Episode 9

Download Subtitles

Transcript

:00:28. > :00:33.Hello, and welcome to Watchdog Daily. We're with you live for the

:00:33. > :00:36.next 45 minutes. This morning: Groupon and K.G.B: They've been

:00:36. > :00:39.warned about advertising dodgy deals - are they still doing it?

:00:40. > :00:46.John Lewis, Currys and Argos: You have rights when you shop there -

:00:46. > :00:48.pity these staff don't always know them. And Wonga: Straight talking

:00:48. > :00:52.money - taking cash straight out of non-customers' accounts. Also on

:00:52. > :01:01.today's programme: Tricked out of hundreds of pounds. The 90-year-old

:01:01. > :01:08.man targeted by rogue traders. was clear that the person taking

:01:08. > :01:12.him into the bank knew that this gentleman was vulnerable.

:01:12. > :01:14.We start with some of the biggest names in daily deals - Groupon and

:01:14. > :01:17.K.G.B. First, Online sites offering discounts on everything from spa

:01:17. > :01:22.days and weekend breaks to magazine subscriptions. They're hugely

:01:22. > :01:23.popular but controversial too. Back in March, the Office of Fair

:01:23. > :01:29.Trading found Groupon repeatedly breaching consumer protection

:01:29. > :01:33.regulations. And the Advertising Standards Authority banned several

:01:33. > :01:40.of its ads for being misleading. K.G.B has also run into trouble

:01:40. > :01:47.with the advertising regulator. So, have they learned their lessons?

:01:47. > :01:53.Here is Rani. Hand-picked deals, great prices,

:01:53. > :01:57.big discounts. All offered by daily deal companies. Like Groupon. Their

:01:57. > :02:05.promises attracted Andy to register with them. Last month they offered

:02:05. > :02:13.a deal of six month subscription at 50% discount. At just �22.35, but

:02:13. > :02:19.the magazine costs �4.20 an issue, so six months normally costs �25.20.

:02:19. > :02:25.If he subvibed through the magazine website, he could have gotten it

:02:25. > :02:30.for �23. Although Groupon's deal did come

:02:30. > :02:34.with �15 worth of golf vouchers, it was not the discount Andy was

:02:34. > :02:39.promised. When he complained, Groupon said: It is not our

:02:39. > :02:43.intention to mislead anyone. The deal undergoes a price very fiction

:02:43. > :02:48.process. Well, something went wrong here.

:02:48. > :02:54.For Andy, the deal was nowhere near as good as advertised.

:02:54. > :02:57.Seven months after Groupon assured the Office of Fair Trading, that it

:02:58. > :03:04.would publish no more misleading ads.

:03:05. > :03:11.On a budget and a mission... During that time, one of Groupon's daily

:03:11. > :03:15.deals rivals had its own problems, falling foul of the advertising

:03:15. > :03:21.regulator, repeatedly. We heard of cases that started to

:03:21. > :03:24.increase. Complaints went from two last year to 21 this year. That is

:03:24. > :03:30.entirely unacceptable for this type of business, but it is a new

:03:30. > :03:34.business. The level of advertising that they do is prolific. Putting

:03:34. > :03:38.out hundreds of ads every day, but the number of times that they are

:03:39. > :03:42.breaking the advertising codes is unacceptable.

:03:42. > :03:46.The Office of Fair Trading identified claim whereas the

:03:46. > :03:53.company were unable to back up savings. Take this deal.

:03:53. > :03:58.They offered this deal for �9, saying it would normally cost �269.

:03:58. > :04:03.We received a complaint querying that. We went to K.G.B and they

:04:03. > :04:06.were unable to prove to us that the hotel had been on offer for �269.

:04:06. > :04:10.That is the claim that companies should not be making. If they are

:04:10. > :04:14.saying that there is a savings, they must prove that the product

:04:14. > :04:19.has been sold at that level for a significant period of time before

:04:19. > :04:23.making the deal. The regulator found that there were

:04:23. > :04:27.instances where K.G.B described deals inaccurately or left

:04:27. > :04:31.information out. Like this offer for a kite lesson.

:04:31. > :04:35.It failed to mention if you wanted to take advantage of the deal at

:04:35. > :04:40.the weekend, it would cost �100 more than advertised.

:04:40. > :04:44.There is never an excuse for the companies to be breaking consumer

:04:44. > :04:49.protection rules put in place to maintain trust in tiding to ensure

:04:50. > :04:54.that the consumers are not misled. What we expect to see in the future

:04:54. > :04:59.is K.G.B continuing to comply with that. There has been a drop-off in

:04:59. > :05:04.complaints and problems. We are monitoring this.

:05:04. > :05:10.While the AFS -- while the Office of Fair Trading have had a drop off,

:05:10. > :05:16.we continued to receive them. There was a deal that the original

:05:16. > :05:23.price was something like �49.99. I needed one of those. I was going to

:05:23. > :05:30.get them. I saw the offer on K.G.B for �9.99. It would have been a

:05:30. > :05:34.good offer in the product turned up. Flora is still waiting for the

:05:34. > :05:38.product to arrive. I paid the money directly to K.G.B,

:05:38. > :05:46.it is their job to ensure that the deal is honoured.

