Episode 9 Watchdog Daily


Episode 9

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

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

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warned about advertising dodgy deals - are they still doing it?

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John Lewis, Currys and Argos: You have rights when you shop there -

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pity these staff don't always know them. And Wonga: Straight talking

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money - taking cash straight out of non-customers' accounts. Also on

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

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man targeted by rogue traders. was clear that the person taking

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him into the bank knew that this gentleman was vulnerable.

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We start with some of the biggest names in daily deals - Groupon and

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K.G.B. First, Online sites offering discounts on everything from spa

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days and weekend breaks to magazine subscriptions. They're hugely

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popular but controversial too. Back in March, the Office of Fair

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Trading found Groupon repeatedly breaching consumer protection

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regulations. And the Advertising Standards Authority banned several

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of its ads for being misleading. K.G.B has also run into trouble

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with the advertising regulator. So, have they learned their lessons?

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Here is Rani. Hand-picked deals, great prices,

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big discounts. All offered by daily deal companies. Like Groupon. Their

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promises attracted Andy to register with them. Last month they offered

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a deal of six month subscription at 50% discount. At just �22.35, but

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the magazine costs �4.20 an issue, so six months normally costs �25.20.

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If he subvibed through the magazine website, he could have gotten it

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for �23. Although Groupon's deal did come

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with �15 worth of golf vouchers, it was not the discount Andy was

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promised. When he complained, Groupon said: It is not our

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intention to mislead anyone. The deal undergoes a price very fiction

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process. Well, something went wrong here.

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For Andy, the deal was nowhere near as good as advertised.

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Seven months after Groupon assured the Office of Fair Trading, that it

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would publish no more misleading ads.

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On a budget and a mission... During that time, one of Groupon's daily

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deals rivals had its own problems, falling foul of the advertising

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regulator, repeatedly. We heard of cases that started to

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increase. Complaints went from two last year to 21 this year. That is

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entirely unacceptable for this type of business, but it is a new

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business. The level of advertising that they do is prolific. Putting

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out hundreds of ads every day, but the number of times that they are

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breaking the advertising codes is unacceptable.

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The Office of Fair Trading identified claim whereas the

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company were unable to back up savings. Take this deal.

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They offered this deal for �9, saying it would normally cost �269.

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We received a complaint querying that. We went to K.G.B and they

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were unable to prove to us that the hotel had been on offer for �269.

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That is the claim that companies should not be making. If they are

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saying that there is a savings, they must prove that the product

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has been sold at that level for a significant period of time before

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making the deal. The regulator found that there were

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instances where K.G.B described deals inaccurately or left

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information out. Like this offer for a kite lesson.

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It failed to mention if you wanted to take advantage of the deal at

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the weekend, it would cost �100 more than advertised.

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There is never an excuse for the companies to be breaking consumer

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protection rules put in place to maintain trust in tiding to ensure

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that the consumers are not misled. What we expect to see in the future

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is K.G.B continuing to comply with that. There has been a drop-off in

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complaints and problems. We are monitoring this.

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While the AFS -- while the Office of Fair Trading have had a drop off,

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we continued to receive them. There was a deal that the original

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price was something like �49.99. I needed one of those. I was going to

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get them. I saw the offer on K.G.B for �9.99. It would have been a

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good offer in the product turned up. Flora is still waiting for the

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product to arrive. I paid the money directly to K.G.B,

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it is their job to ensure that the deal is honoured.

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Ashley has been waiting even longer for his order from K.G.B. He paid

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�64.99 for a Google android games console. Eight weeks on, there is

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no sign of it. I tried to contact the vendor. Also

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trying to contact K kfpl K. I am still waiting for the product.

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K.G.B are responsible for setting up the deal. They liaise with the

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third parties. They should be fulfilling the promise. I don't

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feel that happened at all. What we expect is that if a kch makes an

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offer to members of the public that they fulfil it. The vast majority

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of deals that you see offered through the companies can be

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trusted. Whenever a company puts out a promotion, the one thing is

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does not want is for the members of the public to be disappointed with

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what they receive. They will not last long if people don't return to

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continue to buy from them. But judging by the complaints we

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received some customers have been left disappointed. This one is

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unlikely to be back. That is it for me. No more K.G.B.

