Episode 8 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 that you think get it wrong

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

People should expect more

when they're paying for something these days.

Everything you buy, I just think we're getting ripped off.

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

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

You have to rely on them giving you a fair price for something.

You can't always rely on that.

You don't want more hassle.

You want them to honour their agreement with you.

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.

That is disgusting!

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,

the programme that's here to get to the bottom of

what's gone wrong if you feel you've been short-changed,

or if you haven't got what you paid for.

So that, with a bit of luck,

the same thing won't happen to anyone else.

Of course, it's very easy to get frustrated when you feel

you have not had value for money. We like value for money.

But for the people we'll be hearing from today, it's worse than that.

As far as they're concerned,

they got a lot less than they actually paid out.

In some cases, spending hundreds of pounds on something they say

simply did not live up to the promises made

when they handed over their money.

Some of them had already complained to the companies that were

involved before they even thought about coming to us.

They just didn't think that anyone was listening to them.

So, in today's programme,

we're also going to be looking at how tools like social media

are actually forcing companies

to respond to complaints a lot more quickly.

So, by the end of today's programme, we hope you're going to have

a much better idea of what you can do

to get your complaint dealt with and settled.

Coming up - botched deliveries, big days ruined,

and the online florists that don't come up smelling of roses.

My mother-in-law was quite understanding.

However, it's still quite upsetting to know that

what you had planned isn't there and hasn't arrived.

And a masterclass in new ways of complaining

from a woman who never backs down.

Everything about complaining, it's the principle.

Whether it's 20p or thousands of pounds, it's the principle.

From commiserations to congratulations,

those happy birthdays to happy anniversaries,

a bunch of flowers has always been the most popular way

to say something really special.

And, thanks to the boom in online florists,

organising the whole thing, including delivery,

can, of course, be sorted out without us even seeing

the flowers that we're sending.

Now, as you know, most of the time that works OK and it's convenient.

But you've also been telling us about a number of online florists

whose flowers, I'm afraid, have been a real flop,

and whose service has almost ruined some very important occasions.

Every Mother's Day, 2.5 million of us tell our mums we love them

by sending flowers.

Second only to Valentine's Day,

Mother's Day is big business for florists.

And, with so many flowers being picked, arranged and delivered,

it's no surprise that things sometimes can go wrong.

Julie Cooper is a pub landlady and she seems to have had

more than her fair share of bad luck with her orders.

The latest disappointment was when she tried ordering some

Mother's Day flowers for her mother-in-law.

We left Doncaster over a year ago now, so we were quite close

and we were able to see her.

With it being Mothering Sunday, we wanted her to know

that we were thinking of her.

After searching online, Julie found a company called

Hallmark Bouquets and was impressed with what was on offer.

They'd got separate sections for "Thank you" flowers, Mothering Sunday

and all those sort of things,

and you could add your optional extras on, like flowers and balloons.

So Julie ordered flowers, chocolates and a balloon

and, thanks to a 25% discount and free delivery,

the whole package cost just £22.49.

Julie ordered weeks in advance to make sure the package would be

delivered on the Friday before Mother's Day.

But as the day went on, there was no sign of any delivery.

When it got to about three o'clock on the Friday afternoon,

I was a bit anxious. I was thinking, "Gosh, where are these flowers?"

I didn't want to phone my mother-in-law up

and say, "Have your flowers come yet?" to spoil the surprise.

But anxiety got the better of her

and, when Julie DID pick up the phone,

her worst fears were realised -

there were no flowers.

Julie immediately tried to contact Hallmark Bouquets.

I got an automated response that said,

"We'll respond within 48 hours."

I tried the telephone number on the site

and that just went to a fax machine.

The flowers didn't arrive on the Saturday or

even on Mother's Day itself.

Nor was there any response to Julie's e-mail,

so she wrote another one, making sure it was worded strongly enough

for Hallmark Bouquets to understand that she was not happy.

Within 20 minutes, they responded straightaway

with such a rude e-mail, saying, "Don't use words like that.

"We've sent your flowers, it's not our fault you haven't received them."

I was a bit angry that they could respond straightaway to that

but not to any of the other e-mails that I'd sent.

