Episode 2 Watchdog

Halifax pet insurance, Disneyland prices, Yodel deliveries, you'll ab

maized what we've found. Also, Angry Birds, Abercrombie & Fitch,

the iPad 3, plus want to cut �500 off household bills? We know how.

It's watchdog, the programme you Yes, hello an good evening. Welcome

to watchdog, we're live as usual from Television Centre. Tonight,

saving hundreds with a single phone call. The people in this village

did it. So can you. I saved a whopping total of �583. What will

do you with the money? We're going on holiday. Also tonight, Halifax,

Lloyds TSB, they've scrapped their pet insurance, leaving owners with

massive vet bills. Will these dogs have to be put down? Plus,

Disneyland Paris, great deals available on the French website,

what about British holidaymakers? And how not to deliver an Xbox.

Here's your console courtesy of Yodel.

Secret filming, I love a bit of that. Tonight's rogue won't know

because he's a man would doesn't want to us show his face on camera.

Ah, OK then. Let's have a look at Ladies and gentleman, I give you

Rodney Goldson making a cheeky appearance on Rogue Traders for

making some shameless demands on his customers. Rodney likes to

invent problems that don't exist, you see. Tonight he's facing one of

his own and it's all too real. First, your household bills.

Insurance, electricity, gas, telephone, Broadband, digital TV,

the list goes on. We know we can sometimes slash them by switching

suppliers. Tonight we're going to show you how to save hundreds

without having to switch. You just have to know how to haggle.

There's nothing I love more than a watchdog experiment. And choosing

the right place to conduct it. This one is about household bills, so I

could have gone to Dollar, Poundstock, Shillingford or Bank.

Fine places all, but not as appropriate as this. Billing ton in

Lancashire. Get it, bill-ing-ton. Never mind. The population is 1200.

The bill saving potential, let's find out. These BBC Radio

Lancashire. If you're in the billing ton area, watchdog will be

looking at how to save a few quids on gas, electricity and mobile

phones. Recently we've been asking those who live here to take part in

our bill saver chaltong see if they can get a better deal without

switching providers. I'm wondering if you can give me a better deal

than I'm on at the moment. They say that seems an awful lot, soy

thought I'd better make some inquiries. I'm calling to see if

you can do any better on the deal I'm on at present. Of course,

there's an art to doing this. We've got someone who can teach that art

to our guinea pigs. You may have heard of him. Welcome to the world

of don't ask, don't get. Now look, when it comes to money saving, the

perfect solution is to do a cross- market comparison to hone in on the

very best deal. You know what, if you don't have the time, sometimes

picking up the phone and saying "Listen, I don't like what I'm on,

have you got anything better, does work." I should stress our test

wasn't scientific. 18 households took part simply calling whichever

service providers they happen to be with. It's time to find out how

they got on. First on the list is Stephanie. Fingers crossed for a

big saving. Stephanie has boiler repair insurance with British Gas

and Orange mobile contract, a BT aland line and Sky TV package.