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Rani is up in the mailroom. What has been the response to that

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report? Groupon denies misadvertising the six monthly golf

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deal. They said that the publisher ran its own promotion, but that

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theirs offered more value and saving. They said as their deal was

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designed to entice new golfers and the publisher's deal was for

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existing customers, that the two ons are not comparable.

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K.G.B said it fulfilled 97% of customer purchases in the last two

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years and refunds any what experience problems. It says that

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80% of complaints about advertising are not upheld and no ads published

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since April have been a subject of complaint. It accepts that the

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goods of two of our interviewers orderers were not available, but

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said that they were fully refunded. If you would like to get in touch,

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we would love to hear from you. The Now, doorstep crime. Across the

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country there are rogue traders demanding large amounts of money

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for little or no work, bogus callers and workmen preying on

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those who aren't always capable of protecting themselves. Taking them

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on are the Consumer Cops. Here's Rhodri Owen. Yes, welcome to Wales.

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Now it may be one of the most picturesque parts of the UK with

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rolling hills and valleys, but like many areas it has its fair share of

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doorstep criminals. For the officers, tackling the problem is a

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vital part of their role. Cardiff, in this city there have been 36

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doorstep crimes reported in the last year. To catch those

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responsible, and to stop repeat offences, the officers have a range

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of methods. Along with investigations and intelligence-

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gathering exercises, they revisit the victims of crime to offer help

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and support. So today, Sarah Smith is checking

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in on a victim, recently conned by a rogue draivway company.

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-- driveway company. They came along, asked if you

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wanted a driveway putting in? coffered it with sand and the next

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day nothing -- covered it with sand and the next day nothing and then

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this. You can see that here someone has

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trodden in it. It is uneven, it is not smooth. It is not a standard of

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driveway that you originally wanted. It is literally appearing to have

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been thrown down. Gary simmons is disabled and lives

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with his 7-year-old mother. In January they paid �had 50 to a

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group of traders for a new drive. Those traders took the money, did

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some of the work and then disappeared from the job.

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-- �4 50. What happened? We could tell they

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were not real builders. No, they were not, but they did

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promise to come back and finish it but we never saw them after.

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Did you try to contact them? Yes. You were talking to a boss of some

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sort? Yes. He said that the fella that done

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the job was given the sack. So the job was finished as far as he was

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concerned, but then they wanted another �150.

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To put it right? Yes, to put it right. I mean, we are pensioners,

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we have not got money to throw away. We paid enough any way.

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That is right. We should not have fallen for it,

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but we were conned and that is it. This is a new set of traders for

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Sarah Smith and her team to look into.

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What do I think of people who do this? They are scum! They are worse

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than scum. Oh,... I mean how many more pensioners have they done this

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to? I have worked hard all of my life.

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You get a bit of money, you have your pension. You save a little,

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then people like that come to rob you.

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It is really hard to go in and see these consumers that don't

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necessarily have a lot of money. They have paid in good faith for a

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job. I find it really hard you cannot bring these people to

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justice as easily as we could a trader in the High Street.

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That is the frustration, really. That is what we are working hard to

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try to ID who these people are in the bigger picture.

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Seeing the shattered lives that the rogue traders leave behind makes

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officers like Sarah determined to stop them striking again. Today she

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and her colleagues are preparing to patrol doorstep crime hotspots.

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Do we have a list of targets? are about four to five different

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gangs working in the area. Where should we start? In the Heath,

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around that area. It is causing a real problem to the

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residents and to the elderly population in Cardiff. We are not

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talking here about perhaps a one- off case where a trader, you know,

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for whatever reason is not aware of the law, we are talking about

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organised criminals. They know what they are doing. They sell

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information, they talk to each other.

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They are operating a system of what is known as rebating. That is where

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they systematically target a person and they go back time and time

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again over a period of time taking thousands and thousands of pounds

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off people in some cases. Sarah and Mike are patrolling the

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north-east of the city. It is a relatively affluent area, with a

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large number of elderly householders, prime targets for the

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doorstep criminals. The first stop is a building site in the

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residential area here, an unmarked trade van has caught their eye.

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Good afternoon. We are from Cardiff Trading Stand dardz, is the boss

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around? Mike is keen to find out who is working on the site.

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Is this your company vehicle? yes.

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What we are looking for in particular is people who rip-off

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the elderly and the vulnerable. What drew us originally was one of

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the unmarked vehicles. Obviously non-legitimate traders

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don't tend to have them marked up as such. I don't know about non-

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legitimate traders it -- they are working fellas who buy a van.

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Workwise they care about the work that they do. That is the people we

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have working for us. I mean we are looking for rogue traders.

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We have not got those people working for us.

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Not all reactions that Sarah and Mike receive are positive, but this

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trader seems supportive of their work. If it eliminates the cowboy

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element of this construction industry, it must abgood thing.

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As we saw, that particular trader was willing to help the team in

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their fight against the unscrupulous traders, so nothing to

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concern the officers yet, but coming up: That vehicle is a prime

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example of one that we would want to stop.

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Yes, things get a lot more interesting for the cops cops

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companies as they continue their patrols and we find out what

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happened when this blind, 90-year- old man was targeted by rogues.

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First, buying household appliances can be an expensive business. But

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if your washing machine or dryer packs up once it's outside the

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manufacturer's warranty, do you have any recourse with the shop

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where you bought it? Well, under certain circumstances, the answer

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is 'yes'. Even though some of our biggest electrical retailers seem

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to think otherwise. We'll put John Lewis, Currys and Argos to the test

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:15:43.:15:54.

in a moment. But first, what exactly are your rights? There is

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nothing more frustrating than getting a product home to find it

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does not work. Or, worse still, that it gives up the ghost after a

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few weeks. Fortunately there are laws under the Sale of Goods Act

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that mean you can take the product back to the shop for a refund,

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replacement or a repair. Sundayer the Sale of Goods Act,

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1979, goods should correspond with a description applied to them, via

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the satisfactory quality and to be fit for the purpose for which they

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are used. If your new product is broken or breaks, you should take

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it back to the retailers and not to the manufactures. It is the

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retailer with whom you have the contract.

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You have a certain period of time in which to return faulty goods for

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refund before it is deemed to be accepted. Once you accepted the

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goods you can return them to the retailer, but only for repair or

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replacementment. The law does not specify a reasonable time for

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accepting the goods, but if you return the faulty goods for a

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repair, replacement or refund, then for the first six months after the

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purchase it is up to the retailer to prove that the goods comply with

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the contract. So that they were not faulty.

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So, what happens if you have had the product for say, over six

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months? Then it stops working? Under the Sale of Goods Act you

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play have a strong case still. That is if you can prove that the item

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was faulty at the time you purchased it. If you can prove that,

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the retailer, must either replace it or repair it for free.

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A few things to point out: The longer the period that lapses over

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six months, the harder it is to prove that the goods were faulty

:17:41.:17:44.

when you bought them. The amount you paid for them, what the goods

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are and the level of usage will be things that must be considered too.

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So, for example it would be reasonable to expect a washing

:17:53.:18:00.

machine costing �1,000, used twice a week, to last longer than one

:18:00.:18:06.

that is costing �300 and used every day. You may need a second opinion

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if the retailers disagrees. If the retailer will not repair or replace

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the tement, then you may consider going to court about it. Before you

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do that, though, get legal advice. One last thing if the product is

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under a warranty, it fails within the warranty period, then you can

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send it back to the manufacture, but I have to stress, if it fails

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in the warranty period is irrelevant. It is the retailers's

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responsibility under the Sale of Goods Act to ensure that the goods

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are of a satisfactory quality and fit for purpose at the time you

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purchased them. If not, they have to put that right. So ensure that

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you understand your rights and do not take "no" for an answer.

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Margaret Griffiths knows her stuff. Now you know your rights, but do

:18:59.:19:09.
:19:09.:19:10.

the retailers? Here are the Mystery Shoppers.

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We sent our team to three branches of three of the UK's top electrical

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retailers, John Lewis, Argos and Currys. The question they asked was

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this: I bought a washing machine from here, it has stopped working.

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If I turn it on it will not turn on or sometimes the lights flash. I

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wondered if there is anything you can do? We know there is a lot they

:19:36.:19:40.

can do. Each time they asked, the shoppers made it clear it was a

:19:40.:19:44.

manufacturing fault, not the result of wear and tear. Now a washing

:19:44.:19:47.

machine is an expensive product that should last for a reasonable

:19:47.:19:52.

length of time. Several years. So, under the Sale of Goods Act, if our

:19:52.:19:58.

shoppers were able to prove it was an inherent fault, you expect the

:19:58.:20:03.

retailer to offer a repair or replacement, whether or not it is

:20:03.:20:11.

within the manufacture's warranty. So with these... All nine stores

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visited said that they could help us if the washing machine was

:20:15.:20:21.

within its warranty. But when asked if they could help

:20:21.:20:29.

outside of the warranty... Over months, we cannot help.

:20:29.:20:32.

We only guarantee a product for 12 years.

:20:32.:20:36.

Eight of the stores visited were less willing to take the

:20:36.:20:39.

responsibility. We would not be in a position to

:20:39.:20:47.

replace that for you. Well, that is ridiculous. It is the

:20:47.:20:50.

retailer's responsibility. The consumer has a contract with the

:20:50.:20:55.

retailer, not with the manufacture. The terms of the contract, well, we

:20:55.:20:58.

have seen the Sale of Goods Act, they must be of a satisfactory

:20:58.:21:02.

quality and filet for the purpose. It is the retailer's job to ensure

:21:02.:21:06.

that is the case. Five of the eight stores said that they could put us

:21:06.:21:10.

in touch with the manufacture or arrange for it to be fixed, but

:21:10.:21:17.

there was a charge. If it was within the manufacture's

:21:17.:21:22.

warranty? We would charge �506789 We would get an engineer, but

:21:22.:21:26.

charge you. Outside of the warranty period, you

:21:26.:21:31.

may pay for it, but recoup the cost of that fixing from the shop that

:21:31.:21:35.

sold it will to you as long as you go back within a reasonable time of

:21:35.:21:39.

buying it. A Currys store suggested it may be cheap tore buy a new

:21:39.:21:44.

machine as a repair could be so expensive.

:21:44.:21:53.

Minimum charge is up to �60. Why not buy a new one? Something

:21:53.:21:58.

for about 200 to 300? This is my personal opinion.

:21:58.:22:02.

But by far the worst performers on the test were the retailers that

:22:02.:22:06.

failed to take responsibility whatsoever and told us to contact

:22:06.:22:08.

the manufacturing of the machine directly.

:22:08.:22:12.

Don't take it back here. It is the manufactures that decide. Even

:22:12.:22:19.

though I bought it from the store? Yeah! There is nothing to do?

:22:19.:22:24.

of the guarantee you have to go direct... There is nothing that

:22:24.:22:30.

Currys can do. It must have the guarantee from the manufacture.

:22:30.:22:35.

That is just wrong. Whether it is want the warranty or outside of it,

:22:35.:22:40.

if it is within are reasonable time of buying it, it is the shop's

:22:40.:22:43.

responsibility to repair the machine. I am not surprised by what

:22:43.:22:49.

I have seen. It would be nice if the shops trained the staff to tell

:22:49.:22:52.

them the difference of the contract that the shop has with the consumer

:22:52.:22:56.

and the relationship that the manufacture has with the shop.

:22:56.:23:01.

Low marks for legal knowledge. So what do the companies say about it?

:23:01.:23:05.

Argos acknowledges that the customers have rights beyond the

:23:05.:23:08.

guaranteed period and accepts that it has a responsibility to give

:23:08.:23:13.

correct guidance. It says when the staff are asked more complex

:23:13.:23:17.

questions concerning consumer law they should refer them up to the

:23:17.:23:21.

store managers. They are sorry that this did not happen. In the light

:23:21.:23:26.

of finding it is is reviewing the staff training.

:23:26.:23:29.

Currys and John Lewis says that the Sale of Goods Act clearly states

:23:29.:23:33.

after six months that the consumer must find the cause of the product

:23:33.:23:39.

fault. John Lewis says that the law does not require retailers to

:23:39.:23:45.

inform customers about their rights. It says that the policies are

:23:46.:23:49.

designed to promote a positive resolution for the customers, but

:23:49.:23:53.

it is disappointed to hear about our findings but say it is

:23:53.:23:58.

difficult to comment accurately without the exact detail of the

:23:58.:24:01.

conversations. Currys says that it takes the customer service

:24:01.:24:05.

seriously. That the staff are focused on serving them with the

:24:05.:24:09.

best interests at heart it is disappointed it was unable to give

:24:09.:24:14.

a higher level of assistance on the individual occasions.

:24:14.:24:20.

For a reminder of the advice given by our expert, Margaret Griffiths,

:24:20.:24:29.

please go to the website at: Now, back to Cardiff where the

:24:29.:24:34.

trading standards teams are patrolling known hotspots for the

:24:34.:24:38.

rogue traders. Let's rejoin Rhodri Owen.

:24:38.:24:44.

Sarah Smith and Mike Pitt have been on patrol for three hours. It a

:24:44.:24:49.

after 4.00pm. Most traders are knocking off. As they turn into the

:24:49.:24:59.
:24:59.:25:13.

Heath area, Sarah spots a He is coming our way. Let's get the

:25:13.:25:16.

registration number now. That vehicle is a prime example of

:25:16.:25:26.
:25:26.:25:28.

one that we would want to stop. Rogue traders invariably are never

:25:28.:25:33.

on their own. There are a number of operatives in the cab.

:25:33.:25:38.

The officers have not got the powers to stop the van, but it is

:25:38.:25:40.

important to get as much information as they can about the

:25:40.:25:48.

vehicle and the people in it. This is what we were talking about

:25:48.:25:54.

in intelligence-building. The types of things that lead us to the type

:25:54.:25:59.

of offences that we are looking to detect. It may be that they are

:25:59.:26:03.

just out and about, but this description of that vehicle is very,

:26:03.:26:10.

very typical of the type of offenders that we target.

:26:10.:26:14.

While Sarah records the details of the vehicle and location, Mike goes

:26:14.:26:21.

in for a closer look at the driver. Yeah, I have a good description of

:26:22.:26:31.

him there. Tattoos on the right arm. He has grey hair and a grey

:26:31.:26:36.

moustache. The person driving that had a dis tink i face. If we saw

:26:36.:26:40.

him again, we would know who that person is.

:26:40.:26:45.

Back at the base, Sarah runs the information about the van through

:26:45.:26:48.

the databases. We found out that the van has been

:26:48.:26:53.

linked to a number of occurrences to people that we are aware of,

:26:53.:26:58.

that we are looking at in terms of doorstep crime. So it was a really

:26:58.:27:04.

good result. A good piece of Intel to pick up. We also had two good

:27:04.:27:11.

IDs on the people in the van. That is part of the reason to do the

:27:11.:27:15.

patrols to see who is operating in the hot spot areas.

:27:15.:27:20.

The Government, as well as Trading Standards, rank this type of crime

:27:20.:27:27.

as a top priority N 2009, the Department of Business, Invasion

:27:27.:27:33.

and Skills set up Scam Busters. They target rogue traders

:27:33.:27:40.

throughout Britain. The Welsh team, is headed up by and drew Bertie.

:27:40.:27:46.

We investigate cross-border trading standards type of criminality.

:27:46.:27:51.

There is a recognition that the criminal elements move across the

:27:51.:27:55.

border areas. This team was brought together in order to address that.

:27:55.:28:00.

We use intelligence and other law enforcement partners to formulate

:28:00.:28:03.

operations. Such intelligence gathering and

:28:03.:28:10.

collaboration among the enforcement agencies, helps the Scam Busters to

:28:10.:28:13.

track down this man. A seriously conman.

:28:13.:28:18.

My team was asked to get involved as they are trained to deal with

:28:18.:28:23.

vulnerable adults, really. To illicit the best evidence for court

:28:23.:28:28.

cases. It started with this victim. John

:28:28.:28:33.

Teasedail, a registered blind pensioner living in Caerphilly.

:28:33.:28:40.

He was a 90-year-old gentleman, and he was a gentleman. He had a forces

:28:40.:28:46.

military background. I would say his standards did not erode. That

:28:47.:28:53.

is a compliment to him as a man in his 90s. Staunchly independent, but

:28:53.:28:59.

living with support from Social Services.

:28:59.:29:05.

Mr Teasedail was a repeat victim of doorsteping crime. So in 2010, the

:29:05.:29:10.

police fitted his home with CCTV camera in case he was targeted

:29:10.:29:16.

again. These are the pictures that the cameras captured. Two men tried

:29:16.:29:19.

to convince him that there was something wrong with his roof. They

:29:19.:29:25.

said they could fix it for �280. After that call, they then said

:29:25.:29:30.

there was work needed to the roof. There was no opportunity for him to

:29:31.:29:37.

have a cooling off period. Officers saw serious offences being

:29:37.:29:45.

committed. The two men drove the man to the bank. This CCTV shows a

:29:45.:29:48.

offender standing over him. It was clear that the person taking

:29:48.:29:52.

him into the bank knew that this man was vulnerable and showed me

:29:52.:29:57.

that having told him he needed work to his roof, that there was no

:29:57.:30:01.

possible way that the man could have seen that he needed the work

:30:01.:30:05.

doing and that they realised that he was blind and they were taking

:30:05.:30:09.

advantage of him. The footage from the police and the

:30:09.:30:13.

bank provided Andrew's team with a starting point to the investigation,

:30:13.:30:18.

but there was much work to be done. From the footage we were in

:30:18.:30:22.

possession of, we had a face. Now we had to identify who this person

:30:22.:30:25.

was. A terrible story. We will show you

:30:25.:30:31.

what happens shortly. Before, that Wonga. The pay day learned famed

:30:31.:30:38.

for TV adds, its sponsorship of Football Clubs and APR rates of

:30:39.:30:44.

4,200%! It seems that they had been taking money from people who had

:30:44.:30:51.

never even been customers. I received letters from Wonga,

:30:51.:30:56.

asking me for payment of over �400. I never had heard who they were.

:30:56.:31:01.

Not a clue. I was panicking. I thought, why are they taking this

:31:01.:31:05.

money? They made a mistake. They knew that they had credit-checked

:31:05.:31:10.

me and lent this information to somebody else. Wonga must have

:31:10.:31:15.

things in place to say that this is not right? Rather than just taking

:31:15.:31:20.

money out of people's bank accounts. You should not be able to credit-

:31:20.:31:24.

check me and loan to somebody else. It is a saifrpl, straightforward

:31:24.:31:30.

thing to sort out. So, Wonga should get their act together! It turned

:31:30.:31:35.

out the cases feature Paula Radcliffe victims of card and ID

:31:35.:31:39.

fraud. Wonga admitted that there had been fraud. Where money was

:31:39.:31:43.

answer, they refunded it. It said it was working on ways to tighten

:31:43.:31:47.

the security systems making it harder for those taking out loans

:31:47.:31:51.

to give false names and bank details.

:31:52.:31:56.

We deeply regret the cases shown on the video. If you can imagine you

:31:56.:32:01.

are a victim of fraud, it is deeply traumatic. We understand that. That

:32:01.:32:07.

is why we invested so much energy and focus on combating fraud where

:32:07.:32:11.

it occurs. We work with the leading organisations in the UK. We spend

:32:11.:32:16.

millions in technology and try our hardest to prevent fraud.

:32:16.:32:22.

That what two months ago, but that fraud still seems to be happening.

:32:22.:32:26.

We have had more complaints from viewers saying that they have not

:32:26.:32:30.

been customers of Wonga but had money taken from their accounts or

:32:30.:32:35.

demands for repayments. We have contacted the company again it says

:32:35.:32:39.

that the automated technology is at the cutting-edge of screening out

:32:39.:32:48.

fraud. Less than 0 .1% of approved loans are said to be fraudulent. It

:32:48.:32:52.

says that its approach of kpwading this is far ahead of industry

:32:52.:32:57.

standards. Well, Gillian Guy joins me now if you find there is a large

:32:57.:33:02.

sum of money missing from your bank account, what do you do? Check the

:33:02.:33:06.

bank account and if there is anything unusual get in touch with

:33:06.:33:09.

the bank. They should investigate and get wrong payments back for you.

:33:09.:33:13.

If you are not satisfied you can go to the ombudsman ombudsman

:33:13.:33:18.

ombudsman or indeed, come to the Citizens Advice Bureau to get help.

:33:18.:33:23.

Let's talk about pay day loans, you are worried about them, why? There

:33:23.:33:28.

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

:33:28.:33:33.

million in the next six months given out. They tend to be with

:33:33.:33:37.

people who are in financial difficulty. They see it as a quick-

:33:37.:33:42.

fix. We would rather that people came to us or other independent

:33:42.:33:45.

advisers to help with a debt management plan or budgeting. In

:33:45.:33:50.

terms of the loans that they take out, they are targeted at people

:33:50.:33:54.

with debts and cannot afford to repay. The checks are not properly

:33:54.:33:59.

done to ensure that they can repay and they are often aggressively

:33:59.:34:03.

collected. So money may be taken from a bank account and it is

:34:03.:34:07.

difficult to negotiate with the companies to pay back less where

:34:07.:34:13.

the payments cannot be afforded. Give us an example of the trouble

:34:13.:34:17.

that people are getting into? people that we see coming into the

:34:17.:34:22.

bureau have debts. They take a out a pay day loan to pay off other

:34:22.:34:26.

loans. Then they roll them over. There are hidden charges and they

:34:26.:34:30.

get out of control. What that means is that they give the authority to

:34:30.:34:35.

the pay day lenders to take the payments back and then they miss

:34:35.:34:39.

rent. Then people come to us with eviction orders, threatening them

:34:39.:34:42.

that they are going to lose their homes.

:34:42.:34:48.

You want to hear from people having problems? The OFT is looking into

:34:48.:34:53.

the pay day lending. It is overdue. We know there is a new charter for

:34:53.:34:58.

pay day lenders and on Monday we are starting a year-long survey of

:34:58.:35:02.

people to really check out how they are conducting themselves and

:35:02.:35:06.

ensure that they do things properly. Now, lots of you are getting in

:35:06.:35:11.

touch with us this morning. Let's find out what you have been saying.

:35:11.:35:15.

Lots getting in touch about daily deal sites. Many complains that the

:35:15.:35:19.

deals expire before you get a chance to use them. Also about the

:35:19.:35:25.

report on taking back faulty goods. It was said by Jane that the shop

:35:25.:35:30.

told her they could not do anything about her faulty washing machine as

:35:30.:35:34.

it was 18 months ago. She is going back to them again. Keep in touch.

:35:34.:35:39.

We would love to hear from you. Now, time for a final visit to

:35:39.:35:46.

Wales and the case of the 90-year- old blind man targeted by traders

:35:46.:35:51.

who demanded money from him and then stood over him while he

:35:51.:35:55.

withdrew cash from the bank. There was a lot of work to do although

:35:55.:36:00.

they had the CCTV pictures. As a result of the CCTV images, the

:36:00.:36:04.

officers had a good idea of the crime and a clear picture of those

:36:04.:36:10.

who committed it but they needed names. That meant searching for

:36:10.:36:13.

more clues. He was taking a vehicle, we checked

:36:13.:36:22.

with the CCTV, we saw Mr Teasedail in the vehicle. We saw the CCTV

:36:22.:36:26.

footage in the bank that clearly showed that the men that we saw in

:36:26.:36:31.

the vehicle and in the house were on his shoulder, he took the

:36:31.:36:37.

withdrawal of money out and he led him out. The trader that called at

:36:37.:36:41.

the man's home was wearing a jacket. On the rear was a mobile phone

:36:41.:36:48.

number. Also a company name. We did work with that to trace that.

:36:48.:36:54.

The company name on the jacket was Jones and Sons. Not to be confused

:36:54.:36:57.

with other companies of a similar name. As the team continued to

:36:57.:37:01.

follow up the leads, they discovered the same company had

:37:01.:37:07.

targeted another vifpl in the Newport area. A widow, Mrs Richards

:37:07.:37:11.

needed to get her guttering company. She called a company advertised in

:37:11.:37:15.

the local paper, the very same Jones and Sons.

:37:15.:37:19.

The guttering was leaking. So they decided that they will take it down

:37:19.:37:28.

to put it all up new again. Ida paid �980 to the traders, but

:37:28.:37:31.

instead of the job she was expecting, she got this job...

:37:31.:37:37.

is a part of the gutter, it is new, supposed to be, they put it up

:37:37.:37:47.
:37:47.:37:48.

there... This was there like that, but it has fallen down as it was

:37:48.:37:52.

not put together properly. The leaking guttering was causing

:37:52.:37:56.

damage to the outside of the house. Over time it started to affect the

:37:56.:38:02.

inside as well. The water is from the roof. It

:38:02.:38:08.

causes all of this. It also causes this in the bedroom.

:38:08.:38:15.