After more e-mails, Hallmark Bouquets did offer Julie

some replacement flowers but, with Mother's Day done and dusted,

she saw little point and asked for a refund instead.

Well, a month passed and Julie got her money back.

But she doesn't feel that's made up for what had happened.

My mother-in-law was quite understanding.

She understood that it weren't my fault that there was

nothing there for her on Mothering Sunday.

However, it's still quite upsetting to know that

what you had planned isn't there and hasn't arrived.

When we spoke to Hallmark Bouquets about Julie's missing flowers,

they told us that they

"did everything they could to rectify the situation" with Julie,

offering her two replacement bouquets and providing a refund.

They say that they're able to offer customers low prices

because they use postal services,

rather than more expensive hand delivery but they told us

that they "don't guarantee to deliver flowers by a certain date".

Julie isn't the only person to complain about Hallmark Bouquets.

Others have been in touch with similar stories

or telling us that, although their flowers did arrive,

they either weren't fresh or indeed were damaged in the delivery itself.

The company, however, assured us

that they have many satisfied returning customers.

But you know, we received almost as many complaints

about a different company called iFlorist.

Stephen Lee from Birmingham lives over 200 miles away from his mum

but when Mother's Day came around, he wanted to make sure

that living so far apart didn't mean his mum missed out.

'It just seemed easier to go online and, you know, do it that way.'

You just write down everything that you want

and pay for it and job's done.

Stephen found a great deal on iFlorist and was even happier when

he found out they could deliver on Mother's Day itself, and for free.

He paid just under £45 for his mum's flowers.

But when the big day came, the bouquet didn't.

11 o'clock, I got an e-mail come through telling me, just to say,

"Your flowers will be delivered Monday,"

to which, obviously, I straightaway e-mailed back, saying,

"That's no good to me. Your confirmation tells me Mothering Sunday,

"it's no good sending them on a Monday."

But iFlorist didn't respond so he told his mum to refuse

the flowers from iFlorist when they came on the Monday,

as he simply wasn't willing to pay for them a day late.

Also, he tried to call iFlorist to complain and get a refund.

I think I finally got through on the Tuesday -

somebody answered the phone.

They just told me that it was their policy that they could

give 24-48 hours after their delivery date.

So, while one section of iFlorist's terms and conditions say that

Mother's Day flowers will be delivered on Mother's Day,

there's another bit that states something very different.

It says that deliveries are not guaranteed and, in fact,

they could arrive 24 or even 48 hours later.

We asked iFlorist about Stephen's case and their guaranteed delivery

but they haven't answered any of our questions.

However, they eventually did refund Stephen for the flowers

that didn't arrive on time.

Unfortunately, even the best known companies don't always

manage to keep up with the demands of the Mother's Day flowers bonanza.

Interflora, the biggest online delivery service,

came in for criticism this past Mother's Day

when a number of people tweeted their disappointment

after apparently hundreds of incorrect deliveries.

Interflora told us that they delivered

hundreds of thousands of bouquets over the Mother's Day weekend,

and received only "a small number of complaints"

all of which they're sorry for and resolved as soon as possible.

But you know, we've had so many e-mails from customers

disappointed with a whole range of online florists

that you can't help wondering how many of these problems stem

from the particular way we now like to buy flowers.

More and more these days, people seem to be

ordering their flowers online, whereas in the past,

we would have come to a lovely local florist like this.

But I suppose online it's quick, simple, convenient.

But when these companies deliver the bouquet,

the question is are they also delivering

on the standard that you expect for the money that you've paid?

Online flower shopping has transformed the industry

so dramatically that, in many cases,

the website you've ordered from won't be getting its blooms

from the cosy little florists you might imagine.

Instead, flower websites often get their stock from

big, centralised suppliers, which many of them share.

But traditional florists are concerned at the way the industry

is now dominated by two types of business,

both of which seem a long way

from your average neighbourhood flower shop.

The first is what they call a relay company.

Relay companies collect orders via the internet, over the telephone

and they send those orders either to a florist

that belongs to their relay organisation

or they send them to a warehouse to be made up.

Relay companies sometimes use independent local flower shops

but other times they go straight to the warehouse.

But the other type of online florists, what the industry

call order gatherers, miss out the traditional shops altogether.

