Episode 5 Rip Off Britain


Episode 5

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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've contacted us in your thousands.

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

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

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They just want to take money from people, that's what it's all about.

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

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

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What kind of people could do this to an innocent human being?

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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 have to go through various levels of authority

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and push your way through.

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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

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and what you can do about it.

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Your stories, your money.

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This is Rip Off Britain.

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Hello, welcome again to Rip Off Britain, where, as ever,

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we are here to investigate situations where you feel

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you've been left out of pocket or feeling thoroughly let down.

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And, of course, it's our job to battle on your behalf for answers,

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or - even better - to get things resolved.

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That is so right. I'm delighted to say that's exactly

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what we've succeeded in doing for some of the people

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that we've been meeting today.

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All of our stories involve companies that simply have not stuck

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to their end of the bargain,

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or, indeed, even kept to the most basic of promises.

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Because when you hand over your money, quite frankly,

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all you want in return is to get exactly what you paid for.

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You are absolutely right, Gloria.

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But, as you're about to see,

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things turned out very differently for the people we're about to meet.

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Whether that was deliberate

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or because the company was overstretched,

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the end result was the same - an awful lot of customers losing out,

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often to the tune of hundreds of pounds.

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So, as we try and put that right,

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we'll have some advice to stop it happening to you.

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Coming up - hundreds of customers let down by the same company,

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one that promised to find and sell sold-out goods,

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but just didn't deliver.

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I was extremely angry.

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That's when I really started to panic and thought,

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"Hold up, I'm not going to get my goods."

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That awful, sinking feeling,

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you feel that you're going to let your daughter down.

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That was just... It was awful.

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And the removal firm that kept this family waiting

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the best part of a year to get back its possessions.

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It's been terrible,

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it's almost like I feel that

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I've basically lost all of our possessions.

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Now, when a company fails to deliver on its promises,

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it can be bitterly disappointing,

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and that's going to be even more crushing

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if their failures means that you've got to let somebody down as well.

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I'm afraid that's exactly what happened

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to the people in our next film,

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all of whom had very similar experiences with the same company,

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a business that seemed to be offering must-have items

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that, apparently, nobody else could supply,

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but at the last minute wasn't able to provide anything whatsoever.

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So, we've been investigating

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what went wrong and seeing if there's any way

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that the rest of us can avoid losing out in a similar fashion.

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Now, whether it's a Buzz Lightyear toy or a Cabbage Patch Kid,

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if the shops run low on the latest toys and gadgets,

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parents really will go to infinity and beyond to track down whatever

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is top of their child's Christmas or birthday lists.

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And Emma Hurley from near Maidenhead is no exception.

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Her nine-year-old daughter, Lydia,

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desperately wanted one of the hottest toys of Christmas 2016.

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'Introducing Hatchimals.

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'They live inside of eggs and it's up to you to help them hatch.'

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A toy animal that, once hatched from its egg,

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can be looked after and raised to walk, talk and squawk.

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IT SQUAWKS

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She was desperate for this Hatchimal.

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It had to be this Hatchimal.

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She'd seen it on the television,

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and she was absolutely besotted with one.

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40 miles away in Eltham, in south-east London,

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nine-year-old Damian Sparks

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was hoping to wake up to another of 2016's

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most in-demand gifts on Christmas Day,

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and his dad David was determined to get it for him.

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Damian loves his games console, his PS4.

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So I thought it would be a good idea if we tried to purchase

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the virtual reality headset, which was the must-buy present.

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But, unfortunately for Damian,

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he wasn't the only one who had his sights on one of these headsets.

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In fact, wherever David looked, they were sold out.

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It was extremely hard to get hold of.

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They were saying the virtual reality headsets were not going to be

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in stock until end of January.

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Back in Berkshire, Emma was having an equally fruitless hunt

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for a Hatchimal in her local stores.

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I was only aware of how popular they were

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when I actually started looking for one.

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Then I realised that everybody had sold out of Hatchimals.

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You could not get them for love nor money.

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But, after a thorough look online, she came across a retailer

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that seemed to have the answer to her prayers.

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A company called SavviBuy

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was claiming to have stocks of the elusive toy.

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Every time I kept putting in the search engine for a Hatchimal,

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this company kept popping up - SavviBuy, SavviBuy,

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loads of Hatchimals in stock. SavviBuy.

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And, in south-east London, too,

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the search for a virtual reality headset that had seemed

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virtually impossible looked set to be resolved

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when dad David also stumbled across the SavviBuy site.

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Every time I searched, they were top.

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So, when I had a look at the website,

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I thought it was professional.

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Just to be on the safe side, I gave them a call.

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To David's relief, when he rang SavviBuy,

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which was based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester,

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he was reassured that it did definitely have

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the headset he wanted in stock.

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Better yet, it was the same price he would have paid

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in the high street - £340.

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So, David placed his order

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and received an e-mail confirmation stating he would

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receive the headset in four days.

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We were happy that Damian's main present

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was located, we didn't have to worry,

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and it was going to arrive before Christmas.

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Meanwhile, it seemed Emma's search for a Hatchimal was also at an end.

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I was euphoric. Absolutely euphoric.

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I'd looked online, I'd obviously got the Hatchimal,

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got the colour that she wanted, paid for it and that was it.

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Emma paid just under £90 for her toy,

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which actually was £30 more than the typical retail price.

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But knowing that she had secured

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what her daughter wanted made it worth every penny,

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especially when the company confirmed delivery would be

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in time for Christmas.

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Unfortunately, however, the delivery date came and then went,

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and then Emma started to worry.

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Every time a car came along,

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or every time a van pulled up, I kept thinking, "This is it."

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Because they'd promised delivery,

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I assumed that they were going to deliver it.

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I started to chase them for e-mails, as I needed reassurance.

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I got a response from a gentleman that reassured me

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that I would have that Hatchimal.

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In south London, David had also become tuned in to the sound

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of the postman's daily visit.

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-See you later.

-Bye, Dad.

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But every delivery was another without the headset.

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So, with Christmas creeping closer,

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David decided to do some digging

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into the company that he'd pinned all his hopes on.

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And what he unearthed did nothing for his spirits.

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Not only did David find plenty of negative reviews

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about the company online, he also discovered a Facebook page

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with the heading...

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..and he was shocked to find

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it had nearly 2,000 members.

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I discovered there was a Facebook group, lots of people had joined,

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unhappy with the company,

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been constantly trying to contact them,

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and had the same issues that I had.

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It seemed that right across the country, people had ordered

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all manner of hard-to-find gadgets from SavviBuy,

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from toys to quad bikes,

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robots to computer consoles,

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and although the company's website had guaranteed Christmas delivery,

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it was clear an awful lot of customers were being let down

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after placing orders that simply had not arrived.

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David realised that unless he took matters into his own hands,

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he risked not only losing the £350 he had paid for the headset, but,

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worse still, nine-year-old Damian would not be getting the gift

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he so desperately wanted.

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At that stage, I was extremely angry.

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That's when I really started to panic and thought,

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"Hold up, I'm not going to get my goods."

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That wasn't a situation he was willing to stand for.

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So, even though the head office of SavviBuy was over 240 miles away,

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David made a last-minute dash to the company to find his son's gift.

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But when he arrived at the Rochdale address,

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he found no trace of SavviBuy, only this shop,

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which was called Advance Technologies.

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And, although David said the shutters were down,

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he spotted a delivery truck being unloaded by staff

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around the back and took this photo. So, seizing his opportunity

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but unclear what connection this shop had with SavviBuy,

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David asked them about his order.

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They initially denied that they were SavviBuy,

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and that they had nothing to do with them.

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They were Advance Technologies, they were...

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You know, SavviBuy... Nothing to do with SavviBuy at all.

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But David was having none of it.

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I just said, "You've taken my money

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"and I wasn't leaving until you refunded my money."

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At that point, he ummed and ahhed, then said,

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"OK, give me your details."

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David was lucky, and did eventually get his money back.

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But he still didn't have the headset for his son.

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Back in Berkshire, Emma was still £90 out of pocket

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with no Hatchimal to show for it.

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That awful, sinking feeling,

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you feel that you're going to let your daughter down.

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That was just... It was awful.

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Awful, awful feeling.

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With time ticking, I'm glad to say Emma was able to find

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a Hatchimal from another seller.

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But she was determined to get back the money she'd paid to SavviBuy.

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I e-mailed SavviBuy, saying that I wanted my money back,

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that I'd had to go and purchase another one.

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I haven't had a reply, I'm still waiting for a reply.

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We've actually applied to get our money back

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through our credit card company.

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We've sent all the paperwork back over to them.

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Many other disgruntled customers of SavviBuy

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found themselves in the same boat.

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And those who've been in touch with Rip Off Britain all say that when

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they contacted the company for an explanation or a refund,

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they were advised to get in touch with their bank and to do it through

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what's called the "chargeback system".

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Now, as we've said before, that's an extra level

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of customer protection you may get when you pay

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on debit or credit card, for purchases under £100.

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But Sylvia Rook, from the Trading Standards Institute, says it's not

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guaranteed to get you your money back and, in any case,

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it's odd for a company to suggest it to its own customers.

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It's very unusual for a retailer to direct you straight to the bank

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to get chargeback. It is their responsibility

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to sort out the problem. With chargeback,

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the bank has to claw back the money from the merchant bank

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used by the trader. That means there has to be money there

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for them to claw back. Certainly that's a breach of contract,

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and the consumers are entitled to their money back.

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Well, to try to get to the bottom of exactly what went on here,

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we tried contacting SavviBuy for answers.

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But with the company's website and phone number now no longer active,

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our only lead was the shop in Rochdale that David had visited,

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Advance Technologies, which, of course, is the address

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from which SavviBuy had claimed to be operating.

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The manager there told us that although his team

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had been processing payments on behalf of SavviBuy,

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it had only ever been a middleman

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and it no longer had any links to the company.

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He said that although his business in no way responsible

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for SavviBuy's unfulfilled orders,

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he is nonetheless refunding the company's disgruntled customers,

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though, as a result, claimed to be out of pocket

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to the tune of £500,000.

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He lays the blame for all of this firmly at the door

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of those that own and run SavviBuy,

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and pointed us toward some Birmingham-based businesses which

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he said shared the same owners as SavviBuy.

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However, when we tried calling them, we were either cut off

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or told that no-one knew anything about this whole sorry affair.

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So, while we may never know whether this was a company

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that got out of its depth or was something more sinister,

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Sylvia has advice to ensure that next time any of us

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are trying to secure the latest must-have toy or gadget,

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we don't end up losing out the same way.

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The first thing I would say is do some internet research

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on the name of the company. If people are unhappy,

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they tend to post reviews,

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so you'll get an idea if there are likely to be some problems.

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Secondly, it's a good idea to use companies

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based in the United Kingdom.

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Just because a business has a ".co.uk" address

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doesn't mean they're actually based in the UK.

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You can do some checks to find out where the company is actually based.

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Despite the failed promises of SavviBuy,

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thanks to the determined efforts of their parents,

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Damian and Lydia did both end up getting the presents they so wanted.

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Damian's dad David found his virtual reality headset at a local store,

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just in the nick of time.

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Damian was over the moon, he was ecstatic.

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As for Emma, she did succeed in getting her money back

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through her credit card company and, despite the hassle along the way,

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Lydia couldn't be happier with her beloved toy.

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The relief that flooded in once I'd got that Hatchimal,

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I knew that my daughter would be so happy.

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-How good is he?

-The best toy ever!

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HATCHIMAL BABBLES

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Various surveys over the years have found that, for many,

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moving home can be just as traumatic as a bereavement or even a divorce.