We can't stay in leer as water is coming in now and it has severe

:38:15.:38:20.

damp. It affects all of us. These bits here... All of this is wet. It

:38:20.:38:25.

never used to be like. This they didn't come over to me like he was

:38:25.:38:30.

a wicketed guy. I thought he was honest, the way that he speaks. I

:38:30.:38:34.

thought he was honest. The company had struck twice it was

:38:34.:38:39.

paramount for the Scam Busters to take action. Fortunately they were

:38:39.:38:44.

about to make an important discovery. The phone number for

:38:44.:38:48.

Jones and Sons appeared on an advertisement.

:38:48.:38:56.

This number was used to advertise a Fontera 4x4 vehicle. We put a call

:38:56.:38:58.

into the number saying we were interested in the vehicle. The

:38:59.:39:01.

person selling it us gave us his address.

:39:01.:39:06.

When the officers arrived at the address they found a van parked

:39:06.:39:11.

outside. The same van that had taken blind pensioners John to the

:39:11.:39:14.

bank. We were delighted with the van and

:39:14.:39:18.

the address. Then we could liaise with the local police team who

:39:18.:39:22.

provided us with the assistance that we needed to arrest that

:39:22.:39:27.

person. The mystery rogue trader was

:39:27.:39:34.

identified as Cornelius Jones He pleaded guilty to three offences.

:39:34.:39:44.
:39:44.:39:48.

In relation to his actions towards Mr Teas edale and Mrs Richards. He

:39:48.:39:52.

was given a sentence of 14 months in prison.

:39:52.:39:58.

During that time Mr Teasedail died and it is fair it say that the

:39:58.:40:02.

other victim, was a lady, whose health has been affected by the

:40:02.:40:07.

incident. Well, of course, this is wrong. You

:40:07.:40:15.

don't do that to people. You don't do that to your greatest enemy.

:40:15.:40:22.

Well with me now is Andrew Bertie, the head of the Scam Busters team

:40:22.:40:27.

for Wales. This is a harrowing tale and clearly a worthwhile

:40:27.:40:32.

investigation? Yes. It was it took us time to identify who the person

:40:32.:40:36.

responsible was. Then we were able to identify the other individual

:40:36.:40:40.

wearing the woollen hat. I suggest if anyone has ideas as to who that

:40:40.:40:47.

is, to get in contact with us. We have seen the job that you do to

:40:47.:40:51.

protect the public from rogue traders, what can we do to help

:40:51.:40:59.

ensure we are dealing with traders that are trust worthy? Go to

:40:59.:41:06.

friends and relatives who have had work done and are happy with it and

:41:06.:41:13.

ask them. Go along with quotes, take at least three and take

:41:13.:41:16.

advantage of the seven day cooling off period.

:41:16.:41:21.

Is there is way of spotting a trader that is not trust worthy?

:41:21.:41:26.

results from a cold call at the door. There is urgency for you to

:41:26.:41:31.

make a decision. They normally want paying in cash. There is little

:41:31.:41:35.

paperwork involved. These are the signs to watch out for. If you are

:41:35.:41:38.

getting these and you are suspicious, contact the Citizens

:41:38.:41:43.

Advice Bureau as soon as possible. Or, depending on the circumstances,

:41:43.:41:48.

the local police. You can do that by looking on the

:41:48.:41:56.

website : Thank you very much. It has been great to hear from you

:41:56.:42:01.

this morning. More viewers have been in touch

:42:01.:42:05.

about Wonga, all claiming that they are non-customers.

:42:05.:42:09.

Lots of you e-mailing about your experiences on returning about

:42:09.:42:13.

faulty goods. A few complaining that retailers have even tried to

:42:13.:42:19.

charge you when the item is still under warranty. Lots of you upset

:42:19.:42:25.

about the blind pensioner being conned, well done the Consumer Cops.

:42:26.:42:32.

Tomorrow reare reading out all e- mails, texts and calls. Please keep

:42:32.:42:39.

them coming. It is keeps us busy. Thank you very much, Rani.

:42:39.:42:42.

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

:42:42.:42:45.

delays and cancellations - the new ruling that means you could be

:42:45.:42:47.

entitled to compensation going back years. And Costa, Starbucks and

:42:47.:42:50.

Cafe Nero: Coffee to go? Or drinking inside? You'll be

:42:50.:42:53.

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