Episode 20 Watchdog Daily


Episode 20

Similar Content

Browse content similar to Episode 20. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

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

:00:27.:00:32.

next 45 minutes. This morning: How to slash the

:00:32.:00:36.

price of a new car. Find out how we were offered over �3,500 off with

:00:36.:00:43.

one simple phone call. Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrison's -

:00:43.:00:46.

they've just signed up to a new agreement to ditch confusing and

:00:46.:00:48.

misleading offers. Will they stick to it?

:00:48.:00:50.

And the rogue tree surgeon who ripped off his customers, put

:00:50.:01:00.
:01:00.:01:02.

himself in danger, and had trouble controlling his temper.

:01:02.:01:08.

First, thinking of changing your car? If so, you may have been put

:01:08.:01:11.

off by the prices of brand-new models, and turned to the second-

:01:11.:01:13.

hand market instead. But, perhaps it's time to think again because

:01:13.:01:16.

that new vehicle price tag could be significantly higher than the

:01:16.:01:19.

showroom is actually willing to sell at. In fact, our Mystery

:01:19.:01:22.

Shoppers have discovered nearly all dealers are happy to give you much

:01:22.:01:25.

better deals than the ones they advertise. All you have to do is

:01:25.:01:35.
:01:35.:01:44.

Negotiating, bargaining, haggling, it comes as second nature to car

:01:44.:01:50.

dealers. As for the buyers, we tend to be different. The main thing is

:01:50.:01:54.

we are too shy to haggle. The point to remember is, whether you are

:01:54.:01:58.

buying a new or a used car, there are deals to be had. Don't be

:01:58.:02:03.

afraid to ask some money off. Dealers want to sell you cars.

:02:03.:02:09.

Therefore, they are prepared to give you discount. The cars may be

:02:09.:02:15.

new, but you can get the prices down by using a very old tactic, by

:02:15.:02:22.

how much exactly? Time for us to hit the phones. Over two days, our

:02:22.:02:28.

team enquired about some of the UK's most popular models, the Ford

:02:28.:02:36.

Fiesta, the Vauxhall Corsa, the VW Golf, the BMW 3 Series and the per

:02:36.:02:45.

se diz C class. -- and the Mercedes C class. Is it possible to get a

:02:45.:02:50.

price on a BMW 3 Series? Meet our first shopper. He asked for the

:02:50.:02:57.

price of the car. No pushing, no negotiating. The list price is

:02:57.:03:07.
:03:07.:03:12.

�9,495. That's �16,425. �24,880. Prices start at �25,915. �9,795 for

:03:12.:03:15.

that. All ten dealers quoted the list price, that is the price at

:03:15.:03:19.

which the cars are officially advertised. But half went on to

:03:19.:03:24.

suggest they could give us some sort of discount and that was

:03:24.:03:28.

without us asking. It would possibly involve us paying for the

:03:28.:03:32.

car on finance. It is worth bearing in mind that at the moment, on the

:03:32.:03:36.

Golf, because we are getting towards the end of Mark 6, there is

:03:36.:03:40.

a finance package available where you can get up to �3,000 off the

:03:40.:03:45.

cost of the car as well. As a deposit contribution, so that price

:03:45.:03:52.

I have quoted of �16,425, you can take �3,000 off that cost so you

:03:52.:03:58.

are looking at �13,425 really. Finance is very profitable for a

:03:58.:04:02.

dealer. It is also a way of keeping you in the network. So what a lot

:04:02.:04:06.

of people do is take finance out for three years and go back and buy

:04:06.:04:10.

the same car again from the same dealer. There is nothing wrong with

:04:10.:04:14.

that. Finance is like everything else, you need to do your homework,

:04:14.:04:20.

make sure you get the best price possible. If deals are available to

:04:20.:04:29.

buyers who don't ask, what is on offer for those who do? Tough-

:04:29.:04:34.

talking, no-nonsense, determined to drive the hardest bargain. Can we

:04:34.:04:40.

make it up to �500? Could I speak to the manager, please? He phoned

:04:40.:04:44.

up another two main car dealers. Five in London and five in

:04:44.:04:48.

Manchester. Instead of being open to finance deals, he offered to pay

:04:48.:04:55.

in cash only. First up, Ford, and a new Fiesta. Great ad, but would

:04:55.:05:01.

they give us a great price? Best I can do on that car would be �9,345.

:05:01.:05:08.

That is not bad. In fact, it works out at �450 discount or 4.6% off

:05:09.:05:13.

the list price, something the Manchester branch was happy to

:05:13.:05:18.

match. Next the Corsa. One London dealer refused to budge on the list

:05:18.:05:23.

price. The Manchester branch did initially offer a discount of �2 50.

:05:23.:05:27.

But then came the haggling moment. I was looking for something closer

:05:27.:05:30.

to a grand off. If there is anything closer to that region, I

:05:30.:05:37.

would be keen. OK. �8495. I'm not sure we will be able to go that low.

:05:37.:05:41.

