0:00:03 > 0:00:05'We asked you to tell us what's left you feeling ripped off,
0:00:05 > 0:00:08'and you contacted us in your thousands.'
0:00:08 > 0:00:11'You've told us about the companies you think get it wrong and
0:00:11 > 0:00:14'the customer service that simply is not up to scratch.'
0:00:14 > 0:00:17They should be looking after their customers and they don't.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21Loyalty to the customers is a very low priority.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24'You've asked us to track down the scammers who stole your money and
0:00:24 > 0:00:27'investigate the extra charges you say are unfair.'
0:00:27 > 0:00:31Big companies, big corporations are more into the money and the numbers
0:00:31 > 0:00:32than they are about the people.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35'And when you've lost out, but no-one else is to blame,
0:00:35 > 0:00:38'you've come to us to stop others falling into the same trap.'
0:00:38 > 0:00:41It genuinely feels like I'm getting ripped off.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44'So whether it's a blatant rip-off or a genuine mistake,
0:00:44 > 0:00:47'we're here to find out why you are out of pocket
0:00:47 > 0:00:50'and what you can do about it.'
0:00:50 > 0:00:54'Your stories, your money, this is Rip-off Britain.'
0:00:56 > 0:00:58Hello, and welcome to Rip-off Britain,
0:00:58 > 0:01:00the series that's here to make sure
0:01:00 > 0:01:02that whatever you spend your money on,
0:01:02 > 0:01:04you're not paying over the odds,
0:01:04 > 0:01:05because I think we'd all agree,
0:01:05 > 0:01:07wouldn't we, that there's nothing more galling
0:01:07 > 0:01:08than discovering someone else
0:01:08 > 0:01:10is paying a lot less for something than you are.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12It can drive you insane sometimes,
0:01:12 > 0:01:14so that's why today's programme is
0:01:14 > 0:01:16all about people fighting against being overcharged.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19They would say that they're out of pocket after being billed
0:01:19 > 0:01:22for far more than they should have been, in some cases for years.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25So now they're determined to hold to account the companies and the
0:01:25 > 0:01:28organisations they believe are responsible.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31And if there's one thing we love on this programme,
0:01:31 > 0:01:34it's someone who's made a stand to help others around them save money.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36We really do love that, don't we? We do.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38Which is just what I found when I
0:01:38 > 0:01:40visited a council estate in Sheffield.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44Now, I came away with some really valuable knowledge,
0:01:44 > 0:01:47and it could well pay off for you, too.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50Coming up: why this man is the Robin Hood of water bills,
0:01:50 > 0:01:55determined to help his neighbour save as much money as he has.
0:01:55 > 0:02:01Your estimated bill is ?214.50. That's almost ?300...
0:02:01 > 0:02:02Yes! ..less!
0:02:02 > 0:02:06Oh, God, it's the best news I've had in a long time.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10And they've saved hundreds of pounds by regularly switching their energy
0:02:10 > 0:02:14company, but this canny couple nearly came a cropper after their
0:02:14 > 0:02:17supplier caused a problem that they didn't see coming.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19I was absolutely stunned.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22I just didn't know what to think.
0:02:22 > 0:02:23I'm angry, angry, very angry.
0:02:26 > 0:02:27I guess for most of us,
0:02:27 > 0:02:31a good chunk of our annual spending goes on paying utility bills.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35And while with gas and electricity it should be fairly easy to work out
0:02:35 > 0:02:39what we owe, because, put quite simply, you pay for what you use.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42It isn't always quite as straightforward with water.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46And when one Rip-off Britain viewer started to suspect that he was
0:02:46 > 0:02:49perhaps paying more than he should have been for his water,
0:02:49 > 0:02:53it started a whole chain of events that has led to him trying to slash
0:02:53 > 0:02:57his neighbour's bills as well as his own.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59Hello, Michael. Hello, are you all right?
0:02:59 > 0:03:02Yes. This is a man on a mission.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06After discovering how much less he could pay for his water,
0:03:06 > 0:03:10Michael Johnson wants to stop his neighbours pouring their hard-earned
0:03:10 > 0:03:16cash down the drain too, by telling them what savings they could make.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18Now, do you know how much you pay on your water bill?
0:03:18 > 0:03:20Yes. How much do you pay?
0:03:20 > 0:03:23?7.69 a week.
0:03:23 > 0:03:257.69. How does that compare then, Michael?
0:03:25 > 0:03:30Right, so, basically, this year you'll be paying ?384.50.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34So, you should be paying ?203.94.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37Crikey. Well, that's a big difference, isn't it?
0:03:37 > 0:03:41Michael has lived in a council flat in the Langsett Estate in Sheffield
0:03:41 > 0:03:43for the last 20 years.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45And he's always kept a careful eye on his finances.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47Michael, do you reckon you're somebody
0:03:47 > 0:03:48who's pretty conscious about how much
0:03:48 > 0:03:50you spend on your household bills?
0:03:50 > 0:03:52I try to be.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55Every light bulb in my flat is an energy saver.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59I've got a block that you put in your water tank, your toilets,
0:03:59 > 0:04:03to save water. I've got an adapter in my shower, to save water.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06Well, yeah, I've got things like that, you know what I mean?
0:04:06 > 0:04:10But even Michael hadn't always paid much attention to his water bill,
0:04:10 > 0:04:12because it was just added to the rent payments
0:04:12 > 0:04:15that he made to the council every week.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18In any case, he knew that, unlike gas or electricity,
0:04:18 > 0:04:20you can't change your water supplier.
0:04:20 > 0:04:26Even so, that ?11.10 weekly payment adds up to more than ?550 a year,
0:04:26 > 0:04:29which seemed a lot for a cost-conscious single man
0:04:29 > 0:04:30living in a council flat.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32Particularly when he found out
0:04:32 > 0:04:34what some of his friends were being charged.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40I was talking to some chaps at work, and one chap says,
0:04:40 > 0:04:43"Well, I'm paying sort of ?600.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46But there's, like, five of them in a house.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49And I thought, "Well, I'm paying ?550."
0:04:49 > 0:04:52Intrigued as to why, living alone,
0:04:52 > 0:04:54he was paying almost the same as a family of five,
0:04:54 > 0:04:56Michael started doing some research
0:04:56 > 0:04:58and he soon found that there are only
0:04:58 > 0:05:02two ways by which customers can be charged for their water in the UK.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05The tried and tested method still used by most of us,
0:05:05 > 0:05:08where the water companies charge you based on the rateable value of your
0:05:08 > 0:05:12house, or you pay according to your actual usage,
0:05:12 > 0:05:14which is usually measured by a meter.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17So Michael went online and found an app from the
0:05:17 > 0:05:19Consumer Council for Water,
0:05:19 > 0:05:20which gives an idea of how much your bill
0:05:20 > 0:05:24might be if you did have a meter installed.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26So this is your water meter...
0:05:26 > 0:05:28What is it? Water meter calculator?
0:05:28 > 0:05:30Yeah, it's Consumer Council for Water,
0:05:30 > 0:05:32and it's a water meter calculator.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34Basically, you put in your water company,
0:05:34 > 0:05:35which is from a drop-down list.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37Yeah, so we got Yorkshire.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39So we've got Yorkshire water, there we go.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41Right. Number of people in household.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44One. One. And if you know how much you're paying at the moment,
0:05:44 > 0:05:49you put that in. Well, mine, with the council, is ?555.
0:05:49 > 0:05:50Right. 555.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52Right. There we go.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56And then press calculate up there.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58Wow! Estimated bill for me this year.
0:05:58 > 0:06:03?192.79 instead of 555!
0:06:04 > 0:06:06It's one heck of a saving.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08With savings like that, Michael was keen
0:06:08 > 0:06:10to have a water meter installed,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13but he needed permission from the council first.
0:06:13 > 0:06:14Once that had been granted,
0:06:14 > 0:06:16Yorkshire Water came round within a week,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19but it turned out that the layout of his building
0:06:19 > 0:06:22meant that a meter could not be fitted. But all was not lost.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26Instead, he was able to apply to the water company for his charges to be
0:06:26 > 0:06:28adjusted, so that they would be based on an
0:06:28 > 0:06:30estimate of what he would have
0:06:30 > 0:06:32paid if a meter had been put in.
0:06:32 > 0:06:38Their charge for this year is ?203.94.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40As opposed to 555?
0:06:40 > 0:06:43?555 through Sheffield Council.
0:06:43 > 0:06:44So you're saving ?300 plus?
0:06:44 > 0:06:46?350 approximately, yeah.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50If I had done it years ago, I mean... Quids in!
0:06:50 > 0:06:51..I could have had a car by now!
0:06:51 > 0:06:52THEY LAUGH
0:06:52 > 0:06:54Michael is now paying his bill direct
0:06:54 > 0:06:56to his local water company instead of the council.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59But he doesn't remember either of them ever telling him
0:06:59 > 0:07:01that there were ways that he could significantly
0:07:01 > 0:07:03bring down the amount that he pays.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05And he thinks they very easily could have done,
0:07:05 > 0:07:09especially as his ?350 a year saving
0:07:09 > 0:07:11includes a single person discount
0:07:11 > 0:07:15that Yorkshire Water has been offering for nearly a decade.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18You didn't know about that? I never knew about that.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20I never knew whatsoever. Nobody ever told you about it?
0:07:20 > 0:07:21Nobody told me about it.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25No. From 2007, this discount came in, through Yorkshire Water.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27Right, we're now in 2016.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29Yeah, which is nine years.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31Nine years ago. Yeah. That must have set the alarm bells ringing,
0:07:31 > 0:07:33didn't it? It did.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36Annoyed that he's been paying hundreds of pounds a year
0:07:36 > 0:07:39more than he needed to, and potentially many thousands of pounds
0:07:39 > 0:07:41over the time in his flat,
0:07:41 > 0:07:44Michael now wants to make sure that his neighbours aren't paying
0:07:44 > 0:07:46too much for their water either.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50Starting with 72-year-old pensioner, Carol Lee.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52Carol, now, I know you're a neighbour here of Mike.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56Do you mind if I ask you, do you pay your water bill through the council,
0:07:56 > 0:07:59through your rent? I pay it every week through rent, yes.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01And do you know how much you pay for your water?
0:08:01 > 0:08:03It's ?10.02.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05And you live on your own here? Yes, I do. Right.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08Do you mind if Michael sees if he can work out whether or not he can
0:08:08 > 0:08:10save you any money on that?
0:08:10 > 0:08:12Yes, yeah. Are you up for saving money?
0:08:12 > 0:08:15I am, yeah! Aren't we all!
0:08:15 > 0:08:20So Michael sets to work with the app that crunches all the figures.
0:08:20 > 0:08:25So we've got here, this is a water calculator, this,
0:08:25 > 0:08:29but this is just estimated, this, all right?
0:08:29 > 0:08:32So, number of people in the household, which is one person.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Right? That will calculate this.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38Let's see what you might be able to... Ooh!
0:08:38 > 0:08:43Your estimated bill is ?214.50.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45Per year. That's for a year.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47Yeah. Wow.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49That's almost ?300 less.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52Yes, oh, God, yeah!
0:08:52 > 0:08:55How do you feel about that? I'm really happy.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57It's the best news I've had in a long time!
0:08:57 > 0:09:00It's a holiday, isn't it? You're right there.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02So you'll be down the council tomorrow morning?
0:09:02 > 0:09:04I certainly will. Asking for a weet...
0:09:04 > 0:09:06Asking for a "weeter meter"!
0:09:06 > 0:09:07I want one of those as well!
0:09:07 > 0:09:09'It's potentially a great result for Carol.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12'But as Michael continues to spread the word,
0:09:12 > 0:09:15'it seems unlikely that he'll ever get back any of the money that,
0:09:15 > 0:09:19'as far as he's concerned, he's overpaid over the last 20 years.'
0:09:19 > 0:09:22Michael, tell me what you want
0:09:22 > 0:09:24now that you know you were paying too much,
0:09:24 > 0:09:25and you've got a much better bill?
0:09:25 > 0:09:28Do you want a refund going back 20 years?
0:09:28 > 0:09:31I don't think I'm going to manage to get a 20-year refund,
0:09:31 > 0:09:32but definitely something.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34Because, you know,
0:09:34 > 0:09:36I mean, the money's gone somewhere, hasn't it?
0:09:36 > 0:09:38I mean, I've not got it.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40It's cost me. So, yeah.
0:09:40 > 0:09:45Hopefully, I might get some back, I'm not going to hold my breath.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49Now, while Sheffield Council may not benefit financially from collecting
0:09:49 > 0:09:53water payments, Michael does feel it could have made tenants,
0:09:53 > 0:09:55particularly those like him in single occupancy,
0:09:55 > 0:09:59more aware of the other options that are available to them through the
0:09:59 > 0:10:02water company itself.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06And when we spoke to the council, it told us it will now do that.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09Previously, the council's annual rent review letter had included a
0:10:09 > 0:10:13letter from Yorkshire Water, asking tenants to get in touch if they had
0:10:13 > 0:10:15any queries about their charges.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17But following Michael's discovery,
0:10:17 > 0:10:21the council says it will now encourage tenants more explicitly to
0:10:21 > 0:10:25contact their water supplier to make sure they are getting the best deal.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28We also contacted Yorkshire Water,
0:10:28 > 0:10:31which stressed its commitment to keeping bills as low as possible
0:10:31 > 0:10:35and said it was pleased that Michael was able to reduce his.
0:10:35 > 0:10:36It added that all customers,
0:10:36 > 0:10:39including those billed through their local authority,
0:10:39 > 0:10:42are able to request a water meter free of charge,
0:10:42 > 0:10:46something 26,000 people did in 2015.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49And if one can't be fitted, as happened in this case,
0:10:49 > 0:10:54an assessed charge can be calculated that has the potential to also
0:10:54 > 0:10:56result in a lower bill.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59But the company reiterated that it does let customers like Michael know
0:10:59 > 0:11:02about the option of water meters in that annual letter
0:11:02 > 0:11:05that's sent out through the council.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08Now, a water meter won't help everyone save money,
0:11:08 > 0:11:12but it is usually the best option for anyone who lives alone.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16And as Andrew White from the Consumer Council for Water explains,
0:11:16 > 0:11:18probably around half of all homes
0:11:18 > 0:11:20that don't currently have a meter might
0:11:20 > 0:11:21be better off having one.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23As a very broad rule of thumb,
0:11:23 > 0:11:26if there is less people in your property than you have bedrooms,
0:11:26 > 0:11:29then it's definitely worth checking out whether you would benefit.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31And you can very easily do that
0:11:31 > 0:11:33using the same calculator that helped
0:11:33 > 0:11:35Michael work out his savings.
0:11:35 > 0:11:36You can find it on the
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Consumer Council for Water's website and we've
0:11:39 > 0:11:43added a link to it on our website, too.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46People can go on there and easily, within about five minutes,
0:11:46 > 0:11:49just enter some details about the amount of water they use
0:11:49 > 0:11:52and that will give them a pretty accurate indication
0:11:52 > 0:11:56of what they will pay if they were to have a water meter installed.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58And if you do get a meter,
0:11:58 > 0:12:01and it turns out to be more expensive than you'd expect,
0:12:01 > 0:12:05you still have at least 12 months to change your mind.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07You have a minimum of at least one year
0:12:07 > 0:12:09after that meter's been installed
0:12:09 > 0:12:12to decide, "Actually, I'd like to go back to the old system,
0:12:12 > 0:12:14"I want to go back to unmeasured charges."
0:12:14 > 0:12:16And if you choose to do that,
0:12:16 > 0:12:19then they'll put you back onto the old system.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22So while exploring the meter option could pay off for anyone,
0:12:22 > 0:12:25if Michael's experience is anything to go by,
0:12:25 > 0:12:28it may be especially useful for the hundreds of thousands of people
0:12:28 > 0:12:31across the UK who pay their water bill
0:12:31 > 0:12:33through a local authority or housing association.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36Those organisations generally will inform tenants that a
0:12:36 > 0:12:38meter is available.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40But it may not be immediately obvious
0:12:40 > 0:12:41just how one could help you save
0:12:41 > 0:12:44money or how much that saving could be.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48With the onus on customers to make the checks for themselves,
0:12:48 > 0:12:52Michael is determined to ensure that people where he lives are aware of
0:12:52 > 0:12:54what they need to do.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57So what are you hoping as a result of this programme and as a result of
0:12:57 > 0:12:59the fact that you brought this to people's notice?
0:12:59 > 0:13:01What do you want to happen now?
0:13:01 > 0:13:04What I want to happen now is for people
0:13:04 > 0:13:09to start realising how much money they're paying out unnecessarily.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11But especially if they are single and they're paying it
0:13:11 > 0:13:13through the council rent.
0:13:13 > 0:13:18Have it checked out. So if they can save, like me, ?350 on just one
0:13:18 > 0:13:20item, on water,
0:13:20 > 0:13:21it's a lot of money for them,
0:13:21 > 0:13:24do you know what I mean?
0:13:27 > 0:13:31You know, it's a fact that we wouldn't be here without all the
0:13:31 > 0:13:33e-mails and letters that you send us.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35They really are the backbone of the programme.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37And when the viewer in our next film got in touch,
0:13:37 > 0:13:41we simply had to investigate the story.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44TELEVISION: 'Are you trying to save money on your energy bills?'
0:13:44 > 0:13:47Now, how many times have you heard us say that one of the simplest
0:13:47 > 0:13:51ways to save money is by switching your energy supplier?
0:13:51 > 0:13:54TELEVISION: 'Comparing energy providers! Oh, joy.'
0:13:54 > 0:13:57It's something Terence Woodings from Blackpool has
0:13:57 > 0:14:00certainly taken on board.
0:14:00 > 0:14:05Over the past four or five years, we've been with E.ON,
0:14:05 > 0:14:10we've been with Flow, we've been with the Co-op and Extra Energy.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13This year, we changed to npower,
0:14:13 > 0:14:15because theirs was the cheapest tariff.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19Well done you. And by changing their energy provider every 12 months,
0:14:19 > 0:14:23Terence and his wife Lesley have saved themselves a lot of money.
0:14:23 > 0:14:29In 2012, we were paying ?147 a month.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31We're now paying ?96 a month.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35I would reckon, on average, we must have saved round about ?200 a year,
0:14:35 > 0:14:37which is, to me, a lot of money.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40I could do a lot of good with that.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43But not everyone's as switching-savvy as these two.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46In fact, more than half of us still haven't switched at all.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49I've never switched my energy suppliers.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53The reason being because it's just far too complicated.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55It does feel like it's a long job,
0:14:55 > 0:14:58it's a mission and you have to contact people and phone up
0:14:58 > 0:14:59and all these long things.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01It does feel like an effort.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03For the sake of maybe saving ?50 or ?100 a year,
0:15:03 > 0:15:06I don't really think it's worth the effort and the hassle of changing.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11But actually, switching really shouldn't be any hassle at all and
0:15:11 > 0:15:14not doing so really does mean you're losing out,
0:15:14 > 0:15:17as has recently been confirmed by one of the biggest investigations
0:15:17 > 0:15:20ever conducted into the energy industry.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24TELEVISION: 'Now gas and electricity companies
0:15:24 > 0:15:26'are to be forced by the energy regulator
0:15:26 > 0:15:28'to help cut millions of household bills.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30'They're also asking for clearer information on bills,
0:15:30 > 0:15:32'a wider range of tariffs and moves
0:15:32 > 0:15:35'to encourage more people to switch suppliers.'
0:15:35 > 0:15:38The two-year study by the Competition and Markets Authority
0:15:38 > 0:15:42found that a whopping 70% of customers
0:15:42 > 0:15:43of the big six energy companies
0:15:43 > 0:15:46are paying too much for their gas and electricity.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50That's usually because they've stuck to the supplier's standard tariffs,
0:15:50 > 0:15:53which typically work out the most expensive.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56As a result, their bills are probably 30% higher than they could
0:15:56 > 0:15:59be, which means that, as a nation,
0:15:59 > 0:16:01we are paying those companies a colossal
0:16:01 > 0:16:04?1.4 billion more than we need to.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08No wonder industry regulator Ofgem has announced new plans to encourage
0:16:08 > 0:16:10more of us to shop around.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12Not that Terence needs any encouragement
0:16:12 > 0:16:14on that front, of course.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17He looks for any excuse to shave money off his bills.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19But sorry to say, his most recent energy switch
0:16:19 > 0:16:21had a very nasty sting in its tail.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26About three months after we'd taken the tariff from npower,
0:16:26 > 0:16:28I applied for a credit card.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32And it was refused, and I was devastated.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34To Terence's amazement,
0:16:34 > 0:16:35the explanation turned out to be
0:16:35 > 0:16:38that when he'd applied for dual fuel with
0:16:38 > 0:16:41npower it had run two credit checks on him,
0:16:41 > 0:16:43and his credit rating had been damaged as a result.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47My credit score has always been very high, but then I found
0:16:47 > 0:16:51that these entries had reduced my credit score substantially.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53The higher your credit score,
0:16:53 > 0:16:56the easier it is for you to borrow at lower interest rates.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59A low score, however, could affect
0:16:59 > 0:17:00your ability to get a loan, mortgage,
0:17:00 > 0:17:03or as Terence found, a credit card.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06Dumbfounded that simply switching his energy provider
0:17:06 > 0:17:08could have had such a damaging effect,
0:17:08 > 0:17:10he complained to npower,
0:17:10 > 0:17:13which replied that it was the company's normal practice to make
0:17:13 > 0:17:16two separate checks for a dual fuel tariff.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18I was absolutely stunned.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21I just didn't know what to think.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24Angry, angry, very angry, because
0:17:24 > 0:17:28if we were the sort of people that didn't pay our bills,
0:17:28 > 0:17:30and we owed money all over,
0:17:30 > 0:17:32we had County Court judgments, then, yeah, fine,
0:17:32 > 0:17:34I could understand that, but that isn't the case.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38We pay our bills. And that's when the couple contacted us.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41To help Terence and Leslie find out what's gone on
0:17:41 > 0:17:42and what they can do
0:17:42 > 0:17:44to sort it out, we've put them in touch
0:17:44 > 0:17:49with finance expert Hannah Maundrell.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53What we want to know is why has this happened with npower?
0:17:53 > 0:17:56Why have they damaged his credit rating?
0:17:56 > 0:17:59So, when you apply for a new energy tariff,
0:17:59 > 0:18:03energy companies have started doing a credit check on you.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05And some of them do something called a hard search,
0:18:05 > 0:18:09which is like a full credit check on your credit report.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12Yeah. And what that tells them is that if you're going to be paying
0:18:12 > 0:18:13by monthly direct debit,
0:18:13 > 0:18:15that you've managed credit well in the past
0:18:15 > 0:18:17and that they know they can trust
0:18:17 > 0:18:20you to make those payments in the future.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23There are two kinds of credit check.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25What's called a soft search,
0:18:25 > 0:18:27in which a company takes a look at your credit file
0:18:27 > 0:18:29but doesn't go into detail,
0:18:29 > 0:18:32and a hard search, which makes a thorough assessment
0:18:32 > 0:18:34of whether you're a good credit risk.
0:18:34 > 0:18:35But, as happened here,
0:18:35 > 0:18:39those hard checks can reduce your credit score and leave footprints on
0:18:39 > 0:18:42your file showing that you've applied for credit.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45The more of those that show up in a short space of time,
0:18:45 > 0:18:50the more money a new lender might assume you have tried to borrow.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54You'll see two entries there, because the energy company
0:18:54 > 0:18:58has searched for your gas and also your electricity.
0:18:58 > 0:18:59What it's done is shown that
0:18:59 > 0:19:04you've applied for these new energy tariffs, so that a future lender
0:19:04 > 0:19:07looking at your, you and your credit history,
0:19:07 > 0:19:09can see that you've had that happen,
0:19:09 > 0:19:12and that you've applied to these new accounts.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15Which is just what happened when Terence applied for that new
0:19:15 > 0:19:19credit card. The company ran a third hard check on his records
0:19:19 > 0:19:23and were spooked to see the other recent activities on his file.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25So the checks intended to see if
0:19:25 > 0:19:27Terence and Leslie were good potential customers
0:19:27 > 0:19:30had in this case made it seem the opposite might be true.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33But Hannah has some reassuring words.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36That won't last forever, and other lenders
0:19:36 > 0:19:38will still consider lending to you.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41Those searches on your credit score
0:19:41 > 0:19:42are just one of many things that
0:19:42 > 0:19:45a future lender would take into consideration when they are deciding
0:19:45 > 0:19:48whether to grant you credit on, or a new account.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50That includes things like affordability,
0:19:50 > 0:19:53whether you are on the electoral roll, whether you've got
0:19:53 > 0:19:56a landline phone and whether you've got any missed payments.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58Now, although it was npower's checks
0:19:58 > 0:20:01that led to Terence's credit card application being refused,
0:20:01 > 0:20:04the company hasn't been keen to help put things right.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06Fortunately, however,
0:20:06 > 0:20:10getting future lenders to understand what's happened is something Terence
0:20:10 > 0:20:15can do himself by asking Experian, the credit agency npower used,
0:20:15 > 0:20:18to put what's called a note of correction on his file.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22You could do the same if there's any sort of mistake on your file.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26It's basically an explanatory note providing background information for
0:20:26 > 0:20:28companies searching credit reports.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31And they must take what it says into account when deciding
0:20:31 > 0:20:34whether to provide you with a service or credit.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37So Hannah's confident it'll put Terence's situation right
0:20:37 > 0:20:38and shouldn't discourage the couple
0:20:38 > 0:20:41from pursuing savings again in the future.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45You know, you're doing the right thing by switching.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49Having a search on your credit rating
0:20:49 > 0:20:52isn't something that is necessarily going to stop you
0:20:52 > 0:20:54getting future financial products.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56However, just don't be put off switching energy companies.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59Oh, no, we won't, we won't be, I won't be.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03Three of the big six energy companies - British Gas,
0:21:03 > 0:21:05E.ON and, of course, npower,
0:21:05 > 0:21:08regularly run these hard credit checks on new customers,
0:21:08 > 0:21:11while ScottishPower does it more occasionally.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13But any company that wants to run a hard search
0:21:13 > 0:21:15must tell you before they do it,
0:21:15 > 0:21:18and you have every right to say no and walk away.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23Now, we asked npower about the checks
0:21:23 > 0:21:24it made on Terence's credit report,
0:21:24 > 0:21:26and it stressed that even though Terence
0:21:26 > 0:21:28switched to a dual fuel tariff,
0:21:28 > 0:21:31it's still classed as two accounts.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34Therefore two credit checks were completed.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37It said that Terence did give consent for the credit check
0:21:37 > 0:21:38when he made his application,
0:21:38 > 0:21:41something that's in the terms and conditions.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44But Terence says if he'd known two checks would be run,
0:21:44 > 0:21:46and the potential repercussions of that,
0:21:46 > 0:21:49he wouldn't have gone through with his application.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53Luckily this kind of hiccup is rare,
0:21:53 > 0:21:56and switching supplier does generally go without a hitch.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00But if you're still not sold on moving to a different company,
0:22:00 > 0:22:03just picking up the phone to your existing one
0:22:03 > 0:22:05could still save you plenty of cash.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09Switching's always going to be the way to save the most possible,
0:22:09 > 0:22:11and you can save up to ?600 by doing that,
0:22:11 > 0:22:13for about five minutes' work.
0:22:13 > 0:22:14If you don't want to switch energy
0:22:14 > 0:22:16supplier for any reason,
0:22:16 > 0:22:18then pick up the phone to your current supplier.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20You can take action to not be
0:22:20 > 0:22:23the 70% sitting on the most expensive standard tariff.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27They'll be able to tell you what is the cheapest tariff with them
0:22:27 > 0:22:29and be able to switch you to it very quickly.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32And there are ways to limit that slim chance of something going wrong
0:22:32 > 0:22:35as it did for Terence.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38When you're switching, switch with a price comparison website,
0:22:38 > 0:22:41because that will mean that you've got someone on hand who is an expert
0:22:41 > 0:22:43and able to support you
0:22:43 > 0:22:46in challenging any issues with your new supplier.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49But if you've got a major issue and it isn't resolved for a long time,
0:22:49 > 0:22:51then you can go and speak to the energy ombudsman
0:22:51 > 0:22:53and they'll take up your case for you.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56It's hoped the Competition And Market Authorities Report
0:22:56 > 0:22:58will lead to industry improvements
0:22:58 > 0:22:59to stop those on the wrong tariff
0:22:59 > 0:23:02paying too much, and encourage competition
0:23:02 > 0:23:04to push prices down.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06But in the meantime, you can be sure of one thing.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09When their 12 months with npower are up,
0:23:09 > 0:23:11Terence and Leslie will once again be switching
0:23:11 > 0:23:15to whichever energy company can offer them the best deal.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18My advice to people is do it.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20Shop around and do it.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22You can't shop around for your council tax,
0:23:22 > 0:23:24you can't shop around for your water,
0:23:24 > 0:23:26but you can shop around for your energy.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29There's got to be something better for you out there,
0:23:29 > 0:23:31if you can find it.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39Still to come on Rip-Off Britain...
0:23:39 > 0:23:41Why this couple are battling to get the little-known funding
0:23:41 > 0:23:44they think should have paid for his elderly mother's care.
0:23:44 > 0:23:51Cath spent a quarter of a million pounds on her care, ?227,000,
0:23:51 > 0:23:53which is an enormous amount of money,
0:23:53 > 0:23:57so we had no option other than to sell the property.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05Every year we take Rip-Off Britain out on the road.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08Hello, girls. Hello, ladies.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10Hi, how are you? Nice to see you. Out doing some shopping?
0:24:10 > 0:24:14And this time, it was Manchester playing host to
0:24:14 > 0:24:18our annual pop-up shop at one of the UK's biggest shopping centres.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22As ever, our team of experts was on hand with tips and advice
0:24:22 > 0:24:25to empower you to take action.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27You will not consider it, you will do it.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29SHE LAUGHS
0:24:29 > 0:24:32I will definitely do it.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35And amongst those coming in to see financial ombudsman
0:24:35 > 0:24:37Martin James were these two people,
0:24:37 > 0:24:40who were very unhappy with the warranty they'd bought
0:24:40 > 0:24:42alongside their new leather furniture.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46So, Martin, we've got Carol and Mike here and they need your help.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49Carol and Mike's warranty cost ?250,
0:24:49 > 0:24:53but they thought it a worthwhile expense for the five years of cover
0:24:53 > 0:24:55it offered, so five months in,
0:24:55 > 0:24:57when they spotted some staining on the sofa,
0:24:57 > 0:25:00they thought it would be a straightforward claim.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03We noticed that we had a mark on it,
0:25:03 > 0:25:07that there was this red dye from, I think, from a cushion,
0:25:07 > 0:25:10so we had a warranty for five years that covered, you know,
0:25:10 > 0:25:12damage to the suite.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15So I rang them up and the response was, "Cushions aren't covered."
0:25:15 > 0:25:19I said, "What? Why aren't cushions covered?"
0:25:19 > 0:25:21So they just said, "Well, they're not."
0:25:21 > 0:25:25The warranty did cover all sorts of other possible staining,
0:25:25 > 0:25:29from newspapers, clothing and even deliberate damage by children,
0:25:29 > 0:25:32but cushions? Apparently not.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34Our problem was that when we purchased the suite,
0:25:34 > 0:25:38we were given the option to take the warranty out.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42It was never pointed out that cushions were excluded.
0:25:42 > 0:25:43It's quite key, isn't it? Yeah.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45A cushion, you would put cushions on a suite.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48I mean, Martin, is it normal for cushions to be excluded?
0:25:48 > 0:25:50I've never heard of that. Do you know, the number of
0:25:50 > 0:25:54bizarre exclusions in warranties we've seen over the years,
0:25:54 > 0:25:55it never ceases to amaze me.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59Yes, unfortunately we do get exclusions for cushions,
0:25:59 > 0:26:01but that doesn't mean it's fair.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03When we look at complaints about warranties,
0:26:03 > 0:26:05our starting point is saying,
0:26:05 > 0:26:07even if it does say this in the contract,
0:26:07 > 0:26:09is that fair or is it reasonable?
0:26:09 > 0:26:11Could you reasonably have been expected to have known that?
0:26:11 > 0:26:14Well, I think that's really interesting, actually,
0:26:14 > 0:26:18what you're saying, that even if it says "not covered",
0:26:18 > 0:26:22if it doesn't seem fair, you've still got some redress.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25Yeah. If you've got an insurance contract, and it's a key clause,
0:26:25 > 0:26:27something you really, really need to know about,
0:26:27 > 0:26:30that should be specified in a key facts booklet
0:26:30 > 0:26:31right at the beginning,
0:26:31 > 0:26:33so you know precisely what you're dealing with,
0:26:33 > 0:26:36and it should be highlighted when you take out the policy as well.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40But as this warranty is covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service,
0:26:40 > 0:26:43Martin's team is going to see what it can do.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45The good news, this is regulated.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47It's always worthwhile double checking
0:26:47 > 0:26:50before you buy a warranty anyway. Yeah. But this is covered.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52We can look into it.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54And I think maybe we'll just have a little chat with the insurer,
0:26:54 > 0:26:57and see if they are willing to take a more reasonable approach.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00After filming, the Ombudsman service
0:27:00 > 0:27:01did look into Carol and Mike's case,
0:27:01 > 0:27:03and recommended that the business
0:27:03 > 0:27:05covered the cost of repairing the sofa.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07But the company didn't agree
0:27:07 > 0:27:10and asked the ombudsman to review the case afresh,
0:27:10 > 0:27:14so it's now doing that, with an outcome expected in the autumn.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16Out in the shopping mall,
0:27:16 > 0:27:19personal finance journalist Sarah Pennells
0:27:19 > 0:27:22was testing passers by with a jargon-busting quiz
0:27:22 > 0:27:25on that most confusing of topics - pensions.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27It's said that as many as 60% of us
0:27:27 > 0:27:30don't feel that we know enough about pensions.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33Do you mind if I ask you both how old you are?
0:27:33 > 0:27:35I'm 27. 44.
0:27:35 > 0:27:36And perhaps unsurprisingly,
0:27:36 > 0:27:39younger people are reckoned to routinely underestimate
0:27:39 > 0:27:42how much they need to save for retirement.
0:27:42 > 0:27:44Have you got a pension? Yes.
0:27:44 > 0:27:45Yes.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48Oh, good! Excellent. Taken out a pension for a start.
0:27:48 > 0:27:49You are perfect candidates,
0:27:49 > 0:27:52because we've got our quizmaster here, Sarah Pennells.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54We are going to ask you a couple of questions,
0:27:54 > 0:27:57and see if you know what the terms mean, OK?
0:27:57 > 0:27:59Do you know what an annuity is?
0:27:59 > 0:28:01No. I think it means you get something
0:28:01 > 0:28:03at the end of when you've been paying for the pension.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05OK, yeah, you are on the right tracks here,
0:28:05 > 0:28:09so an annuity basically converts your pension pot into regular income
0:28:09 > 0:28:11that is guaranteed while you retire.
0:28:11 > 0:28:13Good. I'll give you a point.
0:28:13 > 0:28:17OK. Now, this one - uncrystallised pension fund.
0:28:17 > 0:28:19According to Citizens Advice,
0:28:19 > 0:28:22this one is officially up there amongst the most confusing bits of
0:28:22 > 0:28:26pension jargon, so it's no wonder that these guys were flummoxed.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29No idea. Never even heard of it. No idea at all.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31Well, an uncrystallised pension fund
0:28:31 > 0:28:35is basically a pension that you haven't taken any money out of.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38So it's a good thing. Final question.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41A defined benefit pension... Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
0:28:41 > 0:28:43Bad.
0:28:43 > 0:28:45It's actually really good.
0:28:45 > 0:28:46Oh, right, OK.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49What it means is that the pension you get when you retire
0:28:49 > 0:28:52depends on your salary, and not whether the stock market
0:28:52 > 0:28:54has gone up or down.
0:28:54 > 0:28:56Oh, OK. If anybody ever offers you a defined benefit pension...
0:28:56 > 0:28:58Take it. Grab it with both hands.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01It's Friday night, it's party night,
0:29:01 > 0:29:03that means reading up about pensions. Oh, yes!
0:29:03 > 0:29:07Back at our main pop-up shop, we saw plenty of people who,
0:29:07 > 0:29:10for whatever reason, have ended up feeling very let-down.
0:29:10 > 0:29:12Well, it's not fair, is it, Angela?
0:29:12 > 0:29:14All them women that are in the same boat as me.
0:29:14 > 0:29:16It's terrible.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19And one man very hot under the collar was Jim McDonald.
0:29:19 > 0:29:21He'd run into problems when his car had broken down
0:29:21 > 0:29:23on the way home from holiday.
0:29:24 > 0:29:25Jim, thanks for coming to see us.
0:29:25 > 0:29:29And he's hoping that Trading Standards officer Sylvia Brooke
0:29:29 > 0:29:31can help with what he should do next.
0:29:31 > 0:29:35I was driving and suddenly just blue smoke came out the back,
0:29:35 > 0:29:37the whole thing just stopped and I just wondered,
0:29:37 > 0:29:39what the hell had gone on?
0:29:39 > 0:29:42It turned out that the turbocharger in Jim's car had broken
0:29:42 > 0:29:44and was beyond repair.
0:29:44 > 0:29:47The warranty on the vehicle had run out just three months earlier,
0:29:47 > 0:29:49leaving Jim to pick up the bill.
0:29:49 > 0:29:53The whole deal cost me about ?1,200 to get it fixed.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56Jim was sure that this particular part failing so soon
0:29:56 > 0:29:58must be down to a manufacturing fault.
0:29:58 > 0:30:01It's only just running at 30,000 miles,
0:30:01 > 0:30:02and it should not have happened.
0:30:02 > 0:30:04The rescue people had never heard of it happening.
0:30:04 > 0:30:06None of them had ever heard of a turbo going
0:30:06 > 0:30:08so early in the life of a car.
0:30:08 > 0:30:10So Jim wrote to the manufacturers direct,
0:30:10 > 0:30:12but the response he got from the managing director
0:30:12 > 0:30:14left him very frustrated.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17The reply from his office was that it's my fault,
0:30:17 > 0:30:23because, crucially, the turbo charger needs time to slow down
0:30:23 > 0:30:25before you turn the engine off.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28But my car is fitted with a stop/start mechanism
0:30:28 > 0:30:30which turns the car off automatically
0:30:30 > 0:30:33without any slow-down time. And I thought, this is wrong,
0:30:33 > 0:30:36that they've fitted the car with two things,
0:30:36 > 0:30:38the turbo charge and the stop/start,
0:30:38 > 0:30:41that are not complementary and potentially damaging.
0:30:41 > 0:30:43Jim says that he wrote back to the company explaining this,
0:30:43 > 0:30:45but it wouldn't help him any further.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48I just really, really am quite angry about it.
0:30:48 > 0:30:52I would just like the company to acknowledge that, really,
0:30:52 > 0:30:54it isn't my fault.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56Jim felt he had hit a brick wall,
0:30:56 > 0:30:59but Sylvia's confident that there is another route he could try.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02However irritated he might be with the manufacturer of the car,
0:31:02 > 0:31:05it's the company that sold it to him in the first place
0:31:05 > 0:31:06that he should speak to.
0:31:06 > 0:31:08If you wanted to make any claim,
0:31:08 > 0:31:11you'd have to look at the garage who sold you the car,
0:31:11 > 0:31:13because that's where your contract is,
0:31:13 > 0:31:15and you'd have to say that they were in breach of contract
0:31:15 > 0:31:18because they're selling something not of satisfactory quality.
0:31:18 > 0:31:20Do you feel any better having got it all off your chest?
0:31:20 > 0:31:21Yeah, very much so, yeah.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24I feel a lot better and I appreciate your interest, you know,
0:31:24 > 0:31:27it's very kind of you. Anyway, thank you very much indeed.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29Thank you very much for coming to see us. Nice to see you.
0:31:29 > 0:31:31Thank you, Angela. Very nice. Thanks very much.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34Well, I would like, really, to try and prevent anyone else
0:31:34 > 0:31:36falling into any traps,
0:31:36 > 0:31:38if you like, that I've fallen into.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41And I'm hoping that I can now let it go.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47Next, for anyone who's got long-term health needs
0:31:47 > 0:31:50but isn't in hospital full-time,
0:31:50 > 0:31:51the cost of all the care that's required
0:31:51 > 0:31:55can really, really mount up, especially when it comes to
0:31:55 > 0:31:57round-the-clock nursing care for the elderly.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59Now, in some cases, families have sold their homes
0:31:59 > 0:32:02and racked up literally thousands of pounds in debt
0:32:02 > 0:32:04to look after their loved ones.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06But as the couple in our next film found out,
0:32:06 > 0:32:10after spending hundreds of thousands of pounds to look after their mum,
0:32:10 > 0:32:14they might not have needed to fork out all that cash after all.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20Paul and Jill Pearson from the Wirral
0:32:20 > 0:32:22have many happy memories of Paul's mum, Cath.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25My parents always had a canal boat
0:32:25 > 0:32:27for probably 40, 50 years.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30Every single holiday was always spent on the canal boat,
0:32:30 > 0:32:32going as far afield as London on occasions.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35Cath was my mother-in-law, and she was fabulous.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37If we'd had a busy day at work,
0:32:37 > 0:32:41she would always come round and there'd be a casserole made
0:32:41 > 0:32:43that we could put in the oven for our tea.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46She was as super a mum-in-law as ever anybody could want.
0:32:46 > 0:32:50But in 2002, a year after the death of Paul's father,
0:32:50 > 0:32:52Cath was diagnosed with Alzheimer's
0:32:52 > 0:32:55and the family took on the responsibility
0:32:55 > 0:32:57of caring for her in her home.
0:32:57 > 0:33:01However, as time went on, and Cath's situation deteriorated,
0:33:01 > 0:33:05aggravating already existing mental health issues and depression,
0:33:05 > 0:33:07that became increasingly hard.
0:33:08 > 0:33:12Life became very, very difficult for us as a family.
0:33:12 > 0:33:16We would be phoned up 50 times a day.
0:33:16 > 0:33:18That could be three o'clock in the morning,
0:33:18 > 0:33:21four o'clock in the morning, she stopped looking after herself.
0:33:21 > 0:33:26All of the standards that were typical of Cath just disappeared.
0:33:26 > 0:33:30In 2006, becoming increasingly concerned
0:33:30 > 0:33:32at the level of help that Cath needed,
0:33:32 > 0:33:34and, indeed, concerned for her safety,
0:33:34 > 0:33:36Paul and Jill took the decision
0:33:36 > 0:33:38to admit her to a residential care home,
0:33:38 > 0:33:41where they knew that she'd get the attention she needed.
0:33:41 > 0:33:45We'd got to the point where there was no other decision to make.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48We couldn't carry on longer.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51We knew she couldn't carry on longer.
0:33:51 > 0:33:55It was a tremendous relief, to be honest.
0:33:55 > 0:33:58But that still left the question of how Cath's residential care,
0:33:58 > 0:34:02costing more than ?2,000 a month, would be paid for.
0:34:02 > 0:34:04Four days after she'd gone into the home,
0:34:04 > 0:34:08we had a meeting with social services funding,
0:34:08 > 0:34:12who went through her accounts, her savings, her home.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15Other people, their real only asset is the house that they live in.
0:34:15 > 0:34:19So we had no option other than to sell the property.
0:34:19 > 0:34:25At no time were any other real options explained to us.
0:34:25 > 0:34:27There was, however,
0:34:27 > 0:34:30another source of funding that might have been available.
0:34:30 > 0:34:35The NHS has a special scheme to pay for residential care for people who
0:34:35 > 0:34:39have serious and continuing health needs, because of a disability,
0:34:39 > 0:34:42an accident or an illness.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45It's called NHS Continuing Health Care.
0:34:45 > 0:34:49At the time, Paul and Jill didn't even consider that anyone other than
0:34:49 > 0:34:52Cath or her family would pay for her care.
0:34:52 > 0:34:54But six years later,
0:34:54 > 0:34:57they started to wonder whether they should have applied for
0:34:57 > 0:34:59Continuing Health Care funding all along.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02It was actually coming to our attention there
0:35:02 > 0:35:07that Cath's needs were getting greater and greater,
0:35:07 > 0:35:09and we were starting to question things more.
0:35:09 > 0:35:13So we asked the solicitor to look at the validity of our claim.
0:35:15 > 0:35:18The solicitor agreed with the couple that the funding
0:35:18 > 0:35:21did seem appropriate for Cath,
0:35:21 > 0:35:24so between them, they pulled together evidence from her GP,
0:35:24 > 0:35:27from hospital doctors, care home staff and the family itself,
0:35:27 > 0:35:32and produced an exhaustive report to present to the NHS.
0:35:32 > 0:35:33They hoped, if successful,
0:35:33 > 0:35:37that they would be refunded at least some of the care fees
0:35:37 > 0:35:38Cath had paid for so far.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41While this retrospective application was being considered,
0:35:41 > 0:35:44Paul and Jill asked Cath's health care team
0:35:44 > 0:35:47to do a separate assessment for her future care.
0:35:47 > 0:35:49That was approved, and the NHS funded Cath's care
0:35:49 > 0:35:53for what turned out to be the last eight months of her life,
0:35:53 > 0:35:58and by that point, there was very little of Cath's own money left.
0:35:58 > 0:36:01Cath spent a quarter of a million pounds on her care.
0:36:01 > 0:36:03?227,000.
0:36:03 > 0:36:09Which is an enormous amount of money for somebody with modest means,
0:36:09 > 0:36:15who'd got an average semidetached house.
0:36:15 > 0:36:19The NHS gets around 150,000 applications
0:36:19 > 0:36:21for Continuing Health Care funding every year,
0:36:21 > 0:36:25and the assessments are inevitably very detailed.
0:36:25 > 0:36:27So it took three years for the verdict on the family's
0:36:27 > 0:36:29retrospective application to come through.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32And when it did, their claim was rejected.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35We were really upset, and really disappointed.
0:36:35 > 0:36:41I feel frustrated and very angry that my in-laws
0:36:41 > 0:36:45can't help their grandchildren start their path in life,
0:36:45 > 0:36:48which is what they would have wanted to do,
0:36:48 > 0:36:52because every penny of their funds has been spent on Cath's care.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55Paul and Jill still find it very hard to accept that,
0:36:55 > 0:36:56given her state of health,
0:36:56 > 0:37:00Cath had to pay for so much of her care out of her own pocket.
0:37:00 > 0:37:06I know the NHS is struggling, but Cath paid, all her life,
0:37:06 > 0:37:10her contributions. I think the NHS
0:37:10 > 0:37:14should have funded Cath from the word go.
0:37:16 > 0:37:20If Paul and Jill can prove that Cath had a primary health need during her
0:37:20 > 0:37:25time in care, the NHS will still refund some or all of her costs,
0:37:25 > 0:37:28so they are appealing the original decision.
0:37:28 > 0:37:32Solicitor Lisa Morgan is helping them to prepare their case.
0:37:32 > 0:37:36The NHS acknowledges that 10, 15 years ago,
0:37:36 > 0:37:38that people weren't assessed,
0:37:38 > 0:37:42or if they were assessed, they were assessed far too restrictively,
0:37:42 > 0:37:46and were being denied the funding they were entitled to.
0:37:46 > 0:37:48The couple feel that the earlier assessment
0:37:48 > 0:37:51didn't give sufficient weight to their personal knowledge of Cath
0:37:51 > 0:37:53and her long-term medical difficulties.
0:37:53 > 0:37:59I don't feel that our concerns were taken into account
0:37:59 > 0:38:01as much as the written evidence.
0:38:01 > 0:38:04They certainly should be taking your views into account.
0:38:04 > 0:38:08The one that we regularly see is where we've seen the records,
0:38:08 > 0:38:10that the care home said that, for example,
0:38:10 > 0:38:13"Mrs Jones is able to communicate her needs."
0:38:13 > 0:38:16Well, the family say, "My mum hasn't been able to communicate her needs
0:38:16 > 0:38:19"effectively for the last ten years."
0:38:19 > 0:38:22So it is important that the Commissioning Support Unit
0:38:22 > 0:38:26do consider the family's views, and especially where
0:38:26 > 0:38:28there's clearly contradictory evidence.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31Because the NHS prioritises current claims for funding,
0:38:31 > 0:38:34the appeals process can be a lengthy one.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37It's a huge emotional and psychological toll
0:38:37 > 0:38:40on families waiting for that time.
0:38:40 > 0:38:41Yes, and I agree with you.
0:38:41 > 0:38:46It is extremely frustrating for us, because this isn't a legal process.
0:38:46 > 0:38:47It's an informal process.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50There is no specific timeframes that they have to meet.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53When we contacted the Department of Health,
0:38:53 > 0:38:55which manages the Continuing Health Care Scheme,
0:38:55 > 0:38:58it said that since it announced, in 2012
0:38:58 > 0:39:01it would be handling retrospective applications,
0:39:01 > 0:39:0459,000 people have applied.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07And while it says its Clinical Commissioning Groups
0:39:07 > 0:39:10have been working hard to consider all these cases,
0:39:10 > 0:39:13it reiterated that current assessments must take priority,
0:39:13 > 0:39:16because these are the most vulnerable individuals.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19It added that there are just under 8,000 people who,
0:39:19 > 0:39:21like Paul and Jill,
0:39:21 > 0:39:23are awaiting a decision on a retrospective case.
0:39:23 > 0:39:25But it's not possible to estimate
0:39:25 > 0:39:28how many of those will prove successful
0:39:28 > 0:39:31until the full assessment has been carried out.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35Paul and Jill wish they'd applied to the fund from the start
0:39:35 > 0:39:39so that Cath's eligibility could have been assessed right away,
0:39:39 > 0:39:41rather than retrospectively.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44There is no certainty the outcome would have been any different,
0:39:44 > 0:39:45but Dan Harbour,
0:39:45 > 0:39:48an independent expert who helps families make a claim,
0:39:48 > 0:39:51thinks it's unfortunate they didn't have the opportunity.
0:39:51 > 0:39:53He believes that the reason many people
0:39:53 > 0:39:55aren't even aware that the funding exists
0:39:55 > 0:39:58is because not all health care workers understand
0:39:58 > 0:40:00which patients might be eligible.
0:40:00 > 0:40:04There are still some health and social care professionals
0:40:04 > 0:40:07who don't know about it, don't understand it.
0:40:07 > 0:40:10It is really disappointing when somebody contacts us
0:40:10 > 0:40:13and tells us they've been in care for a number of years,
0:40:13 > 0:40:17and nobody has ever mentioned the NHS continuing health care to them.
0:40:17 > 0:40:20Dan says cases like this one
0:40:20 > 0:40:24underline how crucial it is that people wondering
0:40:24 > 0:40:28how to cover the cost of care know that this fund could be an option.
0:40:28 > 0:40:29And he's got this advice,
0:40:29 > 0:40:32if you're ever unlucky enough to find yourself in a similar situation
0:40:32 > 0:40:34to Paul and Jill.
0:40:34 > 0:40:36Firstly, be persistent.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39Don't be put off by somebody who may tell you
0:40:39 > 0:40:41that you're not likely to be eligible,
0:40:41 > 0:40:43so there's no point in completing the paperwork.
0:40:43 > 0:40:47Secondly, do some research, so that you know what the criteria are,
0:40:47 > 0:40:52you know how the assessment will be carried out, who will be involved.
0:40:52 > 0:40:55And thirdly, evidence is all-important.
0:40:55 > 0:40:57This is an evidence-based assessment process.
0:40:57 > 0:41:01It may also be quite helpful for you to start your own diaries,
0:41:01 > 0:41:04to just write down a short sentence or two
0:41:04 > 0:41:07each time you visit your loved one.
0:41:07 > 0:41:09Paul and Jill have no idea
0:41:09 > 0:41:12when they're likely to hear if their appeal has been successful,
0:41:12 > 0:41:16and as a result, they're finding it difficult to move on.
0:41:16 > 0:41:19Out of sheer determination, we will carry on,
0:41:19 > 0:41:26but it does come at an emotional cost to both of us.
0:41:26 > 0:41:31We have to bring up her death, the most awful moments in our life,
0:41:31 > 0:41:35when both of us actually want to let her rest in peace and be recalling
0:41:35 > 0:41:38the lovely person she was.
0:41:46 > 0:41:49If you've got a story you'd like us to investigate,
0:41:49 > 0:41:55then you can get in touch with us via our Facebook page...
0:41:55 > 0:41:56..our website...
0:42:00 > 0:42:01..or e-mail...
0:42:04 > 0:42:07And, of course, you can always send us a letter to our postal address,
0:42:07 > 0:42:08which is:
0:42:20 > 0:42:24Well, it may not always be easy to prove that you've paid too much,
0:42:24 > 0:42:26or, indeed, to eventually get your money back,
0:42:26 > 0:42:29but if you can succeed in slashing your bills,
0:42:29 > 0:42:30it's so satisfying to have
0:42:30 > 0:42:33that extra money in your pocket, isn't it?
0:42:33 > 0:42:36Just as we saw Michael in Sheffield discover earlier in the programme.
0:42:36 > 0:42:37That was terrific. And, you know,
0:42:37 > 0:42:40we really love hearing about people like Michael.
0:42:40 > 0:42:41When he realised he was paying too much,
0:42:41 > 0:42:43he immediately worried that his neighbours
0:42:43 > 0:42:46might be in exactly the same boat, so off he went, off his own bat,
0:42:46 > 0:42:48he decided to do something about it,
0:42:48 > 0:42:50and managed to save them money as well.
0:42:50 > 0:42:54So, good man, Michael. You are a great consumer champion.
0:42:54 > 0:42:56He's that for sure, I can tell you.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59And if you know anyone who deserves that description as well,
0:42:59 > 0:43:04for whatever reason, please do tell us, by e-mail, letter or, of course,
0:43:04 > 0:43:05through our Facebook page.
0:43:05 > 0:43:08We really do want to hear about them, and who knows?
0:43:08 > 0:43:10We might well feature them on a future programme.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13But I'm afraid that, for today's programme,
0:43:13 > 0:43:14that's all we've got time for.
0:43:14 > 0:43:17So thanks very much for joining us, as always,
0:43:17 > 0:43:19and until the next time when we see you, from everyone on the team,
0:43:19 > 0:43:21bye-bye. Bye-bye. Goodbye.
0:43:34 > 0:43:37Subtitles by Ericsson
0:43:56 > 0:43:57Onto the green - it's in!
0:43:57 > 0:44:01Extraordinary scenes, here. The atmosphere, absolutely electric.
0:44:01 > 0:44:03What a shot.