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And that stress is made even worse if the move is between countries

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that are thousands of miles apart.

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So, you would hope that paying a removals company that specialises

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in shipping precious possessions

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from one side of the world to another,

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though it's likely to cost you thousands of pounds,

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is going to be worth every penny.

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But we've heard of hundreds of disgruntled customers

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of one such company, one that, far from delivering

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its clients' worldly goods to their new address as promised,

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has left them high and dry,

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without a clue as to where their belongings have gone.

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And, even worse, with no idea

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if they'll ever actually ever see them again.

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Dubai has a booming expat community,

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with tens of thousands of Brits living there on a permanent basis.

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And you can understand why, its combination of good salaries,

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low taxes and fantastic weather can make it so appealing.

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Martin Hartwell and his wife Leona

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were among those to fall in love with the distinctive lifestyle.

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It was special. You wake up and you've got the sun

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coming over the mountains - phenomenal.

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It really is.

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You're genuinely out there, living life on a different scale.

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We had a lovely, very big, spacious one-bedroom villa,

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at the foot of the Jebel Hafeet mountain in the desert.

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Having made a home out there, the couple decided to start a family.

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In October 2015, Olivia was born.

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But, hours after she was delivered, the couple received

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the devastating news that their baby was seriously ill.

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They told us that she's got a hole in her heart

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and more tests need to be done.

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We assumed the worst.

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We got very, very nervous and very, very upset, very quickly.

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Adding to the couple's worries,

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they discovered their current health insurance wouldn't cover

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Olivia's treatment and the only way they could afford the long-term care

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that she needed would be for them to return to the UK and use the NHS.

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We obviously had Olivia registered in the UK anyway,

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and we were literally just backwards and froing every month,

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to take Olivia to Birmingham Children's Hospital.

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After several months, the couple decided to move permanently back

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to the UK. So, whilst Olivia was in hospital in Birmingham,

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Martin stayed in Dubai and arranged for the family's goods,

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which included an apartment full of furniture and all the other things

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collected over the time they'd lived there, to be shipped back home.

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And, after shopping around for quotes,

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he was drawn to one company who boasted of...

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..in moving goods internationally.

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A business called Expat Relocations, which, though based in Dubai,

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also had the reassurance of an address in the UK.

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And, initially, things went well.

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The company came to our house, they packed everything up.

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We watched them do it.

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Obviously, we tried to help them, but they were like,

0:17:040:17:06

"No, this is what we do." They itinerarised everything,

0:17:060:17:10

obviously, we got the receipts of everything they'd taken,

0:17:100:17:13

we saw that they were writing

0:17:130:17:14

on the boxes what it was, where it was going.

0:17:140:17:18

So, kitchen, bathroom, front room, bedroom.

0:17:180:17:22

Martin paid the company £1,750 for its services,

0:17:230:17:27

about average for this kind of move,

0:17:270:17:29

which not only involved packing up all their stuff,

0:17:290:17:31

but also shipping it almost 7,000 miles by sea from Dubai to the UK.

0:17:310:17:38

It was all done very, very well.

0:17:380:17:39

It was a case of "Great, we'll see you in a couple of months,

0:17:390:17:42

"thank you very, very much."

0:17:420:17:43

With their lives boxed up,

0:17:430:17:46

Martin said goodbye to Dubai and headed back to the UK.

0:17:460:17:49

But, eight weeks later, when the couple had been led to believe

0:17:490:17:52

their belongings would turn up...

0:17:520:17:54

..they didn't.

0:17:550:17:56

There was no explanation from Expat Relocations.

0:17:560:17:59

When we called round, a full six months after that,

0:17:590:18:03

not only had their possessions still not arrived,

0:18:030:18:05

but the couple had almost given up hope that they ever would.

0:18:050:18:08

I'm missing Olivia's stuff, Olivia's clothes that she had,

0:18:100:18:13

that we'd bought for her.

0:18:130:18:15

Her bed. Yes, hello, we miss that, don't we? We miss our bed.

0:18:170:18:21

It has put us through a lot of extra stress.

0:18:210:18:23

I don't think that emigrating

0:18:230:18:25

or buying a house is a particularly stress-free thing anyway.

0:18:250:18:28

But when you sit in a house that's practically empty,

0:18:280:18:31

it just adds to that stress.

0:18:310:18:33

Martin says he's persistently called

0:18:340:18:36

and e-mailed Expat Relocations,

0:18:360:18:39

but his efforts have either been ignored

0:18:390:18:41

or he's been given excuses

0:18:410:18:42

and promises that haven't got him anywhere.

0:18:420:18:45

It's been terrible. It's almost like I feel that I've basically lost

0:18:450:18:50

all of our possessions.

0:18:500:18:52

Martin's only clues as to what might have happened after he waved goodbye

0:18:520:18:56

to his possessions back in Dubai

0:18:560:18:58

have come from other people who also used the company

0:18:580:19:01

and posted their feedback online.

0:19:010:19:03

And it seems there are a lot of disgruntled customers.

0:19:030:19:07

Here at Rip Off Britain,

0:19:070:19:09

we've heard from dozens of families and individuals

0:19:090:19:12

from all over the world

0:19:120:19:13

who have found themselves in exactly the same position as Martin.

0:19:130:19:17

And, like Martin, every one of them says that they have been let down

0:19:170:19:21

by Expat Relocations.

0:19:210:19:23

Among those we've spoken to, the Ramsey family,

0:19:250:19:27

who paid the company £6,000 to get their possessions sent from Dubai

0:19:270:19:32

to Aberdeen, but when Expat Relocations

0:19:320:19:34

failed to pay the shipping companies its fees,

0:19:340:19:37

the family ended up having to fork out

0:19:370:19:39

another £6,000 to get their belongings home.

0:19:390:19:43

Similarly, teacher Emma Godfrey

0:19:430:19:44

was told that her stuff would take four to eight weeks

0:19:440:19:47

to arrive back in the UK. But she ended up waiting four months,

0:19:470:19:51

and had to pay out an additional £500 in shipping fees

0:19:510:19:54

to get it all back.

0:19:540:19:56

A social media group made up of people with unhappy experiences

0:19:570:20:02

of Expat Relocations now has over 130 members.

0:20:020:20:05

But when we tried contacting Expat Relocations in Dubai

0:20:050:20:09

to ask about all those unhappy customers, we got no response.

0:20:090:20:13

We understand, however,

0:20:130:20:14

that the authorities out there have launched an investigation

0:20:140:20:18

into that end of the business.

0:20:180:20:20

Meanwhile, we were able to get some positive news for Martin and Leona.

0:20:210:20:25

We traced their possessions to a shipping company that had been

0:20:250:20:29

holding on to them while it waited for its fees to be paid

0:20:290:20:32

by Expat Relocations. When we got in touch with that company

0:20:320:20:35

and discussed the situation, it confirmed that it would be

0:20:350:20:38

delivering Martin and Leona's possessions free of charge.

0:20:380:20:42

-Good girl!

-MARTIN AND LEONA LAUGH

0:20:420:20:45

So today's the day that, after eight months of waiting,

0:20:450:20:48

Martin hopes to be reunited with all their worldly goods,

0:20:480:20:51

and I've called round at their home to check that they finally arrive.

0:20:510:20:55

Hi, Martin. Good to see you.

0:20:550:20:57

Hi.

0:20:570:20:58

'The word is that two lorry loads of their stuff

0:20:580:21:01

'is heading up the motorway,

0:21:010:21:03

'but Martin won't believe it till he sees it.

0:21:030:21:05

'The stress of the last eight months has taken its toll

0:21:050:21:08

'and he fears they may be let down again.'

0:21:080:21:12

We're sitting here waiting for this container to arrive.

0:21:120:21:15

Do you have any anxiety at all?

0:21:150:21:17

I've got nothing else to give, emotionally.

0:21:170:21:21

We'll just see when it arrives - if it arrives, I guess.

0:21:240:21:27

But as the day wears on and the delivery time passes by

0:21:270:21:31

with no sign of any lorry,

0:21:310:21:33

Martin fears he's going to be disappointed again.

0:21:330:21:36

So, when a further three hours have gone by, I make some enquiries.

0:21:360:21:39

I'm sure you've been as helpful as you possibly can be,

0:21:390:21:42

but we rang this afternoon at half past one

0:21:420:21:44

and was told it was coming at half past two,

0:21:440:21:47

and now you've told us it's going to be here at seven

0:21:470:21:50

or eight o'clock this evening.

0:21:500:21:52

And, just as we were about to give up all hope,

0:21:520:21:54

two lorries finally arrived,

0:21:540:21:56

and I'm glad to say they WERE carrying

0:21:560:21:59

Martin and Leona's long lost possessions.

0:21:590:22:01

And, of course, all Olivia's stuff, too.

0:22:010:22:03

Hopefully, she's excited to obviously get all of her toys back.

0:22:030:22:07

It's a bittersweet moment for the family.

0:22:070:22:09

Focused on their daughter's recovery, they didn't need

0:22:090:22:12

the distraction of chasing down a removal company to get back

0:22:120:22:15

what is rightfully theirs.

0:22:150:22:17

It's here. What a relief.

0:22:170:22:19

I don't think it's quite sunk in yet, but I guess when it does,

0:22:190:22:22

we'll be over the moon.

0:22:220:22:24

Still to come on Rip Off Britain -

0:22:330:22:35

the music fans led on a wild-goose chase,

0:22:350:22:38

who forked out hundreds of pounds for tickets they never received.

0:22:380:22:41

It makes your hurt sink. Like, it's all your hard-earned money

0:22:410:22:44

and they've just took it away from you, for nothing.

0:22:440:22:46

Rip Off Britain is on the road,

0:22:510:22:52

with Manchester Trafford Centre once again hosting our pop-up shop.

0:22:520:22:56

Are you ready? Let's go.

0:22:560:22:58

As usual, we loved meeting so many of you face-to-face.

0:22:580:23:02

You're doing a wonderful job.

0:23:020:23:03

Oh, I'm glad to hear you say so.

0:23:030:23:05

I want you to tell me what's really bothering you.

0:23:050:23:08

I do! What's really bothering you?

0:23:080:23:10

You came to see us in your droves,

0:23:100:23:12

and this year we had more experts

0:23:120:23:14

on hand than ever before to offer advice.

0:23:140:23:16

They have the facilities, as far as I'm concerned,

0:23:160:23:19

to suspend the account.

0:23:190:23:20

Olive Bailey from Norfolk and Lesley Garrow from Bradford

0:23:220:23:25

both came to see solicitor Gary Rycroft to see if they might have

0:23:250:23:28

a case, following some disastrous medical procedures.

0:23:280:23:32

So, Olive, begin by telling us what happened in your case.

0:23:320:23:35

I went to the dentist to have a crown fitted.

0:23:350:23:39

The dentist, he gave me one injection,

0:23:390:23:41

started to prepare the tooth.

0:23:410:23:43

He said, "Oh, I'm afraid I'm going to have to give you

0:23:430:23:46

"a second injection." So it went on, probably about another 15 minutes.

0:23:460:23:50

And he said, "I'm going to have to give you another injection."

0:23:500:23:54

'It was only after he'd fitted a temporary crown

0:23:540:23:56

'that the dentist dropped a bombshell.'

0:23:560:23:58

He said, "Well, I've got to tell you,

0:23:580:24:00

"during the procedure, I drilled your tongue,

0:24:000:24:04

"so I'm going to have to give you an injection in your tongue

0:24:040:24:08

-"so I can stitch it."

-What did you feel at that point?

0:24:080:24:11

Well, I just wanted to run!

0:24:110:24:14

But Olive stayed put while the dentist stitched up her tongue,

0:24:140:24:18

and then she headed to reception.

0:24:180:24:19

I paid my £196, I think it was.

0:24:210:24:26

-And...

-He still charged you,

0:24:260:24:27

even though he'd drilled through your tongue?

0:24:270:24:29

That was my initial payment, yes.

0:24:290:24:32

And went home.

0:24:320:24:34

'As the injections wore off,

0:24:340:24:36

'Olive says she suffered persistent pain in her mouth and tongue,

0:24:360:24:40

'and she's been left unable to face going to the dentist again.'

0:24:400:24:44

You have no idea how petrified I am.

0:24:440:24:47

So you've got the basic facts there, then, Gary.

0:24:470:24:50

Olive, you've got a very strong case for medical negligence.

0:24:500:24:55

There was fault, drilling through your tongue,

0:24:550:24:58

and that has caused you distress,

0:24:580:25:01

so your claim would be for, I would say,

0:25:010:25:04

the cost of the treatment that you've had,

0:25:040:25:07

the pain and suffering that you underwent

0:25:070:25:10

and the psychological impact.

0:25:100:25:12

But you've got to bring a claim within three years

0:25:120:25:16

of you first discovering the injury.

0:25:160:25:19

Lesley, yours is quite a different problem.

0:25:190:25:22

From teeth to eyes.

0:25:220:25:24

To eyes. I had lens replacement surgery in 2015.

0:25:240:25:29

Went and had the left eye done first - fine, everything fine.

0:25:290:25:34

Week after, I went for the right one doing, for the distance.

0:25:340:25:38

Had it done, gave it time to settle, you know.

0:25:380:25:41

Had the bandages taken off, went for a check-up.

0:25:410:25:44

"Oh, yeah, everything's healing fine." I said,

0:25:440:25:47

"But I haven't got any distance. I still can't see."

0:25:470:25:49

'Though the surgeon said Lesley's eyesight would improve over time,

0:25:490:25:53

'it didn't, even after she followed his advice

0:25:530:25:55

'and subsequently forked out for laser surgery, too.'

0:25:550:25:58

Did you get any guarantees when you had the work done?

0:25:580:26:01

They did say that when we went we'd get 20/20 vision or your money back.

0:26:010:26:05

But they're now saying that, no, that's only on laser.

0:26:050:26:08

Effectively, have they told you that what they've done is failed?

0:26:080:26:11

They say they can't understand why I haven't got the 20/20 vision,

0:26:110:26:13

why I can't see long distance.

0:26:130:26:15

Any medical procedure has inherent risks.

0:26:150:26:19

And, as a patient, you're meant to have informed consent

0:26:190:26:23

to understand when you go to the dentist, or go to the optician,

0:26:230:26:27

that things may not work out.

0:26:270:26:29

And just because they don't work out doesn't mean you have a claim

0:26:290:26:33

in medical negligence.

0:26:330:26:34

You will have a claim if there has been fault,

0:26:340:26:38

and if that has caused damage to you that could have been avoided.

0:26:380:26:43

Have you had time off work as well?

0:26:430:26:44

Yes, I've had time off to go.

0:26:440:26:46

So, you've got loss of earnings by having to take time off work,

0:26:460:26:50

and that will actually all form part of your claim.

0:26:500:26:53

So you've both got strong legal cases.

0:26:530:26:55

Are we sending away two people who are a bit happier

0:26:550:26:57

than they were when they came and sat down?

0:26:570:26:59

-Yes, definitely.

-Looks to be light at the end of the tunnel.

0:26:590:27:02

-Thank you for your time.

-Thank you.

-Pleasure.

-Thank you.

0:27:020:27:04

When you want to have a good old moan about a consumer issue

0:27:080:27:11

that's got on your nerves,

0:27:110:27:13

what better place to come than our very own Gripe Corner?

0:27:130:27:16

No wonder so many of you are taking the opportunity to let off steam.

0:27:160:27:21

What really makes me angry as a young woman

0:27:210:27:23

is going to a car garage, because I know they can rip me off

0:27:230:27:26

because I don't know anything about cars.

0:27:260:27:28

Each time you go into a shop and the prices have gone up

0:27:280:27:32

and they use Brexit as an excuse.

0:27:320:27:35

Cold callers, they drive me nuts!

0:27:350:27:37

"Hello. How can I help today?"

0:27:370:27:40

Don't call again!

0:27:400:27:42

From The Beatles to Bieber - that's Justin, in case you didn't know -

0:27:460:27:50

getting your hands on a ticket to see your pop idol

0:27:500:27:53

has always been a bit of a scramble.

0:27:530:27:55

But whether you've had to queue up at the box office

0:27:550:27:58

or hang on the phone in the hope of getting a seat,

0:27:580:28:00

it's all been part of the fun of being a fan.

0:28:000:28:03

But these days things have got a lot murkier now that so many tickets

0:28:030:28:06

are booked online.

0:28:060:28:08

While the internet has undoubtedly made some of these

0:28:080:28:11

transactions much easier, it also means that most of them involve

0:28:110:28:14

dealing with someone who you can't see or speak to.

0:28:140:28:18

And when it's hard to know who you're dealing with,

0:28:180:28:21

how can you be sure that they'll actually deliver

0:28:210:28:23

the tickets you want? Unfortunately for some people, they don't,

0:28:230:28:27

like the families we're about to meet.

0:28:270:28:29

But, after years of headlines warning about rip-off ticket touts,

0:28:290:28:33

it could be that things are about to get better, at last.

0:28:330:28:37

# Go through the darkest of days... #

0:28:370:28:39

17-year-old Brandan Fowler from Leeds

0:28:390:28:42

is more than a fan of Justin Bieber.

0:28:420:28:44

He's a super-fan.

0:28:440:28:46

I'd seen Justin Bieber previously in concert.

0:28:470:28:51

Justin Bieber inspired me to play guitar when I was about ten.

0:28:510:28:56

And his sister Roxy and mother Louisa watched

0:28:570:29:00

as his music skills developed.

0:29:000:29:02

He'd followed Justin Bieber from, like, the very beginning

0:29:040:29:07

and kind of idolised him and he'd been a really big influence

0:29:070:29:10

in his life in learning instruments and things like that.

0:29:100:29:13

He probably wouldn't admit that now as a 17-year-old,

0:29:130:29:16

but he does have a soft spot for his music.

0:29:160:29:18

Two more dedicated Beliebers are Leah and her friend Erin

0:29:210:29:25

from Retford in the East Midlands.

0:29:250:29:27

Their mountain of memorabilia says it all.

0:29:270:29:30

I've had this since I was little.

0:29:300:29:32

And it means so much to me and it was always my favourite toy

0:29:320:29:35

when I was a child. And it even sings and everything.

0:29:350:29:39

DOLL PLAYS "BABY" BY JUSTIN BIEBER

0:29:390:29:41

I can't even describe how much he means to me.

0:29:410:29:46

I don't know, he's just everything!

0:29:460:29:49

So, when Justin Bieber announced to his 2016 world tour

0:29:500:29:54

would be taking in the city of Sheffield,

0:29:540:29:56

just 40 miles from their home, Leah's mother Sadie

0:29:560:30:00

leapt in to action as soon as the tickets were released.

0:30:000:30:03

So the tickets went on sale at nine o'clock.

0:30:030:30:06

I had my iPad, a laptop, two phones all, you know, refreshing each one.

0:30:060:30:13

I did that for about an hour.

0:30:130:30:15

And, up the road in Leeds, Roxy was also poised,

0:30:150:30:18

ready to buy tickets so the family could surprise her brother Brandan.

0:30:180:30:22

Well, cos he's such a big artist, it's so hard,

0:30:220:30:25

so you have to sort of get there within, like, 30 seconds,

0:30:250:30:28

they can be sold out, so I was looking through every kind of,

0:30:280:30:31

you know, online place I could to try and find the best tickets

0:30:310:30:35

for the most affordable price.

0:30:350:30:36

With the official ticket website quickly under strain,

0:30:390:30:42

both families started to panic that the tickets might soon be sold out.

0:30:420:30:46

So they began looking elsewhere and each found themselves on a website

0:30:460:30:50

called ticketselection.co.uk.

0:30:500:30:53

To their delight, it appeared to have plenty of tickets

0:30:530:30:56

for the Sheffield dates, although they came at a price.

0:30:560:30:59

The Ticket Selection website just looked like

0:31:000:31:03

any other normal website, really genuine, you know, just...

0:31:030:31:06

Yeah, it looked really professional, it wouldn't ever cross my mind

0:31:060:31:10

that it wasn't professional or legitimate.

0:31:100:31:13

When we found the tickets,

0:31:130:31:15

they were obviously a lot more money than what they were on general sale.

0:31:150:31:19

But we were that glad just to have found the tickets

0:31:190:31:23

because it meant our daughters could go

0:31:230:31:26

that it was a massive weight lifted.

0:31:260:31:29

We were so excited.

0:31:290:31:30

-We were jumping up and down.

-We were so happy.

0:31:300:31:32

I remember jumping off the couch.

0:31:320:31:34

Yeah. We were really giddy.

0:31:340:31:35

-So excited.

-We couldn't wait to tell Brandan.

-Yeah.

0:31:350:31:39

Unofficial online sellers, usually called secondary ticket websites,

0:31:390:31:43

have attracted a lot of attention in recent years.

0:31:430:31:46

Initially set up as a place where fans could off-load tickets

0:31:460:31:49

they could no longer use,

0:31:490:31:51

over the years they've gained a reputation for selling them on

0:31:510:31:54

at many times the face value.

0:31:540:31:56

So Sadie and Joanne each paid ticketselection.co.uk £300

0:31:560:32:01

for a pair of tickets, and Roxy and Louisa paid over £400

0:32:010:32:05

for all three of theirs.

0:32:050:32:07

Though they were relieved to have been able to get them at all,

0:32:070:32:09

some niggling worries began to creep in.

0:32:090:32:12

I had an e-mail back saying,

0:32:130:32:15

"The tickets will be posted out but if they don't get to you three days

0:32:150:32:20

"before, then we'll get you to pick them up actually at the venue."

0:32:200:32:24

Which I thought was a bit suspicious cos I'd never heard of that before,

0:32:240:32:28

but obviously you just go along with it

0:32:280:32:30

and accept that's what's going to happen.

0:32:300:32:33

Well, three days before the event, no tickets had arrived.

0:32:350:32:39

I started to think, "There's definitely something wrong

0:32:390:32:42

"because we haven't got the tickets, what are we going to tell the girls?

0:32:420:32:44

"What am I going to do if they don't come?"

0:32:440:32:47

They'd been counting down for a year.

0:32:470:32:49

Every day. I've been watching it.

0:32:490:32:51

It's... They'd have been heartbroken.

0:32:510:32:54

Absolutely heartbroken.

0:32:540:32:55

Joanne and Sadie did what they now wished they'd done much sooner

0:32:550:32:59

and checked out other people's experiences of the company online.

0:32:590:33:03

To their horror, they read a stream of negative reviews, and though some

0:33:030:33:07

customers HAD got their tickets, albeit at the last minute,

0:33:070:33:10

they were many who had received nothing at all.

0:33:100:33:13

Now desperately worried, Joanne called the number

0:33:130:33:16

on the company's website and, to her surprise,

0:33:160:33:18

someone picked up.

0:33:180:33:20

To make sure she got all the information she needed,

0:33:200:33:23

Joanne recorded the call,

0:33:230:33:25

and was reassured she could still collect the tickets on the day.

0:33:250:33:29

Joanne was told she could pick up her tickets

0:33:450:33:48

from someone called David at 7:15pm outside the arena,

0:33:480:33:51

just before Justin Bieber was about to start.

0:33:510:33:54

And in Leeds, after making similar enquiries,

0:33:550:33:58

Roxy and Louisa were told the same thing.

0:33:580:34:00

They needed to meet David, presumably the same one,

0:34:000:34:03

also at 7:15 at the venue.

0:34:030:34:06

So, on the day of the gig, we were still really optimistic, weren't we?

0:34:080:34:10

We had a whole day planned, we were going out for a meal,

0:34:100:34:13

we were going to spend time with family in Sheffield,

0:34:130:34:16

and then we were going to surprise Brandan

0:34:160:34:18

and go to the gig, weren't we? We were really excited.

0:34:180:34:21

But, on the other hand, despite all the excitement,

0:34:210:34:24

Joanne couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right.

0:34:240:34:29

So, on her way to meet David,

0:34:290:34:31

she called again to confirm the arrangements

0:34:310:34:34

and the reaction wasn't at all what she'd expected.

0:34:340:34:36

We're on our way there now.

0:34:390:34:41

Because you said quarter past seven.

0:34:430:34:44

Because you said quarter past seven.

0:34:460:34:49

Baffled as to what was going on,

0:34:500:34:51

they got to the arena as quickly as possible.

0:34:510:34:54

But when they arrived,

0:34:540:34:55

they found a crowd of other fans doing the same as they were,

0:34:550:34:58

looking for this mysterious man called David,

0:34:580:35:01

who was nowhere to be seen.

0:35:010:35:03

And, as the start time for the concert drew ever closer,

0:35:050:35:08

Roxy, Louisa and Brandan arrived at the venue

0:35:080:35:10

and faced the same realisation - there were no tickets.

0:35:100:35:14

I went into the arena and I said to the person behind the counter,

0:35:160:35:19

where is this guy called David?

0:35:190:35:21

And she said, there's no person called David whatsoever.

0:35:210:35:24

So she then told me that I'd been conned buying tickets.

0:35:240:35:27

I then came outside, and when I came outside,

0:35:270:35:30

there were a congregation of about 20 people.

0:35:300:35:32

-Yeah. All stood right here.

-All stood roundabout here.

0:35:320:35:35

It makes your heart sink, like, it's all your hard-earned money

0:35:350:35:38

and they've just took it away from you for nothing.

0:35:380:35:40

All of them had been left hundreds of pounds out of pocket.

0:35:410:35:45

But, sadly, their story comes as no surprise

0:35:450:35:47

to ticket industry expert Reg Walker, who's worked for some

0:35:470:35:50

of the UK's biggest venues to help them tackle

0:35:500:35:53

this kind of ticket fraud.

0:35:530:35:55

And he believes that it's the way concert tickets

0:35:550:35:57

are typically sold that leaves them open to abuse,

0:35:570:36:00

not least because touts have developed software

0:36:000:36:03

that allows them to snap up thousands of tickets

0:36:030:36:06

at once to sell on at inflated prices

0:36:060:36:09

on these secondary ticketing sites.

0:36:090:36:11

Now, not long after we filmed this report,

0:36:110:36:13

the government announced that it would be cracking down on that

0:36:130:36:16

and Reg was able to demonstrate why such action was sorely needed,

0:36:160:36:19

by showing us what happened when tickets

0:36:190:36:22

for a Lady Gaga concert were released.

0:36:220:36:25

OK, so it's just coming up to nine o'clock now.

0:36:250:36:28

And what you should see is the general on sale for tickets.

0:36:280:36:34

So these tickets are now available to the public.

0:36:340:36:36

But, as quickly as they go on sale for £66 on the official websites,

0:36:380:36:43

those tickets start to appear on the secondary sites, too.

0:36:430:36:46

And, even as we speak,

0:36:460:36:49

the tickets on the secondary sites are already increasing.

0:36:490:36:55

We're seeing a jump on a second site here which is advertising

0:36:550:37:00

318 tickets for a London show,

0:37:000:37:03

306 for the Birmingham show,

0:37:030:37:06

and 280 for the Manchester.

0:37:060:37:08

That's on a secondary site.

0:37:080:37:10

Reg is in no doubt about how they've got there so fast.

0:37:100:37:14

Now, these are not genuine fans that have simply purchased tickets.

0:37:140:37:19

Hundreds of fans don't purchase tickets and then think,

0:37:190:37:21

five minutes later, "I can't make that event, I better resell them."

0:37:210:37:24

It's an absolute nonsense.

0:37:240:37:26

This is harvesting by touts who then relist these tickets at

0:37:260:37:30

hiked-up prices and it artificially forces

0:37:300:37:33

the price of tickets up to fans.

0:37:330:37:35

So, effectively, it's a rigged market being manipulated

0:37:350:37:40

by pretty unscrupulous people.

0:37:400:37:42

Following a major report into the industry,

0:37:430:37:45

and after years of fans being ripped off,

0:37:450:37:47

the government's announced it will change the law and issue

0:37:470:37:51

unlimited fines on touts using the type of software

0:37:510:37:54

that lets them bulk buy tickets.

0:37:540:37:57

But it's one thing to charge over the odds for a genuine ticket

0:37:570:38:00

and quite another to do the same for one

0:38:000:38:02

there's no guarantee you'll ever receive.

0:38:020:38:05

Trouble is, Reg fears that when even the more reputable firms

0:38:050:38:08

don't always stick to the rules,

0:38:080:38:10

consumers are left wide open to being scammed,

0:38:100:38:13

as they've very little way of telling which sites can be trusted.

0:38:130:38:17

Looking through these, we're increasingly seeing

0:38:180:38:22

that the majority of these tickets for Lady Gaga shows

0:38:220:38:26

have no resellers' details and they certainly only have partial

0:38:260:38:30

or incomplete seat details.

0:38:300:38:33

This exposes the public to risk

0:38:330:38:35

and the chance that they are being ripped off.

0:38:350:38:39

And Reg's concerns are backed up by Sylvia Rook from Trading Standards,

0:38:390:38:43

who says the law is clear when it comes to selling tickets.

0:38:430:38:47

The Consumer Rights Act introduced rules for

0:38:470:38:50

secondary ticketing agencies advertising online.

0:38:500:38:53

The rules say that any ticket that is being advertised

0:38:530:38:56

must give the face value and it must give the exact seat details

0:38:560:39:00

so you know what you're buying before you enter into a contract.

0:39:000:39:03

The reason that these rules are there is to make sure

0:39:030:39:06

that we don't end up with a seat that's being advertised

0:39:060:39:08

that doesn't actually exist.

0:39:080:39:10

But Reg says that, if you do find yourself looking at tickets

0:39:110:39:14

on a secondary site, there are things you can do

0:39:140:39:16

to ensure you're dealing with a legitimate company,

0:39:160:39:20

so that, even if you end up paying over the odds,

0:39:200:39:22

you can at least be sure you'll get your ticket.

0:39:220:39:25

If you are considering purchasing from a secondary website,

0:39:260:39:30

check with the venue whether they have an authorised resale partner.

0:39:300:39:34

And if there really are no further tickets that are

0:39:340:39:38

going to be released for the event,

0:39:380:39:39

only try on their authorised resale site.

0:39:390:39:42

This will ensure that, if there is a problem with your ticket,

0:39:420:39:45

you can get it solved on the night, at the venue.

0:39:450:39:49

Check, too, that any site you use has a proper address

0:39:500:39:53

that isn't simply a PO box, or indeed an address overseas.

0:39:530:39:57

Otherwise, if things go wrong,

0:39:570:39:59

there may be less chance of getting them sorted out

0:39:590:40:01

or of getting your money back. As, I'm afraid,

0:40:010:40:04

has proved to be the case with those disappointed Justin Bieber fans

0:40:040:40:08

we met. The website they booked through, ticketselection.co.uk,

0:40:080:40:12

ceased trading a few months before the Justin Bieber gig

0:40:120:40:16

after being taken over by a very similarly named website,

0:40:160:40:20

ticketselection.com, run by a company in Spain.

0:40:200:40:23

Well, when we contacted that company, it told us that...

0:40:250:40:28

..is always its priority.

0:40:320:40:34

The company went on to say that the person David

0:40:340:40:37

that Roxy, Louisa and Joanne were all communicating with

0:40:370:40:40

in order to collect their tickets,

0:40:400:40:42

worked for an external courier company that they no longer employ.

0:40:420:40:47

It apologised...

0:40:470:40:51

adding that the business has invested in its systems

0:40:510:40:54

to address this, and suggested that the customers we filmed with

0:40:540:40:57

get in touch to resolve things.

0:40:570:40:59

The company also questioned the credentials of our expert,

0:40:590:41:02

Reg Walker, and what it called his "wild claims",

0:41:020:41:06

although, after doing all the appropriate checks,

0:41:060:41:09

we're confident that Reg DOES know what he's talking about.

0:41:090:41:12

Meanwhile, I'm pleased to say there was at least some relief

0:41:120:41:15

for our disappointed Justin Bieber fans.

0:41:150:41:17

They did manage to get to see their idol after all.

0:41:170:41:21

The venue still had a few seats left but,

0:41:210:41:23

at this late stage it meant

0:41:230:41:25

Roxy, Louisa and Brandan had to sit apart.

0:41:250:41:27

Sadie and Joanne also succeeded in getting in.

0:41:270:41:30

And while all of them have managed to get their money back

0:41:300:41:33

from their bank and credit card company,

0:41:330:41:35

they won't be taking any chances

0:41:350:41:37

on where they buy their tickets in future.

0:41:370:41:40

In the future, I will buy the tickets from the venue,

0:41:400:41:43

because I feel that's the safest option.

0:41:430:41:45

Yeah. Definitely more cautious now in buying tickets.

0:41:450:41:49

I'll now only buy tickets off official ticket sites.

0:41:490:41:53

I won't buy tickets off any resale sites now.

0:41:530:41:57

If you've got a story you'd like us to investigate,

0:42:040:42:07

get in touch with us via our Facebook page, BBC Rip Off Britain,

0:42:070:42:11

our website, bbc.co.uk/ripoffbritain...

0:42:110:42:16

..or e-mail.

0:42:170:42:19

Or, if you want to send us a letter, then our address is...

0:42:220:42:25

Well, sad to say, we may never know for sure the entire truth

0:42:370:42:41

behind some of the stories that we've heard about today.

0:42:410:42:44

The businesses that were involved certainly all do claim

0:42:440:42:47

to have genuinely intended to supply the services

0:42:470:42:49

for which their customers ordered and paid,

0:42:490:42:53

even if, ultimately, they did no such thing.

0:42:530:42:56

That's one of the things that annoys me the most

0:42:560:42:58

when I hear about cases like these.

0:42:580:43:00

If a company knows that it cannot deliver what you've asked for,

0:43:000:43:04

why on earth does it make out that it can?

0:43:040:43:06

We know, of course, that anyone can make a mistake,

0:43:060:43:08

but when it does the same thing to a number of people,

0:43:080:43:11

as happened here, in all honesty, you can't help but question

0:43:110:43:14

either its capability or, indeed, its motives.

0:43:140:43:18

Well, perhaps the best tip is to be aware of any business

0:43:180:43:21

that says it can supply something its better-known rivals can't,

0:43:210:43:24

however much you might want to believe that.

0:43:240:43:27

And, on that cautionary note, it's where we have to leave things today,

0:43:270:43:30

but please do keep all your stories and letters coming.

0:43:300:43:33

We wouldn't have a programme without them.

0:43:330:43:35

And we'll be back to investigate more of them very soon.

0:43:350:43:37

So, until then, from all of us, goodbye.

0:43:370:43:40

-Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

0:43:400:43:41

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