If you are able to go any lower on that, that would be greatly

:05:41.:05:45.

appreciated. Let me pop you on hold. I will go and speak to him now. The

:05:45.:05:54.

minimum he can go to is �8,9995. If you wanted to put a doz silt on it

:05:54.:06:03.

today, we could -- deposit on it today we could reduce it by �1,000.

:06:03.:06:10.

Making it �500 in total. As for the VW Golf both branches suggested we

:06:10.:06:16.

could get �500 off a new model. But by far the biggest reductions were

:06:16.:06:26.
:06:26.:06:29.

on offer from Mercedes and BMW. would be looking at �22,6...

:06:29.:06:33.

�3,315 discount just for asking a Manchester Mercedes dealer. That

:06:33.:06:38.

equates to 12.8% off the original list price. It was a similar story

:06:38.:06:44.

in their London branch, too. As for BMW, London, we were offered �3,580

:06:44.:06:49.

off the list price. But they wanted our car details for a deposit there

:06:49.:06:53.

and then. My number one tip for getting a good deal is do your

:06:53.:06:56.

homework. There is nothing like going to the dealer, armed with

:06:56.:06:59.

information, knowing the best price to pay, knowing what sort of price

:06:59.:07:02.

you should pay before you sign on the dotted line. Therefore, if you

:07:02.:07:07.

know as much as the dealer, you will get the best deal. Four

:07:07.:07:11.

dealers asked us what price we wanted to pay! What is the deal you

:07:11.:07:15.

are looking for? Where do you need to be to get you a deal? Where do

:07:16.:07:20.

you need it to be for us to go ahead? If you can give us an idea

:07:20.:07:26.

where you want to be, we will do that. The salesman will ask how

:07:26.:07:30.

much are you prepared to pay. Don't be drawn into that. The deal they

:07:30.:07:36.

construct will add to the same as you are prepared to pay for it. Be

:07:36.:07:39.

stand-offish, and ask the salesman, "I was interested in the best deal

:07:39.:07:44.

you could do." Then you will end up with the best deal rather than a

:07:44.:07:48.

deal constructed about how much you can afford. We managed to haggle

:07:48.:07:55.

our way to a �15,645 discount off ten cars. Plus a free tank of

:07:55.:08:00.

petrol and car mats that one dealer threw in. We only telephoned! If we

:08:00.:08:05.

had visited the showrooms, there may have been better deals on offer.

:08:05.:08:10.

As this salesman, who had just spoken to his manager, told us.

:08:10.:08:15.

you come in and see us, we will find the right bar for you. We can

:08:15.:08:19.

probably get a bit better for you as well. My tip would be to play

:08:19.:08:25.

hardball. If you say, "I'm ready to leave a deposit." The boss will

:08:25.:08:31.

bust his chops to get you the best deal. I only get paid when you buy

:08:31.:08:37.

a car. It is in my interests to get you the best deal I can.

:08:37.:08:40.

So money to be saved on the phone, perhaps even better deals when you

:08:40.:08:43.

go into the showroom. What do the car companies say,

:08:43.:08:53.
:08:53.:08:54.

Rani? Well Sophie, BMW along with all the

:08:54.:08:57.

others, says their dealers are free to trade with their customers as

:08:57.:09:00.

they wish. The company adds that it makes no money from finance deals.

:09:00.:09:03.

Ford says they're also able to invest in the high customer service

:09:03.:09:06.

standards it demands. Mercedes and Volkswagen say the models we

:09:06.:09:08.

enquired about are about to be superseded, so greater discounts on

:09:08.:09:13.

them were possible. Meanwhile, if you'd like to comment

:09:13.:09:17.

on that, or any of today's stories, here's a reminder of how to do so.

:09:17.:09:21.

For emails, the address is [email protected].

:09:21.:09:25.

For texts, it's 88822 and start your message with the letters "WD".

:09:25.:09:28.

And if you want to join the discussion on Twitter, our address

:09:28.:09:33.

and hashtag are on your screens. Now, with around a third of adults

:09:33.:09:36.

trying to slim at any one time, demand for weight loss products is

:09:36.:09:40.

huge. That means big money for the drug companies, but also fortunes

:09:40.:09:43.

for the criminals who put their own so-called diet pills onto the

:09:43.:09:47.

market. As Louise Hulland - in the North West of England for us this

:09:47.:09:52.

week - now reports. Over the last few days, we have seen some of the

:09:52.:09:58.

vital work of Trading Standards officers first-hand. In addition to

:09:58.:10:08.
:10:08.:10:11.

all that, these Consumer Cops are concerned at protecting our health.

:10:11.:10:15.

Meet Maria. She is one of the team responsible for investigating the

:10:15.:10:20.

sale of dangerous and illegal medical products in St Helens.

:10:20.:10:25.

These diet pills were seized during one of her most successful

:10:25.:10:31.

operations. The product came into us in 2010. The consumer had seen

:10:31.:10:35.

this product in the press. It had quite a lot of positive press in

:10:35.:10:41.

the UK and in America. This was not the same one. It was a copy of the

:10:41.:10:49.

one that had the good press. pills in question looked to be

:10:49.:10:54.

