-known courier companies.

'Peter always tells Parcel2Go exactly what's inside the package,

'trusting that they'll pass on this information to the courier,

'so they know to handle his delivery very carefully.

'This is even more important if the person sending a package to him

'hasn't done their bit to keep the contents safe.'

I had a Tiffany lamp sent to me in a black bin liner.

Who sends a Tiffany lamp in a black bin liner?

'Good question. But in an attempt to limit breakages,

'Peter resorted to sending instructions to the people

'he was buying lamps from, so that they could wrap them more securely.

'When that didn't work, he even started sending them

'the bubble wrap and the packaging that he uses

'when sending lamps to his own customers.'

I just hope this gets to the customer in one piece.

I've done everything I can possible

and as you can see, it's not moving about,

it's perfectly well packed.

That should outlast a tank.

But can it outlast a courier company?

'When you wrap following Peter's instructions,

'it's hard to understand how the lamps he sends and receives

'can still get broken.

'But they do. Every week.

'So just how roughly would the courier companies have to

'handle a package like this one to break what's inside?

'Well, I'm going to put that to the test.'

What we're going to try and do, as an experiment now, is to actually

see if it does break when I shove it on to the floor.

So, here we go.

PARCEL THUDS

Hey, presto. Not a break, nothing.

Beautiful. Perfect condition.

'So far so good, but what happens if we drop it from a higher height?'

Here it comes.

Hey, presto, it's still intact!

Marvellous, look at that! Not a break in sight.

So, what does it take to break

a lampshade that's been properly packaged?

Now, let's put this one under serious pressure.

Well, I suppose you could say this is the ultimate test,

because I've come to the depths of Kent to an amateur boxing club

so can I just say, "Hi, everybody, how are you doing?"

CROWD: Hi!

-Are you ready for this test?

-CROWD: Yes.

You can do whatever you want with this box so here we go.

MUSIC: Gonna Fly Now by Bill Conti

CROWD SHOUTS ENCOURAGEMENT

Stop! Stop!

GLORIA LAUGHS

Rip it open. Let's see.

Oh, one broken bit!

It's taken a lot of abuse.

But thank you very much for testing it out for me.

I'll send you the bill, accordingly, is that all right?

GLORIA LAUGHS

I have to tell you,

that package took a real pounding to get even the smallest breakage.

So, considering that Peter sometimes gets them smashed into pieces,

it's hard to imagine what sort of treatment

they must have had along the way.

They know what's in it because it's written on the boxes.

If it says, "Tiffany shade - handle with care",

it doesn't mean you have to use it as a rugby ball and drop kick it.

Now, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Peter's damaged deliveries

would be insured and he would be reimbursed for the shattered shades,

but that's simply not the case.

You see, Parcel2Go has an extensive list of items

they will not compensate customers for if they arrive broken

and on that list, along with "fragile items,"

are things like food, concrete and lamps.

The same goes for most of the courier companies

that Parcel2Go use to deliver Peter's goods.

Their exclusion lists also mean

that the Tiffany-style shades will not be covered.

So, every time Peter takes delivery of a lamp that he's bought,

or sends one out to a customer,

all he can do is to hope that the couriers realise what is inside

and take care of it.

You dread it every other day waiting for that message -

"Oh, I'm really sorry to say your lamp's arrived and it's smashed."

It's like part of me's been smashed.

It's costing me thousands through courier companies' negligence.

It's the only way I can put it down to. That's my personal opinion.

We contacted Parcel2Go about Peter's claims

and they said that they do pass on information

about what is in the package to the courier companies they work with.

They agree it's unacceptable for his parcels to routinely arrive damaged,

but said that, overall, just 0.2% of the parcels they ship

suffer damage in transit.

They point out that, in some cases, parcels could be handled by...

..and therefore...

They also told us that, regardless of whether a damaged item

is on the list of items that are not covered for damage,

they will...

..and...

They said that Peter has twice successfully claimed

for damaged parcels that were on the no-compensation list.

