Episode 5 Watchdog Daily

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

minutes. This morning: Nectar. Tesco Clubcard. Avios. How the

country's most popular reward schemes can end up costing you

money. Carnival. Royal Caribbean. Disney. Taking a cruise with any of

them? The high price you'll pay for staying connected. And rising bills.

Confusing tariffs. Just who is keeping the energy companies in

check? Also on today's programme: Just leave those there. Gold.

Supposedly the best investment around. Leave them for a second. We

are going to go through it. Don't make it any worse for yourself.

First, loyalty schemes operated by supermarkets, chain stores and

airlines. They are supposed to reward regular customers for their

repeat business. But, incredibly, they can actually end up costing

those loyal customers more. Rani Price reports. They are an

effective way of keeping customers and winning back lapsed ones - most

importantly for the companies that run them - loyalty schemes boost

the bottom line. They pay manic on a regular basis and, in return,

feel like they are being recorded. Messing around with a loyalty

scheme is risky, as British Airways' planned when it announced

drastic changes to the air miles scheme. The transition from Air

Miles, which was long loved, to Avios, it came as a bit of a shock

to customers. They promised exciting new benefits and expected

similar rewards to the old scheme. It seems some of those benefits are

not as good as customers expect. Mind you, delved deeper into the

rewards offered by other long established schemes and you may not

find what you expect either. Take the Tesco Clubcard scheme. The

supermarket promises members they will be rewarded each tonne a hand

over money for their weekly shop. - - each time they hand over money.

was trying to book a family holiday. They wanted to use our Tesco

Clubcard reward points. While searching, I was using Cosmos,

afterwards I actually found out we are not saving any money by using

the Clubcard points. Everything seems to be a bit dearer than

paying director cosmos itself. This is the cosmos sight. This is their

price per person. -- Cosmos site. This is the Tesco one and it is

another �60 dearer to wattages direct from a holiday company.

reward for booking a holiday would be more expensive. You use all your

vouchers up and you pay more for the holiday. They are giving you

with one hand and taking away with the other and you are not saying

any money at all. What about Nectar? You can collect points at

several retail outlets to spend on the treats you deserve. Liz decided

to do a regular weekly shop at Sainsbury's in order to build the

points up. She went to use them to pay for a birthday trip to Paris on

the Eurostar. The price using Nectar points �180, on the Eurostar

website, at �168. By booking direct, she would be �12 better off and

have all her Nectar points. What about the airline's? Flybe claims

its awards for all is the UK's most generous scheme. Jackie Hastings

claims otherwise. She is a frequent flyer and we had to catch up with

her on webcam. I would like to book some flights are on the Flybe

website from Birmingham to Belfast using my loyalty points. I

discovered it was more expensive to book them using loyalty points than

it was to book them straight through the website. The heard it

right. Birmingham to Belfast flights with the reward points cost

�58.62. The same journey with no report points, �48.63. What was it

about the scheme being the most generous? Had it not been for the

fact I had gone and checked myself, what the price of the flight would

be absurd the loyalty scheme, I would have ended up paying more. --

without the loyalty scheme. Back to Avios. Surely, after all their bad

press, they are determined to prove the new reward programmes still

offers fantastic benefits to frequent flyers. When we did a

round-the-world trip about three years ago with BA, I thought it was

time to sign up for the benefits you are supposed to get. We started

collecting Avios points and I have travelled with BA at every time

since. Earlier this year, the late his grandson was born in New York,

the perfect time, they thought, to take advantage of all the points

they had built up. At that point, we had just under 40,000 points. I

thought, maybe it is the time to use them and go on a cheaper flight.

For �95 he could buy extra points which would secured him a New

Yorker flight. Guess what, the flights were �114 cheaper without

using Avios. The last thing I expected, frankly, is that I would

get be dearer price, which potentially was over �100 Dereham.

Stephen complain to BA. He said the scheme was flexible. He could

cancel his flights. I did not want a flexible ticket. I knew when I

wanted to fly out and come back. I always thought a loyalty scheme was

there to actually benefit a customer and give them some

advantage. The Avios scheme seems to be the total reversed - to be a

member and build up points you get charged more. In their response to

another disgruntled passenger we have heard from, the explanation

If you are part of a loyalty scheme that is supposed to make you more

loyal towards the company and give you significant benefits, in no way

should using the loyalty scheme cost you more than you could have

obtained in any other way. Rani is in the Mail Room now. What do those

companies have to say? Well, Sophie, we have heard from BA and Avios who

have repeated the explanation they gave to Stephen Eastgate. That is

the flight you buy with the reward points is flexible. So, unlike a

low priced economy ticket, you can change it - or cancel - and still

get a refund. They say the scheme offers great value for money.

Nectar says that, in most cases, using points to buy tickets will be

cheaper than purchasing direct from Eurostar. That's not always the

case though. So, they advise their customers to do whatever saves them

the most money. Flybe says it occasionally offers extremely

discounted rates on some routes. That is why they can be cheaper

than the Rewards-For-All flights. They recommend that customers check

the fares and, if necessary, retain the points for other flights. And

finally, Tesco. It says around 250,000 Clubcard customers have

benefitted from cheaper Cosmos holidays. It admits that opting for

the Cosmos discount can be less expensive, depending on the

vouchers the customer is redeeming. Tesco says it will make this

clearer on its website. And, if you would like to comment on that, or

any of today's other stories, here's how to do so. For e-mails,

the address is [email protected]. If you'd prefer to send a text,

then dial 88822 and start your message with the letters WD. And,

if you want to join the Twitter discussion, our address and hashtag

are on your screens. Now, throughout the week, we have been

following the work of the Midlands consumer cops. And, today, we are

heading to the UK's second biggest city to see how Trading Standards

officers there police the beauty Welcome to the Birmingham assay

Office - the largest of its kind in the world. They test the hallmarks

of gold, silver and platinum. If any jury does not bear a mark like

this, in the case of gold it is over a gram in weight, it cannot be

sold legally. The strong links with the jewellery trade go back

hundreds of years. A century ago it employed more than 30,000 people.

It is still at the heart of the UK industry today, producing 40% of

all the countries jewellery items. Hundreds of businesses are involved.

Sadly not all live up to the reputation of Birmingham as a

centre of jury excellence. -- jewellery. Today, these trading

standards officers have the sub- standard companies in their sights.

They are clamping down of retailers, who failed to comply with

hallmarking regulations. It is important that consumers are aware

of the quality of golf they are buying. If somebody describe

something as being 22 carat gold, and you buy it, and you find that

it is nine carat gold, you have been done, basically. The hallmarks

on any item is a guarantee for customers that the quality of the

gold is what it should be. Before carrying out formal inspections,

the officers need to know that items without a hallmark are being

sold to the public. To establish that, they go into jeweller's

undercover, posing as ordinary customers. What have you got?

Gold, EF. He is shown in number of items, including a trait of rings.

Immediately they set off alarm bells. -- a tray. I opened the box

and there were a couple without hallmarks. I had a look at some of

the other jewellery, like earrings. I could not see any hallmarks.

you think he is the guy? Potentially. The team can now go in

and announce themselves. Officers have the power to seize any items

they believe are being traded illegally. Good afternoon. I am

from trading standards. What we planned to do today is inspect the

jury on your premises. The are checking that everything has a

hallmark. -- bead jewellery. First up, those suspect rings. Can you

show me the rings you showed me earlier on? They are not for sale.

I did not supply you. Did I? were going to sell them to me,

won't you? No. Other suspect items up on display. That one should have

a hallmark. These ones are definitely not. We have found two

sets of earrings and some necklaces and bracelets as well - bangles. We

suspect these items do not have a hallmark. Based on the inspection

we will probably have to take these are way for further examination.

The officers seize eight items in total. When they are bad DUP, they

will be sent to the assets office in Birmingham. -- backed up. As

well as targeting jury that is not hallmarked, they aim to target

items that are in breach of the sales Act. Another two items have

caught their attention. I was shown some rings which bore the

trademarks of Mercedes and Nike which also did not have a hallmark.

Time for a second undercover shopping trip. Have you got BMW?

How much would that be? The 417. 417. Having established they are on

sale, he reveals the true identity. I am from City Council trading

standards. The Trade and accepts the officers have to carry out

inspections but orders us to leave. -- the trader. Everything we find

that does not have a hallmark, we will need to take those away as

well. As the officers find more problem jury, the trader becomes

agitated. Leave those there. Leave them for a second. Do not make it

worse for yourself. According to the trader, this is 22 carat.

take it all LEAs are 22 carat gold and not 24. -- all these. They only

have his word for it. I do not think these have hallmarks. Do you

want to start bear? One, two, three, four, of which we think may be

suspicious. They are inside the shop for almost an hour and seized

80 items. I know it is difficult for you but it is difficult for us

as well. We are here to do a job. Today has been a bad day for you.

It was quite clear that a large majority of the jewellery on

display did not have hallmarks. He did not say he not because I think

he was being sheepish. It is a big loss to the trader. �25,000 worth.

Following the seizures, all the jury was brought back here for

testing. We will give you the results later in the programme. We

will also look at another operation targeting stores selling illegal

and sometimes dangerous cosmetic. Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Disney,

just sum of the big cruise lines expecting a bumper few weeks as

people set off on winter holidays. If you want to stay connected

online during your trip, you can expect a big bill, as our mystery

Life on board a cruise - laid back, relaxing and luxurious. It can be

expensive, too, even if you buy an all exclusive package. Extras like

alcohol, beauty treatments and shore excursions often come with a

cost, and then there is the things that some companies add on. We had

to pay �65 for my daughter and paddled up front to have flexible

dining. I don't think anybody should have to pay a gratuity up

front, let alone an eight-month-old baby. One of the things we looked

at was the policy on gratuities which stated that each person would

be charged $11.50 per day, and we felt that this was excessive.

there is one charge that cruise liners impose, using the internet,

which although it is now available for free in many hotels and coffee

bars, using it on a cruise liner can be costly. In the old days,

when the internet was new and exciting and different, it can

understand them charging �10 per hour for internet access, but now

it is so ubiquitous, I wanted for nothing. And I am absolutely going

to refuse to pay the sort of charges that some shipping lines

are hoping to get away with. much would that be? Time to find

out. Our team inquired about booking with 10 of the world's

biggest cruise companies. Oh, just one more question. Are there any

internet charges? First up, the cost per minute. Like most

operators, Royal Caribbean quotes in US currency. 65 is around 40p.

Ms C wouldn't allow a success to the internet per minute - they sell

an hour for �20. Many opt to buy packages. The length of those

packages varies, and so, too, do the costs. I was just wondering if

they wear any internet charges on With many companies also charges a

�2.50 activation fee, why is using It sounds like it could be a

plausible excuse, but is it really? After all, Costa cruises also

That is 160% cheaper than some of the others. Maybe their technology

is completely different. Do use satellite on board, is that how it

works? There are other costs that left our shoppers baffled. Disney

applied different internet prices Could it be they are just making it

up as they sail along? If I would try to justify the sorts of charges

that some shipping lines are getting away with, I would say,

there are special reasons why ours is ultra expensive, but it is in

fact whatever they think they can get away with. They will simply

extract as much cash from your wallet as they possibly can.

Not surprisingly, all the cruise companies deny that, but how do

they explain those expensive wi-fi charges?

All the ones we spoke to blamed the high cost of satellite technology,

which is the only way internet can be delivered while at sea. The

Passenger Shipping Association says his members are looking at ways to

make it more affordable, and many offer packages to suit guests

individual needs. Royal Caribbean and Carnival say they are already

Ms C have cut their charges, and say they do not apply registration

or activation fees. Norwegian Cruise Line's say they offer

internet services at a fair and competitive rate.

And as for the on-board gratuities or Tipping, the cruise lines point

out that these are standard practice to make things easier for

passengers, and there are optional in most cases. Back to that

crackdown on illegal jewellery in Birmingham. We saw trading

standards seize items were the retail value of �20,000.

After those seizures, goods from both stores were bought here to the

Birmingham Assay Office. Two traders were selling some of that

jury as 22 carat gold, but as none of the items appear to have a

hallmark, there was no way of telling for sure until the Trading

Standards team deployed their secret weapon. Ian Bailey is his

name. He is the man who can prove whether the gold is as pure as is

claimed. The process is that we will waive the jury to see whether

it is the compulsory wait for hallmarking. Trading standards may

have missed the hallmark. It is established that all of the eight

items seized on the first shop are not legally more marked. As for the

second, it was 76 out of 80. Now we are going to test the gold content

of the ring using this piece of equipment here, which is an X-ray

instrument. After initial testing, we can see an approximate valuation

here. It is 89.7% gold. To be 22 carat gold, we would expect it to

be a minimum of 91.6% gold. If this ring were submitted for hallmarking,

it would be marked not 22 carat gold put down to the next Standard,

which would be 18 carat gold. tests show that three items from

the first shop and 11 from the second will have a lesser character

than stated. We definitely have offences there, not just for not

having it hallmarked but for the description of the items as well.

We will call in the trade as for a formal interview and get their side

of the story as to what they were doing in possession of these items.

The two traders were later formally interviewed, and the team has now

passed on their reports for consideration by the City Council

legal section, who will decide if action will be taken.

Durie is just one branch of the fashion and beauty trade policed by

trading standards. Another area of concern is the selling of cosmetics,

from hair dye containing banned ingredients to skin bleaching

products and incorrectly labelled products, the team are on constant

lookout. Today, Tariq and some female colleagues are having a

crack down. We're going to be looking at certain cosmetics which

are aimed predominantly at the Afro-Caribbean and Asian community.

We found they were being illegally imported, and some of them contain

illegal substances such as lead. Last year, the team inspected 36

premises and found 20 of them selling illegal cosmetics. Any

repeat offending could cost the trade is concerned a �5,000 fine,

or up to six months in jail. Are we all ready to go? The operation

begins with a test purchase at one of the city's Asian supermarkets.

Here, one of the officers by the skin lightening product. She is

just asking somebody have something she is looking at is a bleaching

creams. The officer by is the cream and brings it out to show her boss.

The decider and immediate action. Plastic spoons could suggested

contains mercury, which is a banned ingredient. Although Sharon can't

be sure, she is keen to investigate further. We will go back in and see

what else they have got. It is time to break cover. Hello. I'm from

Birmingham City Council trading standards. An officer has come in

and put his to skin lightening cream which has been tested

previously bias and found to contain illegal substances. So what

I'm going to do is have a look at it the other cosmetics you have on

sale, and if necessary, we will have to take them away. Sharon

start to inspection by taking a closer look at the ingredients.

This product here, a hair tonic, it states that it contains lead, which

is banned, so we will be taking those with us today. Lead can be

used as a darkening agent in some hair dye. Using Mercury on the

scheme will lighten it. Both substances are toxic, but at least

they are displayed. Other labels contain little or no information.

am looking at this product. It looks like a hen a product which

you apply to the skin. There is no details of where it has come from,

who has imported it. It is clearly made in Pakistan, so whoever has

imported it hasn't declared it on the packaging, so that would be a

breach of the regulations. We will be taking those as well. Any

cosmetic we are aware of that contains an illegal substance will

be removed. Things like this shouldn't be openly on display all

for sale and a supermarket. There has got to be some sort of

guidelines for some of these products, and above all, they have

got to comply with the labelling. From this one store, the team sees

11 bags of product, including six brands of skin whitening cream and

eight bottles of hair dye. Samples will be tested for safety, and the

possible presence of banned ingredients.

If you're watching on Wednesday, you will have seen how gas and

electricity companies try to tempt us with new deals that include

attractive sweeteners like free energy monitors and football

matches. They look good, but when a mystery shoppers investigated, they

found that some of these could work out more expensive, and most often

worse value than the cheapest tariff we found that came with no

extras at all. Ofgem has already warned the Big Six energy providers

about confusing tariffs, and their director of communications, Ian

Marley, joins us now. These enticing offers that often leave

you worse off, will you stop them? It is worth saying that your film

that you showed on Wednesday it illustrates very well the type of

complexity we identified in our review, which really is a problem

for the market. We identified but a combination of tariff complexity

and poor supplier behaviour is stifling competition. We want to

make the market simpler and fairer. Up so would you be stopping those

kind of promotions? We spoke to thousands of consumers and consumer

groups, and really listened to what they are saying, and they do value

choice. But what we need to do is make sure there is a balance

between choice and understand ability of the market. So what we

are saying is we would ban certain things. We would ban complex,

multi-tiered tariffs. We would limit the energy companies to only

being able to offer four tariffs per supplier. And we would get them

to put the cheapest deal that they offer on the bill so that if they

were offering these bundled products, they would clearly be

able to see how much more they were paying for them versus that

cheapest deal. The one thing you can't do is get them to bring down

their prices. We do know that there is a rising pressure on prices over

the last few years. Wholesale prices have gone up. We need to

replace our ageing infrastructure and moved to a low carbon economy.

Those things do cost money. What consumers need to have confidence

in is that they will pay no more than they need to, and that is why

we are pushing forward with our reforms, to make sure the

competition really can work in this market to keep pressure on those

prices. Do you really think you're doing enough? Some people will say

that you are just tinkering at the edges, and missing an opportunity

to get tough with energy companies. I think we are tough with energy

companies. We have levied over �20 million of fines and the last year,

and what we are trying to do is make sure that the market really

does work for consumers in what has got to be the most radical reform

of this market for a decade. So absolutely we are on the case, and

we are making sure that consumers really get the benefit of this

market. Ian, thank you very much. Yesterday you sent us loads of

photos of confusing supermarket deals. Those that seem to offer

price reductions, when you are actually paying the same. Well,

we're also getting lots of examples of size reductions and you are

still paying the same. Like this. Pampers. The New Baby jumbo pack

did contain 80 nappies. But look at the latest version with 74 nappies.

Not so jumbo now! Pampers admit the price has stayed the same. But they

say they have upgraded the product. Rather than increase the cost for

customers, they have decreased the quantity. They have also made this

clear on the pack. Keep your Now, lots of you have also been in

touch about our earlier story on loyalty schemes and how redeeming

your reward points can sometimes end up costing you more. So, if you

are thinking of joining a loyalty scheme, how do you work out which

ones give the most money back? Today's expert, Dr John Haigh, has

The simplest way to work out which loyalty scheme gives customers the

best value is to make the most basic comparison possible. If I

spend �100 in store, which Points scheme gives me back the most money

to spend at that shop? Here I have got some of the most popular high

street shops that have loyalty schemes. Tesco's with the Clubcard,

Sainsbury's with the Nectar card, Superdrug and their beauty card,

Boots and their advantage card and, I love a good boat, so let's add a

Waterstone's. What has the best value? First, the number of points.

If I spend �1 in each store, how many points do I get? With Tesco,

it is one. But Sainsbury's, it is two. With Superdrug, it is one,

with Bids, it is four and, with Waterstone's, it is three. Looking

at the points alone, Boots, Waterstone's and Sainsbury's give

the most points. Does that mean it is best in the shops? Not

necessarily. In Tesco's, each point is worth 1p. In Sainsbury's, each

point is worth half a penny so that is the same as Tesco's. In

Superdrug, each point is also worth one penny, so that is the same. In

Boots, each of these points is worth a penny so, in boots, you get

4p. In Waterstone's, each of these points is also worth a penny so, in

Waterstone's, for each pound you spend, you get 3p back to spend in

store. Back to my original question. If you spend �100 in each store,

how much to get back from the loyalty scheme? In Tesco,

Sainsbury's and Superdrug, it is all the same - �1 for �100 spent.

In Waterstone's, you get back �3 for each �100 spent. The Boots

advantage card is best of all - you get �4 for at each �100 spent. Not

bad at all. And now for a quick disclaimer. Of course you can spend

your point on of other records. We have just looked at the basic

monetary values. -- on the other rewards. There are other schemes

available so apologies if we have not mentioned euros. -- yours. All

the companies say their loyalty programmes offer a range of

benefits. Meanwhile, if you want more information on that story, or

to brush up on your own maths expertise, you can find out more on

our website. The address: bbc.co.uk/watchdog. Now, back to

the operation to stop the sale of illegal and potentially dangerous

cosmetics in the Midlands. Trading Standards teams are preparing to

test products they have already seized from one store. And now they

are on their way to a second - The sale of illegal cosmetics

carries stiff punishments, particularly for repeat offenders.

Her are you in charge? Yes. I am from Birmingham City Council

trading standards. This tour has already been warned for selling

products breaching regulations. have just looked in the Cabinet and

identified the cream which contains mercury. We will be seizing those.

I'm going to check further. This That has got lead in. OK. That is

shaving foam - it is not labelled. Another employee comes over to find

her what the problem is. We have had been tested previously and each

test we have conducted on these particular products, they have been

found to contain mercury, which is in high quantities. That, within

cosmetics, is banned. When it comes into the country, you do not check

it? We do not check it, it is the responsibility of the person

bringing them into the EC. He needs to be safe and tested in accordance

with regulations. What is wrong with that, as a retailer? It has

all the labels on end. It has not. It has external views. There is no

name and address of who has exported it. As far as I am

concerned, there is nothing wrong with selling that. Letting the

stock into the country is the problem. That is what we are doing.

We are trying to educate you. is the ultimate responsibility of

whoever exports because emetics. Sharon brings inspection to a close.

-- the cosmetics. When we have tested that previously, it is known

to contain mercury. We have to look into the matter and Fidel why you

have these products in your possession. -- and find out. When

we have investigated the matter, a decision will be made on whether or

not we take you to court. Back at base, Sharon hands over a selection

of the seized cosmetic products to the lab team at Birmingham City

Council. They begin with a skin lightening cream, suspected of

containing mercury. This is now ready for diluting further so that

we can measure the level of mercury We can see we have quite a strong

response to Mercury said that sample definitely contains mercury.

-- so that sample. Another skin cream also contained mercury but at

the lower level. From the sample, we are just about to beat the

second one. It has a strong response. -- read the second one.

There is a lead in the sample. They rose 3% Mercury in that one. On

this sample, we have found 1% lead. It turned out the bleaching cream

did not contain any banned ingredients put it was incorrectly

labelled. As a result of the tests, the store owners will be

investigated as to how they have the products in their possession

and a decision made as to whether or not they will be prosecuted. We

have seen some of the results. Tell us the latest. All these samples

were submitted to the laboratory and the results of that came back

show us that none of us comply with labelling requirements for safe

cosmetics. The cream here, there is no importer details on the product.

There is no ingredient labelling. If someone was allergic to a

particular ingredient, but would not know what was in the product

and it may cause harm. There are no best before date. If this product

was used after a shelf-life, it could cause harm. What about

illegal substances like lead and mercury? Out of the projects

submitted for testing, several products contain illegal substances.

This hair tonic has been found to contain lead. We have three skin

lightening creams. All those were found to contain mercury. What

other dangers of hair dye containing lead or skin bleaching

products containing mercury? They are harmful products. They can

cause reactions such as skin irritation, vomiting, numbness to

the hands and feet. Chronic poisoning can cause more severe

reactions like kidney failure, brain damage and infertility.

you. Now, Rani is here with some of your e-mails. Lots of you are

unhappy with your loyalty schemes that end up costing you more. Jack

says, how can there are two points add to the cost of your flight?

That should be made very clear. One found that it is cheaper to book

with a hotel direct in every case. And that's all we have time for

today and this week. Coming up on Monday... New homes. Same old

problems. The charge sheet against one of Britain's biggest house

builders. Too old to travel. How some insurance companies refuse

cover to pensioners going abroad. And who's watching the illegal-