CapsiPlex, a dieting drug that hit the shelves in 2010. The genuine

:10:54.:11:01.

product was said to have a host of celebrity fans and was endorsed by

:11:01.:11:05.

actresses and attracted a blaze of publicity, which the counterfeiters

:11:05.:11:09.

took advantage of. I saw it in one of the newspapers. I thought they

:11:09.:11:13.

were pretty good. I came across many websites which advertised it.

:11:13.:11:20.

The one that I chose, it did look genuine. When they arrived, I was

:11:21.:11:25.

excited. I couldn't wait to start taking them. It was going to be the

:11:26.:11:29.

beginning of my new diet. design and the claims made on the

:11:29.:11:33.

label of her pills were different to those of the genuine article.

:11:33.:11:37.

But once she started taking them, her enthusiasm for her new tablets

:11:37.:11:41.

waned. I was taking them for a couple of days. I started to get

:11:41.:11:45.

stomach ache. I didn't put two and two together it was the tablet

:11:45.:11:49.

until a few days later and I stopped taking the tablets and the

:11:49.:11:53.

stomach ache subsided. At that point, she suspected there might be

:11:53.:11:58.

a problem with the pills. As she works for the council, she passed

:11:58.:12:01.

them over to Trading Standards to investigate. Our next step was to

:12:01.:12:05.

send this to the public analyst to have it tested both on the

:12:05.:12:10.

labelling and composition of the product. During this time, we took

:12:10.:12:14.

a second test purchase from the website. This was also sent off to

:12:14.:12:17.

the public analyst. While the products were being tested, we did

:12:17.:12:22.

research into the website where the products had been bought.

:12:22.:12:28.

testing took place over in Lancashire, supervised by Andrew

:12:28.:12:35.

Smith. The labelling included 278 more calories, change your body,

:12:35.:12:40.

change your life, clinically proven to burn up to 278 more calories.

:12:40.:12:45.

The benefits included of the fat burner, free radical fighter,

:12:45.:12:50.

energy and weight loss, helps improve metabolism and supports

:12:50.:12:56.

endurance and performance. None of these claims are permitted by the

:12:56.:13:02.

legislation as it currently is. illegal claims on the packets. But

:13:02.:13:08.

what was actually inside? The two samples we were sent were alleged

:13:08.:13:18.
:13:18.:13:21.

to contain caffeine. We suspect that the capsule contained a

:13:21.:13:26.

bulking agent and nothing else. Catherine's suspicions had been

:13:26.:13:29.

confirmed. The pills were not the genuine article. They were

:13:29.:13:38.

manufactured for a company calling itself Bodyscoop and trading online.

:13:38.:13:42.

There is nothing in these capsules that would have the properties

:13:42.:13:49.

claimed on the box and on the labelling. They wouldn't improve

:13:49.:13:54.

metabolism. They wouldn't fight fat. Based on the analysis we did, I

:13:54.:13:58.

can't imagine the contents of those pills were worth more than a few

:13:58.:14:05.

pennies. I don't think they are value for money. 30 pills for �30.

:14:05.:14:09.

Armed with this evidence, Maria and her team tried to contact the

:14:09.:14:13.

seller. However, the director of the company failed to respond to

:14:13.:14:18.

their requests. So they were left with only one option. The case

:14:18.:14:22.

progressed to the Magistrates' Court in St Helens. At the first

:14:22.:14:26.

hearing, the director didn't turn up so a warrant was issued for her

:14:26.:14:30.

arrest and she was arrested down in Surrey and brought to the

:14:30.:14:35.

Magistrates' Court in St Helens. Now, on the second hearing, she

:14:35.:14:38.

pleaded not guilty. Now, what I wanted to prove was that she had

:14:38.:14:42.

been supplying this product and how long she had been supplying this

:14:42.:14:49.

product for. So I got records from both eBay and PayPal and she had

:14:49.:14:52.

quite a number of accounts in her name. There was a minimum of

:14:53.:14:56.

�15,000 worth of sales over a number of years selling this

:14:56.:15:02.

product in both the UK and in Europe. Given the weight of the

:15:02.:15:07.

evidence, the director changed her plea to guilty and was fined

:15:07.:15:13.

�24,000 under the EU Regulations on Nutrition and Health Claims. This

:15:13.:15:21.

case was the first prosecution in the country under this regulation.

:15:21.:15:25.

So success for the team in removing fake diet pills from the market.

:15:26.:15:28.

There are other more dangerous health products out there, too.

:15:28.:15:34.

Coming up, we join the team in Salford as they go on the hunt for

:15:34.:15:39.

unlicensed over the counter medicines. That's a fair quantity

:15:39.:15:46.

of what looks to be illegal products on sale here in Salford.

:15:46.:15:50.

It shows you that you can never let your guard down.

:15:50.:15:55.

And you can see that report later. Now though, the big supermarkets

:15:55.:15:58.

and the false offers and misleading deals we've become all too familiar

:15:58.:16:01.

with. Last week the Office of Fair Trading said it had been

:16:01.:16:03.

investigating, and announced that eight supermarkets have now agreed

:16:03.:16:07.

to adopt a set of principles that will help ensure shoppers are given

:16:07.:16:10.

fair and accurate information. But what exactly are those principles?

:16:10.:16:13.

And how can we be sure the supermarkets will abide by them.

:16:13.:16:17.

After all, it's not the first time they've been told to clean up their

:16:17.:16:23.

act. It's exactly two years since the Office of Fair Trading first

:16:23.:16:28.

voiced its concern about misleading price promotion offers. It gave

:16:28.:16:32.

retailers a warning. Stop advertising them or risk

:16:32.:16:37.

enforcement action. Did that stop them? No. 12 months later, I found

:16:37.:16:41.

evidence of one misleading tactic known as price establishing. Here

:16:41.:16:46.

is an example. A retailer sells a product at a certain price for a

:16:46.:16:50.

long period of time but then raises it. Shortly afterwards, it drops it

:16:50.:16:55.

back down to where it was before, then it can say that it has slashed

:16:55.:17:02.

the cost. According to their most recent set of principles: "Prices

:17:02.:17:10.

should never be artificially manipulated to advertise a later

:17:10.:17:14.

discount." That is what some supermarkets have been doing. I

:17:14.:17:20.

found this example in 2011. delicious Tesco fresh whole chicken.

:17:20.:17:24.

Now with a meaty price cut. Take the supermarket's fresh chicken

:17:24.:17:30.

which features in its ads. In January, customers could buy them

:17:30.:17:36.

for �4 each. That remained the case throughout February, March, April,

:17:36.:17:44.

May and June. In mid-July, Tesco raised the price to �5 each. But

:17:44.:17:49.

then in September it went back to what it had been for most of the

:17:49.:17:53.

year, Tesco labelled it a price drop. Are you concerned or

:17:53.:17:59.

surprised by what we have found? think an average consumer would not

:17:59.:18:04.

expect a price that had been consistent for many months suddenly

:18:04.:18:11.

to rise by a pound to then revert back to the original price to be

:18:11.:18:15.

described as a price drop. Office of Fair Trading also warned

:18:15.:18:19.

the supermarkets about several other promotional tactics. Among

:18:19.:18:23.

those bigger pack better value claims. On the truth of such claims,

:18:23.:18:33.
:18:33.:18:41.

the OFT's new principles couldn't Since they were first warned about

:18:41.:18:48.

this two years ago, we have caught the big four doing it time after

:18:48.:18:54.

time. In April 2011. Take this from Sainsbury's - you have guessed it,

:18:54.:19:04.
:19:04.:19:05.

it isn't the best value. In fact, it works out at �3.49 per kilogram.

:19:05.:19:13.

More expensive than the smaller pack. ASDA are also at it. This big

:19:13.:19:20.

box works out at 14p a sachet, that is dearer than the smaller box.

:19:20.:19:25.

December 2011, I found 17 examples of bigger packs presented as better

:19:25.:19:35.

value when they weren't. Five in Tesco, five in Sainsbury's, four in

:19:35.:19:40.

ASDA and three in Morrisons. And just a few weeks ago, on this

:19:40.:19:50.
:19:50.:19:50.

programme. This is the better value because it says "big value" on it.

:19:50.:19:59.

�2.32. Against �3.20. This is the value pack, apparently. That is

:19:59.:20:05.

crazy. Confusing. So after the first warning had little or no

:20:05.:20:08.

effect, the OFT is trying a new approach. It's persuaded all the

:20:08.:20:12.

main supermarkets apart from ASDA to sign up to its set of pricing

:20:12.:20:16.

principles. Last week the press hailed it as a new deal for

:20:16.:20:19.

shoppers, an agreement that will ensure offers and promotional

:20:19.:20:25.

claims will be fair, accurate and consistent. But this week, we went

:20:25.:20:30.

shopping again and have a guess what we found.

:20:30.:20:34.

Well, here's the answer. Multiple examples of bigger packs being

:20:34.:20:36.

presented as "better value" when they're not. Two here from

:20:36.:20:42.

Morrison's. These two from Sainsbury's. And these three from

:20:42.:20:48.

Tesco. We also found three examples at ASDA, which - although it hasn't

:20:48.:20:51.

signed up to the new OFT principles - is still bound by Consumer

:20:51.:20:56.

Regulations which forbid misleading offers. Now, in a moment I'll be

:20:56.:20:59.

talking to the OFT about its new agreement and these findings.

:20:59.:21:05.

Before that, how do the supermarkets explain them?

:21:05.:21:08.

All of them told us they're committed to fair and transparent

:21:08.:21:10.

prices, and that value labels are often attached by the manufacturer.

:21:10.:21:13.

Sainsbury's say they've already asked the suppliers of branded

:21:13.:21:16.

goods to remove their better value messages, and say there will be a

:21:16.:21:20.

transition period prior to the new packaging becoming fully available.

:21:20.:21:23.

Tesco says they welcome the OFT's clarity on good practices and will

:21:23.:21:27.

be speaking to the manufacturers about the issues raised.

:21:27.:21:31.

As will Morrisons. Who say the Bigger Pack Better Value principle

:21:31.:21:34.

is the toughest to implement because of the number of products,

:21:34.:21:38.

many of which are on promotions. In the cases we identified this

:21:38.:21:41.

week, they say the promotions were planned months ago and it will take

:21:41.:21:48.

time for all the changes to be introduced. ASDA say honest

:21:48.:21:53.

mistakes can sometimes happen. The claims of Best and Family Value on

:21:53.:21:57.

different pack sizes mean the claims cannot always be justified.

:21:57.:22:00.

Which frustrates them as much as their customers. They have raised

:22:00.:22:04.

their concerns and continue to work with suppliers. They say they are

:22:04.:22:08.

very much engaged with the OFT but whilst they are in favour of three

:22:08.:22:10.

of the approaches, there is one approach that is meant to

:22:10.:22:15.

discourage high low-pricing promotions and they are worried it

:22:15.:22:21.

would encourage it. They are taking the time to consider the proposals.

:22:21.:22:27.

They always focus, they say, on offering low prices. With me is a

:22:27.:22:30.

spokesman from the Office of Fair Trading. You told supermarkets they

:22:30.:22:34.

shouldn't be doing this two years ago. They still are. Why are they

:22:34.:22:39.

going to listen now? We produced a report and on the back of that we

:22:39.:22:44.

did a number of enforcement pieces. This year, we have talked to

:22:44.:22:47.

supermarkets about some of their behaviours. It is a complex

:22:47.:22:55.

business. They have changed thousands of prices each week.

:22:55.:22:59.

did bring it to their attention two years ago, didn't you? It's two

:22:59.:23:05.

years later and it is still happening? It is a complex business.

:23:05.:23:09.

I discovered that there are 11 great seasons each year so defining

:23:09.:23:13.

what is in season out season for grapes is not as straightforward as

:23:13.:23:18.

you might think. We want to move on and develop the principles we

:23:18.:23:20.

established two years ago more specifically for the retail sector

:23:20.:23:23.

and that is what we have done this year working with supermarkets.

:23:23.:23:29.

went this week, we found yet more of these misleading offers, Bigger

:23:29.:23:34.

Pack Better value when they are not. Are the supermarkets going to be be

:23:34.:23:40.

told you have to stop doing this? In our principles, we identified

:23:40.:23:44.

positive things we think supermarkets should do and are good.

:23:44.:23:47.

Those are better than the standard of the law. We identified some

:23:47.:23:50.

things where the law is very clear that you shouldn't do them. For

:23:50.:23:55.

those, we are expecting a speedy reduction in those incidents. I

:23:55.:24:00.

can't promise you 0%, but we expect a significant reduction in those.

:24:00.:24:05.

On the more positive principles like not advertising for longer

:24:05.:24:08.

discount than the original price, the supermarkets are starting to

:24:08.:24:13.

put that into their systems. It can take two to three months before it

:24:13.:24:18.

comes out the other end. You can't expect a zero result in getting rid

:24:18.:24:22.

of these offers? We go out in six months' time, which we will, and

:24:23.:24:28.

find yet more misleading offers, what will you do? We have worked

:24:28.:24:32.

very closely with Trading Standards who are the home authorities for

:24:32.:24:36.

each supermarket to develop these principles, communicate with

:24:36.:24:39.

supermarkets, look through their compliance policies, ask them to

:24:39.:24:45.

make some changes. If we think there is still a problem next year,

:24:45.:24:50.

we would consider enforcement action. What do you mean? Well, we

:24:51.:24:55.

have a range of things we can do. We start with an informal

:24:55.:25:00.

conversation. If we don't feel that is delivering change, that will be

:25:00.:25:03.

our conclusion, then we can seek undertakings from firms where they

:25:03.:25:09.

give us a written undertaken not to do things in the same way and if we

:25:09.:25:13.

then aren't happy with that, we can go to court. If they refuse, we can

:25:13.:25:17.

go to court, too. Trading Standards can prosecute for examples of

:25:17.:25:22.

breaches of the law as well. Why do you think supermarkets have been

:25:22.:25:26.

doing this? Are they making money out of consumers? Is it laziness?

:25:26.:25:30.

Are they not spotting these misleading offers? There is a whole

:25:30.:25:34.

range of things. What I was impressed with - they know there is

:25:35.:25:39.

a trust issue building up here and they want to head that off. I think

:25:39.:25:43.

there was a very constructive level of engagement that I found with the

:25:43.:25:47.

supermarkets. They do want you and me to feel confident when we see an

:25:47.:25:51.

offer that it is an offer. It could go the way of other industries

:25:51.:25:56.

where people lose belief in what is being communicated. There is a

:25:56.:25:59.

different mindset. Supermarkets need to regain customers' trust in

:26:00.:26:09.

the shops. Thank you very much. Lots of you getting in touch about

:26:09.:26:15.

the story on our new car prices. Mark says he visited several

:26:15.:26:20.

showrooms to get the best deal. He ended up getting �2,000 off the

:26:20.:26:26.

list price. Fantastic news! Jen did better when buying a higher-end car.

:26:27.:26:30.

Her discount? �6,500. Remember, we are in the mail room all day today.

:26:30.:26:36.

We are waiting for your messages so get in touch.

:26:36.:26:38.

We're heading back to Salford now where Trading Standards officers

:26:38.:26:41.

are trying to combat a growing problem, posing a potentially huge

:26:41.:26:43.

public health risk. That's the import of unlicensed over-the-

:26:43.:26:49.

counter medicines. Here's Louise again.

:26:49.:26:54.

Yes, in recent years, the amounts of those medicines reaching our

:26:54.:26:57.

shelves have increased. It is vital they are removed from the supply

:26:57.:27:01.

chain as quickly as possible. Officers were told about illegally

:27:01.:27:05.

labelled medicines being made available in one local retail

:27:05.:27:12.

outlet. They swung into action and our cameras where with them. It is

:27:12.:27:21.

the morning of the operation. They are heading out to inspect a small

:27:21.:27:28.

grocery store in the heart of Salford. There may be illegal

:27:28.:27:33.

medicinal products on sale. We are trying to find out what is on sale

:27:33.:27:39.

in Salford and this is one of a series of visits we are making with

:27:39.:27:43.

our partner agencies. If any illegal product is found, that will

:27:43.:27:49.

be bagged and tagged and we will remove it from the property. To

:27:49.:27:57.

date, we have visited 28 premises across Salford and in five of those,

:27:57.:28:04.

we did find illegal medicinal products on sale which have been

:28:04.:28:10.

seized. 750 products were seized in total. A haul so far certainly

:28:10.:28:17.

looks impressive and ranges from antibiotics to skin creams. We are

:28:17.:28:23.

surprised at the variety and volume of products seized from such small

:28:23.:28:28.

corner shops. What we have found in this particular case is a wide

:28:28.:28:34.

range of medicinal products and they can be categorised into three

:28:34.:28:40.

groups. Some of the products that we have seized are prescription-

:28:40.:28:44.

only drugs. Others are products which can only be sold by a

:28:45.:28:49.

pharmacist. And the others are normal types of medicines that you

:28:49.:28:55.

can buy in shops, but the common feature with all these products

:28:55.:29:00.

sold in Eastern European shops is they are not labelled in English.

:29:00.:29:04.

They have not received a product licence. So they are not legal to

:29:04.:29:11.

sell in the UK. The most concerning product that we seized was the skin

:29:11.:29:15.

whitening cream which we found in an Afro-Caribbean shop. This

:29:15.:29:24.

product is not legal to sell in the UK. It contravenes the Cosmetic

:29:24.:29:29.

Products Safety Regulations. Back in the field, the team has been

:29:29.:29:36.

joined by officers from the MHRA. Their knowledge of medical products

:29:36.:29:40.

is essential to establish quickly and reliably which medicines are

:29:40.:29:44.

legal and which are not. Trading Standards. Is the manager around?

:29:44.:29:54.
:29:54.:29:54.

Or the owner? Are you in charge at the moment? Yes. These two officers

:29:54.:30:00.

are going to look at the stock, medicine stock which you have here.

:30:00.:30:04.

The MHRA officers find a substantial number of products that

:30:04.:30:09.

all the tell-tale signs of illegal medication. These officers have

:30:09.:30:13.

identified some products which they think are illegal medicines so they

:30:13.:30:16.

think they are either foreign labelled or medicines which

:30:16.:30:20.

shouldn't be on sale here. It is not all about seizing the goods.

:30:20.:30:25.

Much of the work involves education. I'm asking the owner to contact

:30:25.:30:28.

Trading Standards for advice. We want to work with him to make sure

:30:28.:30:34.

he is only purchasing stock which he can legally sell. Are we done?

:30:34.:30:43.

Yeah? Excellent. Thank you. Some of the problems come in other

:30:43.:30:48.

countries where you can buy prescription drugs routinely over

:30:48.:30:56.

the counter. With the store cleared of the suspect products, Nigel

:30:56.:31:06.
:31:06.:31:07.

inspects the morning's haul. That's a fair quantity of what looks to be

:31:07.:31:10.

illegal medicinal products on sale this morning in Salford. I would

:31:10.:31:16.

have to say it is quite difficult to know what some of this stuff is.

:31:16.:31:22.

Unless you can speak the language, we wouldn't know. To be on sale in

:31:22.:31:29.

the UK, it has to be labelled in English. It shows you that you can

:31:29.:31:35.

never let your guard down and the role of Trading Standards is to

:31:35.:31:45.
:31:45.:31:48.

protect the health of the consumer. This will help in that battle.

:31:48.:31:53.

we saw you in that film. How is the investigation going? Since officers

:31:53.:31:56.

seized these products, we have had the opportunity of interviewing all

:31:56.:32:00.

the owners of the businesses. We have explained the legal

:32:00.:32:06.

responsibilities in relation to the sale of medicines. We will continue

:32:06.:32:10.

to monitor the situation. We have however identified a wholesaler of

:32:10.:32:15.

these products and we will be visiting them in company with the

:32:15.:32:20.

MHRA. What are the actual dangers of buying drugs like this? All of

:32:20.:32:24.

these products come with Eastern European instructions on them.

:32:24.:32:29.

There is no instructions in English so the danger there is that local

:32:29.:32:33.

consumers would not know what would be a safe dose, there is no

:32:33.:32:37.

information available to them on any allergic reactions or special

:32:37.:32:41.

precautions. So it is not safe. What advice would you give people

:32:41.:32:47.

who find foreign-labelled drugs like this in their area?

:32:47.:32:51.

consumers who come across this type of product must report it to the

:32:51.:32:54.

Trading Standards Department. you.

:32:54.:32:56.

Louise Hulland reporting, and later we'll be bringing you up-to-date

:32:56.:32:59.

with some of the other cases the Consumer Cops have been

:32:59.:33:03.

investigating throughout the series. Now though, some news about one of

:33:03.:33:06.

the UK's biggest gas and electricity suppliers.

:33:06.:33:09.

NPower has been fined �60,000 and is to pay compensation to thousands

:33:09.:33:11.

of customers after it breached regulations concerning marketing

:33:11.:33:17.

calls. The telecoms regulator Ofcom found the company had generated

:33:17.:33:20.

automatic calls when there was no one available to speak to those who

:33:20.:33:28.

answered. It also made hundreds of calls where those on the receiving

:33:28.:33:33.

end only heard a recorded marketing message. Ofcom says the breaches

:33:33.:33:38.

occurred on eight days in February and March last year. NPower has

:33:38.:33:41.

apologised, describing these as isolated incidents.

:33:41.:33:44.

It says it's addressed the issues raised by Ofcom, and will send

:33:44.:33:47.

shopping vouchers to more than 3,500 people who received the calls

:33:47.:33:54.

by way of compensation. Right, only two-and-a-half weeks to

:33:54.:33:57.

go, and if you haven't bought your Christmas presents yet, panic may

:33:57.:34:01.

just be starting to descend. Buying gifts is fraught with problems -

:34:01.:34:04.

from deliveries that don't arrive, to those that are damaged when you

:34:04.:34:07.

open them, to the presents you want to return or exchange. But,

:34:07.:34:17.
:34:17.:34:25.

whatever your problem, we know Christmas shopping. It is a

:34:25.:34:29.

minefield. From choosing what to buy to getting it delivered, there

:34:29.:34:33.

is no end of things that can go wrong. We have some tips to make

:34:33.:34:37.

sure you don't get caught out. Or get stuck with any unwanted

:34:38.:34:46.

Christmas presents! First, you have ordered your present online but it

:34:46.:34:51.

has not shown up. Go back to the company who you bought the goods

:34:51.:34:55.

from. It is their responsibility until you have hated receipt of the

:34:55.:35:03.

goods. You can -- have had receipt of the goods. You can cancel your

:35:03.:35:07.

goods up to seven days after you take receipt of the goods. Certain

:35:07.:35:15.

items aren't included such as CDs and DVDs. Or personalised items. So

:35:15.:35:19.

what happens if you give a gift or receive one that is faulty? The

:35:19.:35:24.

best thing to do is to take it back to the retailer or phone them. You

:35:24.:35:28.

have only got a short period in which you can reject the item and

:35:28.:35:32.

get a full refund. After that, you can ask for an exchange or repair,

:35:32.:35:37.

or a part refund may be possible if the seller is not willing to do

:35:37.:35:40.

either of those. In the first six months, after you get an item, the

:35:40.:35:46.

onus is on the seller to prove it was of satisfactory quality. It is

:35:46.:35:53.

six months from when the item was purchased. What do you do if you

:35:53.:36:00.

get a gift that you are not that keen on? We are all used to

:36:00.:36:05.

returning these goods so do you have a legal right to? Retailers

:36:05.:36:12.

are only legally obliged to accept the return if the good is faulty,

:36:12.:36:18.

"not fit for purpose" or wasn't as described.

:36:18.:36:28.

Many retailers give you 28 days from date of purchase. What about

:36:28.:36:33.

returning that unwanted Christmas present? The contract between the

:36:33.:36:37.

seller and the person who bought the guide so they should take them

:36:37.:36:42.

back. If you have a receipt, most stores will do an exchange, offer a

:36:42.:36:47.

credit note or offer a full refund. If you are lucky, they might do one

:36:47.:36:51.

or all of those if you have a label still on the item you are returning.

:36:51.:36:56.

If you want to make sure something you are giving to someone else can

:36:56.:36:59.

be returned, think about asking for a gift receipt when you are at the

:36:59.:37:05.

till. Then slip it in with the gift before you wrap it up. One last

:37:05.:37:08.

thing. If you receive a gift that was bought in a chain of shops from

:37:08.:37:12.

another part of the country, their returns policy will usually allow

:37:12.:37:18.

you to return it to any of their stores. Happy Christmas!

:37:18.:37:22.

James Daley, Which's money expert there. And for more information on

:37:22.:37:25.

your rights if you want to return a present to the shop, see our

:37:25.:37:35.
:37:35.:37:38.

website - bbc.co.uk/watchdog. Remember this? We have to go now.

:37:38.:37:43.

You are under arrest! Mate, we've got you. You are under arrest on

:37:43.:37:53.
:37:53.:38:00.

suspicion of selling and Yes, this was the moment a police

:38:00.:38:02.

and Trading Standards team brought down a suspected counterfeiting

:38:02.:38:08.

ring at a car boot sale in the West Midlands. With seven arrests in

:38:08.:38:11.

just one day, this operation led to the seizure of an estimated

:38:11.:38:19.

�100,000 worth of counterfeit DVDS and non-duty paid tobacco.

:38:19.:38:23.

managed to secure the maximum amount of stock we could. It was a

:38:23.:38:31.

really good job. And one that was to get better. Because after we

:38:31.:38:34.

broadcast that film four weeks ago, officers received a tip-off from a

:38:34.:38:37.

viewer who claimed to know where stock was being kept. So, yesterday

:38:37.:38:40.

the team executed a warrant to search the lock-up that had been

:38:40.:38:50.
:38:50.:38:54.

identified. And our cameras were We have searched all the containers

:38:54.:39:04.
:39:04.:39:07.

that are held within the storage unit looking for counterfeit goods.

:39:07.:39:12.

We have identified a number of those units that are containing

:39:12.:39:15.

counterfeit goods and we are in the process of opening those all up and

:39:15.:39:22.

seizing any items that are subject to Trademark Act offences. We've

:39:22.:39:32.
:39:32.:39:36.

got large quantities of stuff as you can see. A small unit. Fake

:39:36.:39:46.
:39:46.:39:54.

headsets. Good quality Ugg boots. We found a large quantity of

:39:54.:39:58.

clothing, some DVDs, that sort of things so it links to what we were

:39:59.:40:04.

expecting to find. It is similar to what we found in the initial raid.

:40:04.:40:10.

We have a SuperDry bag as well. That isn't going to be the genuine

:40:10.:40:14.

article on the evidence of what else we have got available to show.

:40:14.:40:19.

This is probably the biggest seizure that we will have been

:40:19.:40:24.

involved with. It turns out it was a huge haul. Seven removal trucks

:40:24.:40:29.

and four vans full of clothing, headphones and watches they believe

:40:29.:40:34.

are counterfeit. Our Consumer Cops have told us that they reckon the

:40:34.:40:41.

headphones alone could have a street value of �7 million to �8

:40:41.:40:51.
:40:51.:40:53.

million. That I had has resulted in six more lines of enquiry. And in

:40:53.:40:56.

recent weeks there've also been developments on other stories

:40:56.:40:58.

featuring the Consumer Cops. As legal proceedings may be pending

:40:58.:41:02.

we can't say more. But we can bring you details of another case they've

:41:02.:41:04.

been involved with, one that was first featured on Watchdog and

:41:04.:41:07.

Rogue Traders in April last year. It concerned Jason Butcher from

:41:07.:41:10.

Oaklands Tree Care, also known as Oaklands Tree Services - based in

:41:10.:41:15.

Banbury. Not to be confused with any other company of a similar name.

:41:15.:41:18.

This tree surgeon was a danger to himself and his customers. We

:41:18.:41:21.

caught him falsely claiming that a tree was poisonous, in order to

:41:21.:41:31.
:41:31.:41:48.

convince our undercover actress to Butcher then went onto suggest we

:41:48.:41:51.

needed more work - eventually charging �2,000 for a job worth

:41:51.:42:01.
:42:01.:42:07.

just �600. Something you'd think he'd be pleased about.

:42:07.:42:10.

Or perhaps not. Mind you, he'll be even more unhappy now. Because,

:42:11.:42:13.

after our film, and subsequent investigation by Trading Standards

:42:13.:42:17.

officers in Oxfordshire, Butcher was arrested. Two weeks ago he was

:42:17.:42:20.

found guilty of 14 offences, including fraud and theft, and

:42:20.:42:26.

sentenced to 12 months in prison. So another rogue off the streets

:42:26.:42:30.

thanks to our Consumer Cops. And now - out of the Mail Room - here's

:42:31.:42:40.
:42:41.:42:41.

Rani. We have had a big reaction to that supermarket story. A few of

:42:41.:42:47.

you are a bit sceptical. Clive says he saw a prime example of it

:42:47.:42:54.

yesterday. Carl says, "Every time Watchdog put supermarkets to the

:42:54.:43:00.

test, they get away with it." Thanks, Rani. And that's all we

:43:00.:43:03.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS