0:00:03 > 0:00:06We asked you to tell us what's left you feeling ripped off and you
0:00:06 > 0:00:09contacted us in your thousands.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12You've told us about the companies you think get it wrong and the
0:00:12 > 0:00:15customer service that's simply not up to scratch.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18I've complained and complained and nobody takes any notice of me.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20In all honesty, I think it's just a way
0:00:20 > 0:00:21for the shops to make more money.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24You've asked us to track down the scammers who stole your money and
0:00:24 > 0:00:28investigate the extra charges you say are unfair.
0:00:28 > 0:00:29You don't want to spend any more but
0:00:29 > 0:00:32yet they're always trying to offer you little things extra.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35And when you've lost out but no-one else is to blame, you've come to us
0:00:35 > 0:00:38to stop others falling into the same trap.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40I rang up the company and they went, "Oh, it isn't our fault."
0:00:40 > 0:00:45So, whose fault is it?So, whether it's a blatant rip-off or a genuine mistake...
0:00:45 > 0:00:48We're here to find out why you're out of pocket and what you
0:00:48 > 0:00:53can do about it.Your stories, your money. This is Rip-off Britain.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00Hello and welcome once again to Rip-off Britain where, today,
0:01:00 > 0:01:02there's a common theme running through
0:01:02 > 0:01:04all of our stories and it's one about which
0:01:04 > 0:01:07you write to us more than...well, just about anything else.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11Each one of the people that we're going to be meeting has paid for a specific thing
0:01:11 > 0:01:15but they've ended up with something that they say is quite different
0:01:15 > 0:01:17from what they expected.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21Well, I guess it's probably happened to all of us at some point and it's human nature
0:01:21 > 0:01:24to assume that we've been treated unfairly,
0:01:24 > 0:01:28but sometimes, it's not that easy to establish where the blame really lies
0:01:28 > 0:01:32because, although it may appear that something has been mis-sold or you feel you've been misled,
0:01:32 > 0:01:35there could be a much simpler explanation.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38Of course, that doesn't make it any better for the people who've lost
0:01:38 > 0:01:42out as a result, but hopefully, that's where we come in and we can help,
0:01:42 > 0:01:45not just in trying to find out what's actually going on,
0:01:45 > 0:01:49but also by stopping the rest of us from finding ourselves in a similar
0:01:49 > 0:01:53situation. So listen out for some top advice to make sure that when you hand
0:01:53 > 0:01:57over your cash, you won't face the same sort of surprises and shocks later on.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04Coming up... Is it just the weather that explains why these women's homes flood?
0:02:04 > 0:02:08We're all in it together this time so we can all help each other.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12Or could the new developments built nearby be a factor, too?
0:02:12 > 0:02:16And why collecting commemorative coins isn't necessarily as good an
0:02:16 > 0:02:18investment as you might think.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20Can you put a price on that?
0:02:20 > 0:02:22It's about sort of ten or £15, really.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24That coin cost £100.
0:02:24 > 0:02:25Did it really?
0:02:28 > 0:02:32Over the past decade, there has been a big increase in the
0:02:32 > 0:02:33number of extreme weather events,
0:02:33 > 0:02:37especially the kind of heavy storms that can cause streets to look more
0:02:37 > 0:02:39like rivers when they're full of rainwater.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43Of course, if the water just drains away, well, it's not usually a problem,
0:02:43 > 0:02:44but when it doesn't,
0:02:44 > 0:02:48it can mean even the most surprising places might suddenly find themselves
0:02:48 > 0:02:52submerged underwater, and if that flooding is happening more and more
0:02:52 > 0:02:56often, well, you can understand why questions might be asked as to what
0:02:56 > 0:02:59has changed to make them suddenly more vulnerable.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02Well, some of the people who've been affected in that way have their
0:03:02 > 0:03:04own explanation as to what's going on.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06So, are they right?
0:03:08 > 0:03:10On the 7th of June, 2016,
0:03:10 > 0:03:14more than four centimetres of rain fell in less than two hours in some
0:03:14 > 0:03:15parts of Surrey.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19And Caterham resident Mary Alston came home from work
0:03:19 > 0:03:23to find her house more than a foot deep in water.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25The water came in up to here,
0:03:25 > 0:03:28lots of things have been destroyed, the carpets.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31The water came above the sockets so that blew all the electrics so
0:03:31 > 0:03:35I didn't have any electricity for a couple of days afterwards.
0:03:35 > 0:03:40As you can see, I've now got no kitchen - literally pipes sticking out of the wall.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42It just breaks my heart to see the house completely destroyed.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48Mary's insurance claim will run to tens of thousands of pounds.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50But there's a high emotional cost, too.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54If a house is flooded, then it's just months and months. It's not weeks or days.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58It's months and months of trauma, of devastation.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01Sadly, Mary knows that better than most
0:04:01 > 0:04:03because, in the 30 years that she's lived there,
0:04:03 > 0:04:06her house has flooded four times.
0:04:06 > 0:04:07And in 2012,
0:04:07 > 0:04:10she spent £20,000 on flood defences
0:04:10 > 0:04:13that she hoped would protect her home.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17The flood defence is basically a series of gates
0:04:17 > 0:04:20that, when they're placed, are locked into position.
0:04:20 > 0:04:25They form like a watertight seal so that water coming against won't
0:04:25 > 0:04:27then penetrate and go through.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31But even those flood barriers can't always withstand the deluge that can
0:04:31 > 0:04:35come their way, and Mary's home has still been flooded twice more in the
0:04:35 > 0:04:37last three years.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39I've been in this situation four times now.
0:04:40 > 0:04:41It's not fair.
0:04:46 > 0:04:47Sorry.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51But while Mary's had to get used to her home being flooded,
0:04:51 > 0:04:53in the most recent storms,
0:04:53 > 0:04:56the same thing happened for the first time to her friend,
0:04:56 > 0:04:58Helen, who lives nearby.
0:04:58 > 0:04:59Hi, Helen.Hello.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03How are you doing?I'm fine, thanks.So Mary is keen to know whether the neighbourhood's
0:05:03 > 0:05:08increased flood risk can be explained purely by bad weather or if there
0:05:08 > 0:05:10might be something else going on.
0:05:10 > 0:05:11The whole of this is going to be gutted out.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14So how long do you think you're going to be out of the house for?
0:05:14 > 0:05:16They've estimated six months.
0:05:16 > 0:05:22It could be seven months and we've been told it's going to be at least about 130,000
0:05:22 > 0:05:25to get us back to normal.Yeah.
0:05:25 > 0:05:26Just so much work to do, isn't there?
0:05:26 > 0:05:28It is. It is.So how are you coping with it?
0:05:28 > 0:05:29Not brilliantly.
0:05:31 > 0:05:32Quite stressful.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34It's been quite a tense time for us all -
0:05:34 > 0:05:35the upheaval of it all,
0:05:35 > 0:05:39losing possessions and moving stuff out that you can take with you,
0:05:39 > 0:05:41which is mainly clothing.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44It's stressful, the fact that, at the moment, I'm off sick.
0:05:44 > 0:05:45Oh, I'm sorry.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48From work. I can only be strong for so long.
0:05:48 > 0:05:49So, yeah. But, um...
0:05:53 > 0:05:55Come here.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02We're all in it together this time so we can all help each other.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07Both Helen and Mary live more than a mile from the nearest river and,
0:06:07 > 0:06:12what's more, the full name of where they live is Caterham on the Hill,
0:06:12 > 0:06:16which perhaps makes Helen's sudden flooding all the more surprising.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20Even when I phone people now and I said, "I've been flooded,"
0:06:20 > 0:06:23"Oh, what, your roof leak?" And I went, "No, no. I've been flooded."
0:06:23 > 0:06:26"But you just said you live on a hill." I went, "Yeah."
0:06:26 > 0:06:30So to help shed some light on why homes in Caterham now flood so frequently,
0:06:30 > 0:06:35Mary's meeting flooding expert Professor David Balmforth...
0:06:35 > 0:06:38Hello.Mary, good to meet you. Nice to meet you, too.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42..who immediately spots what makes her home so susceptible.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44As soon as I got to the top of the road, I knew I wouldn't have to
0:06:44 > 0:06:47look for your house number because I could see...You'd recognise...
0:06:47 > 0:06:51I can see the low spot in the road and it's almost like a bowl, really,
0:06:51 > 0:06:54in which water's bound to accumulate when it floods.
0:06:54 > 0:06:59And while that doesn't explain why houses like Helen's are now flooding, too,
0:06:59 > 0:07:03it doesn't really matter that Caterham is on top of a hill
0:07:03 > 0:07:06because Mary's house and many others in the area are actually on flat
0:07:06 > 0:07:09roads which collect rainwater.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13So what's really important in an area like this, to protect it against
0:07:13 > 0:07:16flooding, the most important thing is to find a way to get that flood
0:07:16 > 0:07:20water away from the area so it doesn't continue to build up and cause you
0:07:20 > 0:07:24the problem.Normally, rainfall simply drains away,
0:07:24 > 0:07:25but the heavier the downpour,
0:07:25 > 0:07:30the more the old Victorian drains underground struggle to cope,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33causing what's known as surface water flooding.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37That already presents a risk to nearly four million properties in England
0:07:37 > 0:07:41alone and the problem's predicted to get worse as global warming makes
0:07:41 > 0:07:44extreme weather events more common.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48But Mary believes there may already be a factor making it worse.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52I got the impression that a lot of the flooding you've suffered from has
0:07:52 > 0:07:53occurred in recent years,
0:07:53 > 0:07:55it's getting more frequent. Is that a fair...
0:07:55 > 0:08:00Yeah, definitely. I mean, the first event was 23 years ago and then the last event prior to
0:08:00 > 0:08:03this was two and a half years ago.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05This would match the national picture,
0:08:05 > 0:08:10because we seem to be in a period of increasing wet weather and our
0:08:10 > 0:08:15perceptions of what are really extreme events are changing as we go
0:08:15 > 0:08:18forward in time, because we're seeing ever more serious rainfall events.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22All that extra rain needs to go somewhere,
0:08:22 > 0:08:26but Mary's worried that lots of the old rural land around Caterham that
0:08:26 > 0:08:30used to soak up rainwater has now been built on.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32She's convinced that, as a result,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35all the new developments that have gradually sprung up in the area
0:08:35 > 0:08:39could be contributing to the floods affecting more established homes and
0:08:39 > 0:08:41she wants to see if the professor will agree.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44I'll just drive you to one of the areas.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47Since I've been here, there's been huge redevelopment of the area,
0:08:47 > 0:08:50there was an old army barracks that's been built on.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53There was also an old psychiatric hospital
0:08:53 > 0:08:57and these are areas that were once sort of green, open areas
0:08:57 > 0:09:00with few buildings, have now got hundreds of houses.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03Have you noticed the flooding getting worse since then?
0:09:03 > 0:09:06Yes. You think, OK, why is it happening now?
0:09:07 > 0:09:10Well, it seems that Mary could be on to something,
0:09:10 > 0:09:13because when she and David arrive at one of the developments in her area,
0:09:13 > 0:09:18he's quick to explain how buildings do affect where rainwater goes.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22So, her theory may not be far off the mark.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25What you'll see here first of all, that characterises an urban area,
0:09:25 > 0:09:31is a lot of hard surfaces, the roof surfaces, the footpaths, the roads.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34These will have been originally grassed areas and fields
0:09:34 > 0:09:38and a natural area, the rainwater gets stored on the surface,
0:09:38 > 0:09:41some of that infiltrates into the ground.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43When we pave over an area,
0:09:43 > 0:09:44what we do is, first of all,
0:09:44 > 0:09:48we remove any possibility of it infiltrating into the ground.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51The water runs off the surface, it goes straight down through
0:09:51 > 0:09:55the grating, straight into the pipes, a very rapid process.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59That's what produces your flood waves and causes your flooding.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02One new development may not create a problem,
0:10:02 > 0:10:05but a lot of new homes built over several years
0:10:05 > 0:10:08could cumulatively have an impact. To deal with that,
0:10:08 > 0:10:12some modern developments are built with what's called
0:10:12 > 0:10:14sustainable drainage solutions,
0:10:14 > 0:10:17but that's not always compulsory and, to work effectively,
0:10:17 > 0:10:19they need to be well maintained,
0:10:19 > 0:10:22as, of course, more fundamentally, do the drains underneath,
0:10:22 > 0:10:26because, while modern drains can usually cope with all but the most
0:10:26 > 0:10:30torrential of downpours, the sewers under Caterham are far from modern.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36So, for this particular area, it's known to have Victorian drains.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39Would that be a reason why they can't cope?
0:10:39 > 0:10:42It's certainly part of the problem. If we keep adding more and more
0:10:42 > 0:10:46developed areas into the existing drain system, then obviously
0:10:46 > 0:10:49it will become... and flooding will occur.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53And, of course, it's not just the rainwater that goes down
0:10:53 > 0:10:54into those drains and sewers,
0:10:54 > 0:10:57but all the water that's used in the homes as well.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01Do you think all this building and all the new developments
0:11:01 > 0:11:04is a contributory factor to the flooding of my house
0:11:04 > 0:11:05and other people's houses?
0:11:05 > 0:11:08I think we have the scientific evidence which shows
0:11:08 > 0:11:12that when we pave over a natural area, we get increased volumes
0:11:12 > 0:11:17and rates of water flowing on the surface
0:11:17 > 0:11:18following rainfall.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20That is a well-known fact,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23and the more water that we create in an area,
0:11:23 > 0:11:25the greater the chances are of flooding.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29So, yes, those two things are connected.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31So, while David thinks Mary's theory might be right
0:11:31 > 0:11:34it would take a full investigation to be sure.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37The new development may well be a contributing factor,
0:11:37 > 0:11:40we don't know until we've done the investigation.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43That needs to comes first. Once we've identified the problem,
0:11:43 > 0:11:45then we can come up with the solution.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51David thinks that the collection of new developments around Caterham
0:11:51 > 0:11:53combined with the lack of modern sewers
0:11:53 > 0:11:58and increased heavy rainfall has created a perfect storm here.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02So, he's going to work with Mary and her neighbours
0:12:02 > 0:12:04to recommend ways that the council can help reduce
0:12:04 > 0:12:06the threat of flooding in the future.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12And when we spoke to both the district and county council,
0:12:12 > 0:12:15both were keen to stress not just their joint efforts
0:12:15 > 0:12:18to investigate the "highly unusual flash flood"
0:12:18 > 0:12:21caused by the storms in June 2016,
0:12:21 > 0:12:23but also the help and support they've provided
0:12:23 > 0:12:25to the locals that were affected.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29Surrey County Council added that it was investigating whether
0:12:29 > 0:12:33"new infrastructure would reduce the risk" of this happening again.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37As for Mary's concerns about the possible impact of new homes,
0:12:37 > 0:12:41Tandridge District Council told us that, since 2015,
0:12:41 > 0:12:43large developments have been compelled
0:12:43 > 0:12:46to install water management strategies,
0:12:46 > 0:12:50while small ones "must comply with building regulations" which
0:12:50 > 0:12:53include measures for dealing with surface water.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55The local water company, Thames Water,
0:12:55 > 0:12:59told us that it, too, works closely with planners and developers
0:12:59 > 0:13:03to assess any potential impact that their plans could have
0:13:03 > 0:13:04on its drainage networks.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06And, where necessary,
0:13:06 > 0:13:10it asks for conditions to be included on planning applications
0:13:10 > 0:13:12"to ensure that existing customers
0:13:12 > 0:13:14"are not put at risk of sewer flooding."
0:13:17 > 0:13:21But whatever actions are being taken around Caterham, Paul Cobbing,
0:13:21 > 0:13:23Chief Executive of the National Flood Forum,
0:13:23 > 0:13:26is not convinced that local authorities elsewhere
0:13:26 > 0:13:30always fully take flood risk into account, either for
0:13:30 > 0:13:33proposed new homes or the existing ones they might affect.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39What we don't have is the evidence in total about whether the planning
0:13:39 > 0:13:42system is actually delivering the sorts of homes and businesses
0:13:42 > 0:13:45and developments that will be safe now and in the future,
0:13:45 > 0:13:48when the weather may well be much worse and we can expect
0:13:48 > 0:13:50much more flooding. Until that investigation is done,
0:13:50 > 0:13:52we won't really know whether we are delivering
0:13:52 > 0:13:55those safe communities, and we really need to get it done.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00Until then, Paul recommends that anyone at risk from floods
0:14:00 > 0:14:03makes sure that they have plans in place
0:14:03 > 0:14:05before the water starts rising.
0:14:05 > 0:14:06Sign up for flood warnings,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09make sure your documents are out of the way.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11Are there things that you can do, for example,
0:14:11 > 0:14:12to move electricity meters
0:14:12 > 0:14:15out of the way so that if you do get flooded,
0:14:15 > 0:14:16they don't cut out?
0:14:16 > 0:14:18Go on to our website, because it's all there,
0:14:18 > 0:14:21the guidance is there, the directions are there,
0:14:21 > 0:14:24the tools are there to help you, to take you through those decisions.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28And you can find a link to that advice on our own website
0:14:28 > 0:14:32and it really is worth taking every possible precaution
0:14:32 > 0:14:35to prevent what Mary would say is one of the worst things
0:14:35 > 0:14:38that could ever possibly happen to your home.
0:14:38 > 0:14:39It is heart-wrenching.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42You build your home and it's your home,
0:14:42 > 0:14:45you furnish it, and take care of things
0:14:45 > 0:14:49because it's your little sanctuary and it's just completely destroyed.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57Now, turn to the back pages of your typical Sunday supplement
0:14:57 > 0:14:59and it's very hard to miss the full-page ads
0:14:59 > 0:15:01for the latest commemorative coins,
0:15:01 > 0:15:03specially minted souvenirs
0:15:03 > 0:15:05being sold as a memento for a big event
0:15:05 > 0:15:07like a royal birth or a wedding.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10Now, of course, people have been collecting coins for years
0:15:10 > 0:15:13because some historical or rare ones can actually be worth
0:15:13 > 0:15:16quite a lot of money. But, as one collector I met,
0:15:16 > 0:15:17has now come to realise,
0:15:17 > 0:15:19not all those shiny keepsakes
0:15:19 > 0:15:21necessarily have quite the value you might think.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25So if you've ever been tempted to buy one of these coins as a small
0:15:25 > 0:15:28investment, you could be in, I'm afraid, for some surprises.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34Collectable coins can be worth a fortune.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36Just one of these 1983 coins
0:15:36 > 0:15:39made with the words "new pence" instead of "two pence"
0:15:39 > 0:15:41can sell for anything between
0:15:41 > 0:15:44£500 and £700, depending on its condition.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48But not every coin you buy will make you a mint,
0:15:48 > 0:15:50even if that is what Paul Scallon
0:15:50 > 0:15:52hoped for when he started collecting.
0:15:53 > 0:15:59I bought so many sets of various coins, thinking, in the value,
0:15:59 > 0:16:01they'd go up, they wouldn't go down.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06Paul is a retired building services manager from Southport and he bought
0:16:06 > 0:16:08the coins as an investment opportunity
0:16:08 > 0:16:10that would benefit his grandchildren.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15I first started collecting coins approximately 1998.
0:16:15 > 0:16:22I started with Prince William's coins and stamps,
0:16:22 > 0:16:26and I've still got them as part of my collection.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31Those coins, like lots of others in Paul's collection,
0:16:31 > 0:16:34were specially minted to celebrate a big, national event.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37And although not legal tender, many of the people who buy them,
0:16:37 > 0:16:39Paul included, by the way,
0:16:39 > 0:16:42hope that they'll increase in value as the years go by.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45Paul went on to purchase more coins month after month,
0:16:45 > 0:16:48some of them commemoratives ones but also rarer,
0:16:48 > 0:16:50historical coins as well.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54He estimates he's spent a total of between £8,000 and £10,000,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57much of it with the official Royal Mint,
0:16:57 > 0:16:59which makes the cash that we use every day,
0:16:59 > 0:17:01but more than half of it with private companies,
0:17:01 > 0:17:04including one called the London Mint Office,
0:17:04 > 0:17:06which sells all kinds of collectable coins,
0:17:06 > 0:17:09including commemoratives ones it makes itself.
0:17:09 > 0:17:11Once on the mailing lists,
0:17:11 > 0:17:14Paul was kept updated on all the latest releases.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18Sometimes, they'd ring me to say,
0:17:18 > 0:17:20"We've got this collection coming out."
0:17:20 > 0:17:23And you would then take on board what they were saying
0:17:23 > 0:17:24and purchase them.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29Now, one of those that caught his eye was this
0:17:29 > 0:17:31George And The Dragon gold miniature coin,
0:17:31 > 0:17:35which he bought for £475 from the London Mint Office.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38I was very happy with the coin.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40I just thought it's authentic,
0:17:40 > 0:17:43it's everything you can possibly think of,
0:17:43 > 0:17:49the script from London Mint said it was a good value,
0:17:49 > 0:17:53so I thought it would be a very good investment for my two grandchildren.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57With this and his other coin investments,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00Paul believed he was sitting on a mini gold mine,
0:18:00 > 0:18:04and part of his collection did eventually earn him some money.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06He'd invested £3,000 in sovereign bullion coins
0:18:06 > 0:18:10from the London Mint Office, which are coins sold mainly
0:18:10 > 0:18:13for the value of the metal they're made from.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16And when, in 2014, he sold these to a dealer,
0:18:16 > 0:18:17he made a tidy profit.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22I made £1,000 and I thought, "Well, that's good."
0:18:25 > 0:18:28But, I'm afraid, along with the good news came bad
0:18:28 > 0:18:31because the same dealer revealed to Paul that not all the coins
0:18:31 > 0:18:33in his collection were actually worth investing in,
0:18:33 > 0:18:36and some weren't even worth what he'd paid for them,
0:18:36 > 0:18:41including that George And The Dragon miniature that he'd bought for £475
0:18:41 > 0:18:43from the London Mint Office.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47He said, "But that one's just worth scrap value."
0:18:47 > 0:18:53And, at the time, he weighed it for me and it was £75 scrap value.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56He said, "It's not a collector's item."
0:18:56 > 0:18:57It was a disaster to me.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01Very confused as to how his coins could be worth so little,
0:19:01 > 0:19:04Paul sent a letter to the London Mint Office
0:19:04 > 0:19:07to ask why his investment had fallen in value
0:19:07 > 0:19:09in such a short period of time.
0:19:09 > 0:19:10The company didn't reply.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14But the explanation is simple,
0:19:14 > 0:19:16according to coin expert Geoff Thomason.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20He says that many commemoratives coins won't increase in value
0:19:20 > 0:19:22and are only worth what somebody else is willing to pay
0:19:22 > 0:19:25although there are, of course, exceptions to that.
0:19:28 > 0:19:29If a coin is rare enough,
0:19:29 > 0:19:33that everybody's chasing it, and you've got it...
0:19:34 > 0:19:36..you can command a price for it.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40But not all commemoratives coins are rare.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42Indeed, the ones made for big events
0:19:42 > 0:19:44are typically produced in quite substantial numbers.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51They may be very pleasing to look at but, very often,
0:19:51 > 0:19:53they're produced in such large quantities
0:19:53 > 0:19:57that they're never going to appreciate in value,
0:19:57 > 0:20:01and I know from experience that most coin dealers
0:20:01 > 0:20:03would not be interested in them.
0:20:05 > 0:20:07All of which means that, although very nice to collect,
0:20:07 > 0:20:10most commemoratives coins are worth no more than the value
0:20:10 > 0:20:12of the metal that they're made from.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15In the case of a lot of these commemoratives,
0:20:15 > 0:20:17that's the only value.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20There's no antiquity, there's no rarity,
0:20:20 > 0:20:22there's no interesting varieties in it.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26It's simply an example of a commemorative coin
0:20:26 > 0:20:29and there will be lots of them out there.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33But, after 20 years of building up his collection,
0:20:33 > 0:20:36Paul is now worried that it's not the investment he'd hoped for.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38So we asked auctioneer Charles Dower
0:20:38 > 0:20:40to come and take a look at some of Paul's coins,
0:20:40 > 0:20:43starting with that George And The Dragon piece
0:20:43 > 0:20:46that he'd been horrified to learn was worth only 75 quid.
0:20:46 > 0:20:51This particular coin, Paul paid £475 for.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54It's solid 22 carat gold, the same sort of purity as a sovereign.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58It's smaller than a half sovereign and we get £70 or £90
0:20:58 > 0:21:01for a half sovereign at auction, so it's...
0:21:01 > 0:21:04You know, it's slightly smaller than that so it would be
0:21:04 > 0:21:05even less than that. Yeah...
0:21:05 > 0:21:08So you're purely looking at it as size and how much gold is in it?
0:21:08 > 0:21:11If someone would be prepared to pay a bit more for it
0:21:11 > 0:21:13because they want this certain coin or they need... You know,
0:21:13 > 0:21:15with a sovereign, if they want a particular year,
0:21:15 > 0:21:18then they'd pay a bit more, but that's certainly...
0:21:18 > 0:21:20Putting you on the spot, what would you give Paul for it today?
0:21:20 > 0:21:24We would suggest an auction estimate of £70-90.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28I've had it valued at Southport, £75 scrap value.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34And the news was no better with the next coin Charles looked at.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37This is commemorating the Diamond Wedding, 2007.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39And this one is a silver proof crown
0:21:39 > 0:21:41so it's exactly modelled on an old crown.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43And it would be worth as much as an old crown is nowadays
0:21:43 > 0:21:46for the silver content, really. So, that's pure silver?
0:21:46 > 0:21:49Yes, that's pure silver. Yes. So, again, if you were selling,
0:21:49 > 0:21:51can you put a price on that?It's about sort of £10 or £15, really.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54Is that all?That is all, yes. We see Victorian crowns
0:21:54 > 0:21:57and that sort of thing, and it's the same sort of price as that, really.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00And poor Paul has just had a heart attack, virtually, at that!
0:22:00 > 0:22:02Does that shock you... Of course it does, yes.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05..to realise that that's only worth ten or £15?Yes.
0:22:05 > 0:22:06That coin cost £100.Did it really?
0:22:08 > 0:22:11Well, it seems that Paul has spent thousands of pounds on coins
0:22:11 > 0:22:13that may only be worth a few hundred.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17I should imagine a lot of people watching who do have
0:22:17 > 0:22:19coin collections are sitting aghast at the idea
0:22:19 > 0:22:21that what they put their money into,
0:22:21 > 0:22:24thinking is investment, having the authenticity,
0:22:24 > 0:22:26having the certificate to go with it, and, suddenly,
0:22:26 > 0:22:29an expert like yourself will say, well, actually,
0:22:29 > 0:22:31it's just worth the gold or silver amount.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34So, how do you feel about it now, having heard it
0:22:34 > 0:22:37from Charles as well?Well, it's taken me back by surprise,
0:22:37 > 0:22:38to be frank about the situation.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40It hasn't sunk in yet,
0:22:40 > 0:22:43how much money I'm going to lose for the boys.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48It seems both the coins Charles valued are worth
0:22:48 > 0:22:51a lot less than Paul paid for them, so we asked
0:22:51 > 0:22:54the companies that sold them why that might be,
0:22:54 > 0:22:56starting with the London Mint Office which sold him
0:22:56 > 0:22:58that George and the Dragon coin.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03It told us that its position on the value of commemorative coins
0:23:03 > 0:23:05is clear and it creates products
0:23:05 > 0:23:07"for people who share the same passion,"
0:23:07 > 0:23:11either for the coins themselves or the person or event commemorated.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15It insists that its products are "priced fairly according to design,
0:23:15 > 0:23:18"quality, availability and demand"
0:23:18 > 0:23:22but it appreciates that Paul was very frustrated at not receiving
0:23:22 > 0:23:25a response to his query about the George and the Dragon coin,
0:23:25 > 0:23:27which it puts down to the letter
0:23:27 > 0:23:30being sent to the company's old address.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33So, while reiterating that this particular piece
0:23:33 > 0:23:35was never sold with any reference to its value,
0:23:35 > 0:23:39it has offered to buy it back from Paul for the same £475
0:23:39 > 0:23:42that he paid for it. The company went on to say
0:23:42 > 0:23:46its experience with dealers is that, although knowledgeable...
0:23:52 > 0:23:56It stressed it never recommends people buy coins as investments
0:23:56 > 0:23:58and doesn't market them as such.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01That's a point reiterated by the company Paul bought
0:24:01 > 0:24:04the other coin from, the Westminster Collection,
0:24:04 > 0:24:07which told us that its prices take into account
0:24:07 > 0:24:10much more than the bullion value of the coin,
0:24:10 > 0:24:13and the commemoratives coins are pieces of art
0:24:13 > 0:24:15intricately designed by expert sculptors.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21Paul has this advice for anyone thinking of investing in this area.
0:24:21 > 0:24:26Research before purchasing, not find out after the event,
0:24:26 > 0:24:27which is my fault.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30I found out after the event.
0:24:30 > 0:24:31But do your homework first.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37Expert Jeff would agree with all of that. He'd say only buy
0:24:37 > 0:24:39a commemorative product because you like it or you want
0:24:39 > 0:24:41to remember an historic event.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44But don't assume that, in time, you'll be coining it in.
0:24:46 > 0:24:51I think if you talk to any coin collector, they will say,
0:24:51 > 0:24:56"I collect coins because I'm interested in them as coins.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00"Their value as investment is secondary."
0:25:00 > 0:25:03I think, unless you've got that attitude,
0:25:03 > 0:25:07then you're probably better off investing somewhere else.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14Still to come on Rip Off Britain,
0:25:14 > 0:25:18the customers who say a company that fixes broken phone screens
0:25:18 > 0:25:19isn't all it's cracked up to be.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25I am still fighting now, to this day again, to get my money back.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31Well, we've been out on the road again and, this time,
0:25:31 > 0:25:34it was Manchester playing host to our Rip Off Britain pop-up shop.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40As ever, we set out to share advice and tips
0:25:40 > 0:25:42with as many of you as possible.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45Fasten your belts. We're in for a bumpy ride!
0:25:48 > 0:25:52Booked in for a slot with solicitor Gary Rycroft was Jose,
0:25:52 > 0:25:53a Spanish teacher from Leeds.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57He'd registered for ad hoc work with a translation company
0:25:57 > 0:25:59but it hadn't turned out as he'd hoped.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02Jose, I feel I should begin by saying
0:26:02 > 0:26:04buenos dias, senor!Buenos dias.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08Because it's your skill with your native language that's brought you
0:26:08 > 0:26:10to see our legal expert, Gary Rycroft, here.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12Right.Tell us what happened.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16I was contracted to do some translation, interpreting work,
0:26:16 > 0:26:21for a company, and I was never paid for my job.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24Jose was asked by the company to travel to a hospital
0:26:24 > 0:26:27to assist with a Spanish-speaking cancer patient,
0:26:27 > 0:26:29a last-minute booking. Of course, he was happy to help.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31It was an emergency job.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34They phoned me around nine o'clock in the morning.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37And I went to do my job around 2:30.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40Everything seemed to go smoothly and, once Jose was back home,
0:26:40 > 0:26:43he sent off the paperwork to receive his payment but, as yet,
0:26:43 > 0:26:45he hasn't received his cash.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48I sent them an e-mail and I told them,
0:26:48 > 0:26:50you don't expect me to work for free?
0:26:50 > 0:26:54But they have never, ever contacted me since then.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57I don't know what to do. Those are the facts.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00So, we need to get control of this situation.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04You have a clear breach of contract and, in that case,
0:27:04 > 0:27:10you need to sue them. And the most efficient and risk-free way
0:27:10 > 0:27:13of doing that is to file a claim online.
0:27:13 > 0:27:18The government court service moneyclaim.gov.uk.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21And you attach to the claim form your evidence.
0:27:21 > 0:27:22Papers, documents.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25And you quantify what the losses are to you.
0:27:25 > 0:27:29But before he takes the plunge and pursues the firm through the courts,
0:27:29 > 0:27:32Gary also recommends one final push in writing.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37But what you might want to do is what we call a letter before action.
0:27:37 > 0:27:42So you fill in the form online, do a screenshot of it or print it out,
0:27:42 > 0:27:44and then write to the company and say,
0:27:44 > 0:27:48"I am going to issue this form unless you pay up in 14 days."
0:27:48 > 0:27:50Right."And if I do issue this form,
0:27:50 > 0:27:53"the court fee will be added to what you owe me already."
0:27:53 > 0:27:56And that may make them realise that you mean business
0:27:56 > 0:27:57and you're going to fight
0:27:57 > 0:28:00for this money that is rightfully owed to you.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03Did you find that useful, then? Is that an action you'll take now?
0:28:03 > 0:28:06Yes, I think I will definitely consider that situation.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09You will not consider it. You will do it, Jose!
0:28:09 > 0:28:10LAUGHTER
0:28:10 > 0:28:12I will definitely do it.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14Gracias.Con gusto.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16Over in our busy gripe corner,
0:28:16 > 0:28:19we were hearing from plenty of young shoppers,
0:28:19 > 0:28:22and they're all keen to point out that their favourite purchases
0:28:22 > 0:28:24are often well out of their pocket money price range.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28Gadgets of 2016 cost a lot of money.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32The price of clothes for young people is a rip-off.
0:28:32 > 0:28:36I want to buy all the cake in the shop but it's too much money.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39I love video games but they're too expensive.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48I reckon most of us have had experience of agreeing a price
0:28:48 > 0:28:50for something that needs mending only to find that the price
0:28:50 > 0:28:54suddenly goes up once we've handed over the item for repair.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57Of course, that might be because the initial quote
0:28:57 > 0:29:00simply underestimated how much work needed to be done.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03But if you're not happy about the new cost of the repair,
0:29:03 > 0:29:06there doesn't always seem to be much you can do about it.
0:29:06 > 0:29:10That's certainly what quite a few of you say happened with one particular
0:29:10 > 0:29:13company which specialises in repairing mobile phones.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16The response to queries about increased prices
0:29:16 > 0:29:18wasn't quite "like it or lump it"
0:29:18 > 0:29:21but some of you say it might just as well have been.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27Two thirds of us now own a smartphone or tablet.
0:29:27 > 0:29:30That's hundreds of pounds worth of tech in our pockets.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33And, given how much we rely on them,
0:29:33 > 0:29:37it really is shattering when this happens, as it so often does.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42Usually, those cracked screens are just an unfortunate accident,
0:29:42 > 0:29:46which is probably how eight-year-old Oliver would describe
0:29:46 > 0:29:49what happened to his family's iPad in November 2015.
0:29:49 > 0:29:53I was having a fight with my little brother, Ruben,
0:29:53 > 0:29:57and I think Ruben pushed me on to it or something.
0:29:59 > 0:30:00And then it broke.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05The broken screen made the iPad impossible to use.
0:30:05 > 0:30:08Oliver was distraught and his mother, Maria,
0:30:08 > 0:30:09knew she had to act fast.
0:30:10 > 0:30:14I didn't want it to get any worse than it was and that's why,
0:30:14 > 0:30:16straightaway, I just thought,
0:30:16 > 0:30:20I'm going to get it fixed before the crack gets any bigger.
0:30:20 > 0:30:22But when the manufacturer, Apple,
0:30:22 > 0:30:26told Maria it would cost £156 for a new screen,
0:30:26 > 0:30:28she looked around for a more affordable solution
0:30:28 > 0:30:31and came across a company called Fone Angels,
0:30:31 > 0:30:34not to be confused with other companies with similar names.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37Fone Angels describes itself as the UK's leading
0:30:37 > 0:30:40smartphone and tablet repair specialists.
0:30:40 > 0:30:43But the clincher for Maria was that its website said the company charge
0:30:43 > 0:30:49just £39.95 for a new screen, more than £100 less than Apple.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53The price that they was asking
0:30:53 > 0:30:58seemed to be around the kind of price that you'd expect to pay,
0:30:58 > 0:31:01maybe a little bit cheaper, which was quite impressive.
0:31:03 > 0:31:07Fone Angels said the tablet could be fixed and back with the family
0:31:07 > 0:31:09in about a week, so Maria paid the cost upfront
0:31:09 > 0:31:11and sent the tablet off.
0:31:11 > 0:31:13But the next day, the company e-mailed to say
0:31:13 > 0:31:17it had found another problem in addition to the cracked screen.
0:31:17 > 0:31:21They'd inspected the item and found there was a problem
0:31:21 > 0:31:25with the docking station, and they said that I could get that fixed
0:31:25 > 0:31:27while they were fixing the screen.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33Fone Angels was asking a further £50 to repair the charging point
0:31:33 > 0:31:36but Maria didn't believe it needed fixing as she'd successfully
0:31:36 > 0:31:39charged up the tablet the night before posting it.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44I sent an e-mail back to them to say there wasn't any problem at all,
0:31:44 > 0:31:48so could they just repair the initial problem
0:31:48 > 0:31:49and send it back to me.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55But Fone Angels didn't seem to want to take no for an answer.
0:31:55 > 0:31:59Within another day or so, I received another e-mail,
0:31:59 > 0:32:01saying it was a lot more cost-effective
0:32:01 > 0:32:04to get that extra repair done while they were fixing the screen.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07That kind of put a bit of fear in me and I thought,
0:32:07 > 0:32:10"Well, I don't really want to go through that again."
0:32:10 > 0:32:14Fone Angels also offered to reduce the price of the new repair
0:32:14 > 0:32:17to £36.95, so Maria reluctantly decided
0:32:17 > 0:32:20to take the experts at their word.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26But, five days later, instead of getting the tablet back as expected,
0:32:26 > 0:32:28Maria was told the repairs hadn't even started
0:32:28 > 0:32:32and it would now take another month before the tablet could be returned.
0:32:32 > 0:32:36That's when alarm bells started ringing,
0:32:36 > 0:32:40then I started to go online and look at bad reviews
0:32:40 > 0:32:44and that's when I found all the same problems that I was having.
0:32:44 > 0:32:46I started panicking then.
0:32:48 > 0:32:52With her faith in Fone Angels starting to crack, like the screen,
0:32:52 > 0:32:54Maria simply wanted her iPad back.
0:32:54 > 0:32:58So I sent an e-mail and asked them if they could just cancel the order,
0:32:58 > 0:33:04post my device back to me, and I'll get it repaired somewhere else.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09Fone Angels agreed and said it would send it back within three days
0:33:09 > 0:33:12but that didn't happen, and when Maria chased them up,
0:33:12 > 0:33:16she says she was simply given excuses, explaining the delay.
0:33:16 > 0:33:17After more contact,
0:33:17 > 0:33:21Fone Angels did send the tablet back but around a month after first
0:33:21 > 0:33:26sending it off, Maria was still stuck with a broken screen to fix.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29When the courier finally actually turned up at the house
0:33:29 > 0:33:32with the device and I signed for it, it was just such a relief.
0:33:32 > 0:33:37Maria's Fone Angels experience is strikingly similar to lots of other
0:33:37 > 0:33:40stories our team has heard about the company.
0:33:40 > 0:33:42Several of the people we've spoken to say that,
0:33:42 > 0:33:46after paying the upfront repair costs for their tablet or phone,
0:33:46 > 0:33:48Fone Angels told them there was something else
0:33:48 > 0:33:52that needed fixing, too. Andrew Thomson from Northampton
0:33:52 > 0:33:55contacted Fone Angels about the broken screen
0:33:55 > 0:33:56on his daughter's tablet.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59They told me that it needed further repairs
0:33:59 > 0:34:04and it would cost me an extra 49.99, for them to, you know,
0:34:04 > 0:34:08not only repair the cracked screen but something to do
0:34:08 > 0:34:10with the volume flex connector.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13It came as quite a big shock because obviously I know that
0:34:13 > 0:34:16the volume was working fine when I sent it out.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19Andrew told Fone Angels not to do anything and asked
0:34:19 > 0:34:22for the tablet to be returned instead.
0:34:22 > 0:34:25How could they say that this extra problem
0:34:25 > 0:34:27behind the screen had occurred
0:34:27 > 0:34:30when they hadn't even took the device to bits?
0:34:30 > 0:34:34Samantha Lindley from Bolton sent two gadgets
0:34:34 > 0:34:37with broken screens to Fone Angels.
0:34:37 > 0:34:39The first e-mail I received was saying there was...
0:34:41 > 0:34:45..an issue with the phone about the proximity sensor,
0:34:45 > 0:34:48but when I got my products back, they were in a worse condition.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51Samantha complained and asked for a refund.
0:34:51 > 0:34:56I am still fighting now, to this day, again, to get my money back.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00Of course, these cases could add up to just a handful
0:35:00 > 0:35:04of bad experiences with a company that largely gets things right.
0:35:04 > 0:35:06After all, there are plenty of good reviews online,
0:35:06 > 0:35:08along with the bad ones.
0:35:08 > 0:35:11So, to get a taste of the typical Fone Angels experience,
0:35:11 > 0:35:14we asked the company to fix some devices for us.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17So, we sent three of our own phones off to Fone Angels
0:35:17 > 0:35:21and, to make sure we knew exactly what was and wasn't wrong with them,
0:35:21 > 0:35:24we got them checked over first by an independent company
0:35:24 > 0:35:26that inspects phones for the police.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31We took two used phones and one brand-new one
0:35:31 > 0:35:33to the team at Forensic Mobile Services
0:35:33 > 0:35:36and got them to run some tests to tell us everything
0:35:36 > 0:35:38we needed to know about them.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41This white iPhone, let's call it phone number one,
0:35:41 > 0:35:43was given a clean bill of health,
0:35:43 > 0:35:44apart from a slightly loose home button,
0:35:44 > 0:35:46which doesn't stop it working at all.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51Phone number two, this brand-new Galaxy S4 Mini,
0:35:51 > 0:35:53was in perfect working order, as you'd expect
0:35:53 > 0:35:56from something straight out of the box.
0:35:57 > 0:36:01And phone number three, this black iPhone, has a number of faults.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04The screen is cracked, the home button doesn't work
0:36:04 > 0:36:06and the camera freezes.
0:36:06 > 0:36:09Now, of course, those first two phones needed some obvious damage
0:36:09 > 0:36:11before we could send them for a repair,
0:36:11 > 0:36:15so we asked the team at the lab to remove the screens and smash them.
0:36:15 > 0:36:17Currently, the issues with the phones,
0:36:17 > 0:36:19they wouldn't be a difficult fix at all.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22The majority of the damage that has been caused is to the screen.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25If another repair company was to take a look at these handsets,
0:36:25 > 0:36:28the only problems they should identify are the ones
0:36:28 > 0:36:29that we have discovered today.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32Next, it was onto the Fone Angels website,
0:36:32 > 0:36:35to fill in the order form and pay upfront for our repairs.
0:36:35 > 0:36:39The site told us that fixing the screen on phone one
0:36:39 > 0:36:42would cost £50 and on phone two would cost £30,
0:36:42 > 0:36:43so we booked them in.
0:36:45 > 0:36:48As, however, phone three had several faults,
0:36:48 > 0:36:51we wanted to see if Fone Angels would spot them all,
0:36:51 > 0:36:54or indeed try to offer us additional repairs, too.
0:36:54 > 0:36:58So we sent this off for its so-called "not sure" service.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01Here, for what looks like no charge,
0:37:01 > 0:37:04Fone Angels will inspect your device and tell you what's wrong with it
0:37:04 > 0:37:07before you make the choice to go ahead and pay for the repair.
0:37:09 > 0:37:10So, while we waited to hear
0:37:10 > 0:37:13what Fone Angels would make of our phones, back in Cumbria,
0:37:13 > 0:37:15Maria wants to know if there really is a problem
0:37:15 > 0:37:19with the charging point on her tablet, as the company maintained,
0:37:19 > 0:37:22so she's taking it to her local phone repair shop.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24I rang up earlier.
0:37:24 > 0:37:25Oh, yes.
0:37:25 > 0:37:29We gave the tablet a full health check, as we normally do,
0:37:29 > 0:37:32but checking the charger point is fairly straightforward
0:37:32 > 0:37:34because you can simply connect a charger to it
0:37:34 > 0:37:37and it charges the battery if it works.
0:37:37 > 0:37:39So we soon found out there was no problem.
0:37:39 > 0:37:42I was confused as to how they had figured out
0:37:42 > 0:37:45that the charger point needed to be repaired.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48None of our staff could find a reason why it needed any additional
0:37:48 > 0:37:50repairs, other than the screen.
0:37:50 > 0:37:54The good news is that the screen is now repaired,
0:37:54 > 0:37:57though it did cost Maria more than Fone Angels had quoted.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01Still, as there was no apparent reason why the charging point needed
0:38:01 > 0:38:05fixing, she has at least avoided forking out for what seems a totally
0:38:05 > 0:38:06unnecessary repair.
0:38:09 > 0:38:10Back in the Rip Off Britain office,
0:38:10 > 0:38:13all the phones we'd sent to Fone Angels have been returned
0:38:13 > 0:38:16and it was a mixed bag of results.
0:38:16 > 0:38:17With phone one,
0:38:17 > 0:38:22Fone Angels failed to spot the loose home button but did try to suggest
0:38:22 > 0:38:24that as well as the broken screen we knew about,
0:38:24 > 0:38:26something called a proximity sensor
0:38:26 > 0:38:29would need potentially replacing, too.
0:38:29 > 0:38:31And that would cost an extra £29.
0:38:31 > 0:38:33Such a fault can happen when screens are smashed
0:38:33 > 0:38:37but until the screen has been removed, it's not possible
0:38:37 > 0:38:41to know for sure if a repair is definitely required.
0:38:41 > 0:38:42We said no to that.
0:38:42 > 0:38:45In fact, we asked them not to fix the phone at all.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48Even so, despite no less than six e-mails to that effect,
0:38:48 > 0:38:50they went ahead and repaired the screen anyway.
0:38:52 > 0:38:54As for phone two, the brand-new one,
0:38:54 > 0:38:57Fone Angels said that the LCD underneath the screen
0:38:57 > 0:39:01may also be damaged, which would cost an extra 59.99.
0:39:01 > 0:39:03And considering the blow from the hammer,
0:39:03 > 0:39:06that too may well be the case. However, again,
0:39:06 > 0:39:08we told the company not to repair it
0:39:08 > 0:39:11and this time the phone was sent back without question
0:39:11 > 0:39:12and without a charge.
0:39:13 > 0:39:15Phone three, you may recall, was in such a state
0:39:15 > 0:39:19that we asked Fone Angels to tell us what was wrong with it.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22They did spot the obvious, that the screen was broken,
0:39:22 > 0:39:25but they didn't diagnose the faulty camera or home button.
0:39:25 > 0:39:29And when we said that we'd changed our minds and wanted the phone back,
0:39:29 > 0:39:31they charged us almost £25,
0:39:31 > 0:39:33that's despite the website stating
0:39:33 > 0:39:36that returning the phone unrepaired would be free.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42Of course, nobody is perfect and we did only send
0:39:42 > 0:39:44three phones for inspection.
0:39:44 > 0:39:47But Fone Angels says it's been in the business for years
0:39:47 > 0:39:51and no doubt it's dealt with thousands of broken phones.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54So maybe the people we've spoken to were just unlucky
0:39:54 > 0:39:55with the service they received.
0:39:57 > 0:39:59And when we contacted Fone Angels,
0:39:59 > 0:40:03it said it deeply regrets that some customers have been unhappy with its
0:40:03 > 0:40:07service, which it puts down to the growing pains the company has
0:40:07 > 0:40:10experienced as a result of an influx of orders.
0:40:11 > 0:40:15It told us a temporary problem meant that, for some months,
0:40:15 > 0:40:17it had struggled to keep up with demand but it stressed
0:40:17 > 0:40:20it's since made extensive improvements
0:40:20 > 0:40:22to avoid this happening again.
0:40:22 > 0:40:26Fone Angels went on to say that smartphones and tablets
0:40:26 > 0:40:29are very fragile, and some damage is not always evident
0:40:29 > 0:40:33at first inspection, so it wouldn't be doing its job properly
0:40:33 > 0:40:36if it didn't make customers aware of other potential issues.
0:40:36 > 0:40:40It maintains that's what it was doing in Maria's case,
0:40:40 > 0:40:42after spotting what it deemed an area of concern
0:40:42 > 0:40:46that would have required a complete new screen to be installed
0:40:46 > 0:40:47if repaired later.
0:40:48 > 0:40:50As for Samantha Lindley's devices,
0:40:50 > 0:40:52which she says were returned
0:40:52 > 0:40:54in a worse state than when she sent them off,
0:40:54 > 0:40:57Fone Angels told us fragments of cracked screens
0:40:57 > 0:41:00can easily break away in transit,
0:41:00 > 0:41:03even when carefully packaged, as it says all its phones are.
0:41:03 > 0:41:06When it came to the phones we sent for repair,
0:41:06 > 0:41:09Fone Angels told us the first one was already fixed
0:41:09 > 0:41:11by the time we asked it not to go ahead.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15And it said since we were charged £25
0:41:15 > 0:41:19after asking for the third phone to be returned unrepaired,
0:41:19 > 0:41:22the company has changed its policy on inspection fees
0:41:22 > 0:41:23and return postage.
0:41:25 > 0:41:29As for Maria, next time one of her sons accidentally breaks a screen,
0:41:29 > 0:41:33she won't be rushing to find the cheapest quote online.
0:41:33 > 0:41:35I wish I'd known from the beginning
0:41:35 > 0:41:37that there were actual local repair shops near me.
0:41:37 > 0:41:41I wish I'd never, ever sent it to Fone Angels in the first place.
0:41:49 > 0:41:51If you've got a story you'd like us to investigate
0:41:51 > 0:41:54then you can get in touch with us via our Facebook page...
0:41:57 > 0:42:00There's our website...
0:42:02 > 0:42:04Or e-mail...
0:42:06 > 0:42:10And of course you can send a letter to our postal address...
0:42:22 > 0:42:25Well, I think it's easy to understand just how people
0:42:25 > 0:42:28in today's films might feel frustrated by the situations
0:42:28 > 0:42:32in which they've ended up. Not least because, as we all do,
0:42:32 > 0:42:36they went into them with no idea of how things might ultimately work out
0:42:36 > 0:42:40and, certainly, they had no inkling at all that they'd end up feeling
0:42:40 > 0:42:44either let down or, worse still, out of pocket.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47But, as we've just seen, while it might at first appear
0:42:47 > 0:42:50that cases like these are due to bad service or even sharp practice,
0:42:50 > 0:42:52the explanation is just as likely
0:42:52 > 0:42:56to come down to a misunderstanding or an honest mistake.
0:42:56 > 0:42:58And, while that's not much consolation to those affected,
0:42:58 > 0:43:02at least for some of them, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
0:43:02 > 0:43:05Of course, it's only by sharing experiences like these
0:43:05 > 0:43:07that we all know what to look out for and, indeed,
0:43:07 > 0:43:08what questions to ask
0:43:08 > 0:43:11if we find ourselves in anything like the same position.
0:43:11 > 0:43:12So, at this stage, may I just say thank you
0:43:12 > 0:43:14to everybody whose stories we've heard today
0:43:14 > 0:43:17and, of course, to you for joining us for the programme,
0:43:17 > 0:43:19and we'll see you again very soon
0:43:19 > 0:43:21for more of your stories, so, until then,
0:43:21 > 0:43:22from all of us on the team, bye-bye.
0:43:22 > 0:43:23Goodbye.Goodbye.