:05:46. > :05:50.Ashley has been waiting even longer for his order from K.G.B. He paid

:05:50. > :05:56.�64.99 for a Google android games console. Eight weeks on, there is

:05:56. > :06:01.no sign of it. I tried to contact the vendor. Also

:06:01. > :06:05.trying to contact K kfpl K. I am still waiting for the product.

:06:05. > :06:08.K.G.B are responsible for setting up the deal. They liaise with the

:06:08. > :06:12.third parties. They should be fulfilling the promise. I don't

:06:12. > :06:20.feel that happened at all. What we expect is that if a kch makes an

:06:20. > :06:23.offer to members of the public that they fulfil it. The vast majority

:06:23. > :06:27.of deals that you see offered through the companies can be

:06:27. > :06:32.trusted. Whenever a company puts out a promotion, the one thing is

:06:32. > :06:36.does not want is for the members of the public to be disappointed with

:06:36. > :06:41.what they receive. They will not last long if people don't return to

:06:41. > :06:45.continue to buy from them. But judging by the complaints we

:06:45. > :06:50.received some customers have been left disappointed. This one is

:06:50. > :06:54.unlikely to be back. That is it for me. No more K.G.B.

:06:54. > :06:58.Rani is up in the mailroom. What has been the response to that

:06:58. > :07:02.report? Groupon denies misadvertising the six monthly golf

:07:02. > :07:08.deal. They said that the publisher ran its own promotion, but that

:07:08. > :07:13.theirs offered more value and saving. They said as their deal was

:07:13. > :07:17.designed to entice new golfers and the publisher's deal was for

:07:17. > :07:23.existing customers, that the two ons are not comparable.

:07:23. > :07:28.K.G.B said it fulfilled 97% of customer purchases in the last two

:07:28. > :07:34.years and refunds any what experience problems. It says that

:07:34. > :07:38.80% of complaints about advertising are not upheld and no ads published

:07:38. > :07:43.since April have been a subject of complaint. It accepts that the

:07:43. > :07:48.goods of two of our interviewers orderers were not available, but

:07:48. > :07:58.said that they were fully refunded. If you would like to get in touch,

:07:58. > :08:06.

:08:06. > :08:09.we would love to hear from you. The Now, doorstep crime. Across the

:08:09. > :08:12.country there are rogue traders demanding large amounts of money

:08:12. > :08:14.for little or no work, bogus callers and workmen preying on

:08:14. > :08:23.those who aren't always capable of protecting themselves. Taking them

:08:23. > :08:29.on are the Consumer Cops. Here's Rhodri Owen. Yes, welcome to Wales.

:08:29. > :08:35.Now it may be one of the most picturesque parts of the UK with

:08:35. > :08:39.rolling hills and valleys, but like many areas it has its fair share of

:08:39. > :08:44.doorstep criminals. For the officers, tackling the problem is a

:08:44. > :08:47.vital part of their role. Cardiff, in this city there have been 36

:08:47. > :08:51.doorstep crimes reported in the last year. To catch those

:08:51. > :08:55.responsible, and to stop repeat offences, the officers have a range

:08:55. > :09:00.of methods. Along with investigations and intelligence-

:09:00. > :09:03.gathering exercises, they revisit the victims of crime to offer help

:09:03. > :09:10.and support. So today, Sarah Smith is checking

:09:10. > :09:16.in on a victim, recently conned by a rogue draivway company.

:09:16. > :09:22.-- driveway company. They came along, asked if you

:09:22. > :09:27.wanted a driveway putting in? coffered it with sand and the next

:09:27. > :09:31.day nothing -- covered it with sand and the next day nothing and then

:09:31. > :09:38.this. You can see that here someone has

:09:38. > :09:42.trodden in it. It is uneven, it is not smooth. It is not a standard of

:09:42. > :09:49.driveway that you originally wanted. It is literally appearing to have

:09:49. > :09:54.been thrown down. Gary simmons is disabled and lives

:09:54. > :10:00.with his 7-year-old mother. In January they paid �had 50 to a

:10:00. > :10:05.group of traders for a new drive. Those traders took the money, did

:10:05. > :10:10.some of the work and then disappeared from the job.

:10:10. > :10:16.-- �4 50. What happened? We could tell they

:10:16. > :10:20.were not real builders. No, they were not, but they did

:10:20. > :10:26.promise to come back and finish it but we never saw them after.

:10:26. > :10:30.Did you try to contact them? Yes. You were talking to a boss of some

:10:30. > :10:35.sort? Yes. He said that the fella that done

:10:35. > :10:39.the job was given the sack. So the job was finished as far as he was

:10:39. > :10:45.concerned, but then they wanted another �150.

:10:45. > :10:49.To put it right? Yes, to put it right. I mean, we are pensioners,

:10:49. > :10:53.we have not got money to throw away. We paid enough any way.

:10:53. > :10:58.That is right. We should not have fallen for it,

:10:58. > :11:00.but we were conned and that is it. This is a new set of traders for

:11:00. > :11:07.Sarah Smith and her team to look into.

:11:07. > :11:13.What do I think of people who do this? They are scum! They are worse

:11:13. > :11:18.than scum. Oh,... I mean how many more pensioners have they done this

:11:18. > :11:24.to? I have worked hard all of my life.

:11:24. > :11:26.You get a bit of money, you have your pension. You save a little,

:11:26. > :11:31.then people like that come to rob you.

:11:31. > :11:35.It is really hard to go in and see these consumers that don't

:11:35. > :11:39.necessarily have a lot of money. They have paid in good faith for a

:11:39. > :11:43.job. I find it really hard you cannot bring these people to

:11:43. > :11:49.justice as easily as we could a trader in the High Street.

:11:49. > :11:54.That is the frustration, really. That is what we are working hard to

:11:54. > :12:01.try to ID who these people are in the bigger picture.

:12:01. > :12:05.Seeing the shattered lives that the rogue traders leave behind makes

:12:05. > :12:11.officers like Sarah determined to stop them striking again. Today she

:12:11. > :12:16.and her colleagues are preparing to patrol doorstep crime hotspots.

:12:16. > :12:21.Do we have a list of targets? are about four to five different

:12:21. > :12:25.gangs working in the area. Where should we start? In the Heath,

:12:25. > :12:30.around that area. It is causing a real problem to the

:12:30. > :12:35.residents and to the elderly population in Cardiff. We are not

:12:35. > :12:40.talking here about perhaps a one- off case where a trader, you know,

:12:40. > :12:43.for whatever reason is not aware of the law, we are talking about

:12:43. > :12:46.organised criminals. They know what they are doing. They sell

:12:46. > :12:53.information, they talk to each other.

:12:53. > :12:57.They are operating a system of what is known as rebating. That is where

:12:57. > :13:01.they systematically target a person and they go back time and time

:13:01. > :13:08.again over a period of time taking thousands and thousands of pounds

:13:08. > :13:13.off people in some cases. Sarah and Mike are patrolling the

:13:13. > :13:18.north-east of the city. It is a relatively affluent area, with a

:13:18. > :13:24.large number of elderly householders, prime targets for the

:13:24. > :13:30.doorstep criminals. The first stop is a building site in the

:13:30. > :13:37.residential area here, an unmarked trade van has caught their eye.

:13:37. > :13:42.Good afternoon. We are from Cardiff Trading Stand dardz, is the boss

:13:42. > :13:46.around? Mike is keen to find out who is working on the site.

:13:46. > :13:50.Is this your company vehicle? yes.

:13:50. > :13:55.What we are looking for in particular is people who rip-off

:13:55. > :14:02.the elderly and the vulnerable. What drew us originally was one of

:14:02. > :14:08.the unmarked vehicles. Obviously non-legitimate traders

:14:08. > :14:17.don't tend to have them marked up as such. I don't know about non-

:14:17. > :14:21.legitimate traders it -- they are working fellas who buy a van.

:14:21. > :14:26.Workwise they care about the work that they do. That is the people we

:14:27. > :14:30.have working for us. I mean we are looking for rogue traders.

:14:30. > :14:35.We have not got those people working for us.

:14:35. > :14:41.Not all reactions that Sarah and Mike receive are positive, but this

:14:41. > :14:44.trader seems supportive of their work. If it eliminates the cowboy

:14:44. > :14:49.element of this construction industry, it must abgood thing.

:14:49. > :14:52.As we saw, that particular trader was willing to help the team in

:14:52. > :14:57.their fight against the unscrupulous traders, so nothing to

:14:57. > :15:00.concern the officers yet, but coming up: That vehicle is a prime

:15:00. > :15:05.example of one that we would want to stop.

:15:05. > :15:09.Yes, things get a lot more interesting for the cops cops

:15:09. > :15:16.companies as they continue their patrols and we find out what

:15:16. > :15:18.happened when this blind, 90-year- old man was targeted by rogues.

:15:19. > :15:22.First, buying household appliances can be an expensive business. But

:15:22. > :15:24.if your washing machine or dryer packs up once it's outside the

:15:24. > :15:27.manufacturer's warranty, do you have any recourse with the shop

:15:27. > :15:29.where you bought it? Well, under certain circumstances, the answer

:15:29. > :15:33.is 'yes'. Even though some of our biggest electrical retailers seem

:15:33. > :15:43.to think otherwise. We'll put John Lewis, Currys and Argos to the test

:15:43. > :15:54.

:15:54. > :15:57.in a moment. But first, what exactly are your rights? There is

:15:57. > :16:02.nothing more frustrating than getting a product home to find it

:16:02. > :16:06.does not work. Or, worse still, that it gives up the ghost after a

:16:06. > :16:10.few weeks. Fortunately there are laws under the Sale of Goods Act

:16:10. > :16:16.that mean you can take the product back to the shop for a refund,

:16:16. > :16:21.replacement or a repair. Sundayer the Sale of Goods Act,

:16:21. > :16:24.1979, goods should correspond with a description applied to them, via

:16:24. > :16:27.the satisfactory quality and to be fit for the purpose for which they

:16:28. > :16:32.are used. If your new product is broken or breaks, you should take

:16:33. > :16:36.it back to the retailers and not to the manufactures. It is the

:16:36. > :16:41.retailer with whom you have the contract.

:16:41. > :16:46.You have a certain period of time in which to return faulty goods for

:16:46. > :16:52.refund before it is deemed to be accepted. Once you accepted the

:16:52. > :16:54.goods you can return them to the retailer, but only for repair or

:16:55. > :16:59.replacementment. The law does not specify a reasonable time for

:16:59. > :17:03.accepting the goods, but if you return the faulty goods for a

:17:03. > :17:08.repair, replacement or refund, then for the first six months after the

:17:08. > :17:10.purchase it is up to the retailer to prove that the goods comply with

:17:10. > :17:14.the contract. So that they were not faulty.

:17:14. > :17:19.So, what happens if you have had the product for say, over six

:17:19. > :17:23.months? Then it stops working? Under the Sale of Goods Act you

:17:23. > :17:29.play have a strong case still. That is if you can prove that the item

:17:29. > :17:33.was faulty at the time you purchased it. If you can prove that,

:17:33. > :17:37.the retailer, must either replace it or repair it for free.

:17:37. > :17:41.A few things to point out: The longer the period that lapses over

:17:41. > :17:44.six months, the harder it is to prove that the goods were faulty

:17:44. > :17:48.when you bought them. The amount you paid for them, what the goods

:17:48. > :17:53.are and the level of usage will be things that must be considered too.

:17:53. > :18:00.So, for example it would be reasonable to expect a washing

:18:00. > :18:06.machine costing �1,000, used twice a week, to last longer than one

:18:06. > :18:11.that is costing �300 and used every day. You may need a second opinion

:18:11. > :18:15.if the retailers disagrees. If the retailer will not repair or replace

:18:15. > :18:20.the tement, then you may consider going to court about it. Before you

:18:20. > :18:26.do that, though, get legal advice. One last thing if the product is

:18:26. > :18:30.under a warranty, it fails within the warranty period, then you can

:18:30. > :18:36.send it back to the manufacture, but I have to stress, if it fails

:18:36. > :18:39.in the warranty period is irrelevant. It is the retailers's

:18:39. > :18:44.responsibility under the Sale of Goods Act to ensure that the goods

:18:44. > :18:49.are of a satisfactory quality and fit for purpose at the time you

:18:49. > :18:53.purchased them. If not, they have to put that right. So ensure that

:18:53. > :18:59.you understand your rights and do not take "no" for an answer.

:18:59. > :19:09.Margaret Griffiths knows her stuff. Now you know your rights, but do

:19:09. > :19:10.

:19:10. > :19:15.the retailers? Here are the Mystery Shoppers.

:19:15. > :19:20.We sent our team to three branches of three of the UK's top electrical

:19:20. > :19:26.retailers, John Lewis, Argos and Currys. The question they asked was

:19:26. > :19:31.this: I bought a washing machine from here, it has stopped working.

:19:31. > :19:36.If I turn it on it will not turn on or sometimes the lights flash. I

:19:36. > :19:40.wondered if there is anything you can do? We know there is a lot they

:19:40. > :19:44.can do. Each time they asked, the shoppers made it clear it was a

:19:44. > :19:47.manufacturing fault, not the result of wear and tear. Now a washing

:19:47. > :19:52.machine is an expensive product that should last for a reasonable

:19:52. > :19:58.length of time. Several years. So, under the Sale of Goods Act, if our

:19:58. > :20:03.shoppers were able to prove it was an inherent fault, you expect the

:20:03. > :20:11.retailer to offer a repair or replacement, whether or not it is

:20:11. > :20:15.within the manufacture's warranty. So with these... All nine stores

:20:15. > :20:21.visited said that they could help us if the washing machine was

:20:21. > :20:29.within its warranty. But when asked if they could help

:20:29. > :20:32.outside of the warranty... Over months, we cannot help.

:20:32. > :20:36.We only guarantee a product for 12 years.

:20:36. > :20:39.Eight of the stores visited were less willing to take the

:20:39. > :20:47.responsibility. We would not be in a position to

:20:47. > :20:50.replace that for you. Well, that is ridiculous. It is the

:20:50. > :20:55.retailer's responsibility. The consumer has a contract with the

:20:55. > :20:58.retailer, not with the manufacture. The terms of the contract, well, we

:20:58. > :21:02.have seen the Sale of Goods Act, they must be of a satisfactory

:21:02. > :21:06.quality and filet for the purpose. It is the retailer's job to ensure

:21:06. > :21:10.that is the case. Five of the eight stores said that they could put us

:21:10. > :21:17.in touch with the manufacture or arrange for it to be fixed, but

:21:17. > :21:22.there was a charge. If it was within the manufacture's

:21:22. > :21:26.warranty? We would charge �506789 We would get an engineer, but

:21:26. > :21:31.charge you. Outside of the warranty period, you

:21:31. > :21:35.may pay for it, but recoup the cost of that fixing from the shop that

:21:35. > :21:39.sold it will to you as long as you go back within a reasonable time of

:21:39. > :21:44.buying it. A Currys store suggested it may be cheap tore buy a new

:21:44. > :21:53.machine as a repair could be so expensive.

:21:53. > :21:58.Minimum charge is up to �60. Why not buy a new one? Something

:21:58. > :22:02.for about 200 to 300? This is my personal opinion.

:22:02. > :22:06.But by far the worst performers on the test were the retailers that

:22:06. > :22:08.failed to take responsibility whatsoever and told us to contact

:22:08. > :22:12.the manufacturing of the machine directly.

:22:12. > :22:19.Don't take it back here. It is the manufactures that decide. Even

:22:19. > :22:24.though I bought it from the store? Yeah! There is nothing to do?

:22:24. > :22:30.of the guarantee you have to go direct... There is nothing that

:22:30. > :22:35.Currys can do. It must have the guarantee from the manufacture.

:22:35. > :22:40.That is just wrong. Whether it is want the warranty or outside of it,

:22:40. > :22:43.if it is within are reasonable time of buying it, it is the shop's

:22:43. > :22:49.responsibility to repair the machine. I am not surprised by what

:22:49. > :22:52.I have seen. It would be nice if the shops trained the staff to tell

:22:52. > :22:56.them the difference of the contract that the shop has with the consumer

:22:56. > :23:01.and the relationship that the manufacture has with the shop.

:23:01. > :23:05.Low marks for legal knowledge. So what do the companies say about it?

:23:05. > :23:08.Argos acknowledges that the customers have rights beyond the

:23:08. > :23:13.guaranteed period and accepts that it has a responsibility to give

:23:13. > :23:17.correct guidance. It says when the staff are asked more complex

:23:17. > :23:21.questions concerning consumer law they should refer them up to the

:23:21. > :23:26.store managers. They are sorry that this did not happen. In the light

:23:26. > :23:29.of finding it is is reviewing the staff training.

:23:29. > :23:33.Currys and John Lewis says that the Sale of Goods Act clearly states

:23:33. > :23:39.after six months that the consumer must find the cause of the product

:23:39. > :23:45.fault. John Lewis says that the law does not require retailers to

:23:46. > :23:49.inform customers about their rights. It says that the policies are

:23:49. > :23:53.designed to promote a positive resolution for the customers, but

:23:53. > :23:58.it is disappointed to hear about our findings but say it is

:23:58. > :24:01.difficult to comment accurately without the exact detail of the

:24:01. > :24:05.conversations. Currys says that it takes the customer service

:24:05. > :24:09.seriously. That the staff are focused on serving them with the

:24:09. > :24:14.best interests at heart it is disappointed it was unable to give

:24:14. > :24:20.a higher level of assistance on the individual occasions.

:24:20. > :24:29.For a reminder of the advice given by our expert, Margaret Griffiths,

:24:29. > :24:34.please go to the website at: Now, back to Cardiff where the

:24:34. > :24:38.trading standards teams are patrolling known hotspots for the

:24:38. > :24:44.rogue traders. Let's rejoin Rhodri Owen.

:24:44. > :24:49.Sarah Smith and Mike Pitt have been on patrol for three hours. It a

:24:49. > :24:59.after 4.00pm. Most traders are knocking off. As they turn into the

:24:59. > :25:13.

:25:13. > :25:16.Heath area, Sarah spots a He is coming our way. Let's get the

:25:16. > :25:26.registration number now. That vehicle is a prime example of

:25:26. > :25:28.

:25:28. > :25:33.one that we would want to stop. Rogue traders invariably are never

:25:33. > :25:38.on their own. There are a number of operatives in the cab.

:25:38. > :25:40.The officers have not got the powers to stop the van, but it is

:25:40. > :25:48.important to get as much information as they can about the

:25:48. > :25:54.vehicle and the people in it. This is what we were talking about

:25:54. > :25:59.in intelligence-building. The types of things that lead us to the type

:25:59. > :26:03.of offences that we are looking to detect. It may be that they are

:26:03. > :26:10.just out and about, but this description of that vehicle is very,

:26:10. > :26:14.very typical of the type of offenders that we target.

:26:14. > :26:21.While Sarah records the details of the vehicle and location, Mike goes

:26:22. > :26:31.in for a closer look at the driver. Yeah, I have a good description of

:26:31. > :26:36.him there. Tattoos on the right arm. He has grey hair and a grey

:26:36. > :26:40.moustache. The person driving that had a dis tink i face. If we saw

:26:40. > :26:45.him again, we would know who that person is.

:26:45. > :26:48.Back at the base, Sarah runs the information about the van through

:26:48. > :26:53.the databases. We found out that the van has been

:26:53. > :26:58.linked to a number of occurrences to people that we are aware of,

:26:58. > :27:04.that we are looking at in terms of doorstep crime. So it was a really

:27:04. > :27:11.good result. A good piece of Intel to pick up. We also had two good

:27:11. > :27:15.IDs on the people in the van. That is part of the reason to do the

:27:15. > :27:20.patrols to see who is operating in the hot spot areas.

:27:20. > :27:27.The Government, as well as Trading Standards, rank this type of crime

:27:27. > :27:33.as a top priority N 2009, the Department of Business, Invasion

:27:33. > :27:40.and Skills set up Scam Busters. They target rogue traders

:27:40. > :27:46.throughout Britain. The Welsh team, is headed up by and drew Bertie.

:27:46. > :27:51.We investigate cross-border trading standards type of criminality.

:27:51. > :27:55.There is a recognition that the criminal elements move across the

:27:55. > :28:00.border areas. This team was brought together in order to address that.

:28:00. > :28:03.We use intelligence and other law enforcement partners to formulate

:28:03. > :28:10.operations. Such intelligence gathering and

:28:10. > :28:13.collaboration among the enforcement agencies, helps the Scam Busters to

:28:13. > :28:18.track down this man. A seriously conman.

:28:18. > :28:23.My team was asked to get involved as they are trained to deal with

:28:23. > :28:28.vulnerable adults, really. To illicit the best evidence for court

:28:28. > :28:33.cases. It started with this victim. John

:28:33. > :28:40.Teasedail, a registered blind pensioner living in Caerphilly.

:28:40. > :28:46.He was a 90-year-old gentleman, and he was a gentleman. He had a forces

:28:47. > :28:53.military background. I would say his standards did not erode. That

:28:53. > :28:59.is a compliment to him as a man in his 90s. Staunchly independent, but

:28:59. > :29:05.living with support from Social Services.

:29:05. > :29:10.Mr Teasedail was a repeat victim of doorsteping crime. So in 2010, the

:29:10. > :29:16.police fitted his home with CCTV camera in case he was targeted

:29:16. > :29:19.again. These are the pictures that the cameras captured. Two men tried

:29:19. > :29:25.to convince him that there was something wrong with his roof. They

:29:25. > :29:30.said they could fix it for �280. After that call, they then said

:29:31. > :29:37.there was work needed to the roof. There was no opportunity for him to

:29:37. > :29:45.have a cooling off period. Officers saw serious offences being

:29:45. > :29:48.committed. The two men drove the man to the bank. This CCTV shows a

:29:48. > :29:52.offender standing over him. It was clear that the person taking

:29:52. > :29:57.him into the bank knew that this man was vulnerable and showed me

:29:57. > :30:01.that having told him he needed work to his roof, that there was no

:30:01. > :30:05.possible way that the man could have seen that he needed the work

:30:05. > :30:09.doing and that they realised that he was blind and they were taking

:30:09. > :30:13.advantage of him. The footage from the police and the

:30:13. > :30:18.bank provided Andrew's team with a starting point to the investigation,

:30:18. > :30:22.but there was much work to be done. From the footage we were in

:30:22. > :30:25.possession of, we had a face. Now we had to identify who this person

:30:25. > :30:31.was. A terrible story. We will show you

:30:31. > :30:38.what happens shortly. Before, that Wonga. The pay day learned famed

:30:39. > :30:44.for TV adds, its sponsorship of Football Clubs and APR rates of

:30:44. > :30:51.4,200%! It seems that they had been taking money from people who had

:30:51. > :30:56.never even been customers. I received letters from Wonga,

:30:56. > :31:01.asking me for payment of over �400. I never had heard who they were.

:31:01. > :31:05.Not a clue. I was panicking. I thought, why are they taking this

:31:05. > :31:10.money? They made a mistake. They knew that they had credit-checked

:31:10. > :31:15.me and lent this information to somebody else. Wonga must have

:31:15. > :31:20.things in place to say that this is not right? Rather than just taking

:31:20. > :31:24.money out of people's bank accounts. You should not be able to credit-

:31:24. > :31:30.check me and loan to somebody else. It is a saifrpl, straightforward

:31:30. > :31:35.thing to sort out. So, Wonga should get their act together! It turned

:31:35. > :31:39.out the cases feature Paula Radcliffe victims of card and ID

:31:39. > :31:43.fraud. Wonga admitted that there had been fraud. Where money was

:31:43. > :31:47.answer, they refunded it. It said it was working on ways to tighten

:31:47. > :31:51.the security systems making it harder for those taking out loans

:31:52. > :31:56.to give false names and bank details.

:31:56. > :32:01.We deeply regret the cases shown on the video. If you can imagine you

:32:01. > :32:07.are a victim of fraud, it is deeply traumatic. We understand that. That

:32:07. > :32:11.is why we invested so much energy and focus on combating fraud where

:32:11. > :32:16.it occurs. We work with the leading organisations in the UK. We spend

:32:16. > :32:22.millions in technology and try our hardest to prevent fraud.

:32:22. > :32:26.That what two months ago, but that fraud still seems to be happening.

:32:26. > :32:30.We have had more complaints from viewers saying that they have not

:32:30. > :32:35.been customers of Wonga but had money taken from their accounts or

:32:35. > :32:39.demands for repayments. We have contacted the company again it says

:32:39. > :32:48.that the automated technology is at the cutting-edge of screening out

:32:48. > :32:52.fraud. Less than 0 .1% of approved loans are said to be fraudulent. It

:32:52. > :32:57.says that its approach of kpwading this is far ahead of industry

:32:57. > :33:02.standards. Well, Gillian Guy joins me now if you find there is a large

:33:02. > :33:06.sum of money missing from your bank account, what do you do? Check the

:33:06. > :33:09.bank account and if there is anything unusual get in touch with

:33:09. > :33:13.the bank. They should investigate and get wrong payments back for you.

:33:13. > :33:18.If you are not satisfied you can go to the ombudsman ombudsman

:33:18. > :33:23.ombudsman or indeed, come to the Citizens Advice Bureau to get help.

:33:23. > :33:28.Let's talk about pay day loans, you are worried about them, why? There

:33:28. > :33:33.are so many people taking them up. A survey shows that there will be 5

:33:33. > :33:37.million in the next six months given out. They tend to be with

:33:37. > :33:42.people who are in financial difficulty. They see it as a quick-

:33:42. > :33:45.fix. We would rather that people came to us or other independent

:33:45. > :33:50.advisers to help with a debt management plan or budgeting. In

:33:50. > :33:54.terms of the loans that they take out, they are targeted at people

:33:54. > :33:59.with debts and cannot afford to repay. The checks are not properly

:33:59. > :34:03.done to ensure that they can repay and they are often aggressively

:34:03. > :34:07.collected. So money may be taken from a bank account and it is

:34:07. > :34:13.difficult to negotiate with the companies to pay back less where

:34:13. > :34:17.the payments cannot be afforded. Give us an example of the trouble

:34:17. > :34:22.that people are getting into? people that we see coming into the

:34:22. > :34:26.bureau have debts. They take a out a pay day loan to pay off other

:34:26. > :34:30.loans. Then they roll them over. There are hidden charges and they

:34:30. > :34:35.get out of control. What that means is that they give the authority to

:34:35. > :34:39.the pay day lenders to take the payments back and then they miss

:34:39. > :34:42.rent. Then people come to us with eviction orders, threatening them

:34:42. > :34:48.that they are going to lose their homes.

:34:48. > :34:53.You want to hear from people having problems? The OFT is looking into

:34:53. > :34:58.the pay day lending. It is overdue. We know there is a new charter for

:34:58. > :35:02.pay day lenders and on Monday we are starting a year-long survey of

:35:02. > :35:06.people to really check out how they are conducting themselves and

:35:06. > :35:11.ensure that they do things properly. Now, lots of you are getting in

:35:11. > :35:15.touch with us this morning. Let's find out what you have been saying.

:35:15. > :35:19.Lots getting in touch about daily deal sites. Many complains that the

:35:19. > :35:25.deals expire before you get a chance to use them. Also about the

:35:25. > :35:30.report on taking back faulty goods. It was said by Jane that the shop

:35:30. > :35:34.told her they could not do anything about her faulty washing machine as

:35:34. > :35:39.it was 18 months ago. She is going back to them again. Keep in touch.

:35:39. > :35:46.We would love to hear from you. Now, time for a final visit to

:35:46. > :35:51.Wales and the case of the 90-year- old blind man targeted by traders

:35:51. > :35:55.who demanded money from him and then stood over him while he

:35:55. > :36:00.withdrew cash from the bank. There was a lot of work to do although

:36:00. > :36:04.they had the CCTV pictures. As a result of the CCTV images, the

:36:04. > :36:10.officers had a good idea of the crime and a clear picture of those

:36:10. > :36:13.who committed it but they needed names. That meant searching for

:36:13. > :36:22.more clues. He was taking a vehicle, we checked

:36:22. > :36:26.with the CCTV, we saw Mr Teasedail in the vehicle. We saw the CCTV

:36:26. > :36:31.footage in the bank that clearly showed that the men that we saw in

:36:31. > :36:37.the vehicle and in the house were on his shoulder, he took the

:36:37. > :36:41.withdrawal of money out and he led him out. The trader that called at

:36:41. > :36:48.the man's home was wearing a jacket. On the rear was a mobile phone

:36:48. > :36:54.number. Also a company name. We did work with that to trace that.

:36:54. > :36:57.The company name on the jacket was Jones and Sons. Not to be confused

:36:57. > :37:01.with other companies of a similar name. As the team continued to

:37:01. > :37:07.follow up the leads, they discovered the same company had

:37:07. > :37:11.targeted another vifpl in the Newport area. A widow, Mrs Richards

:37:11. > :37:15.needed to get her guttering company. She called a company advertised in

:37:15. > :37:19.the local paper, the very same Jones and Sons.

:37:19. > :37:28.The guttering was leaking. So they decided that they will take it down

:37:28. > :37:31.to put it all up new again. Ida paid �980 to the traders, but

:37:31. > :37:37.instead of the job she was expecting, she got this job...

:37:37. > :37:47.is a part of the gutter, it is new, supposed to be, they put it up

:37:47. > :37:48.

:37:48. > :37:52.there... This was there like that, but it has fallen down as it was

:37:52. > :37:56.not put together properly. The leaking guttering was causing

:37:56. > :38:02.damage to the outside of the house. Over time it started to affect the

:38:02. > :38:08.inside as well. The water is from the roof. It

:38:08. > :38:15.causes all of this. It also causes this in the bedroom.

:38:15. > :38:20.We can't stay in leer as water is coming in now and it has severe

:38:20. > :38:25.damp. It affects all of us. These bits here... All of this is wet. It

:38:25. > :38:30.never used to be like. This they didn't come over to me like he was

:38:30. > :38:34.a wicketed guy. I thought he was honest, the way that he speaks. I

:38:34. > :38:39.thought he was honest. The company had struck twice it was

:38:39. > :38:44.paramount for the Scam Busters to take action. Fortunately they were

:38:44. > :38:48.about to make an important discovery. The phone number for

:38:48. > :38:56.Jones and Sons appeared on an advertisement.

:38:56. > :38:58.This number was used to advertise a Fontera 4x4 vehicle. We put a call

:38:59. > :39:01.into the number saying we were interested in the vehicle. The

:39:01. > :39:06.person selling it us gave us his address.

:39:06. > :39:11.When the officers arrived at the address they found a van parked

:39:11. > :39:14.outside. The same van that had taken blind pensioners John to the

:39:14. > :39:18.bank. We were delighted with the van and

:39:18. > :39:22.the address. Then we could liaise with the local police team who

:39:22. > :39:27.provided us with the assistance that we needed to arrest that

:39:27. > :39:34.person. The mystery rogue trader was

:39:34. > :39:44.identified as Cornelius Jones He pleaded guilty to three offences.

:39:44. > :39:48.

:39:48. > :39:52.In relation to his actions towards Mr Teas edale and Mrs Richards. He

:39:52. > :39:58.was given a sentence of 14 months in prison.

:39:58. > :40:02.During that time Mr Teasedail died and it is fair it say that the

:40:02. > :40:07.other victim, was a lady, whose health has been affected by the

:40:07. > :40:15.incident. Well, of course, this is wrong. You

:40:15. > :40:22.don't do that to people. You don't do that to your greatest enemy.

:40:22. > :40:27.Well with me now is Andrew Bertie, the head of the Scam Busters team

:40:27. > :40:32.for Wales. This is a harrowing tale and clearly a worthwhile

:40:32. > :40:36.investigation? Yes. It was it took us time to identify who the person

:40:36. > :40:40.responsible was. Then we were able to identify the other individual

:40:40. > :40:47.wearing the woollen hat. I suggest if anyone has ideas as to who that

:40:47. > :40:51.is, to get in contact with us. We have seen the job that you do to

:40:51. > :40:59.protect the public from rogue traders, what can we do to help

:40:59. > :41:06.ensure we are dealing with traders that are trust worthy? Go to

:41:06. > :41:13.friends and relatives who have had work done and are happy with it and

:41:13. > :41:16.ask them. Go along with quotes, take at least three and take

:41:16. > :41:21.advantage of the seven day cooling off period.

:41:21. > :41:26.Is there is way of spotting a trader that is not trust worthy?

:41:26. > :41:31.results from a cold call at the door. There is urgency for you to

:41:31. > :41:35.make a decision. They normally want paying in cash. There is little

:41:35. > :41:38.paperwork involved. These are the signs to watch out for. If you are

:41:38. > :41:43.getting these and you are suspicious, contact the Citizens

:41:43. > :41:48.Advice Bureau as soon as possible. Or, depending on the circumstances,

:41:48. > :41:56.the local police. You can do that by looking on the

:41:56. > :42:01.website : Thank you very much. It has been great to hear from you

:42:01. > :42:05.this morning. More viewers have been in touch

:42:05. > :42:09.about Wonga, all claiming that they are non-customers.

:42:09. > :42:13.Lots of you e-mailing about your experiences on returning about

:42:13. > :42:19.faulty goods. A few complaining that retailers have even tried to

:42:19. > :42:25.charge you when the item is still under warranty. Lots of you upset

:42:26. > :42:32.about the blind pensioner being conned, well done the Consumer Cops.

:42:32. > :42:39.Tomorrow reare reading out all e- mails, texts and calls. Please keep

:42:39. > :42:42.them coming. It is keeps us busy. Thank you very much, Rani.

:42:42. > :42:45.And that's all we have time for this morning. Tomorrow: Flight

:42:45. > :42:47.delays and cancellations - the new ruling that means you could be

:42:47. > :42:50.entitled to compensation going back years. And Costa, Starbucks and

:42:50. > :42:53.Cafe Nero: Coffee to go? Or drinking inside? You'll be