Episode 16 Watchdog Daily

Hello and welcome to Watchdog Daily. We're with you live for the next 45

minutes. This morning, its Cyber Monday, tipped to be the busiest

day of the year for online shopping, but could you get caught out?

Comeuppance for the cold callers, the crackdown on the businesses

that won leave you alone. And And found in your food, how do the bugs

and foreign bodies get there there? Is your taxi safe? The Consumer

Cops flag down the cabs and their drivers.

You need to calm down, sir. We are just issuing with a suspension

notice. Welcome to so-called Cyber Monday.

Tipped to be the UK's busiest day of the year for online shopping as

millions of us search for the perfect Christmas presents. Experts

predict �5 billion will change hands online in the next three

weeks. In October, the Office of Fair Trading revealed over 60

retailers were potentially breaking consumer rules, but what protection

The crowds, the queues, the time and the stress. No wonder so many

are giving the shops a miss and surfing the web instead. Troubling

is, while buying goods is easy, returning them can be a nightmare.

Julia Griffiths persuaded her parents to buy two-folding beds

online. At �490, they looked like a good deal and then came the

delivery. We opened just one of them. Removed

the bed from the box. Unfolded it. Sat on it and realised the mattress

was not what we were expecting at all so we decided to put it back in

its box and we phone the company to request a refund.

But that request was refused. The company said the standard beds had

been brought in specially. When Julia disputed this, it said the

bed was unsellable because it had been removed from its box.

It has made me angry that this company has taken our money. Now we

have been left with products that we don't want and we are out of

pocket a lot of money. Julia is right to be disappointed

because she should have got the money back. As this was an online

purchase, she was protected by the distance selling regulations which

give customers the right to a full refund if they cancel an order

within seven days of receiving it. According to the guidance drawn up

by the office on fair trading, that right remains even if they open the

box and remove the packaging. When you are in a shopks you can

inspect the productks you can test the product, you know what you are

looking for, but you can't do that online. And so, the distance

selling regulations allow you a bit more flexibility.

The regulations make other demands on online retailers so who is

meeting them and who isn't? Our team looked at websites of the top

20 online retailers, checking to see which contact details they

supply. Under the distance selling regulations, they should give a

full geographical address like this one.

Right, so I'm on Tesco Direct's website, on their contact page. It

has a telephone number and address in Dundee.

19 of the 20 companies checked provided one and the one that

didn't... This is play.com. There is an address, but it is a PO box.

Not a geographical address. That consists of that I

geographical address and e-mail address and if things go pear

shaped consumers know where to complain to. People need to be

reassured about who they are dealing with.

Online retailers operate under the E commerce regulations. These

insist they must provide you with an e-mail address address by you

can contact them. Whenever you go into play.com's

page, you have to click on a a page and form opens up.

We found eleven of the companies surveyed are po potentially break

the rule. A web form address is not adequate.

If people want to communicate with the trader trader, it could get

lost. There is no record of them having done that. Even though the

trader may have received it, it opens the avenue for a dispute to

arise. Back to the refunds. Remember, the

rules state that you should be able to cancel an order within seven

days of receiving it and get your money back even there is nothing

wrong with the goods. I'm looking at Sports Direct and it

says you may cancel your order within seven days and we refund the

goods and reimburse the delivery goods.

Sounds good. But you have to return the goods in

their original packaging. The distance selling regulations

allow consumers to examine the goods as they would in the shop.

Despite this something set out clearly, some of the biggest online

retailers prefer to view things differently. If you want to return

an item to Apple, the item needs to be in its original condition and

the security seals need to be intact

curry's say as long as the goods are in the original packaging.

Even though the guidance and the relg lations -- regular regulations

say otherwise. You would think the retailers would

have this in place. It It seems there is a lot of work to be done

and they need to smarten up their ac. There is no reason why they

should not be compliant. Well, all the companies say they

take both the regulations and customer service very seriously and

provide various ways for people to contact them, but since we filmed

that report, several have added or promised to add e-mail addresses to

their websites as the regulations demand. They include debben hams,

Asda Direct and New Look and Sports Direct and Argos who say the e-mail

address was omitted because of website upgrades. Play.com has

supplied an e-mail and geographical address.

John Lewis say they believe the web form is more efficient for their

customers and they think in other areas where an e-mail address is

necessary, they provide one. Topshop and Amazon say their

websites comply with the regulations and Sainsbury's say

although their web form provides customers with an automated

response, it will give customers an e-mail address if they prefer.

But what about the returns policies that appear to go against OFT

guidance. All retailers say it is reasonable to expect customers to

return unwanted goods in perfect can perfect condition. Sports

Direct no longer says goods must be returned in its original packaging.

Although River Island don't consider their words to be a breach.

They ask their goods to be returned in their original packaging.

Apple say the goods need to be returned with its security tag

intact, only applies to software. Play.com says customers can return

unused products. Curries believe they comply with

the regulations and guidance allowing customers to open and

inspect products before returning them. The full responses are on our

website. The online retailer that supplied

Julia Griffiths' family with their beds disputes they were contacted

within the seven day deadline. If you would like to comment on that

or any of today's stories, here is a reminder. For e-mails the address

For texts it is: Start your message with the letters

If you want to join the discussion on Twitter our address and hashtag

are on the screens now. Planning to catch a cab home the next time you

are on a night out, it may seem the safe and responsible thing to do.

How can you ensure the vehicle that you are stepping into is road

worthy? Louise Hulland has been finding out.

Outside of London and the South East, this area has more taxis than

any other region in England and Wales. Because they are public

vehicles they must meet higher standards than an ordinary car

going in for its moth. They are subject to random checks carried

out by the licensing authorities and if they fail, the owners can

get their licences suspended. We followed two enforcement teams as

they carried out random checks on cabs in Merseyside and Cheshire.

8 8am and a busy day lies ahead for the licensing and enforcing team in

Ellesmere Port. We are going to check for

compliance. The vehicles are doing high mileage. They earn their

living by carrying the public about and we have the experts here to do

a quick, and thorough check to make sure they are of a standard that

the public can feel they are getting a quality, safe,

comfortable vehiclement BP. plan is to check up to 30 taxis. It

is a multi-agency team including Trading Standards officers, HMRC,

the Government's vehicle safety body, and the police.

There is nothing to worry about, mate. We are working with the local

council to do licensing checks. What I'm going to do, I'm going to

take you across to Whitby Park where we are running the checks.

I will follow you then. Follow me through.

Is that OK? No problem. The different agencies have

different priorities. HMRC are here to make sure non of the cabs are

known red diesel, a cheaper fuel, but only legal for use in argue

cultural vehicles. -- agricultural vehicles. The police perform me

perform me cheanical safety tests. This cab doesn't measure up.

taxi that we pulled over earlier has got a defective rear off side

tyre of the it is 1.3 mil and the legal limit is 1.4 mil. We are

going to put a prohibition on the vehicle. We are going to suspend

the taxi plates. He is going to get a new tyre and it will be rechecked.

There is a few faults with me cab and I will get them checked. There

is a leak on the steering, but it is nothing major, but they need to

be put right. Once I am satisfied that the points

that we found out were wrong with the vehicle, he can have his plates

back. We may take other action against the driver.

I will get it done today. I will be back on the road tomorrow if I can

get into the garage to get it put right.

Fingers crossed. Liverpool, 20 miles away, is home

to 2,923 licensed cabs and today a number of them are being subject to

to spot checks. Just move up a bit.

The enforcement team have positioned their checkpoint by a

main road. On this cab, Will Gibbs spots an obvious problem. Both

brake lights out. OK, driver, I am going to give awe defect -- you a

defect. Have you ever been issued before? It just gives you seven

working days to get your brake lights and your reverse light. The

driver there, his reverse lights are out. I issued him a defect

notice. It is not a fine, it is to give him seven days to go and get

it fixed. He could turn around and say he is going to get it fixed and

say a week later, I will him and he hasn't got it fixed. This ensures

that he has has to go and get it fixed.

. Today's operation involves the city's black cabs as well as hire

vehicles. One of the issues where the driver smokes. Although he

wasn't smoking at the time, it is an offence to smoke in a licenceed

vehicle and he has been advised of that. If he is caught, he will

receive a fixed pen penalty. We expect our vehicles to be in a

better condition than the normal moth and we have higher standards.

The vehicles are doing thousands of miles a year, above and beyond what

a normal vehicle will do and we expect the standards to be better.

We expect that all cars should have legal tyres, the condition of the

vehicle, there is no rust. The condition of that vehicle is

acceptable to a member of the public because our priority is

safety and by doing what we do, we are ensuring that the vehicles out

there on the roads are safe. Back in Ellesmere Port, the

enforcement team have flagged down dozens of vehicles.

Most drivers are happy to co- operate.

Not a problem. You have got to be legal on the road, you are carrying

people on it. It is a public vehicle and it has to be looked

after. Soon patience begins to wear thin..

You will need to calm down, sir. Well, he doesn't look too happy. We

will find out what happens later on. You might be happy either if you

bought some of the stuff we are about to show you. Feeling

These are just some of the photos we have been receiving from viewers

who found unexplained objects, foreign bodies and worse in their

food. Viewers like Ijey Okey who bought this bag of Birds Eye frozen

peas. This big fat thing came out, stuck

to the peas and I thought what is that? I chucked it into the sink

and had a good look. Look at what I found, oh my god, this big worm.

Can you imagine eating that with your stew? Not really! Birds Eye

Said it was a caterpillar and they couldn't always guarantee bug-free

food as they don't use pesticides. They gave Ijey �10 to spend on

other Birds Eye products. Fahmid Chowdury bought this. There

was A horrible object in my mouth. I bit down and it oozed out in my

mouth and it tasted bitter. It was dis gusting.

Yes, it would have because it was a snail. When I spat it out, it

looked like a hard shell and the inside was all brown and gooey.

Iceland apologised for the distress and promised to send him a �5

voucher. Foreign bodies seem to come in all shapes and sizes and

species. When Mark bought a packet of pom bear, he found this.

Although the fly hasn't been through the frying procedures, it

has salt residue on it. That's good to know of the Nestle

launched an investigation after being contacted by a customer,

Stuart Gass. He bought one of their Breakaway biscuits and found this

piece of plastic baked inside. What do the companies have to say?

Sophie, they say they they take health and quality seriously.

Nestle apologised to Stuart Gass and will be sending him and his

family a gift. They say investigations have concluded that

the plastic was part of the mould used to make the biscuits and they

are putting actions in place to prevent any reoccurrence.

Pom Bear apologised to Mark kirk for the fly in the pack and their

response. They are reviewing the way they handle complaints and say

they want to make sure no such cause for complaint can arise again.

If you find something nasty, lurking in your pre-packed meal or

snack, what should you do? Here is our expert Professor Margaret

There can't be anything more disgusting than finding a foreign

body, hair, fingernails and I think sects, but what -- insects, but

what should you do if you find something horrid? Preserve the

evidence. With a transparent container like a plastic bag or a

glass jar, it maybe that you can see the foreign object in the food

without opening the container. In that situation, do not open it.

Removing the foreign body may destroy the evidence.

But what if you are already eating when you find something? Well,

obviously stop eating and be careful not to swallow it and then

take a photo. Keep the food and the object if it is no longer embedded

in the food, safe. If it is perishable put it in a food or

freezer. Dig out the receipt and keep any pack alging as that will

show the place where it was manufactured and the date and time

it was manufactured. If you don't want to kick up too much of a fuss

and you want your money back, take it back to the shop from which you

bought it because even with with branded goods, it is the shop from

whom you bought it which you have the contract. It is worth asking

them for compensation for any costs such as the cost of travel for for

taking the product back, this is known as consequentialal loss. If

you are injured by a foreign body, go back to the shop from which you

bought it. If you have any medical problems or treatment, keep notes

of those so that you can then write to the store together with

photographs as proof. If you have been injured, you could contact the

manufacturer as well because they are liable under product liability

for any injuries caused by faulty products. Phone first and then send

a letter afterwards. It maybe that they will want you to return the

product so that they can analyse how the foreign body came to be

there. They are very wary of the risk of sabotage. When sending it,

take photos and video footage before you send it and send it by

recorded delivery. If you are going to take the item

back to the shop for them to inspect, then make sure that you

you get a receipt for T if you have been made ill or injured by the

item, you have a right to claim compensation for physical injury

and it maybe that you can also claim compensation for any distress

that you may have suffered, but this is harder to prove, but you

might get a goodwill payment. If you haveen ill or injured, it is

worth getting legal advice. But if you are getting nowhere with the

shop or the manufacturer, then it might be worth going to the press.

If you do, be careful to stick to the truth and don't be liablous.

One last thing - if you are worried about somebody else being injured

in a similar incident, you could contact either Trading Standards or

environmental health and they can Professor Margaret Griffiths there.

For tips on writing an effective letter of complaint if you have had

a problem with a company, go to our website:

Back to Cheshire now where enforcement teams are carrying out

spot checks on taxis as cabs are considered places as work they have

to meet higher standards of safety than ordinary vehicles. But as

Louise Hulland reports, not all come up to the required standard.

I'm going to take you across. I have a check site working across

there. We are running a check site for taxis, all right? Follow me

down there. I want to go through the check site. OK?

In Ellesmere Port the day long operation is continuing as well as

making sure the cabs are safe mechanically, the officers check

they are clean and smoke-free and have proper disabled access.

Just to give you an indication of what we are doing today, it is a

compliance and safety check. They ensure that drivers paperwork

is in order. You are who you are and you are eligible to drive this

vehicle and it is in date, is it? Expires 2015 and the photograph

looks like you. I am quite new to this job. I am

only on it six vehicles. This is new to me, all this.

Although nothing seems wrong with this driver's paperwork... I will

try and not delay you any longer than I need.

His vehicle is on hire and further enquiries reveal there maybe

problems with his insurance. rents the car. They sort the car

out, they insure the car etcetera, the policy, the conditions on the

policy is that he must be over 25, he must have held a driving licence

for two years and he must have held his taxi licence for 12 months, he

has only held this for two months. We can see that the driver through

no fault of his own, has enneerd a contract with a -- entered into a

contract with a professional firm that hired the vehicle to him. We

will conduct an investigation into the insurance and into the

conditions of the insurance, it is a complex matter and is not

something that is going to be decided today, but we are pleased

to see that the driver is not at at fault, and he will be on his way,

but the company who are making a a living doing this are the ones who

are going to have to answer. After further investigation, it is

established that the driver is adequately insured by the company

that he rents the vehicle from, the driver has done nothing wrong and

he is allowed to leave. As the day progresses, it becomes

clear that most of the cabs have no serious I shall issues and the

majority of the drivers appreciate what the officers are doing.

We get these checks often just to make sure the vehicles are safe,

isn't it? It is fine. Some see the check site as an

opportunity for a MOT. This one has voluntarily driven

himself in off the street. How good is that? I volunteered!

This one is looked after, mate. However, some drivers feel this

check is one too many. Especially those whose cabs are

found to have faults, resulting in suspension. You need to calm down,

sir. We are just issuing with a suspension notice. I have just come

back from a heart attack, sunshine. We are just doing inspections.

All I do is a day's work. I can't see under the car, can I?

It has just gone through its MOT. Just calm down.

, no, I won't calm down. You should be grateful that they

have spotted something... To keep you safe.

It has been in the garage for the four tyres. They have given you

seven days, and we are saying until you get that done, you can't work

and that's all or if it gets done today, come back here.

It is good to be back. It is the little things that you keep picking

This driver is unhappy, claiming that cabbies are targeted unfairly.

All I'm trying to do is earn a living, you know. Every five

minutes we are getting a pull for this or we are in for an MOT, our

compliance test is harder than an MOT. We have two MOTs a year. That

should be enough. Every six months. We have got to realise this is our

livelihood. We are not going to be driving around in death traps.

Operations like today's could turn out to be life-saving.

Is your brake fully down. You can see more on that later.

Now, a couple of weeks ago, we reported on reported Virgin Media.

People like mike Salter who built up to collection over the last few

months. But since then, we have heard from viewers with even more

reason to be angry with Virgin Super fast, free installation, half

price offers, yes, Virgin Media may have nearly ten million customers,

but it is working hard to recruit more. People like Eddie Gorman.

Listen to the deals they are tempting him with. Some of the of

the offers is the free box. They keep offering fast broadband.

Faster than we are getting from our current provider.

Although virgin have been sending the the offers for two years, Eddie

hasn't bitten. We don't live in a cabled area. The

cable cable don't run outside our house and they can't provide our

house with tsm -- with it?

Virgin know because he told them. Seeing as they haven't got the

message, let's be clear. No matter how many you send me, I can't sign

up because I am not in a cabled area.

Some people are customers already. Sharon has been with them for 14

years. This Is one of the pieces I

collected I got that aggravated. I decided to keep this one because

this is a lovely one, it is half price deal for six months.

At last, a piece of junk mail that could be of some use! Sharon is

preparing to take Virgin up on their deal until she took a closer

look at leaflet. When you read down the small print,

once you have got your glasses on, it does say for new customers only.

In very, very very small print. I was getting angry because it was

another piece of junk mail mail because I don't think it is

relevant to me as a customer now. It is looking for new customers.

So sending out ads for services and deals you can't have, not only

frustrating, but a waste of time, effort and paper. Yes, paper, the

thing that Virgin claims to be against.

Of course, the company will send you a paper bill if you ask for one,

but it will charge you �1.75 for the privilege! The problem is some

customers have no option. My dad is 78. He doesn't have

access to the internet. He has a basic TV package, bundle from

Virgin which he took because where he lives is a very poor reception

area. Approximately two years ago, he was sent a letter to say he was

going to have to pay for his paper bill. In the meantime, he is

getting this junk mail through the post. Sometimes he can get three

our four items a week. How many people are sitting out there

thinking, "All this mail is coming through the better letterbox and

I'm being charged to receive my bill because I'm not on the

internet?" So, Virgin, a few marketing tips we

would like to deliver to you. Don't write to people offering them

services they can't receive. Don't ajoy your existing customers

by telling them about the better deals you give to new ones.

If you are going to discourage your customers for asking for paper,

don't churn out mountains of the Virgin Media told us they always

take feedback on board. They say they write to potential customers

with special offers, but also ensure their existing customers

know they are valued by giving them other deals. They add because Avril

Burns dad doesn't have internet, they won't charge charge him for

receiving paper bills. Well, that's unwanted marketing, but when it

comes to illegal marketing the Information Commissioner's Office

has powers to penalise any company bombarding us. Last week, it served

fines of of over �400,000 on the the owners of Tetrus Telecoms. It

has been sending out millions of unlawful spam spam texts about PPI

claims. The investigation revealed that the company was using

unregistered pay-as-you-go similar cards to -- sim cards to text up to

480,000 illegal messages every day. The commissioner says

investigations into other companies are continuing and he is

considering irk issuing penalties against three other companies.

With me now is Mike Lawdon, I imagine there was a sigh of relief

when they realised that action is being taken against such companies

zm. Yes, there was a sigh of relief. We are leezed the commission has --

pleased the commissioner has started to use those powers and we

would encourage him to clamp down further on these companies.

It is making a the lot of money for a company like Tetrus Telecoms?

they were making something like �7,000 or �8,000 a day from doing

this. It does cause a lot of people a lot

of misery. People get fed-up with it? Yes, it is a a nuisance and it

is illegal as we have said and as you said in your your opening

statement. We would like to see the Information Commisioner doing more.

What about legal texts? A lot of people get those and they have

signed up to and may not have realised they signed up to them?

is legitimate if people have signed up to these companies. It can be

beneficial especially at this time of year. Christmas is approaching

and if you signed up to a Heath company, -- High Street company and

they may wish to send you offers and may may save you money. The

legitimate side of the industry can be ben fishal to consumers.

-- beneficial to consumers. How do you stop them? If it is a

company you know, send them, "Stop." If it is not a company you

don't know, don't send, "Stop." If you text 7726, that spells spam and

that goes to your mobile operator and they will look into it.

Thank you very much. Back to the north-west where

traffic enforcement teams are carrying out a series of spot

checks on taxis. Drivers must keep the cabs in good

order, but as Louise Hulland reports that doesn't always happen

and the passengers can be put at risk.

In Liverpool, the two man team are continuing their roadside operation.

As well as ensuring that members of the public are safe inside the

city's cabs, they check they are being given correct information

about fares. This is a tariff sheet. It should

say �2.20. This one, it says �2. It will be given a defect notice to

get it done within seven days. There is another problem with this

cab. It shows up as 0.47 and the legal limit is 1.46.

My colleague is going to disqualify him. His taxi won't be allowed to

carry passengers because it is a hazard for people.

By the end of this operation, Karl and Will inspected 39 cabs.

It might be a case that you have got the cover at home. You have

probably been towed. Is that OK? Have a nice day.

They have issued four defect notices and two licence suspensions,

proof that checks are essential. Everything we do is in the public

interest. You know, my job is to keep the public safe and you know,

making sure that the taxi drivers are adhering to the rules given to

them. It annoys me to see some taxi drivers are willing to put members

of the public at risk. Is your brake fully down?

Ellesmere Port, licensing officers are dealing with a cab with a

serious fault. Safety officers have just finished their inspection.

We have carried out the checks on this vehicle and we found a serious

fluid leak, brake fluid leak. So as far as those are concerned, that's

a prohibition so that vehicle cannot go back on the road until

such a time as the repairs are carried out. You do know, it has

been suspended. Rpd enforcement action does seem to

work. This driver arnings for driver arnings for the necessary

retars -- arranges for the necessary repairs to be carried out

immediately. Mr Bennett.

I have just had a new tyre fitted on the back.

Other drivers with defects have made sure to get the defects fixed.

It is brand-new. It has the label on. We gave you seven days to do

the rest of the stuff. You got it done quickly.

? With the deeffect tyre I was off the road so I couldn't work. Time

is money. The longer I am off the road, the more money I'm losing. I

got it done straightaway. You know, you could have got points

on your licence. We are going to issue with a formal written warning

on this occasion. That will lie on file and could be considered in the

future if you come to our attention again, are you acceptable of the

written warning? Yes, I am acceptable.

You have got seven day to say rectify the -- days to rectify the

other problems? All cabbies who get sorted are allowed to drive away.

Happy days. Back on the road. Sorry for kicking off.

I understand. I understand. By the end of the team, the team

have checked 27 cabs. They found 16 had defects and issued 10 defect

notices and six suspension notices, but all were lifted as soon as the

repairs were carried out. Very successful. We have found a

few defects. We have had issues with insurance. It has been a good

day. Yeah, we haven't kept anybody off

the road at length. They have managed to go to a local garage and

get the works done and come back and had the suspension lifted or

the prohibition lifted, so all in all, a good day. It shows the ben

fis of -- fen fits of what - benefits of what we are doing. A

lot of drivers are shaking their hands happy that we have found

defects that they hadn't realise. At the end of the day, it is driver

safety. Joining me now is Peter and Paul.

Peter, that was a big operation in Ellesmere Port. Are you happy with

how the day went? Very happy. It was a smooth operation. The timings

of everything went well. There was a minimum of inconvenience cause

$to both -- caused to the drivers, the vehicles and the public.

Paul, I understand the suspensions were resolved on one day?

drivers were able to take the vehicle to a local garnage and get

the defects fixed and le and represent the vehicle to get the

suspension lifted. When you gave them a seven day grace period, did

they come back and get the work done after seven days? They did,

indeed. We issue a ke he defect -- defect notice and give them seven

days. They present the vehicle at a local testing station.

From a consumer's point of view, what advice can you give us when we

get in a taxi to make sure it is safe? Private hire vehicles and

Hackney Carriage vehicles can be hailed in the street, all those

vehicles have plates on the front and on the back of the vehicle.

That plate is only issued after that vehicle has under gone

rigorous mechanical tests. Not only are those checks of a higher

standard than a normal road going vehicle, but of a higher frequency.

As well as that, to drive those vehicles, the drivers have to be

badged and licence. Licensed. If the public are using one of these

vehicles, check there is a plate on the vehicle and that the driver is

wearing his badge. Thank you.

Thank you to Louise. Lots Going on today and the team

have been busy. They have, Sophie. Lots of you are

reacting to our story to online. Terry Terry tweets "how are you

expected to know there is something wrong with the item if you can't

open it before you return it? "some examples of foreign bodies. Craig

bought these cakes only to find the bits of plastic inside. That is not

yum yummy. Which We heard of plastic being found in a pie and

biscuit. Keep your examples coming in and we might show more tomorrow.

That's all we have time for. Tomorrow, Orange and T-Mobile have

become EE and launched a super fast 4 G mobile service, big big claims,

but many complaints. And going to see him, him or them?