While ordering from a warehouse reduces costs and maximises profit,

critics say the customer service

really suffers by cutting out the trained, skilled florist.

Not only that, but many of these businesses also cut costs

by finding the cheapest possible way to deliver their stock.

Some use courier companies or even post their flowers,

and you've been telling us that can sometimes have an impact

on the quality of the bouquet you're getting.

Now, I do worry about courier services and postal services

because we've had so many complaints about the quality,

or lack of quality, really, of flowers when they arrive.

OK. Well, that tends to be because obviously they're arriving in a box.

They may have had water in the packaging with them,

but more often than not that doesn't happen.

They are supposed to be delivered within a certain time

so the flowers hopefully should last that long.

But the biggest problem is that, generally, the people that are doing

that kind of service don't really know how to look after flowers.

So if you want a personalised service and a guarantee of what

you're getting then a traditional florist shop wins hands-down.

But online companies do often offer much cheaper deals.

So if price and convenience are key,

what they offer could be right for you.

But after her latest experience,

Julie is certain that she won't be ordering online ever again.

Next time, I'll probably send a friend who lives local to them

some money through the bank

and say, "Can you go and get me some flowers locally?"

rather than do that.

Now, you know, we Brits can be a funny old bunch.

We love a good whinge about bad service or an out-and-out rip-off

but very often we find it hard to complain to someone face-to-face.

But the tide is turning and the rise of social media has

provided a simple and very public way of not just airing a complaint

but taking it right to the door of the companies concerned,

and that's provoked a change in the way those companies deal with us,

as they have to be equally public in how they respond.

In 2013, the British public made more than 38 million complaints.

From mobile phone companies to energy providers, councils to railways,

we were telling them, "You've got it wrong," every 1.2 seconds.

When I think it's necessary, I do complain because I feel

that they ought to know.

I'm paying for a service and I want that so I'll ask

for a better table if it's not right cos you shouldn't expect secondary.

And we seem to be overcoming our traditional British reserve too,

with almost a third of people saying they're more likely

to complain now than they were a year ago.

Is that because doing it online

can provide a simpler way of getting your point across?

I'm not that bothered about complaining but I think I feel

a bit uncomfortable doing it on the phone.

Probably write an e-mail, maybe, instead.

Helen Dewdney thinks it's our duty to tell companies

when they've done something wrong,

and she's been doing that herself since she was just 12.

To me, it's the principle of the thing.

For everything about complaining, it's the principle.

Whether it's 20p or thousands of pounds, it's the principle.

Helen calls herself The Complaining Cow

and, for over 30 years, she's been airing her dissatisfaction

to companies who she thinks haven't got it right.

MOO!

She has contested and won three court cases

and, in 2013, received over £2,500 in redress from 11 companies,

as well as helping her friends and family recover over £1,800

from companies who'd let them down, too.

I very rarely do it actually in person

unless it is something that needs to be dealt with there and then.

I will go home, think about it.

You need to do it quite quickly, so it's all fresh in your mind,

and do the complaint in writing so you've got a record of everything.

But for Helen, the point of complaining is not

to get freebies or compensation.

I like to know what assurances

I'm going to get that it won't happen again

and, quite often, they'll come back and say,

"We've put in place this training,"

or, "We've sent that particular person on training,"

or, "We've now set up a new database,"

or whatever it is - it's nice to know that I've effected change.

For most of her complaining career,

Helen's relied on detailed letters and then e-mails.

But recently, like many others,

she's started expressing her disgruntlement through a channel

that limits her to a very concise 140 characters - Twitter.

The brevity of a Tweet makes it an easy way to write a complaint

but the real reason it's taken off as a forum for airing a grievance

is because it's so public.

Anyone can see and respond to what you've said.

So it's not surprising that a company whose name is mentioned

might want to act quickly to show that they're dealing with it,

especially if others start joining in the conversation.

I find it easy for complaining about small things.

So if I've had an order and a delivery and my grapes are rotten

or my eggs are broken, it's much easier to just Tweet somebody and

they can find my order number and I get a refund.

But anything more complicated, I think, than that,

it's very difficult in 140 characters.

Somewhere along the line, you have to send an e-mail or a letter.

Even so, more than a quarter of consumers who

complained about a product or service in the last year

are reckoned to have shared their gripe on social media.

Paul Lewis, presenter of Radio 4's Moneybox, was one of them.

Twitter has helped me, personally, to file a complaint

against an energy company - my energy company.

They were very late in sending me a refund.

I went through all the normal procedures

and then I tried tweeting about it and, you know,

I had a response within a few hours.

And it was really that, a few months ago, that made me think,

"Well, maybe Twitter IS the way to complain."

When Paul asked his Twitter followers to tell him

if they've used the service to complain as well,

he was inundated with success stories.

I've had messages from people with a gym, with a railway company,

with a bank, or a building society,

with a council who filled in the potholes.

All these kind of things getting instant responses

whereas, in the past, they might have written letters or sent e-mails

and waited weeks for a reply

or, even worse, been stuck on the phone for an hour

with no-one talking to them.

There are 15 million people in the UK who have a Twitter account,

hundreds of millions around the world,

so if you Tweet about something going wrong,

potentially, everyone can see it and it's because it can be such

disastrous PR that companies are beginning to take it seriously.

Of course, companies can get it wrong on social media.

One Twitter user from London complained that a delayed train

had made him late for work,

Transport for London sent a less-than-sympathetic response,

saying, "Leave early, you will not be late next time."

Another man, Jim Boyden, posted on Facebook

a bill including a late payment charge that Virgin Media had sent

to his father-in-law, who'd died ten months previously.

Both stories went viral.

Thousands either responded or posted and tweeted to their own followers,

forcing both Virgin Media and TfL into embarrassing apologies.

PR company Smoking Gun helps a number of brands

and companies manage their reputation through social media.

If a situation arises on social media,

it can have a direct impact on the share price,

momentum can gather very quickly

and bad news can be spread globally in seconds,

so brands have to be really mindful of managing their reputation online.

And are the companies conscious of the fact that once people

start using social media, they have a sort of crowd effect?

Absolutely. The worst thing that can happen is to ignore the complaints

or, even worse, be rude to people and not try and help them.

All of a sudden, it can pick up momentum and be re-shared.

OK, so I'm a consumer, I've got a complaint.

My holiday didn't work out the way I thought it would.

I've decided I'm going to go on social media

and vent my spleen and try to get justice.

How do I go about doing that?

Probably your first step is to find which channels

the holiday company's using itself,

whether it be Facebook, whether it be Twitter,

whether they've got their own blog that you can post a comment onto,

and actually contact them that way.

Don't start ranting - be fair with them

and, you know, you're likely to get a quicker and smoother resolution.

But don't forget, everything you say online is both public

and subject to libel laws,

so saying the wrong thing could land you in hot water.

Don't divulge sensitive information,

personal information. Remember that things,

information, does stay online forever, potentially.

No matter how frustrated you get,

don't swear, don't be rude, just try and keep calm.

But whether you're complaining through social media

or you prefer the old-school method of putting pen to paper,

seasoned complainer Helen has one simple rule.

It is an old cliche - people power.

The more people that complain,

and complain effectively, you know, in the right manner,

then the more of us that do it then that will bring about change.

Still to come on Rip-Off Britain, how a cold call convinced

this couple they were in line for a bumper pay out.

They said to me I will get this money back.

There was no doubt about it. I had nothing to lose.

Once again, we've taken Rip-Off Britain out on the road

and this year we've set up shop

in one of the biggest retail centres in the West Midlands.

Hi. How are you? Thanks very much for coming to the pop-up shop.

And we were armed with our top team of experts, ready to

solve your problems face-to-face.

I think this is something that the energy companies

really need to get a serious grip on.

Nisha Summan called in to see Trading Standards expert Sylvia Rook

after she paid out twice for something she's never received.

I had an engineer come to my house to repair my old vacuum cleaner.

Because my five-year guarantee had expired,

they recommended I had a new vacuum cleaner at a discounted price.

I agreed to that so I ended up paying a total of £299.

Delighted with the discount, Nisha paid on her debit card

but the engineer explained the transaction hadn't gone through

and he'd need the payment a different way.

I then paid 299 in cash.

They said, subject to availability, it should take three to five days

for this vacuum cleaner to come through.

