:00:27. > :00:32.Hello, and welcome to Watchdog Daily. We're with you live for the
:00:32. > :00:36.next 45 minutes. This morning: How to slash the
:00:36. > :00:43.price of a new car. Find out how we were offered over �3,500 off with
:00:43. > :00:46.one simple phone call. Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrison's -
:00:46. > :00:48.they've just signed up to a new agreement to ditch confusing and
:00:48. > :00:50.misleading offers. Will they stick to it?
:00:50. > :01:00.And the rogue tree surgeon who ripped off his customers, put
:01:00. > :01:02.
:01:02. > :01:08.himself in danger, and had trouble controlling his temper.
:01:08. > :01:11.First, thinking of changing your car? If so, you may have been put
:01:11. > :01:13.off by the prices of brand-new models, and turned to the second-
:01:13. > :01:16.hand market instead. But, perhaps it's time to think again because
:01:16. > :01:19.that new vehicle price tag could be significantly higher than the
:01:19. > :01:22.showroom is actually willing to sell at. In fact, our Mystery
:01:22. > :01:25.Shoppers have discovered nearly all dealers are happy to give you much
:01:25. > :01:35.better deals than the ones they advertise. All you have to do is
:01:35. > :01:44.
:01:44. > :01:50.Negotiating, bargaining, haggling, it comes as second nature to car
:01:50. > :01:54.dealers. As for the buyers, we tend to be different. The main thing is
:01:54. > :01:58.we are too shy to haggle. The point to remember is, whether you are
:01:58. > :02:03.buying a new or a used car, there are deals to be had. Don't be
:02:03. > :02:09.afraid to ask some money off. Dealers want to sell you cars.
:02:09. > :02:15.Therefore, they are prepared to give you discount. The cars may be
:02:15. > :02:22.new, but you can get the prices down by using a very old tactic, by
:02:22. > :02:28.how much exactly? Time for us to hit the phones. Over two days, our
:02:28. > :02:36.team enquired about some of the UK's most popular models, the Ford
:02:36. > :02:45.Fiesta, the Vauxhall Corsa, the VW Golf, the BMW 3 Series and the per
:02:45. > :02:50.se diz C class. -- and the Mercedes C class. Is it possible to get a
:02:50. > :02:57.price on a BMW 3 Series? Meet our first shopper. He asked for the
:02:57. > :03:07.price of the car. No pushing, no negotiating. The list price is
:03:07. > :03:12.
:03:12. > :03:15.�9,495. That's �16,425. �24,880. Prices start at �25,915. �9,795 for
:03:15. > :03:19.that. All ten dealers quoted the list price, that is the price at
:03:19. > :03:24.which the cars are officially advertised. But half went on to
:03:24. > :03:28.suggest they could give us some sort of discount and that was
:03:28. > :03:32.without us asking. It would possibly involve us paying for the
:03:32. > :03:36.car on finance. It is worth bearing in mind that at the moment, on the
:03:36. > :03:40.Golf, because we are getting towards the end of Mark 6, there is
:03:40. > :03:45.a finance package available where you can get up to �3,000 off the
:03:45. > :03:52.cost of the car as well. As a deposit contribution, so that price
:03:52. > :03:58.I have quoted of �16,425, you can take �3,000 off that cost so you
:03:58. > :04:02.are looking at �13,425 really. Finance is very profitable for a
:04:02. > :04:06.dealer. It is also a way of keeping you in the network. So what a lot
:04:06. > :04:10.of people do is take finance out for three years and go back and buy
:04:10. > :04:14.the same car again from the same dealer. There is nothing wrong with
:04:14. > :04:20.that. Finance is like everything else, you need to do your homework,
:04:20. > :04:29.make sure you get the best price possible. If deals are available to
:04:29. > :04:34.buyers who don't ask, what is on offer for those who do? Tough-
:04:34. > :04:40.talking, no-nonsense, determined to drive the hardest bargain. Can we
:04:40. > :04:44.make it up to �500? Could I speak to the manager, please? He phoned
:04:44. > :04:48.up another two main car dealers. Five in London and five in
:04:48. > :04:55.Manchester. Instead of being open to finance deals, he offered to pay
:04:55. > :05:01.in cash only. First up, Ford, and a new Fiesta. Great ad, but would
:05:01. > :05:08.they give us a great price? Best I can do on that car would be �9,345.
:05:09. > :05:13.That is not bad. In fact, it works out at �450 discount or 4.6% off
:05:13. > :05:18.the list price, something the Manchester branch was happy to
:05:18. > :05:23.match. Next the Corsa. One London dealer refused to budge on the list
:05:23. > :05:27.price. The Manchester branch did initially offer a discount of �2 50.
:05:27. > :05:30.But then came the haggling moment. I was looking for something closer
:05:30. > :05:37.to a grand off. If there is anything closer to that region, I
:05:37. > :05:41.would be keen. OK. �8495. I'm not sure we will be able to go that low.
:05:41. > :05:45.If you are able to go any lower on that, that would be greatly
:05:45. > :05:54.appreciated. Let me pop you on hold. I will go and speak to him now. The
:05:54. > :06:03.minimum he can go to is �8,9995. If you wanted to put a doz silt on it
:06:03. > :06:10.today, we could -- deposit on it today we could reduce it by �1,000.
:06:10. > :06:16.Making it �500 in total. As for the VW Golf both branches suggested we
:06:16. > :06:26.could get �500 off a new model. But by far the biggest reductions were
:06:26. > :06:29.
:06:29. > :06:33.on offer from Mercedes and BMW. would be looking at �22,6...
:06:33. > :06:38.�3,315 discount just for asking a Manchester Mercedes dealer. That
:06:38. > :06:44.equates to 12.8% off the original list price. It was a similar story
:06:44. > :06:49.in their London branch, too. As for BMW, London, we were offered �3,580
:06:49. > :06:53.off the list price. But they wanted our car details for a deposit there
:06:53. > :06:56.and then. My number one tip for getting a good deal is do your
:06:56. > :06:59.homework. There is nothing like going to the dealer, armed with
:06:59. > :07:02.information, knowing the best price to pay, knowing what sort of price
:07:02. > :07:07.you should pay before you sign on the dotted line. Therefore, if you
:07:07. > :07:11.know as much as the dealer, you will get the best deal. Four
:07:11. > :07:15.dealers asked us what price we wanted to pay! What is the deal you
:07:16. > :07:20.are looking for? Where do you need to be to get you a deal? Where do
:07:20. > :07:26.you need it to be for us to go ahead? If you can give us an idea
:07:26. > :07:30.where you want to be, we will do that. The salesman will ask how
:07:30. > :07:36.much are you prepared to pay. Don't be drawn into that. The deal they
:07:36. > :07:39.construct will add to the same as you are prepared to pay for it. Be
:07:39. > :07:44.stand-offish, and ask the salesman, "I was interested in the best deal
:07:44. > :07:48.you could do." Then you will end up with the best deal rather than a
:07:48. > :07:55.deal constructed about how much you can afford. We managed to haggle
:07:55. > :08:00.our way to a �15,645 discount off ten cars. Plus a free tank of
:08:00. > :08:05.petrol and car mats that one dealer threw in. We only telephoned! If we
:08:05. > :08:10.had visited the showrooms, there may have been better deals on offer.
:08:10. > :08:15.As this salesman, who had just spoken to his manager, told us.
:08:15. > :08:19.you come in and see us, we will find the right bar for you. We can
:08:19. > :08:25.probably get a bit better for you as well. My tip would be to play
:08:25. > :08:31.hardball. If you say, "I'm ready to leave a deposit." The boss will
:08:31. > :08:37.bust his chops to get you the best deal. I only get paid when you buy
:08:37. > :08:40.a car. It is in my interests to get you the best deal I can.
:08:40. > :08:43.So money to be saved on the phone, perhaps even better deals when you
:08:43. > :08:53.go into the showroom. What do the car companies say,
:08:53. > :08:54.
:08:54. > :08:57.Rani? Well Sophie, BMW along with all the
:08:57. > :09:00.others, says their dealers are free to trade with their customers as
:09:00. > :09:03.they wish. The company adds that it makes no money from finance deals.
:09:03. > :09:06.Ford says they're also able to invest in the high customer service
:09:06. > :09:08.standards it demands. Mercedes and Volkswagen say the models we
:09:08. > :09:13.enquired about are about to be superseded, so greater discounts on
:09:13. > :09:17.them were possible. Meanwhile, if you'd like to comment
:09:17. > :09:21.on that, or any of today's stories, here's a reminder of how to do so.
:09:21. > :09:25.For emails, the address is watchdog@bbc.co.uk.
:09:25. > :09:28.For texts, it's 88822 and start your message with the letters "WD".
:09:28. > :09:33.And if you want to join the discussion on Twitter, our address
:09:33. > :09:36.and hashtag are on your screens. Now, with around a third of adults
:09:36. > :09:40.trying to slim at any one time, demand for weight loss products is
:09:40. > :09:43.huge. That means big money for the drug companies, but also fortunes
:09:43. > :09:47.for the criminals who put their own so-called diet pills onto the
:09:47. > :09:52.market. As Louise Hulland - in the North West of England for us this
:09:52. > :09:58.week - now reports. Over the last few days, we have seen some of the
:09:58. > :10:08.vital work of Trading Standards officers first-hand. In addition to
:10:08. > :10:11.
:10:11. > :10:15.all that, these Consumer Cops are concerned at protecting our health.
:10:15. > :10:20.Meet Maria. She is one of the team responsible for investigating the
:10:20. > :10:25.sale of dangerous and illegal medical products in St Helens.
:10:25. > :10:31.These diet pills were seized during one of her most successful
:10:31. > :10:35.operations. The product came into us in 2010. The consumer had seen
:10:35. > :10:41.this product in the press. It had quite a lot of positive press in
:10:41. > :10:49.the UK and in America. This was not the same one. It was a copy of the
:10:49. > :10:54.one that had the good press. pills in question looked to be
:10:54. > :11:01.CapsiPlex, a dieting drug that hit the shelves in 2010. The genuine
:11:01. > :11:05.product was said to have a host of celebrity fans and was endorsed by
:11:05. > :11:09.actresses and attracted a blaze of publicity, which the counterfeiters
:11:09. > :11:13.took advantage of. I saw it in one of the newspapers. I thought they
:11:13. > :11:20.were pretty good. I came across many websites which advertised it.
:11:21. > :11:25.The one that I chose, it did look genuine. When they arrived, I was
:11:26. > :11:29.excited. I couldn't wait to start taking them. It was going to be the
:11:29. > :11:33.beginning of my new diet. design and the claims made on the
:11:33. > :11:37.label of her pills were different to those of the genuine article.
:11:37. > :11:41.But once she started taking them, her enthusiasm for her new tablets
:11:41. > :11:45.waned. I was taking them for a couple of days. I started to get
:11:45. > :11:49.stomach ache. I didn't put two and two together it was the tablet
:11:49. > :11:53.until a few days later and I stopped taking the tablets and the
:11:53. > :11:58.stomach ache subsided. At that point, she suspected there might be
:11:58. > :12:01.a problem with the pills. As she works for the council, she passed
:12:01. > :12:05.them over to Trading Standards to investigate. Our next step was to
:12:05. > :12:10.send this to the public analyst to have it tested both on the
:12:10. > :12:14.labelling and composition of the product. During this time, we took
:12:14. > :12:17.a second test purchase from the website. This was also sent off to
:12:17. > :12:22.the public analyst. While the products were being tested, we did
:12:22. > :12:28.research into the website where the products had been bought.
:12:28. > :12:35.testing took place over in Lancashire, supervised by Andrew
:12:35. > :12:40.Smith. The labelling included 278 more calories, change your body,
:12:40. > :12:45.change your life, clinically proven to burn up to 278 more calories.
:12:45. > :12:50.The benefits included of the fat burner, free radical fighter,
:12:50. > :12:56.energy and weight loss, helps improve metabolism and supports
:12:56. > :13:02.endurance and performance. None of these claims are permitted by the
:13:02. > :13:08.legislation as it currently is. illegal claims on the packets. But
:13:08. > :13:18.what was actually inside? The two samples we were sent were alleged
:13:18. > :13:21.
:13:21. > :13:26.to contain caffeine. We suspect that the capsule contained a
:13:26. > :13:29.bulking agent and nothing else. Catherine's suspicions had been
:13:29. > :13:38.confirmed. The pills were not the genuine article. They were
:13:38. > :13:42.manufactured for a company calling itself Bodyscoop and trading online.
:13:42. > :13:49.There is nothing in these capsules that would have the properties
:13:49. > :13:54.claimed on the box and on the labelling. They wouldn't improve
:13:54. > :13:58.metabolism. They wouldn't fight fat. Based on the analysis we did, I
:13:58. > :14:05.can't imagine the contents of those pills were worth more than a few
:14:05. > :14:09.pennies. I don't think they are value for money. 30 pills for �30.
:14:09. > :14:13.Armed with this evidence, Maria and her team tried to contact the
:14:13. > :14:18.seller. However, the director of the company failed to respond to
:14:18. > :14:22.their requests. So they were left with only one option. The case
:14:22. > :14:26.progressed to the Magistrates' Court in St Helens. At the first
:14:26. > :14:30.hearing, the director didn't turn up so a warrant was issued for her
:14:30. > :14:35.arrest and she was arrested down in Surrey and brought to the
:14:35. > :14:38.Magistrates' Court in St Helens. Now, on the second hearing, she
:14:38. > :14:42.pleaded not guilty. Now, what I wanted to prove was that she had
:14:42. > :14:49.been supplying this product and how long she had been supplying this
:14:49. > :14:52.product for. So I got records from both eBay and PayPal and she had
:14:53. > :14:56.quite a number of accounts in her name. There was a minimum of
:14:56. > :15:02.�15,000 worth of sales over a number of years selling this
:15:02. > :15:07.product in both the UK and in Europe. Given the weight of the
:15:07. > :15:13.evidence, the director changed her plea to guilty and was fined
:15:13. > :15:21.�24,000 under the EU Regulations on Nutrition and Health Claims. This
:15:21. > :15:25.case was the first prosecution in the country under this regulation.
:15:26. > :15:28.So success for the team in removing fake diet pills from the market.
:15:28. > :15:34.There are other more dangerous health products out there, too.
:15:34. > :15:39.Coming up, we join the team in Salford as they go on the hunt for
:15:39. > :15:46.unlicensed over the counter medicines. That's a fair quantity
:15:46. > :15:50.of what looks to be illegal products on sale here in Salford.
:15:50. > :15:55.It shows you that you can never let your guard down.
:15:55. > :15:58.And you can see that report later. Now though, the big supermarkets
:15:58. > :16:01.and the false offers and misleading deals we've become all too familiar
:16:01. > :16:03.with. Last week the Office of Fair Trading said it had been
:16:03. > :16:07.investigating, and announced that eight supermarkets have now agreed
:16:07. > :16:10.to adopt a set of principles that will help ensure shoppers are given
:16:10. > :16:13.fair and accurate information. But what exactly are those principles?
:16:13. > :16:17.And how can we be sure the supermarkets will abide by them.
:16:17. > :16:23.After all, it's not the first time they've been told to clean up their
:16:23. > :16:28.act. It's exactly two years since the Office of Fair Trading first
:16:28. > :16:32.voiced its concern about misleading price promotion offers. It gave
:16:32. > :16:37.retailers a warning. Stop advertising them or risk
:16:37. > :16:41.enforcement action. Did that stop them? No. 12 months later, I found
:16:41. > :16:46.evidence of one misleading tactic known as price establishing. Here
:16:46. > :16:50.is an example. A retailer sells a product at a certain price for a
:16:50. > :16:55.long period of time but then raises it. Shortly afterwards, it drops it
:16:55. > :17:02.back down to where it was before, then it can say that it has slashed
:17:02. > :17:10.the cost. According to their most recent set of principles: "Prices
:17:10. > :17:14.should never be artificially manipulated to advertise a later
:17:14. > :17:20.discount." That is what some supermarkets have been doing. I
:17:20. > :17:24.found this example in 2011. delicious Tesco fresh whole chicken.
:17:24. > :17:30.Now with a meaty price cut. Take the supermarket's fresh chicken
:17:30. > :17:36.which features in its ads. In January, customers could buy them
:17:36. > :17:44.for �4 each. That remained the case throughout February, March, April,
:17:44. > :17:49.May and June. In mid-July, Tesco raised the price to �5 each. But
:17:49. > :17:53.then in September it went back to what it had been for most of the
:17:53. > :17:59.year, Tesco labelled it a price drop. Are you concerned or
:17:59. > :18:04.surprised by what we have found? think an average consumer would not
:18:04. > :18:11.expect a price that had been consistent for many months suddenly
:18:11. > :18:15.to rise by a pound to then revert back to the original price to be
:18:15. > :18:19.described as a price drop. Office of Fair Trading also warned
:18:19. > :18:23.the supermarkets about several other promotional tactics. Among
:18:23. > :18:33.those bigger pack better value claims. On the truth of such claims,
:18:33. > :18:41.
:18:41. > :18:48.the OFT's new principles couldn't Since they were first warned about
:18:48. > :18:54.this two years ago, we have caught the big four doing it time after
:18:54. > :19:04.time. In April 2011. Take this from Sainsbury's - you have guessed it,
:19:04. > :19:05.
:19:05. > :19:13.it isn't the best value. In fact, it works out at �3.49 per kilogram.
:19:13. > :19:20.More expensive than the smaller pack. ASDA are also at it. This big
:19:20. > :19:25.box works out at 14p a sachet, that is dearer than the smaller box.
:19:25. > :19:35.December 2011, I found 17 examples of bigger packs presented as better
:19:35. > :19:40.value when they weren't. Five in Tesco, five in Sainsbury's, four in
:19:40. > :19:50.ASDA and three in Morrisons. And just a few weeks ago, on this
:19:50. > :19:50.
:19:50. > :19:59.programme. This is the better value because it says "big value" on it.
:19:59. > :20:05.�2.32. Against �3.20. This is the value pack, apparently. That is
:20:05. > :20:08.crazy. Confusing. So after the first warning had little or no
:20:08. > :20:12.effect, the OFT is trying a new approach. It's persuaded all the
:20:12. > :20:16.main supermarkets apart from ASDA to sign up to its set of pricing
:20:16. > :20:19.principles. Last week the press hailed it as a new deal for
:20:19. > :20:25.shoppers, an agreement that will ensure offers and promotional
:20:25. > :20:30.claims will be fair, accurate and consistent. But this week, we went
:20:30. > :20:34.shopping again and have a guess what we found.
:20:34. > :20:36.Well, here's the answer. Multiple examples of bigger packs being
:20:36. > :20:42.presented as "better value" when they're not. Two here from
:20:42. > :20:48.Morrison's. These two from Sainsbury's. And these three from
:20:48. > :20:51.Tesco. We also found three examples at ASDA, which - although it hasn't
:20:51. > :20:56.signed up to the new OFT principles - is still bound by Consumer
:20:56. > :20:59.Regulations which forbid misleading offers. Now, in a moment I'll be
:20:59. > :21:05.talking to the OFT about its new agreement and these findings.
:21:05. > :21:08.Before that, how do the supermarkets explain them?
:21:08. > :21:10.All of them told us they're committed to fair and transparent
:21:10. > :21:13.prices, and that value labels are often attached by the manufacturer.
:21:13. > :21:16.Sainsbury's say they've already asked the suppliers of branded
:21:16. > :21:20.goods to remove their better value messages, and say there will be a
:21:20. > :21:23.transition period prior to the new packaging becoming fully available.
:21:23. > :21:27.Tesco says they welcome the OFT's clarity on good practices and will
:21:27. > :21:31.be speaking to the manufacturers about the issues raised.
:21:31. > :21:34.As will Morrisons. Who say the Bigger Pack Better Value principle
:21:34. > :21:38.is the toughest to implement because of the number of products,
:21:38. > :21:41.many of which are on promotions. In the cases we identified this
:21:41. > :21:48.week, they say the promotions were planned months ago and it will take
:21:48. > :21:53.time for all the changes to be introduced. ASDA say honest
:21:53. > :21:57.mistakes can sometimes happen. The claims of Best and Family Value on
:21:57. > :22:00.different pack sizes mean the claims cannot always be justified.
:22:00. > :22:04.Which frustrates them as much as their customers. They have raised
:22:04. > :22:08.their concerns and continue to work with suppliers. They say they are
:22:08. > :22:10.very much engaged with the OFT but whilst they are in favour of three
:22:10. > :22:15.of the approaches, there is one approach that is meant to
:22:15. > :22:21.discourage high low-pricing promotions and they are worried it
:22:21. > :22:27.would encourage it. They are taking the time to consider the proposals.
:22:27. > :22:30.They always focus, they say, on offering low prices. With me is a
:22:30. > :22:34.spokesman from the Office of Fair Trading. You told supermarkets they
:22:34. > :22:39.shouldn't be doing this two years ago. They still are. Why are they
:22:39. > :22:44.going to listen now? We produced a report and on the back of that we
:22:44. > :22:47.did a number of enforcement pieces. This year, we have talked to
:22:47. > :22:55.supermarkets about some of their behaviours. It is a complex
:22:55. > :22:59.business. They have changed thousands of prices each week.
:22:59. > :23:05.did bring it to their attention two years ago, didn't you? It's two
:23:05. > :23:09.years later and it is still happening? It is a complex business.
:23:09. > :23:13.I discovered that there are 11 great seasons each year so defining
:23:13. > :23:18.what is in season out season for grapes is not as straightforward as
:23:18. > :23:20.you might think. We want to move on and develop the principles we
:23:20. > :23:23.established two years ago more specifically for the retail sector
:23:23. > :23:29.and that is what we have done this year working with supermarkets.
:23:29. > :23:34.went this week, we found yet more of these misleading offers, Bigger
:23:34. > :23:40.Pack Better value when they are not. Are the supermarkets going to be be
:23:40. > :23:44.told you have to stop doing this? In our principles, we identified
:23:44. > :23:47.positive things we think supermarkets should do and are good.
:23:47. > :23:50.Those are better than the standard of the law. We identified some
:23:50. > :23:55.things where the law is very clear that you shouldn't do them. For
:23:55. > :24:00.those, we are expecting a speedy reduction in those incidents. I
:24:00. > :24:05.can't promise you 0%, but we expect a significant reduction in those.
:24:05. > :24:08.On the more positive principles like not advertising for longer
:24:08. > :24:13.discount than the original price, the supermarkets are starting to
:24:13. > :24:18.put that into their systems. It can take two to three months before it
:24:18. > :24:22.comes out the other end. You can't expect a zero result in getting rid
:24:23. > :24:28.of these offers? We go out in six months' time, which we will, and
:24:28. > :24:32.find yet more misleading offers, what will you do? We have worked
:24:32. > :24:36.very closely with Trading Standards who are the home authorities for
:24:36. > :24:39.each supermarket to develop these principles, communicate with
:24:39. > :24:45.supermarkets, look through their compliance policies, ask them to
:24:45. > :24:50.make some changes. If we think there is still a problem next year,
:24:51. > :24:55.we would consider enforcement action. What do you mean? Well, we
:24:55. > :25:00.have a range of things we can do. We start with an informal
:25:00. > :25:03.conversation. If we don't feel that is delivering change, that will be
:25:03. > :25:09.our conclusion, then we can seek undertakings from firms where they
:25:09. > :25:13.give us a written undertaken not to do things in the same way and if we
:25:13. > :25:17.then aren't happy with that, we can go to court. If they refuse, we can
:25:17. > :25:22.go to court, too. Trading Standards can prosecute for examples of
:25:22. > :25:26.breaches of the law as well. Why do you think supermarkets have been
:25:26. > :25:30.doing this? Are they making money out of consumers? Is it laziness?
:25:30. > :25:34.Are they not spotting these misleading offers? There is a whole
:25:35. > :25:39.range of things. What I was impressed with - they know there is
:25:39. > :25:43.a trust issue building up here and they want to head that off. I think
:25:43. > :25:47.there was a very constructive level of engagement that I found with the
:25:47. > :25:51.supermarkets. They do want you and me to feel confident when we see an
:25:51. > :25:56.offer that it is an offer. It could go the way of other industries
:25:56. > :25:59.where people lose belief in what is being communicated. There is a
:26:00. > :26:09.different mindset. Supermarkets need to regain customers' trust in
:26:09. > :26:15.the shops. Thank you very much. Lots of you getting in touch about
:26:15. > :26:20.the story on our new car prices. Mark says he visited several
:26:20. > :26:26.showrooms to get the best deal. He ended up getting �2,000 off the
:26:27. > :26:30.list price. Fantastic news! Jen did better when buying a higher-end car.
:26:30. > :26:36.Her discount? �6,500. Remember, we are in the mail room all day today.
:26:36. > :26:38.We are waiting for your messages so get in touch.
:26:38. > :26:41.We're heading back to Salford now where Trading Standards officers
:26:41. > :26:43.are trying to combat a growing problem, posing a potentially huge
:26:43. > :26:49.public health risk. That's the import of unlicensed over-the-
:26:49. > :26:54.counter medicines. Here's Louise again.
:26:54. > :26:57.Yes, in recent years, the amounts of those medicines reaching our
:26:57. > :27:01.shelves have increased. It is vital they are removed from the supply
:27:01. > :27:05.chain as quickly as possible. Officers were told about illegally
:27:05. > :27:12.labelled medicines being made available in one local retail
:27:12. > :27:21.outlet. They swung into action and our cameras where with them. It is
:27:21. > :27:28.the morning of the operation. They are heading out to inspect a small
:27:28. > :27:33.grocery store in the heart of Salford. There may be illegal
:27:33. > :27:39.medicinal products on sale. We are trying to find out what is on sale
:27:39. > :27:43.in Salford and this is one of a series of visits we are making with
:27:43. > :27:49.our partner agencies. If any illegal product is found, that will
:27:49. > :27:57.be bagged and tagged and we will remove it from the property. To
:27:57. > :28:04.date, we have visited 28 premises across Salford and in five of those,
:28:04. > :28:10.we did find illegal medicinal products on sale which have been
:28:10. > :28:17.seized. 750 products were seized in total. A haul so far certainly
:28:17. > :28:23.looks impressive and ranges from antibiotics to skin creams. We are
:28:23. > :28:28.surprised at the variety and volume of products seized from such small
:28:28. > :28:34.corner shops. What we have found in this particular case is a wide
:28:34. > :28:40.range of medicinal products and they can be categorised into three
:28:40. > :28:44.groups. Some of the products that we have seized are prescription-
:28:45. > :28:49.only drugs. Others are products which can only be sold by a
:28:49. > :28:55.pharmacist. And the others are normal types of medicines that you
:28:55. > :29:00.can buy in shops, but the common feature with all these products
:29:00. > :29:04.sold in Eastern European shops is they are not labelled in English.
:29:04. > :29:11.They have not received a product licence. So they are not legal to
:29:11. > :29:15.sell in the UK. The most concerning product that we seized was the skin
:29:15. > :29:24.whitening cream which we found in an Afro-Caribbean shop. This
:29:24. > :29:29.product is not legal to sell in the UK. It contravenes the Cosmetic
:29:29. > :29:36.Products Safety Regulations. Back in the field, the team has been
:29:36. > :29:40.joined by officers from the MHRA. Their knowledge of medical products
:29:40. > :29:44.is essential to establish quickly and reliably which medicines are
:29:44. > :29:54.legal and which are not. Trading Standards. Is the manager around?
:29:54. > :29:54.
:29:54. > :30:00.Or the owner? Are you in charge at the moment? Yes. These two officers
:30:00. > :30:04.are going to look at the stock, medicine stock which you have here.
:30:04. > :30:09.The MHRA officers find a substantial number of products that
:30:09. > :30:13.all the tell-tale signs of illegal medication. These officers have
:30:13. > :30:16.identified some products which they think are illegal medicines so they
:30:16. > :30:20.think they are either foreign labelled or medicines which
:30:20. > :30:25.shouldn't be on sale here. It is not all about seizing the goods.
:30:25. > :30:28.Much of the work involves education. I'm asking the owner to contact
:30:28. > :30:34.Trading Standards for advice. We want to work with him to make sure
:30:34. > :30:43.he is only purchasing stock which he can legally sell. Are we done?
:30:43. > :30:48.Yeah? Excellent. Thank you. Some of the problems come in other
:30:48. > :30:56.countries where you can buy prescription drugs routinely over
:30:56. > :31:06.the counter. With the store cleared of the suspect products, Nigel
:31:06. > :31:07.
:31:07. > :31:10.inspects the morning's haul. That's a fair quantity of what looks to be
:31:10. > :31:16.illegal medicinal products on sale this morning in Salford. I would
:31:16. > :31:22.have to say it is quite difficult to know what some of this stuff is.
:31:22. > :31:29.Unless you can speak the language, we wouldn't know. To be on sale in
:31:29. > :31:35.the UK, it has to be labelled in English. It shows you that you can
:31:35. > :31:45.never let your guard down and the role of Trading Standards is to
:31:45. > :31:48.
:31:48. > :31:53.protect the health of the consumer. This will help in that battle.
:31:53. > :31:56.we saw you in that film. How is the investigation going? Since officers
:31:56. > :32:00.seized these products, we have had the opportunity of interviewing all
:32:00. > :32:06.the owners of the businesses. We have explained the legal
:32:06. > :32:10.responsibilities in relation to the sale of medicines. We will continue
:32:10. > :32:15.to monitor the situation. We have however identified a wholesaler of
:32:15. > :32:20.these products and we will be visiting them in company with the
:32:20. > :32:24.MHRA. What are the actual dangers of buying drugs like this? All of
:32:24. > :32:29.these products come with Eastern European instructions on them.
:32:29. > :32:33.There is no instructions in English so the danger there is that local
:32:33. > :32:37.consumers would not know what would be a safe dose, there is no
:32:37. > :32:41.information available to them on any allergic reactions or special
:32:41. > :32:47.precautions. So it is not safe. What advice would you give people
:32:47. > :32:51.who find foreign-labelled drugs like this in their area?
:32:51. > :32:54.consumers who come across this type of product must report it to the
:32:54. > :32:56.Trading Standards Department. you.
:32:56. > :32:59.Louise Hulland reporting, and later we'll be bringing you up-to-date
:32:59. > :33:03.with some of the other cases the Consumer Cops have been
:33:03. > :33:06.investigating throughout the series. Now though, some news about one of
:33:06. > :33:09.the UK's biggest gas and electricity suppliers.
:33:09. > :33:11.NPower has been fined �60,000 and is to pay compensation to thousands
:33:11. > :33:17.of customers after it breached regulations concerning marketing
:33:17. > :33:20.calls. The telecoms regulator Ofcom found the company had generated
:33:20. > :33:28.automatic calls when there was no one available to speak to those who
:33:28. > :33:33.answered. It also made hundreds of calls where those on the receiving
:33:33. > :33:38.end only heard a recorded marketing message. Ofcom says the breaches
:33:38. > :33:41.occurred on eight days in February and March last year. NPower has
:33:41. > :33:44.apologised, describing these as isolated incidents.
:33:44. > :33:47.It says it's addressed the issues raised by Ofcom, and will send
:33:47. > :33:54.shopping vouchers to more than 3,500 people who received the calls
:33:54. > :33:57.by way of compensation. Right, only two-and-a-half weeks to
:33:57. > :34:01.go, and if you haven't bought your Christmas presents yet, panic may
:34:01. > :34:04.just be starting to descend. Buying gifts is fraught with problems -
:34:04. > :34:07.from deliveries that don't arrive, to those that are damaged when you
:34:07. > :34:17.open them, to the presents you want to return or exchange. But,
:34:17. > :34:25.
:34:25. > :34:29.whatever your problem, we know Christmas shopping. It is a
:34:29. > :34:33.minefield. From choosing what to buy to getting it delivered, there
:34:33. > :34:37.is no end of things that can go wrong. We have some tips to make
:34:38. > :34:46.sure you don't get caught out. Or get stuck with any unwanted
:34:46. > :34:51.Christmas presents! First, you have ordered your present online but it
:34:51. > :34:55.has not shown up. Go back to the company who you bought the goods
:34:55. > :35:03.from. It is their responsibility until you have hated receipt of the
:35:03. > :35:07.goods. You can -- have had receipt of the goods. You can cancel your
:35:07. > :35:15.goods up to seven days after you take receipt of the goods. Certain
:35:15. > :35:19.items aren't included such as CDs and DVDs. Or personalised items. So
:35:19. > :35:24.what happens if you give a gift or receive one that is faulty? The
:35:24. > :35:28.best thing to do is to take it back to the retailer or phone them. You
:35:28. > :35:32.have only got a short period in which you can reject the item and
:35:32. > :35:37.get a full refund. After that, you can ask for an exchange or repair,
:35:37. > :35:40.or a part refund may be possible if the seller is not willing to do
:35:40. > :35:46.either of those. In the first six months, after you get an item, the
:35:46. > :35:53.onus is on the seller to prove it was of satisfactory quality. It is
:35:53. > :36:00.six months from when the item was purchased. What do you do if you
:36:00. > :36:05.get a gift that you are not that keen on? We are all used to
:36:05. > :36:12.returning these goods so do you have a legal right to? Retailers
:36:12. > :36:18.are only legally obliged to accept the return if the good is faulty,
:36:18. > :36:28."not fit for purpose" or wasn't as described.
:36:28. > :36:33.Many retailers give you 28 days from date of purchase. What about
:36:33. > :36:37.returning that unwanted Christmas present? The contract between the
:36:37. > :36:42.seller and the person who bought the guide so they should take them
:36:42. > :36:47.back. If you have a receipt, most stores will do an exchange, offer a
:36:47. > :36:51.credit note or offer a full refund. If you are lucky, they might do one
:36:51. > :36:56.or all of those if you have a label still on the item you are returning.
:36:56. > :36:59.If you want to make sure something you are giving to someone else can
:36:59. > :37:05.be returned, think about asking for a gift receipt when you are at the
:37:05. > :37:08.till. Then slip it in with the gift before you wrap it up. One last
:37:08. > :37:12.thing. If you receive a gift that was bought in a chain of shops from
:37:12. > :37:18.another part of the country, their returns policy will usually allow
:37:18. > :37:22.you to return it to any of their stores. Happy Christmas!
:37:22. > :37:25.James Daley, Which's money expert there. And for more information on
:37:25. > :37:35.your rights if you want to return a present to the shop, see our
:37:35. > :37:38.
:37:38. > :37:43.website - bbc.co.uk/watchdog. Remember this? We have to go now.
:37:43. > :37:53.You are under arrest! Mate, we've got you. You are under arrest on
:37:53. > :38:00.
:38:00. > :38:02.suspicion of selling and Yes, this was the moment a police
:38:02. > :38:08.and Trading Standards team brought down a suspected counterfeiting
:38:08. > :38:11.ring at a car boot sale in the West Midlands. With seven arrests in
:38:11. > :38:19.just one day, this operation led to the seizure of an estimated
:38:19. > :38:23.�100,000 worth of counterfeit DVDS and non-duty paid tobacco.
:38:23. > :38:31.managed to secure the maximum amount of stock we could. It was a
:38:31. > :38:34.really good job. And one that was to get better. Because after we
:38:34. > :38:37.broadcast that film four weeks ago, officers received a tip-off from a
:38:37. > :38:40.viewer who claimed to know where stock was being kept. So, yesterday
:38:40. > :38:50.the team executed a warrant to search the lock-up that had been
:38:50. > :38:54.
:38:54. > :39:04.identified. And our cameras were We have searched all the containers
:39:04. > :39:07.
:39:07. > :39:12.that are held within the storage unit looking for counterfeit goods.
:39:12. > :39:15.We have identified a number of those units that are containing
:39:15. > :39:22.counterfeit goods and we are in the process of opening those all up and
:39:22. > :39:32.seizing any items that are subject to Trademark Act offences. We've
:39:32. > :39:36.
:39:36. > :39:46.got large quantities of stuff as you can see. A small unit. Fake
:39:46. > :39:54.
:39:54. > :39:58.headsets. Good quality Ugg boots. We found a large quantity of
:39:59. > :40:04.clothing, some DVDs, that sort of things so it links to what we were
:40:04. > :40:10.expecting to find. It is similar to what we found in the initial raid.
:40:10. > :40:14.We have a SuperDry bag as well. That isn't going to be the genuine
:40:14. > :40:19.article on the evidence of what else we have got available to show.
:40:19. > :40:24.This is probably the biggest seizure that we will have been
:40:24. > :40:29.involved with. It turns out it was a huge haul. Seven removal trucks
:40:29. > :40:34.and four vans full of clothing, headphones and watches they believe
:40:34. > :40:41.are counterfeit. Our Consumer Cops have told us that they reckon the
:40:41. > :40:51.headphones alone could have a street value of �7 million to �8
:40:51. > :40:53.
:40:53. > :40:56.million. That I had has resulted in six more lines of enquiry. And in
:40:56. > :40:58.recent weeks there've also been developments on other stories
:40:58. > :41:02.featuring the Consumer Cops. As legal proceedings may be pending
:41:02. > :41:04.we can't say more. But we can bring you details of another case they've
:41:04. > :41:07.been involved with, one that was first featured on Watchdog and
:41:07. > :41:10.Rogue Traders in April last year. It concerned Jason Butcher from
:41:10. > :41:15.Oaklands Tree Care, also known as Oaklands Tree Services - based in
:41:15. > :41:18.Banbury. Not to be confused with any other company of a similar name.
:41:18. > :41:21.This tree surgeon was a danger to himself and his customers. We
:41:21. > :41:31.caught him falsely claiming that a tree was poisonous, in order to
:41:31. > :41:48.
:41:48. > :41:51.convince our undercover actress to Butcher then went onto suggest we
:41:51. > :42:01.needed more work - eventually charging �2,000 for a job worth
:42:01. > :42:07.
:42:07. > :42:10.just �600. Something you'd think he'd be pleased about.
:42:11. > :42:13.Or perhaps not. Mind you, he'll be even more unhappy now. Because,
:42:13. > :42:17.after our film, and subsequent investigation by Trading Standards
:42:17. > :42:20.officers in Oxfordshire, Butcher was arrested. Two weeks ago he was
:42:20. > :42:26.found guilty of 14 offences, including fraud and theft, and
:42:26. > :42:30.sentenced to 12 months in prison. So another rogue off the streets
:42:31. > :42:40.thanks to our Consumer Cops. And now - out of the Mail Room - here's
:42:41. > :42:41.
:42:41. > :42:47.Rani. We have had a big reaction to that supermarket story. A few of
:42:47. > :42:54.you are a bit sceptical. Clive says he saw a prime example of it
:42:54. > :43:00.yesterday. Carl says, "Every time Watchdog put supermarkets to the
:43:00. > :43:03.test, they get away with it." Thanks, Rani. And that's all we