Although Peter says that's because, in both cases,

the goods were, in fact, lost altogether.

So, if you want to send a fragile package by courier,

what should you do to ensure that it arrives in one piece?

David Stubbs is a postal sector expert.

They've got to do things quickly and cheaply

and they can't do it with the same sort of individual care

and attention that you might need for your type of package or parcel.

I would pick up the phone and talk to some of the senior people

from these companies and say, "Look, I'm trying to do this,

"I want to use you, can you adapt your service in a way that suits me?"

But Peter remains frustrated that the courier companies

he's dealt with aren't all they're cracked up to be.

They've got to start treating people's parcels with respect,

deliver them as they would their own.

If you buy a TV, a washing machine

or, indeed, pretty much any electrical item

from most of the big-name stores,

chances are you'll also be offered

what's known as an extended warranty.

And it can really feel very hard to say no

when the salespeople are doing their very best to convince you

that you really do need to pay that little bit extra to buy yourself

peace of mind, just in case your new purchase unexpectedly breaks down.

So, the question is, is it worth taking out a warranty?

And if you decide that the answer's yes,

how long is it worth signing up for?

Because as our next case found out, knowing when to draw the line

could actually save you hundreds of pounds.

Doting grandma Patricia Lee from Gravesend is just

one of the people to tell us

that they've been left questioning the point of an extended warranty,

though she and partner Patrick have had quite a few of them.

Ten years ago, they splashed out on a brand-new fitted kitchen.

And when the washing machine, cooker and dishwasher's standard guarantees

eventually came to an end,

they decided to take out extended warranties to cover them.

We decided it would be in our best interest and prudent

to take out extended warranties, so that we could relax

and know that, if something went wrong,

somebody would come and fix it

and that was what we wanted, that's what we were paying for.

Over the years, Patricia and Patrick have paid out

over £1,500 to cover those kitchen warranties.

But there was a good reason why they were doing it.

Patricia has multiple sclerosis and Patrick cares for her full-time.

So, they depend on everything working properly, while having

the security of knowing that they'll be covered if anything goes wrong.

And bar a few minor repairs along the way,

it was ten years before one of their appliances needed serious attention.

I smelt a funny smell and thought something was burning

so, to avoid hollering down the stairs,

I rang him on the mobile phone, and said, "Are you burning something?"

and he said, "No, don't worry, it's the dishwasher."

He said, "It's turned it off now

"and I've opened the doors and the windows."

After four years of paying for the dishwasher's

extended warranty every single month,

the couple were confident it would now do the job it was there for.

And over the next few weeks,

the company they had the warranties with, Domestic and General,

sent round a number of engineers who attempted to fix the fault.

But they had no success,

leaving Patricia and Patrick stuck without a working dishwasher.

It was horrendous because my husband has to do all the shopping,

all the cooking, all the washing. I'm not able to do that.

And to expect him to do all the washing-up was just too much.

37 days after it broke,

Domestic and General agreed that the dishwasher was beyond repair.

They had agreed that if that repair was not successful,

it would be written off and they would supply a new one.

Patricia and Patrick assumed

that they wouldn't have to pay for anything.

But in fact although their warranty did cover

the replacement of the dishwasher,

it didn't cover the cost of delivery or connection of the new appliance

or indeed disposal of the old one.

They would have to pay extra for all of that,

plus, of course, keep paying the rest of that year's premiums

for the warranty.

I was in tears, to be honest,

I was so frustrated and so angry, I was in tears.

Well, over the years, we've spent about £620

and we could have easily had a new dishwasher with that money,

had it installed and all the rest of it.

In the end, the couple came to an arrangement for a cash payment

from Domestic and General,

allowing them to buy a new dishwasher from another retailer,

who even took away their old dishwasher for free.

Life can be very difficult for me

and this is the last thing that we needed, really.

When we asked Domestic and General about Patricia and Patrick's case,

they told us they were very sorry

to learn of the couple's dissatisfaction,

not least because they have been...

..and the company "has taken pride in the support" they provided.

They pointed out that...

..the couple have needed their help in the past, Domestic and General...

But they went on to say that they...

..that Patricia and Patrick had to wait so long

for their dishwasher to be deemed unfixable.

So, they've not only apologised for that

but agreed to...

And they've thrown in a free five-year warranty for it, as well.

Now, just like Patrick and Patricia,

many of us will carry on forking out year after year after year

on cover for those good, old, faithful appliances.

In fact, we've spoken to one family who, by now,

have paid a total of over £600 for a warranty on a tumble dryer

that's 17 years old.

A replacement would cost just under a third of that.

All of which, of course, begs the question -

at what point does a warranty stop

being something worth bothering about?

Consumer group Which? looked into the extended warranties market

recently and came up with a very surprising conclusion.

Which? doesn't believe that it's worth buying an extended warranty.

Firstly, you're covered by the law

if your good breaks down or is faulty.

Under the Sale Of Goods Act, you've got time to get a refund

if your washing machine or TV breaks down within four weeks.

And after that, you're entitled to get it replaced or repaired,

up to six years, so you've got a lot of protection under the law.

Secondly, most goods that you buy, such as TVs

and washing machines, are pretty reliable these days

and pretty cheap and, therefore, the likelihood that your item

is going to break down in the first place is relatively low.

So, think carefully when you're being offered this

kind of product, whether or not it's the right thing for you.

But millions of us buy extended warranties every year.

So how many of us have stopped to work out if it's cost-effective?

Later in the programme, we'll find out.

I bought a laptop the other day. The price that you pay for the laptop

and the warranty for two years, it works out the same.

You might as well just buy a new one.

Still to come on Rip-Off Britain... A wedding dress lost on the way

to the dry cleaners. Who's to blame and how to put it right?

I don't want the money. I said to her,

"If I accept the money, I'm saying goodbye to my dress for ever"

"and it just means so much more to me than being stowed in a loft."

For one weekend only, we've opened up our pop-up shop,

this time in the West Midlands.

Good morning, everybody. How are you?

Thank you all for coming. The shop is open. In you go.

'Our team of experts was kept busy giving

'advice inside the shop, as well as running workshops outside,

'where travel journalist Alison Rice had this top tip about the best

'time to buy your travel insurance - and it isn't just before you go.'

You need to buy your policy just after you've booked your holiday,

because if you have to cancel the holiday through illness,

a bad accident, you will be covered for cancellation fees.

'And along with our legal expert Gary Rycroft, I donned a hard hat, to dish out advice to make sure that

'when you book any sort of tradesman everything goes to plan.'

Supposing it does all go horribly wrong,

how should people set about trying to get things right?

If it all goes wrong, it's all about evidence,

so it's being savvy from the outset.

So, it's a good idea to have a contract that sets out what's

been agreed between the parties.

What's the service being provided

and what are you paying for that service?

'Back at the shop, Helena Jones came to see financial expert James Daley.

'Her car keeps having the same fault, so she wants to know how

'she can get her garage to fix it, once and for all.'

It revs when I first put it on, it doesn't hold its bite point right.

It just doesn't drive right. It has been fixed multiple times.

I'm charged every time to try and fix the problem.

-Was it brand-new when you bought it?

-Brand-new.

-How old is it now?

It is just over five and a half years old.

How many times do you reckon you've had it in to be fixed?

-Six, seven, eight times.

-It's a recurring problem.

-It's a recurring problem.

-OK. Right, James?

This sounds like awful story.

-Firstly, how much have you spent on this?

-Hundreds.

There's a piece of legislation called the Supply Of Goods And Services Act.

What that says is that if they are making a repair

they need to do it with reasonable skill and care.

In this case, given that you've had the same fault happening again

and again, there's a good case to be made that

they never repaired it properly in the first place.

That actually there's something more substantial wrong with the vehicle.

What you need to do at this point is write them a letter and say,

"If you don't get this sorted once and for all and refund me

"that money that I've spent over the last few years, I'm going to

"take you to the small claims court."

And make sure you reference the Supply Of Goods And Services Act.

'Just sending a letter might do the trick, but if not taking a case through

'the small claims court doesn't have to be expensive.'

If you're making a claim through the small claims court

of between £500 and £1,000, it costs you just £60 to do it online.

I'd say you've got a good chance of getting your money back here

because they do seem to be in breach of that piece of legislation

and that's what that piece of legislation was designed to do,

protect people in your situation.

-If you manage to get somewhere, will you let us know?

-Yes.

We like to follow through on the programme and just see what results people get.

Thanks for your time.

Every year, billions of letters and parcels are sent round the UK,

so it's perhaps no surprise that some do go missing.

We can probably accept the risk of an everyday letter getting lost,

but when it comes to sending a particularly valuable or

sentimental item, paying more for a courier to hand-deliver them can

give you the peace of mind that your precious item will arrive safely.

You'd expect everything to go to plan. But sometimes it doesn't

and the very thing you paid to keep safe can somehow end up lost for ever.

'Every bride-to-be searches long and hard for the perfect wedding dress,

'but Jessica Barnes went that little bit further than most,

'almost a thousand miles further in fact.'

We started off with going out to Italy

and we went to a beautiful wedding dress shop out there.

Jessica knew what she wanted. But nothing she saw was right.

We thought we had the image of being in Italy, thinking,

"Oh, famous for their dresses," and we thought we'd definitely find

what we wanted there but it was a disaster.

So it was back home, in a little boutique in Leicester, that Jessica

was amazed to finally find her dream dress.

It's the fairy-tale story where everybody says, "You just know," and I did.

I just totally fell in love with it. Then Mum cried.

I looked at Mum and she started crying and I said, "That's it,

"that's definitely the one."

So you had a wonderful dress, the day dawns,

you're going put it on, you finally get to wear it - what does it feel like?

Oh, incredible.

I never envisaged, having tried it on in the shop, that I would feel

that special in it. It was just the best feeling in the world.

The dress was a huge success and their wedding, set beside

Lake Maggiore in the Italian Alps, was a dream come true for Jessica

and her new husband Stewart.

And once the big day and the honeymoon were over,

Jessica had special plans for what she was going to do with the dress.

I wanted to have the big train cut off

and made into a christening gown for any future children we might have.

Their baby Francesca was born in April, almost two years after the wedding.

But Jessica had been making plans to turn her dress

into a christening gown months before she even knew she was pregnant.

I researched into who would be the best people to dry-clean my dress,

because it was so specific with the lace.

I agonised for months over whether to have it done.

I was scared the lace was going to get damaged.

After scouring the internet, Jessica finally found a company

she was happy to trust with her dress - Atlantic Dry Cleaners,

based in Southampton.

You make the order online and they arrange for it to be collected from your home address,

which they informed me will be UPS, which I was more than happy with.

'As arranged, UPS, who describe themselves as the largest

'package delivery company in the world, collected the dress

'and, as far as Jessica knew, took it to the cleaners.'

At what stage did you realise it hadn't arrived

and something had gone wrong?

It was only when I had a phone call

from the wedding dress dry cleaning company to say that they hadn't received my dress,

which baffled me because we'd handed it over to UPS,

so we were really confused by the whole thing.

They then said to me, "Don't worry we're having another delivery

"in a few days, hopefully your dress will be there with them then."

'But the dress wasn't in the next UPS delivery.

'And Jessica couldn't understand how it could have possibly got lost.'

Well, a wedding dress isn't a small thing, is it?

Especially not yours which had that beautiful train,

so the parcel must have been pretty substantial. How big was it?

Well, it was a big cardboard box so 3ft by 3ft,

it was a substantial size,

it's not something you would expect to go missing.

Jessica made frantic efforts to track down the dress.

The cleaning company told her,

because it had never actually arrived with them,

all they could do was claim for the loss on their insurance.

When I was at the absolute end of my tether

and I didn't know what else to do,

I wrote to the CEO of UPS and their PA got in contact with me

and she said she would do everything she could

to try and get my dress back, or locate my dress.

Unfortunately, again, that came to nothing

and she said to me, "To be honest, I think your best thing to do

"is take up the offer of the wedding dress dry cleaning company."

The wedding dress dry cleaners had told Jessica their insurance cover

would only pay out half the original value of the dress -

standard practice in the industry, as it had already been worn

and performed its original function.

Well, in the end they did offer compensation,

but you're not willing to accept that, are you?

Absolutely not.

I feel offering half the value of the dress is just insulting.

Even if they offered you the full amount that you paid for the dress,

-would that help?

-I don't want the money. I said to her,

if I accept this money, I'm saying goodbye to my dress for ever

and it just means so much more to me than being stowed in the loft,

I wanted it to be made for my daughter and it's gone.

When we asked UPS for an explanation,

they told us that they deliver...

But in this instance they...

..for which they sincerely apologise.

They couldn't explain what had happened to the package,

but did offer Jessica a further goodwill payment

to try and restore her faith in the company,

although they understand that...

For their part, Atlantic Dry Cleaners told us

they were devastated by the loss of Jessica's dress and that this was...

They said that they did everything in their power to help find it, but...

As for compensation, they reiterated their insurers will only offer...

..a fact which is made clear on their website.

But in any case, they're satisfied this is...

None of which is any comfort to Jessica, who can't understand how,

with all the sophisticated systems courier companies have in place,

the dress could have gone astray in the first place.

But industry experts say that, with the number of parcels we send

continually rising, it's inevitable some will get lost.

I'd like to think we're all perfect,

but with the sort of volumes

that are being moved through these networks,

inevitably there are going to be errors made.

There is a statistic that says the claim rate

for missing and non-delivered goods is between 0.1% and 0.2%.

That may be a small number, but it's no consolation

if it's your parcel that goes missing.

So there is a simple piece of advice to keep in mind

next time you send a package so that if a courier delivery does go wrong,

your valuable items stand a better chance of finding their way home.

My advice, if you're going to use a courier,

put an address on the inside of the package, not only on the outside,

just in case it gets lost, that will give you peace of mind.

Meanwhile, whatever financial solution may finally be agreed for Jessica,

it won't in any way make up for what she's lost.

I wore that dress to marry someone who's so very special to me

and I wanted that to carry on through the family,

and I wanted my daughter to wear a piece of that dress.

There's no amount of money that can ever replace the dress.

Millions of brand-new cars are sold in the UK every year

and each one comes with a manufacturer's warranty,

giving you reassurance that,

should your shiny new motor turn out to have a problem,

it can be sorted out, if not straightaway,

then certainly without too much hassle.

It is one of the things that sets apart getting a new car

from buying one that's second-hand.

But warranties are not always as clear cut

as you might expect them to be and while it may seem obvious to you

that the manufacturer should put things right,

you could find that it's not so straightforward.

Gas engineer Nick Docherty has been running

his own heating and plumbing business since early 2012.

And from the off, he was keen to make the right impression.

The way I see it is, if someone sees me pull up in a nice, new,

clean-looking van, it says a lot about you.

It shows that you take pride in your work.

Nick had spent almost £16,000 on a brand-new Vauxhall Vivaro

which he immediately customised

by putting his business details on the side.

When I turned up on the jobs, I was proud of the company

that I'd developed and things were looking bright.

I had a baby on the way, everything was going well.

So Christmas 2013 was going to be a good one.

Nick's business was doing well and his girlfriend, Naomi,

was eight months pregnant.

I was just really happy. Harry were on his way and it were good.

But on the night of the 30th of December, all that changed.

Because I couldn't sleep, I noticed some flickering outside,

well, on the window.

So I opened the curtains and seen Nick's van on fire.

The distress that was in her voice, it just was a panic.

I seen the flames coming from the top of the van.

First thing I did was run downstairs, first instinct.

Naomi called 999 as Nick tried to put the flames out

with his own fire extinguisher, but to no avail.

By this time, the flames were getting out of control.

The fire service arrived quickly, but when the flames had been put out,

it was obvious that the engine was ruined.

The first thing that you think

when you see your van on fire is, "Who's done this?"

I was just annoyed and angry and a load of mixed emotions,

just thinking, "How has this happened?"

The fire service said the fire had started of its own accord,

but they suggested

it could have been something to do with the vehicle's electrics

so with no sign of foul play,

Nick tried to claim under Vauxhall's warranty.

But it wasn't as easy as he'd anticipated.

The days started turning into weeks and,

with her being in the late stages of pregnancy, it was a worry for us.

Baby Harry was born in February and whilst Nick and Naomi started to

get used to life as parents, Nick was still trying to get his van fixed.

Vauxhall just said that they couldn't look at it until

the insurance had looked at it, but then, as soon as they had done,

they would be in contact and arrange for it to be looked at.

Nick called his insurer who commissioned a full inspection

and concluded that the fire was of an electrical nature.

So, again, Nick was confident that Vauxhall would sort the van out

under his warranty.

I thought that as soon as it was identified

that it wasn't malicious, then that's when Vauxhall would step in.

But that wasn't to be.

They just kept coming back with the same answer -

unless we could identify the exact component that started the fire,

then they are not willing to get involved.

Vauxhall said the report didn't go far enough.

They needed to see supporting evidence from a much more

detailed forensic inspection to identify for certain

which part had started the fire.

But given the state that the van was in,

Nick had no idea how he could go about doing that.

-I think that component is probably a cloud of smoke somewhere.

-Yeah.

Yeah, it's definitely all melted, you'll not find anything.

Instead of claiming under his warranty,

Vauxhall recommended that Nick claim on his insurance.

But Nick's insurance company told him that, because the van

was 11 months old, they would not pay the cost of a brand-new replacement.

In fact, he would only get 13,000 as a settlement.

But Nick was frustrated that this would leave him out of pocket,

especially as claiming on his insurance would also

wipe out his no-claims bonus and push up his premiums.

I've worked up my no-claims bonuses and I don't see why

I should have to up my premium for a fault that is somebody else's.

I want a brand-new van back.

I want what I've lost and that isn't being offered to me.

At the end of the day, it's somebody's fault and it's not mine.

Nick and Naomi feel stuck.

The insurance offer is still on the table,

but taking it would mean that Nick's business would lose over £2,500.

That's a lot for a small firm.

It's a mess. Look at your writing. It's disgusting.

Their only hope was providing Vauxhall with

the proof that they'd asked for.

How can Vauxhall expect you to find the exact component

that started the fire when it's like that?

Every single part underneath that bonnet is melted or destroyed.

After four months, Nick's insurance company

did conduct a more detailed inspection of the van.

But this one just muddied the waters further concluding that,

although an electrical fault couldn't be ruled out,

it was unlikely to be the cause of the fire.

In fact, this report found no positive proof at all

about what had caused the damage,

which leaves Nick in a tricky position.

While he firmly believes it must be down to a fault with the vehicle,

both the insurer and the manufacturer are adamant

that there is no proof of this,

and that means the damage can't be covered by the warranty.

Nick's insurance company didn't want to comment,

but Vauxhall told us that a more detailed report had been

required because the first one was...

..and though that had suggested that the fire was electrical,

there was no in-depth electrical inspection

to support that allegation.

The company added that,

though it takes all vehicle fires extremely seriously...

..and when they happen at night when a vehicle is parked,

they are most likely...

Vauxhall went on to explain that it's normal practice

for the insurance company to inspect the vehicle

and only contact the manufacturer if they suspect the cause...

In this case, the insurer raised no such concern so there was

no reason to think it was an issue that the warranty would cover.

Nick's experiences are a reminder that

although the idea of a warranty sounds like a simple concept,

in fact, it can be a lot more complicated

and though he remains unhappy, he now feels he has no choice

but to accept the insurer's offer.

I put a lot of money into getting this van to give the business

the right kind of image and it's just ended up costing me so much

and the only bit of money that I had was money that my grandma left me

and we had planned with that money to buy a house,

to put a deposit on a house and now we're not able to do that.

Earlier in the programme, we looked into extended warranties.

Every year, millions of us buy one to protect our appliances

'and gadgets, but how many of us really consider

'whether they're going to be worth it?'

-Did you think about taking out any kind of extra warranty?

-No.

-Why not?

Because I think it is a fix, really.

Too expensive and you can probably buy a new one by the time

you have bought the warranty.

I have just taken a guarantee out on my cooker.

-Can I ask you how much you paid?

-I think it was about £70.

And do you think that's good value?

If something goes wrong with the cooker, then these days, with

somebody coming out, you're looking at £40 or £50, just for the trip,

so yes.

But even if you think a warranty sounds like it's worth it,

how likely is it that your white goods will actually break down?

A brand-new dishwasher only has a 14% chance of breaking down

in the first six years. And your washing machine, a 19% chance.

The washing machine,

about £18 for an extra warranty which would cost you £106 in total

over six years when a new washing machine will cost you 250 quid.

-Which would you rather go for?

-The brand-new one.

I'd just buy a brand-new one because it would last another six years

rather than get that one fixed and it might break down again.

If my washing machine broke down, I would just get a new one.

But even so, around 12.5 million of us

have bought extended warranties in the last three years.

In 2012, the Office of Fair Trading found that, by and large,

the salespeople trying so hard to flog them

don't actually give consumers enough information,

making it hard for them to decide for sure

whether the warranty is worth it.

Consumer group Which? visited shops to see just how warranties are sold

and often received advice that was confusing or wrong.

When we visited one of the retailers, we were told that,

if you have a big party in your kitchen and somebody rips the door

off your washing machine,

you will be covered under your extended warranty.

This is simply not the case.

Most extended warranty policies do not cover you for accidental damage.

There are lots of exclusions in extended warranties

that people may not know about.

Many of them certainly won't cover wear and tear

and they don't cover fire and theft.

When we mystery-shopped a lot of retailers,

we weren't being given this information.

But if you still want the peace of mind

that your goods are protected, what else can you do?

A good alternative to an extended warranty would be to cover

the goods you have purchased under your home insurance.

This may increase your premiums a little bit,

but it should be far cheaper than purchasing an extended warranty

and you will be covered for accidental damage

if it does occur to the thing you have bought.

Here at Rip-Off Britain,

we're always ready to investigate more of your stories on any subject.

Are you confused over your bills,

or just trying to wade through never-ending small print?

It's very frustrating because it makes what should be

a quite simple job a lot more complicated

and I think some people just give up and so they don't get the best deal.

Maybe you're unsure what to do when you discover you've lost out

and that so-called great deal has ended up costing you money?

People are buying into this, I did.

And are they going to be as awkward with them as they were with me?

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

the mistakes you made with us.

It upsets me an awful lot because, you know, I'm...

I'm retired and I begrudge having to pay that kind of money out.

You can write to us at...

..or you can send us an e-mail to...

Remember that the Rip-Off team is ready and waiting to investigate your stories.

You know, it's impossible to tell when something's going to go wrong,

so it's very understandable that you might want the peace of mind

that you won't have to foot the bill if the worst happens.

But as we've seen in the programme, when it comes to warranties,

-it really pays to read...

-ALL: The small print.

..and make sure you've got the right cover.

Because if you don't, you could end up paying over the odds

to be insured against just a small handful of eventualities,

then find you've got no cover at all.

Or, worse still, end up paying more for the warranty

than the product it covers is actually worth.

Which certainly would not be a good use of anybody's money!

But I'm afraid that is all we've got time for today.

But you can find much more about today's programme on our website...

And that's also where you'll find the address

and any other information you need to send us your stories

and please do keep them coming in,

because it could well be that it's yours that we're going to be

investigating on our very next programme next time.

And until then, from all of us, goodbye.