I'd waited four weeks and it had never arrived.

Worse still, it turned out that her first attempt at payment

HAD gone through after all.

When I went to the bank, they actually told me

that I had been charged 299 from my debit card as well.

So, in essence, I've paid twice so in total I've paid £600.

-And you still haven't actually got any vacuum cleaner at all?

-No.

After complaining to the retailer, Nisha cancelled the order

and eventually DID receive a refund from them for the amount

she'd paid in cash.

But that was only half of what she was owed.

I've been waiting since March for me to have the refund come back through

and it still hasn't come through.

The bank is a good place to get your money back cos they

operate a system called chargeback and they should be able to reclaim

your money if you can't get it back from the retailer.

So what you now need to do is write to the company

and explain exactly what's happened -

the fact that they processed your payment twice, the fact

that they have refunded the cash side but not the debit card side.

Include with it the evidence

that they took the money off your debit card.

When you send the letter, keep a copy of it,

send it recorded delivery so you've got evidence that it's been sent.

It's taken them several months, they haven't given you the money back -

your next stage is then going to be to pursue them through the courts

if they don't give you your money back.

As well as offering one-to-one advice, our experts were kept busy

giving out money-saving tips to passing shoppers.

If you get yourselves a Family Railcard

then that's going to save you one third off your normal fares and

the youngster will actually pay two thirds off the normal fare.

-Can you do it on the day?

-You can book it on the day. The main thing

is if you can possibly qualify for a railcard then do.

You obviously don't because you're...

-I do. I've got a railcard.

-Impossible!

-Are you still under 26?

-Yes, I am. I'm over that a bit.

No, I've got a Senior Railcard,

which means I get a third off every time I travel.

And over at our Gripe Corner, you weren't exactly holding back,

letting us know what gets you hot under the collar.

The thing that annoys me most is bad customer service.

If I'd have gone to the correct site I wouldn't have wasted my money.

My mum's got a rip-off for you.

I think it's really bad nowadays when you go shopping

and a loaf of bread costs £1 in one shop and the same brand of bread

costs £1.50 in another.

That's what I call rip-off Britain.

Whatever your age, there really are some birthdays you just have

to celebrate, aren't there?

And, while as you get older you may tend to reserve the big parties

for the big numbers like 40, 50, 60 and so on,

when you're younger, every birthday really does deserve a celebration.

And luckily there is no shortage of companies

that are offering to take the pain out of party planning...

at a cost, of course. But then, it is worth every penny if they can

make a children's party really memorable.

Provided, that is, that you're remembering it in a good way

and not, as was the case in our next family,

because that all-important big day was totally ruined.

As you know, a teenager's birthday bash can these days be

much more glamorous than those in the past.

And Hollie Summerfield was determined to celebrate in style.

I wanted mine to be different to what everyone else had done

so people would remember it.

For her 15th birthday, Hollie was going to have a pamper party.

We were all kind of excited cos everyone wanted to know, like,

what we were doing, how we were going to do it, who was coming.

So that was really exciting.

The plan for Hollie's party was that she and seven of her friends would

get spa treatments and their hair, nails and make-up done by experts.

Hollie's mum Alison had been given a recommendation

for pamper party specialists Grumpy But Gorgeous.

So she and husband, Gordon, checked out the company online.

I looked on the social media site and it looked fantastic

and they had some really close-up testimonials

that were done within days of us booking, so it all looked fine.

And I think because I had personal experience of a colleague at work

that had used them and he said it had gone well, I was like,

"Yeah, let's just book it."

A pamper party for Hollie and seven of her friends would cost £300.

Although it was a lot of money, we thought,

for eight people, it's not a bad... it's not actually bad value.

I paid the deposit by credit card and then you had to pay the

remaining amount by cash on the day.

One director of Grumpy But Gorgeous, Katie Brown,

told Gordon that their team would arrive 45 minutes

before the party to set everything up.

After weeks of anticipation, Hollie's big day finally arrived.

I woke up that day really excited.

I made sure I didn't put any make-up on

so that they could do all the pampering and stuff.

Did my hair, put my onesie on because we were all going to just relax

in our pyjamas and everything so, yeah, I was really excited.

MUSIC: You're Gorgeous by Babybird

# Because you're gorgeous... #

Next, Hollie's friends turned up, also in their onesies,

and ready to be made-up.

There was just one crucial ingredient missing -

the staff from Grumpy But Gorgeous.

It kind of got to the stage when everyone was there

apart from the pamper people.

We all started wondering where they were, what was happening.

People didn't know what was going on.

When Alison tried to call Katie Brown, the woman

behind Grumpy But Gorgeous, her phone went straight to voice mail.

By the time we get to 11 o'clock, we're thinking,

"Oh, dear, they're not here."

You keep hoping, but by 20 past, half past 11, I decided obviously,

they're not going to turn up.

It fell to Alison to break the bad news to Hollie and her friends.

There was complete disbelief with Hollie.

But I think that was shared amongst all the girls.

They were quite horrified. "What do you mean? You paid the deposit.

"Well, it's booked - why haven't they come?"

I did get a bit upset. I felt really bad cos they'd all come

round my house for a pamper party and the people weren't there.

It is upsetting because now my 15th birthday is lost,

and it's just really annoying.

Alison had sent e-mails to Grumpy But Gorgeous throughout the day

to say they'd left eight 15-year-olds very grumpy

and not quite so gorgeous as they were expecting.

She didn't get a reply until 9.30 that evening when one came,

apologising and saying that they would look into what went wrong.

They also offered to refund the deposit

and put on another party for free.

But weeks went by without that refund materialising.

As time went on, I was saying to Alison,

"This is definitely not right. They're just stringing you along."

I put a message out to all my friends on social media and asked them

to pass it on not to have anything to do with this company.

But I think the reason for doing that, at the time, was

-the fact that we didn't want anyone else to go through what we'd gone through.

-Correct.

Unfortunately, others do appear to have had the same experience,

both with Grumpy But Gorgeous

and another similar company run by its managing director Katie Brown.

Gordon found various complaints about both companies online.

I googled her name...

..and came up with some quite shocking stuff

that people have written about her

and the businesses she's had before.

Some of the things that are written

are identical to the stuff that's happened to us.

Eventually, after contacting his credit card company,

Gordon was given a full refund by Grumpy But Gorgeous.

But if Katie Brown's companies

have left a number of disgruntled customers in their wake,

it seems there are some very unhappy staff as well.

Danielle D'Rozario was an admin assistant at Grumpy But Gorgeous.

When I first started working for Katie, I didn't see any reason

why not to work for her. It seemed like a good company at the time.

But then, after a while, it just became very unreliable with regards

to being paid wages and then she would start letting

customers down by cancelling parties, or postponing them.

After three months working at the company,

Danielle was made redundant.

But she was still owed over £1,300 in wages,

as were seven other people

who worked for Grumpy But Gorgeous boss Katie Brown.

I didn't hear anything from her.

We couldn't get in contact with her and then, after a while,

me and the other girls that worked for her became rather annoyed

at waiting and then we took it further and took it to a tribunal.

Neither Katie Brown nor her fellow director attended

the employment tribunal and the court ruled in favour

of the ex-employees, ordering her to pay more than £15,000.

But Danielle says she still didn't get the money she was owed.

She even instructed bailiffs to help reclaim the debt,

but they were unable to find any assets belonging to the company.

Am I ever going to see my money back?

I don't think so, to be honest. It's been that long now

and she hasn't made any contact or any sort of payment.

When we contacted Grumpy But Gorgeous,

the company directors disputed what Danielle had told us,

insisting that she "has categorically been paid up-to-date".

They said that they had been unable to defend

the company at the tribunal as they were unaware it was taking place,

but they have now paid some of the former employees in full.

They also claimed they dismissed Danielle following issues

with her conduct at work, although we have seen the excellent

reference they gave her when she was ostensibly made redundant,

which makes it clear they would employ her again.

The directors went on to blame

dealings with two online voucher companies

for the "financial difficulties" which led to members of staff

losing their jobs and to parties not being provided.

As for the 15th birthday party Grumpy But Gorgeous didn't

throw for Hollie Summerfield, they told us they

"publicly and sincerely apologise for any upset caused".

They say the staff member responsible for Hollie's party

was unable to make it because her "car had set on fire"

and no-one else was in the office on the day to take Alison's calls.

They now make sure there is

"someone on the telephones seven days a week".

Grumpy But Gorgeous went on to reiterate that

the Summerfields were given a full refund and sent flowers.

And although the family has yet to take them up on it,

their offer of a free spa party still stands.

In the end, Hollie did have the 15th birthday pamper party she wanted,

but several weeks after the event.

We reorganised another birthday with another company,

who were really, really good. We had a lot of fun with them.

They did facials and nails and they were just a good laugh

and it was really good fun.

So I'm happy I got to do it again, with a good company.

If you'd like more advice on any of the situations

we investigate on the programme

then log on to our website...

..which has a huge range of practical information on everything

from cold calling and how to check a company's credentials to

warnings on the latest scams to watch out for.

You'll also find hints and tips from the experts and workshops

at our pop-up shop, some of which could really save you money.

At one time or another, most of us have been called up out of the blue

by a company claiming that you were mis-sold some financial product

in the past, and then they offer to help win back the money

to which you're supposedly entitled.

While such calls may make you suspicious,

there are enough people who really have reclaimed money this way

to make you wonder if it just might be worth giving them a go.

Especially if they make it sound like you've got nothing to lose.

Trouble is, though, with some of these companies, there really

is a lot you could lose...

and most likely never see again.

This beautiful farmland on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall has been

home to Graham Higgins for nearly 60 years.

Born and bred on the family farm, he now runs it with wife Lynsey.

It's not easy.

Far from it. It's hard work 365 days of the year, 24/7.

Farming, to us, is a way of life. We don't know any other, really.

I was born here.

Cash flow on the farm can be unpredictable.

And, with a big mortgage, too,

Lynsey and Graham haven't always found it easy to make ends meet.

So when the phone rang one day in November 2012 with

an offer of help clearing their debts, it seemed like good news.

I had a cold caller that came through

and said that they could get all of this money back for me off my credit

cards that I have been mis-sold and to do with my mortgage as well.

It appealed to me because he said that I was owed probably thousands.

That cold call was from a company called Claim Credit Services,

who told the Higginses that,

if they had been mis-sold their credit cards and mortgage,

not only could the company help them get their money back,

even better, they'd do it all on a no win, no fee basis.

There was an upfront fee

but Claim Credit Services, or CCS for short, assured the couple

that they'd have that money returned if their claims didn't succeed.

Well, they kept advertising no win, no fee.

You think that, you know, we're pretty safe to go ahead and do this.

-And that we'd get the money back.

-And we would get the money back.

There was no doubt about it, I had nothing to lose.

Unsure whether this was all too good to be true,

Lynsey checked out Claim Credit Services online.

The Ministry of Justice website lists claims management

companies which have been authorised by the regulator

and, sure enough, CCS did check out.

I thought it was OK because I went onto the website and checked it out.

Reassured by this, Lynsey and Graham paid them

a total of £3,673.39 in two instalments.

Again, they were told that

as long as they didn't pull out of the claims before the work was

complete, they would get their money back if they were not successful.

If, on the other hand, they were awarded some compensation,

CCS would charge a 25% fee.

It all seemed fair enough.

The Higgins say CCS told them

that the whole process would take between 60 and 90 days.

But it actually took just under five months before there was any news.

In April, when I got the letter and they come back and said that

we'd got a very good case, I was delighted, really.

I thought, "Here we go, it's all OK.

"We're going to get our money back, if not more."

The letter from CCS said it looked like Graham and Lynsey had

"a convincing claim" that their mortgage had been mis-sold.

So, with lambing season under way, they thought little more about it.

But then communication dropped off from CCS and, in August 2013,

Lynsey tried calling and e-mailing the company for an update,

without much luck.

It would roll on and roll on

and, I think, eventually it come to about a year and they said

it should all be all done and dusted within,

easily, well within the year.

And it's not.

11 months after they'd first signed up to CCS,

the couple received a letter that just confused things even more.

It said that there was a significant development for CCS,

going on to explain that CCS - Claim Credit Services -

had "joined forces" with its "audit team",

the very similarly named Credit Clear Services.

But it was months before they knew what that meant for their claims.

They never heard from the first CCS again

and, though Lynsey repeatedly called

and e-mailed the second company, Credit Clear Services,

it was another four months before she got through.

And when she did, they dropped a bombshell.

The chap on the phone from Credit Clear Services told me

that they, Claim Credit Services, had ceased trading

and they couldn't get my money back at all.

With the first company out of business,

the new CCS - Credit Clear Services - said it was not their job

to refund the £3,673.39 that Lynsey and Graham had paid.

And, to cap it all, despite all the reassurance they'd

previously had that they had a "convincing claim" with

a "very high chance" of success, they were now told that some of

the claims being investigated for them

definitely would not have succeeded.

I can't get my money back

and my original case is not going to happen either

so, yes, it is a bit of a double whammy.

The remaining claims were apparently still being investigated

and they were told that they won't be eligible for any refund

until all the claims have been resolved.

But nearly two years later, there is still no sign of an end to

those investigations, much less any pay-out.

Graham and Lynsey had only signed up to all this on the basis that

if they didn't win they wouldn't have to pay a penny.

But, as it stands, not only have they got nothing for their £3,673

but losing that money has had a direct impact on the farm.

There used to be cattle here but they've all had to be sold.

It felt very, very strange not to have cows here on the farm

seeing as they've been here all my lifetime.

But, you know, bills and that have got to be paid for.

So they had to go.

Well, since we heard Graham and Lynsey's story, we've been trying to

get to the bottom of what exactly happened to Claim Credit Services

and we've found a number of other people who have

uncannily similar experiences.

They all paid a fee

then they waited months for CCS to process their claims,

only to be told later that their case had been handed

to the other CCS, Credit Clear Services.

None of them have any proof at all that their case

was actually looked into and yet they've all lost hundreds

or, rather like Graham and Lynsey, thousands of pounds.

Credit Clear services, the second company,

told us that it is "entirely separate and independent"

from any other claims management company.

It told us that when Claim Credit Services ran into problems,

it "agreed to take over operation of the business" and cases like

Graham and Lynsey's "to safeguard the interest of consumers".

The company also told us that all clients at that time were

"entitled to cancel their contract and seek a refund of any

"monies paid" but that Graham and Lynsey instructed them to carry on.

The couple, however, insist this didn't happen.

Either way, the company maintains it IS still looking into their case

but advise any clients who wish to make claims for refunds or

mis-selling from Claim Credit Services to contact

the insolvency service.

We also contacted Nicholas Harle,

the managing director of the first CCS, who told us that

the company was wound up in January 2014 and that every client was

told that the closure of the company would not affect their case.

But CCS number one isn't the first company that Nicholas Harle has been

involved with that has closed, owing customers thousands.

In 2009, he was the director of a business which was forced

into liquidation with debts of more than £600,000.

Lynsey and Graham regret ever getting involved

with the whole process.

And, with so many other companies cold-calling out of the blue with

similar offers, they wonder how many other people could end up,

like them, not just disappointed but seriously out of pocket.

We had reason to believe at the time that we stood a chance.

I'm gutted because, you know, we've lost this money

and we don't want this to happen to other people.

That's the whole reason I'm doing this today.

Here at Rip-Off Britain,

we are always keen to hear more of your stories.

And we are particularly interested in ones to do with food,

for a new series next year.

Are you confused by all those different labels

on the supermarket shelves?

Worried that products described as healthy may be nothing of the kind?

Well, whatever's worrying you about the things we put on our plates,

you can write to us at...

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

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

Of course, there can be many reasons why a company doesn't

deliver the service or standards you paid for.

It can be everything from a deliberate rip-off

or a simple mistake, to the company itself falling on hard times.

And, of course, complaining to the company

could help get some form of compensation

but as always, the simplest way to make sure you will not be

out of pocket if you don't get what you expect is to pay by credit card

because chances are that you're going to be covered

if anything goes wrong.

And that really is advice that we can't stress often enough.

We're going to be back very soon with another

collection of your stories.

And, by the way, thank you very much for every single story

you send in. We read every one of them, even if

we don't always end up featuring them on the programme.

So, please, keep them coming.

Who knows, it might be yours that we're investigating next time.

-So, until then, from all of us, bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye.