Episode 4 Rip Off Britain


Episode 4

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Transcript


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

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and you contacted us in your thousands.

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

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customer service that simply is not up to scratch.

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It would seem that, once they've got your money, they're not

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particularly interested in coming back to you or to give you

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satisfactory customer service.

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

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investigate the extra charges you say are unfair.

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I think prices are going up and no-one's actually doing anything to

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improve that.

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

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

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You just get to the point it's - "No, leave me alone!"

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

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We're here to find out why you're out of pocket and what you can do

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about it.

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Your stories, your money.

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This is Rip-Off Britain.

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Hello, and thank you so much for joining us once again

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on Rip-Off Britain where, one way or another, all the stories we're

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investigating today are about value for money and,

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in particular, that old chestnut of whether it's true that you get what

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you pay for, either by spending more or indeed by paying out less.

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Because when we're comparing prices, very often,

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we still like to think that a higher one may be an indication of quality,

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particularly, of course, if it comes with the reassurance of a

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better-known brand name. But is that always the case?

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Well, to find out, we've done some tests on an item that's used by

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every single one of us, and I think that what we've discovered could

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well change the way that you decide to shop in the future.

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Meanwhile, at the other end of the scale, I bet we've all sometimes

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wondered if paying a lower price

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might turn out to be a false economy.

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Well, that's most definitely the case with the situation that

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quite a few of you have contacted us about.

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Here, the goods in question may not just simply be poor value,

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they could turn out to be downright dangerous.

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Coming up, the door-to-door mattress

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scams conning households right across the country.

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As soon as we realised exactly how defective the item was and

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realised that we had been scammed, we were just bitterly disappointed.

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We felt stupid that we'd been taken in.

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And is it worth squeezing out more pennies for your toothpaste?

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We test an own brand against a big brand to see if paying extra

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is really worth it.

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It'll be interesting, I think,

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to see if the cheap toothpaste did as well as the expensive one,

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and would just prove that it isn't always price that counts.

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I think it's fair to say that there's rarely a good time

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for a door-to-door salesman to come calling.

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It's likely you're either in the middle of something or you're

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simply not interested in whatever it is they're trying to offer anyway.

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But, sometimes,

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their patter really does make a deal appear just too good to miss,

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and what they're selling appears so cheap, it seems silly to refuse.

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Well, one man contacted us after being talked into just that sort of

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opportunity, but it didn't take long for him to start worrying if the

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particular item that he'd ended up with wasn't simply poor quality but

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quite possibly dangerous, too.

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And, as we looked into his story,

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it quickly became apparent that dozens more of you have fallen into

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exactly the same trap,

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finding yourselves lumbered with a purchase that's supposed to help

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with counting sheep but that,

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instead, has left you counting the pounds that you've lost.

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Most of us will spend a third of our lives asleep.

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It's time that's vital for our minds and bodies to rest,

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but whether you'll have a good night's sleep is, at least in part,

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down to the quality of your mattress.

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It's often recommended that you have a new one every eight years,

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so 81-year-old Margaret Bruff was perhaps due an upgrade when,

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in the spring of 2015, a salesman came knocking at her door,

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offering to sell her a mattress that

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could hardly have come better recommended.

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He came in and he said,

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talking about mattresses, "How long have you had it?"

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I said, "17 years".

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He says, "Oh, you want this nice one, the Queen has it."

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But even with that supposed royal seal of approval,

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Margaret wasn't yet convinced that she wanted to buy a mattress, until,

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that is, the salesman from the company calling itself Active Living

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told her that he'd been sent by social services,

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which was sure that she did need a new one

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and that it would cost £795.

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Well, he said it was that price.

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I thought, "Oh, it will be good," you know, with the Queen having one.

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So, Margaret ordered the mattress and handed over a cheque,

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but son-in-law Dave wasn't happy

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when he found out how much she'd spent.

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I thought £795 for a mattress was a bit dear, because you can go into

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the shops and probably get the

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same mattress for probably half of the price.

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Reassured, however,

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by the fact that the company hadn't tried to pressure Margaret into

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paying by cash, and by the way that the paperwork looked entirely

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legitimate, there seemed no other obvious cause for concern.

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I would fall for it myself.

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It has got the terms and conditions

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on the back of the document.

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It's all signed by a proper adviser who had come out.

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The proper price is on, the proper address is on.

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Everything seems so genuine.

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But all that changed when, two weeks later,

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the delivery date passed without a mattress,

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and repeated attempts to contact the company came to nothing.

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-RECORDED MESSAGE:

-The number you have called is not recognised.

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Please check the number and dial again.

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The contact number was bogus, the website address was fake,

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there was no genuine UK-based company called Active Living that

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sold mattresses, and a call to social services confirmed that

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they'd certainly not sent anyone round.

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The whole thing had been a scam.

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It does seem as though the company has just disappeared off

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the face of the earth.

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Margaret was left nearly £800 out of pocket and very upset.

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They're rogues, aren't they? Really nasty rogues.

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I'd knock his block off, if I could.

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The whole family was equally furious.

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Margaret's daughters felt disgusted because these people can go into an

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old age pensioner's house,

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tell them this story and take a lot of money off them,

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and they felt upset and hurt for Margaret.

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It makes you feel angry, to think they've robbed you of your money.

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I mean, you need it these days, the price of everything.

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When Margaret informed the local police in Derbyshire,

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she discovered that, far from being a one-off,

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scams related to door-to-door mattress sellers are actually a

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recognised problem right across the country.

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And it's clear, from all the e-mails that we've had on this,

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that there can be a number of different ways that they can work.

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While Margaret was simply tricked out of her cash, many others,

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including Charles from near Lytham in Lancashire,

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have at least ended up with something for their money,

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even if it's not quite what they'd bargained for.

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In Charles's case,

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the salesman who pulled up on his drive said he was from a company

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called Luxury Dreams, based in Dewsbury, west Yorkshire,

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and not to be confused with any other companies of a similar name.

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The van was branded with the company logo and, almost immediately,

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the guy presented us with a card, and it gave the business address.

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It said that the company supplied not only to

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private individuals, but also to hotels and bed-and-breakfasts.

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Charles and his wife were about to move house, so it seemed a perfect

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time to change the mattress that they'd had for quite some time.

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When you looked in the back door of the van, you saw that these looked

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to be brand-new mattresses in pristine condition, and they also

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had labelling,

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which purported to show that these really were

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top-quality, all-singing, all-dancing mattresses.

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Better still, they were apparently being sold at less than half price,

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so Charles plumped for one costing £250,

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and was so excited, he tried it out, there and then.

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The mattress was so comfortable that we could almost have fallen asleep

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outside the house and, for the money,

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seemed a really, really good deal.

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We were very excited, actually,

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that we'd managed to get what felt to be such a luxurious mattress for

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half of what we should be paying. It felt really good.

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After a quick dash to the cash machine to pay the salesman,

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Charles looked forward to testing out the mattress properly and,

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while at first he was delighted, I'm afraid that didn't last.

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We had a perfect night's sleep.

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It just felt really good and we were really happy.

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Same, second.

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Within the week, probably on the third day,

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we realised that something had gone sadly wrong.

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The mattress began to collapse on one side.

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And it wasn't long before the whole mattress started to collapse.

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Within the week, the same thing had happened on the other side.

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That had begun collapsing in on itself.

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The height was reduced to about two-thirds

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of what it had been at the time of purchase.

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It clearly wasn't the top-quality mattress that the salesman

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had promised.

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As soon as we realised exactly how defective the item was and

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realised that we had been scammed, we were just bitterly disappointed.

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We felt stupid, that we'd been taken in.

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But many, many others right across the UK have also been taken in,

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so much so that councils as far apart as Devon, Derby, Enfield,

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Norfolk and Wiltshire have issued warnings about

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dodgy mattress sellers operating in their areas.

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And in Devon and Somerset,

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the number of reported cases has increased tenfold since 2014.

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The Local Government Association has issued warnings about buying

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mattresses from these kind of salesmen,

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and not just because some of them might collapse, as Charles's did.

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There are others that may be too lumpy or, more worrying,

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have no fire resistance.

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As for the mattress that Charles bought, well,

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it was sold as a top-of-the-range orthopaedic one,

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but its rapid collapse suggests it's nothing of the kind.

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So we took it to be tested at the

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Furniture Industry Research Association in Stevenage,

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where I met managing director Phil Reynolds.

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Phil, we're surrounded by some

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-really impressive and noisy robots here!

-Yeah.

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What exactly do you do in this building?

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Well, in the building, we're testing all types of furniture for

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manufacturers and retailers to check that they meet current British

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standards and legislation so that they're suitably strong and durable

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enough to use.

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All the furniture we buy should have been rigorously tested,

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and that means mattresses can be pounded up to 30,000 times

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to check their durability.

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Let's see if that could have been the case with the one that

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Charles bought.

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Well, even from here, Phil, I can see that, and even a layman

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can see that there's not a lot of support just here.

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-I mean, it's virtually hollow, isn't it?

-Yes.

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You do that, it just completely collapses.

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And when we look just here, look, we've got a very fancy-looking

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label on here, it says an orthopaedic memory foam.

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You would expect that to mean that there is something special about the

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way that the mattress responds to your body and supports your body,

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-wouldn't you?

-You would.

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Unfortunately, the word orthopaedic has no real definition in the

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mattress industry, so it's a term that's widely used for a whole

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variety of different mattresses that perform very differently.

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There's no real regulation on that particular word.

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Really? I think a lot of people will be surprised to hear that.

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'Time to find out exactly what this mattress is made of.'

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So, shall we cut it open and see what's going on?

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-OK, let's have a look.

-OK.

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Barry's cutting through the mattress quite easily,

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which probably suggests the layers are quite thin.

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Very quickly, we can see that there are just very thin layers of foam

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before the springs.

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Well, I'm no expert, but it doesn't look like a top-end mattress to me.

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So, is this what you expected to see inside this,

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considering that the whole mattress appears to have collapsed after just

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-three days?

-The description on the label is maybe slightly

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misrepresentative of what's there, yeah.

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Yes. Why do you think that, after three days, this collapsed?

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I think that's primarily because there's no sidewall to the mattress.

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There's nothing to support the edges of the mattress.

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So the natural movement to get in and out

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of a bed is to swivel on to the edge of the mattress and here,

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with no sidewall to add stiffness, it's just collapsing.

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Charles had hoped that his £250 had bagged him a bargain.

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Clearly, though, he was ripped off, and this is a really cheap mattress,

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but at least there's one consolation.

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Applying a gas flame to check its flammability proves that,

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while it may be poor quality, it isn't a fire risk.

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So, I suppose, from that point of view, we can say that there was

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at least one of those labels which

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-was accurate in that it said on the side...

-Yes.

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In fact, it's on that piece of the mattress that we're trying to burn

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-there...

-Yes.

-..that it is fire retardant.

-Yeah.

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Sadly, the same can't be said for all mattresses being sold

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door-to-door, some of which in fact the authorities have described as

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"potential fireballs".

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Well, we tried to contact Luxury Dreams at its Dewsbury address.

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As yet, we've had no response.

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But the advice, when shopping for a new mattress, is really very simple.

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Phil, presumably, the most important piece of information is never buy

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from some bloke who turns up offering you mattresses off the back

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of a lorry or out of the back of a van?

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I personally would not buy a mattress off the back of a lorry

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for that sort of price. I'd always recommend that somebody goes to a

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reputable retailer, so that, if you do have a problem, you can make a

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complaint, have it exchanged or refunded or even inspected by a

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qualified inspector to check to see

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whether there's a problem or manufacturing defect.

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And, back at home near Lytham,

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Charles would be sleeping more soundly if he'd bought his mattress

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from a proper store rather than off the back of a van.

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With the benefit of hindsight, it's a very embarrassing thing

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to admit that you have

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been ripped off in this particular way,

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but I would be very,

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very reluctant to buy a mattress

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from out the back of a van at any time in the future.

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Now, whether you're after a winning smile,

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fresher breath, or you just want to protect your teeth from decay,

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you'll have seen dozens of toothpastes out there that promise

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that they can do all these things and indeed more.

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In fact, there's such a dazzling array of products on the shelves,

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each making claims as to why theirs is the one to go for but, actually,

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it's quite hard to know which one to choose.

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So we've done some toothpaste tests and, if you've ever wondered whether

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it's worth splashing out a bit more for a big brand making bold promises

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or if you might as well just plump

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for the cheapest variety, well, we have got the answers.

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Brushing your teeth twice a day is one of the very first life lessons

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we're taught and, whilst that advice may not have changed very much since

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these films were made, the range and type of toothpaste on sale

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certainly has.

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You'll find dozens of different brands and varieties,

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promising all sorts of benefits.

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And with the price of similar-looking tubes anything from

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50p to £5, it's easy to wonder if choosing the pricier options might

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mean you're pouring your money right down the drain.

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And that's definitely something Rip-Off Britain viewer Robert Bagley

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from Tamworth had pondered on after paying £5 for a tube of paste,

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and it left him feeling rather down in the mouth.

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I was suffering with some sensitivity in my teeth, and I saw a

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brand-new toothpaste advertised on television, where they were

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demonstrating people actually using

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the toothpaste then being able to put an ice cube in their mouth.

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Hoping that this toothpaste would provide some sort of relief to his

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sensitive teeth, the very next day Robert bought some.

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So I used the toothpaste until I'd used it all up,

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and I had no beneficial effects from the toothpaste,

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in relation to my sensitivity.

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I thought I'd wasted money and that I didn't feel any benefit from it,

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my teeth were just as sensitive.

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I couldn't rinse my mouth out with cold water,

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I couldn't drink a hot drink, I had to wait for it to cool down.

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So, Robert went back to the shops and bought another brand of

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toothpaste that also claimed it could treat his problematic pegs,

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but at a fraction of the price.

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I used that and I did get benefits from it.

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I could actually rinse my mouth out with cold water

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after a while of using it.

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Now, there could be all sorts of reasons why, on this occasion,

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Robert found the cheaper paste had a better result, but it got him

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wondering whether paying more for toothpaste is ever really worth it.

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So he contacted us to help him find out, and, of course,

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it was a question we were only too happy to get our teeth into.

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I'd like to get to the bottom of actually what these toothpastes do

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and why they should be more expensive,

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and if they are necessary to have the more expensive brands to get

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clean teeth and to preserve your teeth.

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Good point. So we took Robert to meet microbiologist Angela Davies,

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to see if she can explain what makes one brand of toothpaste different

0:18:390:18:42

from the next, and ultimately whether the difference in

0:18:420:18:45

ingredients is worth shelling out more for.

0:18:450:18:48

She's going to do some tests, to see how a cheap toothpaste

0:18:480:18:51

performs in comparison to a more expensive one.

0:18:510:18:54

And by the way,

0:18:540:18:56

we're not measuring if our samples do anything elaborate or,

0:18:560:18:59

as in Robert's case, if they ease the pain from sensitive teeth.

0:18:590:19:02

Angela's going to be checking something much simpler -

0:19:020:19:05

how effective these toothpastes are

0:19:050:19:08

at killing the bacteria in Robert's mouth - the key to preventing

0:19:080:19:11

tooth decay. In other words, how well they clean his teeth.

0:19:110:19:15

And I'll just take a swab from there.

0:19:160:19:18

At Angela's request, Robert hasn't yet brushed his teeth this morning,

0:19:180:19:22

so his mouth is full of the germs that have built up overnight,

0:19:220:19:25

and taking a sample of that will

0:19:250:19:28

give an idea of just how much bacteria the toothpaste remove.

0:19:280:19:31

So what that will show us is how

0:19:310:19:34

many bacteria you've got in your mouth before we do the clean.

0:19:340:19:38

-Yeah.

-OK, so if we take...

0:19:380:19:40

if you pick up the toothbrush for me, Robert.

0:19:400:19:44

Angela asked Robert to clean one side of his mouth with a supermarket

0:19:450:19:49

brand toothpaste, costing 50p for a 100ml tube, and a new toothbrush.

0:19:490:19:55

Then with another new toothbrush,

0:19:550:19:57

he then cleans the left side of his teeth

0:19:570:19:59

with a branded paste at £1.24.

0:19:590:20:02

That's two and a half times as much for the same size tube.

0:20:020:20:05

But price is the only real difference between the two.

0:20:050:20:09

That aside, both toothpastes appear to contain the same key ingredients.

0:20:090:20:13

So, to see what this means for their performance,

0:20:130:20:16

Angela then carefully swabs each side of Robert's mouth,

0:20:160:20:19

to see what bacteria has been left over on each side,

0:20:190:20:23

and whether one toothpaste has killed any more than the other.

0:20:230:20:26

It will be interesting, I think,

0:20:260:20:28

to see if the cheap toothpaste did as well as the expensive one,

0:20:280:20:32

and will just prove that it isn't always price that counts.

0:20:320:20:37

The samples will be grown overnight, but whilst Robert is here,

0:20:370:20:41

he's very keen to find out more about what goes into his toothpaste

0:20:410:20:44

and how exactly those ingredients work.

0:20:440:20:46

Are all toothpastes the same?

0:20:480:20:50

They all seem to have different claims.

0:20:500:20:52

All toothpastes have a few key ingredients.

0:20:520:20:56

They all contain things like silica or some form of abrasive chemical,

0:20:560:21:01

which removes the debris and the bacteria from your mouth.

0:21:010:21:05

They contain a detergent or a soapy chemical, which cleans your teeth.

0:21:050:21:11

What's the most important one?

0:21:110:21:13

I'd say the most important ingredient is the active fluoride,

0:21:130:21:18

and that's there really to help prevent

0:21:180:21:21

tooth decay, by way of improving the enamel on your teeth.

0:21:210:21:26

So it actually has a benefit.

0:21:260:21:28

24 hours later, and the samples from Robert's teeth cleaning test are in.

0:21:290:21:34

These first samples show how much

0:21:340:21:36

bacteria was on Robert's teeth before he brushed that morning.

0:21:360:21:40

The petri dish shows plenty of bacteria, not all harmful,

0:21:400:21:44

but which, if left, would build up and cause decay.

0:21:440:21:48

But once he brushed with the cheaper brand,

0:21:480:21:50

it's clear to see that some bacteria has been removed by brushing.

0:21:500:21:54

On the supermarket own brand, you get a little bit of a reduction.

0:21:540:21:58

As for the sample taken from the side of Robert's mouth that was

0:21:580:22:02

cleaned with the more expensive branded toothpaste,

0:22:020:22:04

well, it certainly hasn't had the double effect.

0:22:040:22:07

The results aren't particularly different.

0:22:070:22:10

If we compare both, they're very, very similar.

0:22:100:22:15

So even though it's only a slight

0:22:150:22:17

reduction, they're very similar.

0:22:170:22:19

Angela's positive that,

0:22:190:22:21

with the amount of bacteria,

0:22:210:22:22

the toothpastes have killed about the same.

0:22:220:22:24

It will also be true of their

0:22:240:22:26

effectiveness in protecting

0:22:260:22:28

teeth against decay.

0:22:280:22:29

From that, it's inconclusive as to whether it's worth paying

0:22:290:22:31

the extra money for it.

0:22:310:22:33

Absolutely. There's no real advantage from the small test sample

0:22:330:22:38

that we've done to say that one is better than the other.

0:22:380:22:42

Now, from other tests Angela's done on colleagues,

0:22:420:22:45

it does seem that you may well get a cleaning blitz from using toothpaste

0:22:450:22:49

containing bicarbonate of soda,

0:22:490:22:51

which showed a significant reduction of bacteria in the mouth.

0:22:510:22:54

But she remains unconvinced that that justifies paying what could be

0:22:540:22:58

a significant extra cost.

0:22:580:23:01

As far as she's concerned,

0:23:010:23:02

whilst bicarbonate of soda will help remove the bacteria,

0:23:020:23:06

it's only fluoride that has a long-term benefit on dental health.

0:23:060:23:10

And so, there's little benefit really in choosing an expensive

0:23:100:23:14

paste, when even a bargain basement

0:23:140:23:16

50p tube will do the key job just as well.

0:23:160:23:19

And when Robert goes to see Angela's colleague,

0:23:190:23:22

chemist Dr Daniel Bernie, it's clear that he agrees.

0:23:220:23:25

It seems that cheaper toothpastes have all the same ingredients as

0:23:270:23:32

the dearer ones, and probably do just as good a job,

0:23:320:23:36

as long as you really brush your teeth really well.

0:23:360:23:39

Supermarket toothpastes have got all the ingredients in there that you

0:23:390:23:42

need to get clean teeth.

0:23:420:23:45

Some of the expensive ones may have different versions of those

0:23:450:23:48

chemicals, but they're still doing a similar job.

0:23:480:23:52

So price is not a guide, really, to the effectiveness of the toothpaste?

0:23:520:23:56

All the toothpastes will clean your teeth,

0:23:560:23:58

they've all got ingredients in there that clean your teeth adequately.

0:23:580:24:01

They'll all remove bacteria,

0:24:010:24:03

as long as you're brushing for your two minutes,

0:24:030:24:05

and your lifestyle is as such that you're not drinking a lot of sugary

0:24:050:24:09

drinks, you're not eating lots of food that will stain your teeth,

0:24:090:24:14

all the toothpastes will be good at cleaning your teeth.

0:24:140:24:17

So, it seems that Robert was right to wonder if there's any benefit in

0:24:180:24:22

spending extra on a more expensive toothpaste.

0:24:220:24:25

The key to good, healthy gnashers is more to do with diet and how you

0:24:250:24:29

brush your teeth, and not so much

0:24:290:24:31

about the cost of the product that helps you do it.

0:24:310:24:34

I think I've learned that most toothpastes will do the job,

0:24:340:24:38

irrespective of their price, and price is no guide, really,

0:24:380:24:42

to what the toothpaste will do for you,

0:24:420:24:45

as a basic toothpaste will work as well as the more expensive ones.

0:24:450:24:50

Still to come on Rip-Off Britain...

0:24:570:24:59

The bride unhappy at how quickly the designer shoes she'd splashed out on

0:24:590:25:03

lost their sparkle.

0:25:030:25:05

I noticed that my shoes were damaged and the glitter's all come off,

0:25:050:25:10

and I just suddenly felt really heartbroken.

0:25:100:25:13

'Once again we've opened up our pop-up shop in one of the biggest

0:25:180:25:21

'shopping centres in the UK.'

0:25:210:25:23

Yay!

0:25:230:25:25

And while the three of us spent a fair amount of time

0:25:250:25:28

-having our pictures taken...

-May we have one picture, please?

0:25:280:25:31

Yes, you can. I tell you what, you can have a picture.

0:25:310:25:33

..mostly, it was very much down to business with our team of consumer

0:25:330:25:37

experts, tackling more of your issues than ever before.

0:25:370:25:40

Amongst those popping in to see us

0:25:410:25:42

were Rosemary Wilkinson and her husband Gary.

0:25:420:25:45

They were looking for advice about a piece of technology that they'd

0:25:450:25:48

bought back in 2012.

0:25:480:25:50

Now, I know that both of you have travelled from Leeds to be with us

0:25:520:25:55

-today at the centre.

-Yes.

-Obviously David is your expert today,

0:25:550:25:58

-but what's the problem?

-I've a problem with my e-reader.

0:25:580:26:02

When I tried to download some new books that I bought online,

0:26:020:26:05

they just wouldn't download.

0:26:050:26:07

So eventually I contacted customer services,

0:26:070:26:10

and they went through a process of "Try this, try that," and it didn't

0:26:100:26:14

work, so they said they'd put me in touch with their technical team.

0:26:140:26:18

'And that is when the problems really started.

0:26:180:26:21

'After following instructions to reset her device,

0:26:210:26:24

'Rosemary thinks she's lost all her downloaded books.'

0:26:240:26:27

-So everything's wiped?

-It was wiped, all the content was wiped.

0:26:270:26:30

-So you were in a worse position after they'd helped you...

-Yes.

0:26:300:26:33

..than you were before you engaged with them?

0:26:330:26:35

Yes, which was the problem, which I kept trying to re-explain to people.

0:26:350:26:38

-When did this all start happening?

-It was last August.

0:26:380:26:41

Last summer...

0:26:410:26:43

-Yes.

-..the company rolled out a new software update to all of its older

0:26:430:26:48

devices, which looking at the age of yours, yours would be included in.

0:26:480:26:51

And it was a mandatory update,

0:26:510:26:53

and if you didn't install that update on to the e-reader,

0:26:530:26:56

then it would stop working. So what I want to check, if you've got it

0:26:560:27:00

with you, is the version of the software that's on there...

0:27:000:27:02

-Yes.

-..and whether that has or hasn't been updated.

0:27:020:27:05

Hey, watch this space!

0:27:050:27:07

Well, after doing a series of tests,

0:27:090:27:11

David had to conclude Rosemary's e-reader was beyond repair.

0:27:110:27:15

But don't worry, there was also good news.

0:27:150:27:18

The books that you've purchased,

0:27:180:27:20

quite a lot of books that you've purchased over the years,

0:27:200:27:22

-you haven't lost those.

-Right.

0:27:220:27:24

So they are still in your online lending library,

0:27:240:27:27

and were you to buy another one of this brand of e-reader, then you'd

0:27:270:27:30

be able to re-download those books to your new e-reader again.

0:27:300:27:33

Oh, right, now I didn't realise that.

0:27:330:27:36

And the other good thing is that, if you were to use a tablet, for

0:27:360:27:39

example, or even want to read books on your desktop,

0:27:390:27:42

on your laptop or whatever, you can also read those books from there.

0:27:420:27:45

-Oh, right, OK.

-So all is not lost.

0:27:450:27:48

Well, thank you, David. Thank you, Gloria.

0:27:480:27:51

Thanks very much indeed.

0:27:510:27:52

Now, a new face in our team of experts this year

0:27:520:27:55

was cybercrime and fraud solicitor Arun Chauhan.

0:27:550:27:59

Angela's found a quiet moment just to pick his brains.

0:27:590:28:02

Arun, we do get an awful lot of correspondence from people who say

0:28:020:28:05

that they've been the victims of cybercrime.

0:28:050:28:08

How prevalent is it?

0:28:080:28:10

Well, at the moment, the Office of National Statistics has said the

0:28:100:28:13

most prevalent crime in this country is fraud and cybercrime.

0:28:130:28:15

About 85% of people are worried about cybercrime.

0:28:150:28:18

Less than 15% feel safe online,

0:28:180:28:21

so it's a real big issue now for every walk of life,

0:28:210:28:23

every day-to-day business.

0:28:230:28:25

The most common way to get caught remains by e-mail,

0:28:250:28:28

so Arun has some very sound first steps to safety,

0:28:280:28:31

if you receive anything that you're unsure about.

0:28:310:28:33

At the moment there's a really useful campaign out called

0:28:330:28:36

Take Five - Stop Fraud, and it's available online.

0:28:360:28:38

It gives some really helpful tips.

0:28:380:28:40

Essentially, at the heart of it is just take five minutes to have a

0:28:400:28:42

little think about what you're being asked to do.

0:28:420:28:45

Stand back and have a careful consideration about,

0:28:450:28:47

do you know the person who's writing to you?

0:28:470:28:50

Is there a reason why they'd be writing to you?

0:28:500:28:52

And who are they?

0:28:520:28:54

Of course, many scam e-mails appear to be from trusted institutions,

0:28:540:28:58

asking for personal details.

0:28:580:29:00

On that, Arun's message is very simple.

0:29:000:29:02

You won't be asked by your bank to give sensitive information online,

0:29:020:29:06

they won't ask you to give your passwords,

0:29:060:29:08

they won't ask you to tell them your date of birth.

0:29:080:29:10

That won't be asked of you, and if someone's asking you for that,

0:29:100:29:13

steer well clear.

0:29:130:29:15

In another part of the shopping centre, we set up our Gripe Corner,

0:29:160:29:19

where anyone could come along and

0:29:190:29:21

get all their consumer issues off their chest.

0:29:210:29:23

First up, it's train fares.

0:29:230:29:25

It's very unfair on the people who have to use season tickets and then

0:29:250:29:28

have to sit on the floor.

0:29:280:29:30

What really annoys me is bad customer service.

0:29:300:29:33

Companies are quick enough to take your money,

0:29:330:29:35

but as soon as something goes wrong, they'll run a mile.

0:29:350:29:38

Cold calling. Having worked all day, you're sat at home, relaxing,

0:29:380:29:42

and it's constant. Where do they get the numbers from?

0:29:420:29:45

Now, how often on this programme

0:29:490:29:51

have you heard us talk about reading the small print?

0:29:510:29:54

We're always banging on about it because we know how those

0:29:540:29:56

pesky little terms and conditions can come back to bite you in almost

0:29:560:30:00

every element of everyday life.

0:30:000:30:02

But who'd have thought that could happen over glamorous and expensive

0:30:020:30:06

shoes? Well, that's exactly what happened to one bride

0:30:060:30:10

on her wedding day, who found that her specially chosen pair from one

0:30:100:30:14

of the best-known names in the luxury business were looking rather

0:30:140:30:17

worse for wear just hours after she'd first put them on.

0:30:170:30:20

But when she complained, she was told that she simply hadn't followed

0:30:200:30:24

the instructions on how to wear them.

0:30:240:30:26

Well, that led her to wonder if her fancy footwear really was made for

0:30:260:30:30

walking, and so she got in touch with us to help her find out.

0:30:300:30:34

Whether it's sky-high stilettos or trendy trainers,

0:30:360:30:40

you can tell a lot about a person from the style of shoes they wear.

0:30:400:30:43

And judging by the people we spoke to, many of you could give

0:30:450:30:49

Imelda Marcos a run for her money.

0:30:490:30:51

-How many pairs of shoes and boots do you own?

-Probably...75.

0:30:550:30:59

Can I ask you how many pairs of shoes you think you own?

0:31:020:31:05

-Probably about 50.

-Would you ever be prepared to pay as much as £300 for

0:31:070:31:10

-a pair of shoes?

-Yeah.

0:31:100:31:11

Yeah. What would they have to be if you were prepared to pay that much?

0:31:110:31:15

They'd have to be designer, obviously.

0:31:150:31:17

-Yeah?

-I've just bought a pair for that much.

0:31:170:31:19

-Have you?!

-Yeah.

-Having spent all that much money on your shoes,

0:31:190:31:22

-how long do you expect them to last you?

-Forever.

0:31:220:31:24

THEY LAUGH

0:31:240:31:27

Well, forever may be slightly pushing it,

0:31:270:31:30

but when bride-to-be Fiona White from Blackpool picked out the shoes

0:31:300:31:34

for her wedding, she was aiming for quality.

0:31:340:31:37

Oh, look. Shoes!

0:31:370:31:38

And she thought she'd found just the pair she wanted.

0:31:380:31:41

-Jimmy Choo, again. There.

-Wow.

0:31:410:31:45

I'd been looking online for quite a lot of different brands,

0:31:450:31:49

and looking for the right one for me.

0:31:490:31:53

And Jimmy Choo was love at first sight.

0:31:530:31:56

Jimmy Choo is one of the best-known luxury shoe brands,

0:31:560:32:00

and as you can see from this promotional video,

0:32:000:32:03

the company positions itself very much at the top end of the market,

0:32:030:32:06

both in terms of price and aspiration.

0:32:060:32:09

Now, the shoes Fiona fell for from the brand's 24/7 range are described

0:32:110:32:16

on the website as "everyday luxury".

0:32:160:32:19

So Fiona felt sure that they'd see her through her wedding day

0:32:190:32:22

and beyond.

0:32:220:32:25

I fell in love with it, and I just...

0:32:250:32:26

"Oh, wow, this gorgeous design." And even the heel and the colour,

0:32:260:32:31

the glitters, everything looked amazing.

0:32:310:32:33

It makes you feel like you're Cinderella!

0:32:330:32:36

But whilst Fiona may have felt like Cinderella,

0:32:360:32:39

the £450 price tag left her

0:32:390:32:42

mother-in-law Carolyn feeling rather more shellshocked.

0:32:420:32:45

There was a little bit of a sharp intake of breath when I

0:32:450:32:48

found out how much those shoes cost.

0:32:480:32:51

But at the end of the day,

0:32:510:32:52

I saw first-hand just how much they meant to her.

0:32:520:32:56

And when the wedding day dawned,

0:32:580:33:00

having planned her outfit so meticulously,

0:33:000:33:02

Fiona felt just as special as she'd hoped.

0:33:020:33:05

Oh, look at those, the shoes.

0:33:070:33:09

You hadn't even had them on your feet when that was taken.

0:33:090:33:12

Everything looks perfect. I feel like a princess.

0:33:120:33:15

And with my prince, wearing the bestest shoes in the world.

0:33:150:33:19

But it wasn't long into the reception when Fiona realised that

0:33:210:33:24

her fairy-tale shoes were starting to lose their sparkle.

0:33:240:33:27

I noticed that my shoes was damaged, and the glitter's all come off.

0:33:270:33:33

And just suddenly felt really heartbroken.

0:33:330:33:36

After what Fiona and her mother-in-law say was only about six

0:33:370:33:40

hours of wear, the designer footwear

0:33:400:33:43

didn't seem to be going the distance.

0:33:430:33:45

Both of my Jimmy Choo, the glitters on the edge is coming off.

0:33:450:33:52

So I lost a big amount of glitters here.

0:33:520:33:56

And it's damaged on the edge, and also the seam was open, here.

0:33:560:34:02

So I really believe that the quality is just not good enough.

0:34:020:34:05

And then the other one, same.

0:34:050:34:07

Having spent so much money on the shoes, Fiona felt thoroughly upset.

0:34:070:34:13

It's quite ruin of my day in the end, to be honest, because,

0:34:130:34:17

you know, that's expensive shoes I've ever had.

0:34:170:34:21

This is not just £20 shoes from the high street, this is a Jimmy Choo.

0:34:210:34:26

And mother-in-law Carolyn was equally dismayed.

0:34:260:34:29

Irrespective of how much the shoes were,

0:34:290:34:32

the fact that they were so badly damaged after six hours of careful

0:34:320:34:37

wear tells me that not only are they not of merchantable quality,

0:34:370:34:42

but they're definitely not fit for purpose.

0:34:420:34:45

So as soon as they could after the wedding,

0:34:450:34:47

the pair took the shoes back to where they'd bought them,

0:34:470:34:50

a branch of Selfridges in Manchester.

0:34:500:34:52

The store itself refused a refund,

0:34:520:34:55

and instead sent the shoes off to the manufacturer, Jimmy Choo,

0:34:550:34:58

to get its opinion.

0:34:580:35:00

But when that arrived two months later,

0:35:000:35:02

Fiona wasn't at all happy with the company's response.

0:35:020:35:05

'The shoes are not defective from production,

0:35:070:35:10

'and the issue to the shoes is classed as wear and tear

0:35:100:35:13

'or accidental damage.'

0:35:130:35:15

Now, I would've thought that

0:35:150:35:19

a pair of shoes, especially at that price, should've been

0:35:190:35:24

almost perfect after six hours of wear.

0:35:240:35:29

The company pointed out that the

0:35:290:35:31

shoe is sold with a care guide, stating that,

0:35:310:35:34

"a small amount of glitter may be lost with initial use,"

0:35:340:35:37

and wearers should "avoid contact with rain and ground water,

0:35:370:35:41

"which may damage the glitter."

0:35:410:35:44

But as Fiona insists she'd only walked outside briefly on her

0:35:440:35:46

wedding day, she feels very strongly

0:35:460:35:48

that she had looked after the shoes according to the instructions.

0:35:480:35:52

What's more, after paying £450,

0:35:520:35:55

she was expecting them to withstand more than six hours of wear.

0:35:550:35:58

And feeling Jimmy Choo and Selfridges were just

0:36:000:36:03

digging their heels in, Fiona brought her complaint to us.

0:36:030:36:06

So we arranged for Carolyn and Fiona to take the shoes to some of the

0:36:090:36:13

finest shoemakers in the land to see what they thought.

0:36:130:36:16

Brothers Andrew and David James

0:36:170:36:20

and Caroline Collins are from the Society of Master Shoe Repairers.

0:36:200:36:24

Between them, they've notched up nearly a century of experience in

0:36:240:36:27

preparing and caring for shoes.

0:36:270:36:29

So will they agree with the manufacturer that the damage is

0:36:290:36:33

simply a case of wear and tear?

0:36:330:36:35

Caroline is the first to make up her mind.

0:36:350:36:37

Nobody could say these have had excessive wear,

0:36:380:36:41

because there's literally no wear on that heel at all.

0:36:410:36:44

And for it to split, I would say, is the manufacturer's fault.

0:36:440:36:48

And David's also picked up on the split seams.

0:36:480:36:52

These seams are a construction fault.

0:36:520:36:54

It's the material that's come apart.

0:36:540:36:57

In this type of construction of shoe, it would fail at some point.

0:36:570:37:01

-But within six hours, it's probably not acceptable.

-Unacceptable.

0:37:010:37:06

And though Fiona was told she wouldn't get a refund,

0:37:060:37:09

Andrew thinks it's worth trying again.

0:37:090:37:11

Would you say that we then have a valid case to be able to go back to

0:37:110:37:16

-the manufacturer?

-I would say so.

0:37:160:37:18

However, Andrew also stressed that, in situations like this,

0:37:180:37:22

it's the retailer that has responsibility for resolving a

0:37:220:37:25

complaint, and not the manufacturer.

0:37:250:37:27

And that's a point reiterated by our resident trading standards expert

0:37:270:37:31

Sylvia Rook.

0:37:310:37:33

Whenever you buy any goods, your rights are always against the shop

0:37:330:37:35

from whom you bought them,

0:37:350:37:37

because that's the only person you have a contract with.

0:37:370:37:39

The Consumer Rights Act says that when you buy any goods,

0:37:390:37:42

they must be of satisfactory quality.

0:37:420:37:43

And that includes durability.

0:37:430:37:46

If the goods are not of satisfactory quality,

0:37:460:37:48

you can return them within 30 days and get all your money back.

0:37:480:37:51

Alternatively, you can ask for a repair or replacement.

0:37:510:37:54

After the 30 days, you lose your option to reject the goods,

0:37:540:37:58

but you can still get a repair or replacement,

0:37:580:38:00

and your rights will last for up to six years.

0:38:000:38:03

That doesn't mean to say that all goods must last for up to six years,

0:38:030:38:06

but it means you can make a claim for up to six years.

0:38:060:38:09

Well, so adamant in their opinion were these members of the

0:38:110:38:14

Association of Master Shoe Repairers

0:38:140:38:16

that they went on to send Fiona a report stating

0:38:160:38:19

that, though the glitter loss on the shoes could be put down to wear and

0:38:190:38:23

tear, they considered the split seams were undoubtedly

0:38:230:38:26

a manufacturing fault.

0:38:260:38:28

And while that gave Fiona all she needed to have another go at

0:38:280:38:31

getting a refund, she remains disappointed that shoes from a range

0:38:310:38:35

called 24/7 didn't survive a single day intact.

0:38:350:38:39

I was surprised, because people were expecting, you know,

0:38:400:38:43

you pay a couple of hundred pounds on shoes,

0:38:430:38:46

you are thinking they will be the best quality in the world,

0:38:460:38:48

and you can wear them maybe ten years, 20 years, 30 years.

0:38:480:38:51

But actually, the reality, maybe not.

0:38:510:38:54

That's quite shocking me today.

0:38:540:38:56

It doesn't, however, surprise cobbler Ryan Tracy,

0:38:560:38:59

who works in Manchester city centre.

0:38:590:39:02

He's regularly asked to fix luxury shoes from a variety of designer

0:39:020:39:06

names, and says splashing out on a pricier pair doesn't necessarily

0:39:060:39:10

mean they're built to withstand everyday wear and tear.

0:39:100:39:14

Roughly, we get in, on a weekly average,

0:39:140:39:17

about sort of 20 pairs, maybe. 20-30 pairs.

0:39:170:39:20

They come in, get their toes done, heels done, soles done.

0:39:200:39:23

I think when people buy these kind of shoes,

0:39:230:39:26

they expect them to wear straight the way through the street going

0:39:260:39:28

anywhere in them, really, whereas they're made for sort of, like,

0:39:280:39:31

a ball gown or something like that,

0:39:310:39:33

when you're just going down some stairs, showing people off your

0:39:330:39:36

shoes, then get them off for the dancing shoes to come on.

0:39:360:39:38

They're designed for, sort of, just walking down the red carpet and

0:39:380:39:41

just showing people what you've got, really, more than anything.

0:39:410:39:44

Well, when we put all this to Jimmy Choo,

0:39:460:39:49

the company told us it "takes great pride in the quality of its

0:39:490:39:52

"products, with all materials carefully sourced and tested to

0:39:520:39:55

"result in the fine detail synonymous with

0:39:550:39:58

"high quality luxury".

0:39:580:39:59

Pointing out that this is the first complaint received about this

0:40:010:40:04

particular shoe, Jimmy Choo also said that the Selfridges store

0:40:040:40:08

manager who served Fiona had highlighted the shoe's "lack of

0:40:080:40:12

"suitability for the wedding location in the notoriously wet

0:40:120:40:16

"Lake District", adding that photos Fiona sent show that she "wore the

0:40:160:40:21

"shoes on wet and muddy grass,

0:40:210:40:23

"seemingly for not an insignificant length of time."

0:40:230:40:26

The company went on to say that neither its specialist after-sales

0:40:260:40:30

team, nor the staff at Selfridges

0:40:300:40:32

who checked them, noticed a ripped seam.

0:40:320:40:34

Even so, when Fiona returned to Selfridges with her complaint,

0:40:350:40:39

armed with a report from those experts,

0:40:390:40:41

the store offered to exchange the shoes for another pair

0:40:410:40:44

of Jimmy Choos to the same value.

0:40:440:40:47

And it told us it's "delighted to have been able to bring

0:40:470:40:49

"the issue to a satisfactory end".

0:40:490:40:52

And while that does indeed bring a happy ending to Fiona's big day,

0:40:530:40:57

it seems that her brief romance with designer shoes has come to an end.

0:40:570:41:01

I'll just never spend that money on shoes again like this.

0:41:030:41:06

Well, if you have a story you'd like us to investigate,

0:41:170:41:20

then we now have even more ways to get in touch.

0:41:200:41:23

You can join in the conversation on our Facebook page.

0:41:230:41:26

Just look for BBC Rip Off Britain.

0:41:260:41:28

As well as the most up-to-date news, you'll also find exclusive

0:41:280:41:32

behind-the-scenes clips and pictures from the show.

0:41:320:41:36

Or you can log on to our website, bbc.co.uk/ripoffbritain,

0:41:360:41:41

where there's plenty of advice and fact sheets full of tips on how you

0:41:410:41:45

can avoid getting ripped off.

0:41:450:41:47

Or if you'd like to send us an e-mail,

0:41:470:41:49

then our address is...

0:41:490:41:52

And, of course, you can send a letter to our address:

0:41:540:41:57

Well, I must say we all felt so sorry for that bride and her

0:42:100:42:14

gorgeous shoes. Now, whether or not, as the company says,

0:42:140:42:17

she wasn't wearing them in the most appropriate location,

0:42:170:42:20

I can completely understand why she might have expected them to last a

0:42:200:42:23

little longer than they did.

0:42:230:42:25

But you know, that's really the point about value for money.

0:42:250:42:28

It can be entirely subjective, and nothing to do with, in fact,

0:42:280:42:32

-the price you paid.

-I think you're right, Gloria,

0:42:320:42:34

that's something we'd all agree with, but you know, at the same

0:42:340:42:37

time, if you are paying a higher price but not really getting much

0:42:370:42:40

more for your money,

0:42:400:42:42

as seemed to be the case with the toothpaste that we tested, well,

0:42:420:42:45

that's an entirely different matter altogether.

0:42:450:42:47

And it does just go to show that sometimes paying a higher price

0:42:470:42:51

might not actually get you the added benefits

0:42:510:42:53

that you would have expected.

0:42:530:42:55

And with that thought, that's all we've got time for for today.

0:42:550:42:59

Thanks to everyone who's shared their stories with us,

0:42:590:43:01

and we'll be looking into more of the cases you've written to us about

0:43:010:43:04

very soon. For now, though, whatever you do,

0:43:040:43:07

watch out for those door-to-door salesmen selling those mattresses.

0:43:070:43:11

That's one situation where you really can be sure you won't be

0:43:110:43:15

-getting good value, eh?

-Absolutely! LAUGHTER

0:43:150:43:17

Anyway, until next time, from all of us, goodbye.

0:43:170:43:20

-Goodbye.

-Bye-bye.

0:43:200:43:22

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