morning. First up, let's talk about gas. What did you want to

negotiate? I was paying �58 a month and that was for home care and

obviously I wasn't in a position to change -- I was in a position to

change my contract and look elsewhere. They agreed to reduce my

bill quite substantially. How much? � -- �to �43 a month. We've not had

to change anything. We're getting the same cover, the same call out

everything. You also called Sky. Your husband made that call. That's

right. Initially he wasn't getting a lot of joy. They weren't too keen

and stuck in their ways and saying they couldn't offer us anything

less. He asked to be put through to disconnections. Don't panic that

you've been put through to disconnections, celebrate, that's

where you want to be. Internally, it will be called customer

retentions because their job is to keep you and they have much more

discretion when it comes to negotiating. You're at

disconnections, wah-hay. We were paying �52, we got it down to �39 a

month. No change in service. Everything we get is exactly the

same as before. BT also agreed to cut land line bills. As she already

had the best mobile deal, Orange offered no reduction. All in

although, she'll save more than �380 over the next year. In the a

bad start. Let's meet some others. Hi Julie. Hi. I actual thri rang

British Telecom as well as my gas and electricity supplier. I managed

to save �100. Next up Kieran. He has a Sky TV package and gets

energy from Southern Electric. Let's deal with Sky first. How have

you got on? It was brilliant as far as I was concerned. How much are

you saving a month now? �10.50 something like that. Great deal

with Sky then. Southern Electric said Kieran was on the best tariff,

so no saving there. According to Martin Lewis gas and electricity

are two areas where you should compare all suppliers, rather than

relying on your existing provider to offer a better deal. There is

still potentially big savings to be made in other areas. Your timing

can be crucial. When you're at the end of your contract you're hole

sterg a huge weapon in the form of your loyalty. They will often give

you really good deals. Having said that, even if your contract isn't

over, it's worth giving it a go. Carol-Anne is a trier. She called

five of her service providers and four of them offered improved deals.

How much money have you saved? whopping total of �583! What are

you doing with the money? We're going on holiday. Really? Yes, with

the animals. The first time in seven years. Brilliant. Fantastic

deals. Just before you jump into bed are them. Check how long they

expect you to sign up for if you take their offering. Sometimes it

could be a couple of years and these are fast moving markets and

you may not want to be tied in that long. Do ask them, has anything

else changed just in case they're throwing in anything you're not

aware of. Some of the improved deals offered were already

available on their website. Many of the residents we featured were

offered deals they wouldn't have known about if they hadn't picked

up the phone. In the end, what was the total potential saving? I spent

a couple of hours going through the paper work so I could give the

results to our bill savers over a well deserved and now much more

affordable drink. Thank you very much. Are you ready for the

results? Yes! Our first category is television. Now nine people called

up and six people were successful. Between you total savings �616.44.

So that's over the year and on average over �100 each. The next

category was insurance. Total savings were �447.33. Gas and

electric, now a saving would have been �654.16. But the biggest

saving of all for everybody in the group was in land line and internet,

total savings over �118 9 over the year. Not bad for a 30 minute phone

call. Do you want to know how much all of you have saved? You might be

flabbergasted by this total. Your total savings were �3,093.93. Give

yourselves a round of applause. Wow, what a result for our gang. It

just shows you, if you don't ask, you don't get. Cheers gang. Well

done. Now all the companies featured have

told us they're committed to providing the best value and

service to their customers and are happy to engage with them on an

individual basis. You can see their full responses on our website.

You've made so many women happy in Lancashire. I try! And you succeed.

Back to the experiment, �3,000 in all or more than, what about the

average per person. Adding it up, �171, great result really. Carol-

Anne, she got �583 knocked off. How did that break down? She'll be

pleased because she's taking the animals on holiday. First pet

insurance, she got her provider to knock �37.80 off that. Next her

mobile phone deal, that came down mobile phone deal, that came down

by �132. She made a big saving on can't be bothered actually

switching, it definitely pays to haggle with your current supplier.

So if you'd like to comment on that or any of tonight's stories, here's

or any of tonight's stories, here's Coming up - pets who may have to be

put down. Halifax, Lloyds TSB are to blame say owners. Plus an Xbox

dropped over the fence, packages not delivered at all, thanks Yodel.

Now history's littered with crime fighting double acts. Homes and

Watson, Cagney & Lacey and the most successful of all time Scooby Doo

and Shaggy. It's full of great comedy duos like Del Boy and Rodney

who all have Catchphrases. Dell couldn't be with us tonight, but he

If you make your eyes go squinty, we could pass for a pair of super

sleuths. We have the brains. We have the Brawn as well. When Dan's

back isn't bad. I provide Sherlock's insight and Dan asks the

big question - oh, he's spoiled it! So what have you got for us today?

Well it's a company called Goldstar Gas and Heating Services Limited.

It's a one-man band. The one man is this man, Rodney Goldson. He's got

a Catchphrase. Do you want to the bad news or the bad news? He's

based in Mitcham south London. He specialises in boilers. I found

them online. I can see why they call them Goldstar. He has lots of

good reviews. He looks great. reason is we've heard from this

woman, Mary-Ann Kerr. I think we should talk to her. To Tooting,

where Mary-Ann owns a house occupied by her daughter. When the

heating failed, they called out gold star. Rodney Goldson came, saw

and condemned the boiler. When Samantha got Mr Goldson round

to look at it, he seemed to stress that it was dangerous, that there

was a problem with carbon monoxide poisoning, that the boiler was

sparking and singeing a back wall. He seemed to make it sound like it

could explode, go up, ignite. The other problem was the water tank,

the cylinder was toxic. That's quite a list. You were out of the

country at the time. That's right. I think she felt she had to get the

job done as quickly adds possible, make it right. Rodney was highly

recommended on an internet ratings site. He was able to start straight

away. Following the frightening warnings, the work was agleed to at

a price of �5,500. I thought it sounded a lot of money, but then

I've never completely replaced a whole hot water and boiler system

myself. A couple of weeks after the insulation a new problem developed.

The housemates couldn't run the hot water without the radiators heating

up. Rodney was called and she met him in the house. He didn't have

any tools with him. He said he thought it was because he wired it

up to old wiring. He said he needed to change the electrics. Alarm

bells were ringing. He wanted an extra �2500 to sort it out. Instead

of going with him, Mary-Ann asked another plumber for a second

opinion. He said the insulation was dangerous and needed making save

immediately, his cost �200. What did you make of Rodney? That he was

a complete rip-off merchant. I feel he's completely unsafe and

unscrupulous. I can't believe this guy �5,500 to fit a boiler and

cylinder. And he wanted extra to make it work properly. Typically

that kind of insulation should have cost �3,500. And this is not the

only unhappy customer. There are some good reviews but this as well.

This has been a nightmare I don't want to repeat. Rodney says "I

don't think you need another plumber my love, it's a

psychiatrist you need. Because it's not your boiler having a break down,

it's you. Oh, Rodney you plonker. If you're going to rely on internet

reviews, read them all. The bigger picture is what we need, so cue

house, secret cameras and member of the production team as stooge.

She's calling herself Fiona, a mash up of Fiona Bruce and Michael

Aspell because she loves The Antiques Roadshow. Here's a

collector's item for her plumbing expert Mike Griffin. So the potter

ton supremer, that's one of the smallest boilers I've ever seen.

is small but there are smaller ones about. But it works. Absolutely,

there's nothing wrong with it. It just needs a service. That's pretty

simple. What are you planning? going to put a fault on the fan and

then the boiler will fail. And how long will that take to fix, how

much will it cost? The time it should take is no more than an

hour-and-a-half including picking up the part locally, which is

available. Fan is � 135 to �150 plus VAT. I would have thought

under �300. Very simple. Let's be generous, let's say it could be up

to �400, in case he gets stuck in traffic on his way to the shops.

The call's gone in. Thanks very much. Thanks to Mike the fan is as

broke as a Chelsea season ticket holder. Fiona's at her most

alluring. And even the cat's moving in for a ringside seat. It's

Rodney! And you won't be surprised to learn that he soon starts acting

true to form. Happily, this time, we're there to catch him. He who

dares Rodney. He who dares. Next Halifax, Lloyds TSB and their

decision to pull out of pet insurance despite selling it as

lifelong cover, leaving cats and dog owners facing crippling bills

because their pets, like the wonderful Angus here, who is only

three, need long-term treatment. So those owners now face a stark

choice - find thousands to pay future bills or have their pets put

down. Kate Humble reports.

I'm used to seeing animals in the wild. That's just amazing.

And down on the farm. But I also keep animals myself. This is my

small holding, home to my sheep and chickens. As well as the farm

animals I have two rescue dogs called badger and Bella. Ready

guys? Pets like these quickly become part of the family. Their

health and well being is of long- term importance. Which is why so

many pet owners choose lifelong insurance for their animals. That

way, if their animals does develop a serious or ongoing condition,

they can afford the treatment that can run into thousands of pounds.

Amanda took out what she believed to be life time cover for her dog

Angus in 2009. A good decision, as he later developed add sons disease,

a potentially fatal condition affecting the adrenal glands.

was ill and didn't get treated he would die. His potassium would get

to a level where his heart would stop. He needs medication on a

daily basis to stop that happening. It's cost so far in the region of

�2,000. Luckily I've been able to claim that back through my

insurance policy. The disease could flare up at any time, meaning more

big vets bills. Amanda, can't afford for that to happen. Her

insurers, Halifax, have told her they won't renew her policy when it

runs out in six months' time. got a bit of a timebomb at the

moment. If Angus gets ill after September, I'm in trouble and so is

he. He's got a pre-existing condition, so any other insurance

company that I go with, won't insure the disease. It's awful that,

me and lots of other people have been put in this position by the

Halifax to have to make some really uncomfortable decision abouts their

animals. Now thousands of other pet Rhoneers have also been warned --

pet owners have also been warned. Their policies won't be renewed

either. Halifax say the terms and conditions entitle them to do this,

as long as they give 21 days' notice. And in response to customer

protests, they've said they never sold the policy as life-long cover.

Really? Check out this ad of theirs from 2006, the promise is quite

clear, it says "Halifax pet insurance offers you peace of mind

cover for your pet, giving life- long cover for your cat or dog."

These pet owners remember that promise well. It was why they

signed up. Linda bought lifetime cover for her westy, Bailey. He

subsequently developed a skin complaint leading to constant

itching and requiring regular treatment. He's on a therapy

programme for his skin condition. He has to have a three weekly

injection. Was that covered by your Halifax policy? Yeah, when I took

it out, I understood that I would get all this cover. When did that

policy end? My insurance was due in December and they cancelled it

about November. I now have to pay out for myself. And is that very

expensive? It is very expensive. Over �500 a year. He has to have it

because he will suffer if he doesn't. Elaine took out a policy

for Max in 2006. He's since developed spinal problems costing

more than �6,000 to treat. Halifax paid those bills, but what if the

problems recur? Knowing what the treatment cost, the previous two

times, it did happen, I know I would never have that amount of

money to enable us to give Max the treatment that he needs. I think

our only alternative would be to have him put to sleep. How old is

Max? He's just over six. So he's not very old? No, he's not. It's a

lot of life in the dog yet. Hopefully. It's an absolute

disgrace that loving pet owners are being forced to consider putting

down their pets because Halifax have taken this economic decision.

I'm sure the Halifax know the consequences of this. As for as I

understand thousands of people have bought their pet insurance policies

in good faith to make prudent provision for their pets and now we

find that Halifax are reneging on the promise. I just don't think

they can be allowed to get away with it. In some instances, they

haven't. Watchdog has learned that Halifax has paid compensation to a

number of customers who've complained loudly enough. But they

haven't publicically apologised or admitted they're at fault. Now more

owners are having their cover withdrawn. Lloyds TSB, part of the

same group as Halifax, announced last month that they too are

pulling out of the pet insurance market. And guess how they promoted

their policy to pet owners? Look at that headline "protection for life".

Lynn is among the many owners who Lloyds TSB are abandoning. When her

policy ends, nine-year-old Ciara will be left uninsurable. With all

the things that she's got wrong with her, with her arthritis, her

heart, her autoI Manchester United defishcy, vet bills will cost

anything up to �1,000 a year. I can't do anything about it. No

company will insurance her with pre-existing conditions. I don't

think Lloyds realise how much heart ache they're going to be causing to

so many people. I don't know what I'm going to do if her life is cut

short because the can't afford treatment for her. Lloyds Banking

Group, which owns both companies, acknowledged that their withdrawal

from pet insurance has caused concern among some customers whose

pets have pre-existing conditions and are having problem finding new

insurance. They have apologised for any inconvenience caused. They are

working on a solution and will contact them in the next few weeks.

They have given us a couple of numbers for concerned kust mowers

to call. Get a pen and paper and I'll give you that in a minute.

Martin Lewis is here in person. There's a lot of you on the

programme tonight. You've been banging on about this problem for a

long time. Are you happy with the response? I think you've waved your

magic wand. That's a very different tone to the one we've been hearing

before. It was saying, forget what it says on the front cover, terms

and conditions, wasn't for life no, problem. That is a real turn around.

There was nothing cast iron in there. We're talking thousands of

pounds and there are families out there choosing between getting

treatment for their pet and feeding their children. That means the pets

will be put down. That's a good answer, but we need more detail

before I will be smiling. We've spoken to a legal expert who says

this looks like a breach of conditions and regulations. Would

you agree with that? I would think it looks like that. I wouldn't take

this the legal route. More important here is you have a right

to go to the ombudsman. The difference between the ombudsman

and the law, is that they look at the law and that you have to treat

customers fairly. The fact it said "for life" on the front, that means

that if if it's not for life people aren't treated fairly. People

should get big compensation for this. What is a fair solution. Look

at lovely Angus, he's three. matches you, both in black.

life expectancy is 13, you're looking at ten years' vet bills.

should be reinstated with pets with pre-existing conditions, reinstate

the insurance. It knows what the payout will be, look at those, add

some on top and pay a dirty great large sum of cash, thousands.

You're wonderful. Thousands. Chris. Next Amazon, Currys, Boots, O2, if

you've ordered goods from any of them chances are they'll be

delivered by Yodel or maybe they won't. The company formerly known

as HDNL had a trail of unhappy customers, you might remember, when

it featured on watchdog in 2010. 16 months on, new name, new promises,

you've guessed it - same old It's an irritating song, sorry, but

apparently not as irritating as Yodel's customer service. They

missed off part of may dress and didn't deliver my four-year-old's

presents. I've called Yodel 26 times and they still haven't

delivered. Yodel didn't deliver my packages an I can prove it. When it

comes to generating complaints, Yodel certainly does deliver. We

receive angry e-mails and letters almost every day. This, despite the

company relaunching with a brand new name, a snazzy new website and

apparently a new way of thinking. Hmmm... They also make a lot of

promises on their website. Let's see how they compare to the reality.

First up, a pretty basic promise. Donna from Swansea wishes they'd

kept it. My washing machine broke. I ordered a new one. On the due

date of delivery, I waited in all day, but it didn't arrive.

tracking information provided by Yodel online showed the delivery

was apparently still in progress. In total I phoned them about 26

times. It takes at least 15 to 20 mintoits get through. They had no

clue where my delivery was. I asked to speak to a manager on 16

different occasions. They were fobbing me off. Yodel declared the

Washington lost. Donna ordered a second one from the website. And oh,

I think I know what might be coming next. I received one phone call

from Yodel the evening before it was supposed to arrive. He said

there's a problem. No you don't understand, the washing machine has

been gone and I'm waiting for a new one. They said no, we've lost that

one as well. Then Yodel said the first machine had been found. By

then Donna had given up. Building partnerships with our customer,

partnerships that are based on trust. Oh, new mail. Dear watchdog

I recently ordered two pairs of expensive rare shoes online. They

were supposed to be delivered by Yodel. They said they were

delivered and signed for, but I didn't get them. I received a large

phone bill after calling over and over again, getting no reply. I

don't know what to do, please help. No shoes and an expensive bill. If

you want to call them to chase up your non-delivery, they charge you.

What's worse, if their tracking system says your parcel has been

delivered, then good luck with your complaint because it's a case of

your word against theirs. Unless you're this woman. Stalin is the

one on the left by the way. She ordered two mobile phones from O2,

another company that uses Yodel to deliver. On the website it stated

at 12.56 that they had been signed for by myself and I hadn't received

them. But this time, their word wasn't good enough. She had a

secret weapon. Luckily we have CCTV covering the entrance to our house,

so I checked the footage at the time the parcels were allegedly

delivered. Here the guy's arriving with the two packages. He spends

some time at the door. There he is, leaving now at 12.55 with the two

packages in his hand. I don't believe it. Neither do I! Let's

have another look. Despite the evidence it took yodl a month to

act on this complaint. She has since been refunded for the two

phones and received �25 of High Street vouchers from Yodel. Yodel

says it focuses on your needs and promises expertise that is second

to none. We're not one to brag, says the website, but it's this

unique set of skill that's sets us apart from the rest. I bought

presents for my little girl and they lost the first part of my

address, which left me present-less on December 23 and I didn't even

get an apology. Another happy Thanks. Deliveries taking weeks to

arrive, collection notes not being left and packages left out in the

rain. Now, a complaint about parcels being mishandled. This is

Claire's home in East London. This is her seven-foot fence and gate.

And this is CCTV footage of the Yodel delivery man bringing the

Xbox 360 she ordered from Amazon. Claire had already complained after

Yodel had throne pans and a cooker hood over the gate. Surely they

wouldn't do that to a computer console. Ah, yes they would. They

did apologise later. So, another delivery, another complaint. Yodel

must be getting used to them by now, despite all their pledges about

excellent service. Honestly, I've combed through the website and

finding it hard to find a promise I can now believe in. Hang on, what's

this? At Yodel we really give you something to shout about. OK, that

Rebecca Willcox reporting there. Regarding the Xbox incident Yodel

have told us they investigated and took appropriate action. The owner

subsequently confirmed they had resolved the matter satsfact Rhyl.

They delivered 170 million parcels a year and the overwhelming

majority run smoothly. They sometimes face challenges beyond

their control and they overcome then. When they can't or the

service fails to meet the standard expected they apologise. They say

customer service is a priority. They will continue to improve their

training programme to ensure standards. Hopefully lesson one is:

Don't drop a computer console over a fence. I could teach that without

any training. Matt? Back to south London based Goldstar

Gas and Heating Services Limited now, more particularly the owner

Rodney Goldson. He's been scaring customers into having work done by

lying about the extent of their boiler problems. Bodging said work

and then overcharging for the privilege. Will Roders try the same

thing on us? Let's find out. Fiona's heating has

gone. We know why, because we set the fault. It's a fan, sorted for

less than �400. Will Rodney do as he should? I have a fail trail.

Yeah sure. It looks like a black board, but it's not. When Rodney,

isn't he or isn't he a plonker Goldson gets something right he

gets a gold star there. When he does something wrong, he gets

something else. A fail trail, excellent, this could almost be on

Top Gear. It's not that good. This is good though, unreasonably

priced Roders is here. The door bell's gone. Expert Mike is in

position. And Fiona's ready for her He is gas safe registered, hit it

Dan. It's a gold star. Fiona leaves Rodney to it and he's

clearly in a hurry, not even bothering to try and switch it on

using the timer or even checking that the power is off. He's going

straight into the circuit board, watch his hand on that power there.

He needs to turn it off., before he hurts himself. Danger, 240 volts.

Skull and cross bones. Hang on though, he must have seen sense.

Had egoes upstairs to the timer and hot water tank. Phew, disaster

How can he tell it's scaled up? looks like the tall tales are

starting. The boiler could do with a service, but there's no sign of

scale. It's a level one pork pie. I need another mini pork pie.

It's the Catchphrase. It's important to have a Catchphrase

New boiler?! That is the full Melton Mowbray. I've got one of

Yeah the picnic pies are coming thick and fast. Here's the pick one.

It's leaking, which means you have carbon monoxide. It's very

dangerous. And also untrue. The boiler is absolutely not leaking

carbon monoxide. He's just trying to scare her now. He's trying to

give us the willies. What have you got for me? It's OK, it's just this.

And to repair it? This fault that we know can be put right for less

than �400. Rodney says getting parts would take far too long and

it would be almost as expensive as installing a whole new boiler, he

says. About �1500. In total? Yeah. But you couldn't get the parts for

a while. Not at least a week to ten days usually to get this type of

part. OK what do you call someone would quotes �1500 for a �400

repair job. Liar, liar. Say what you see.

Fiona says she needs to have a think about this enormous charge

and instead just pays the call out fee of �85. What's the name? Fiona.

At least somebody got it. After all that, what are the scores on the

doors? The black board, one gold scar, one skull and cross bones,

five mini pork pies, one Melton Mowbray, one scream mask and one

pair of pants I can't wear get. Grb again. Yes Dimbleby pants always

wear them when it's time to question someone. Not to be

confused with the Paxman thong. We have witnessed Rodney condemning a

boiler and overcharging. Now we need evidence of his poor

workmanship and a nice face-to-face chat. Before that, Angry Birds, do

you know any. The usual, grumpy, miserable, stroppy, you know who

I'm talking about. She's behind me, isn't she? Crack on. OK, Angry

Birds, the downloadable game that's become one of the most successful

mobile phone apps ever. Despite this really annoying theme tune,

players control a flock of multicoloured birds attempting to

recover eggs taken by hungry porkers. The aim is to launch the

birds with a slingshot. Lots of people find it addictive. That

could be a problem if you download the free app onto an android

smartphone. Why? Because games like this are apairpbtdly sucking the

life out of your battery. American researchers say they take the

battery life faster because they can track your whereabouts. In

Angry Birds about 20% of the consums was used to play the game

itself. If you're losing power, that could be the reason. I love it

when you talk technical. Free app, but less battery life. Basically,

yes. That's the case with the HTC Nexus one, which the researchers

tested. Experts tell us that other android phones are probably

similarly affected. If you're using the paid for app, there are no ads,

so you'll be better off. What dot Angry Birds say? Well, the makers

Rovio Mobile were quite calm actually. They say they work with

operators and network equipment providers to improve products and

pointed us to research which concluded that the game generates

an acceptable level of data and signalling traffic. Story over, cut

the music, please. OK. Earlier we showed you how simple it was to cut

your bills by calling your energy, insurance and phone providers and

threatening to leave. Rick Wakeman has discovered a even more

effective way to save money, just move abroad.

Not everyone can work for ubercool Abercrombie & Fitch you know. So

you need great looks, a brooding presence, a sculpted physique. I

reckon I'll be OK then. What I'm not OK with is the prices. Did you

know that their UK and US websites advertise the same clothes but at

different cost and on average a British customer gets charged

around 50% more. You're probably not aware of the cheaper prices in

the States, because if you live in Britain, they won't let you log

onto the American site. They just redirect you to the more expensive

UK one every time. Mind you, I have been able to log on to a couple of

other clothing companies foreign websites and I've found price

compare sons to make your eyes water. Let's start with Ralph

Lauren, I fancy a new polio shirt. In the States, my big shot cousin

hank can buy this one for $85, that's �54, plus local taxes. But

over here, when I go onto the British site... That exact same

item costs me �75. That's nearly 40% extra. I doubt whether those

local taxes add up to that. With other companies it's women who

lose out. Over in Europe, my Spanish cousin can buy this Zara

dress online for 39.95 euros or �33.30. But my English cousin Rita

can only buy if she pays 20% more, �39.99. Hang on, whatever happened

to that so-called European single market? The main issue is rental

prices because property is more expensive in the UK. But it's also

things like VAT and business rates that retailers have to take into

account when they're doing their pricing. Also logistics costs as

well. How about when the shop is online then? No rental costs there.

If you're operating the stores and online operations in the same

country, you'd want your pricing to be consistent and online is still

subject to similar price pressures, so you still have to employ people

in that country to support those operations. So I understand why

there might be reasons for a company to charge different prices

in different countries, but when it comes to travelling between those

countries, things don't always add up. Take the EuroStar, when I check

their UK website last week I found I could book a seat from London to

Paris for �99.50. But if I'd bought exactly the same ticket on the

French verse of the website it was 109.45 euros that's just �91. Why

the discrepancy? If you're row star had constant prices it would have

to adjust them every five minutes as soon as the exchange rate

changed. They can't do that. There are always going to be differential

prices for as long as Britain has a different currency from the rest of

the world. They're reasonably transparent, thanks to the internet

you can search around and see which nationality it's most advantageous

to be today. So, packing a suitcase full of holiday clothes can be more

expensive for us Brits, so can the price of reaching your destination.

But what about when you get there? Well, if the destination is

Disneyland Paris, you'd better watch out as Sarah Hughes

discovered. We booked the tickets to go last August. The children

were very excited. They'd always wanted to go. We paid �456 for a

four-day for the price of three special offer pass. When we got to

the EuroDisney park, we noticed around the park that there were

adverts which were purely in French, all of the other adverts were

bilingual. When we looked into the information further we found there

were annual passes available, only available to buy if you were French.

Cheap passes, only available if you live in France, what's going on?

Disneyland Paris wants to extract the most it can out of every

different nationality. Therefore, if you're British, Belgian, German,

Dutch, you'll be used to the idea that you're going for two or three

days, pay a lot of money and hopefully have lots of money. If

you're French, particularly one of the millions of people living very

close to Disneyland Paris, you might have been there three times

already and you're going to need to be bribed back by a very cheap

ticket. I've heard of British attractions giving discounts to

local people, but not to everyone in the entire country. Still, if

they can do it in France... Hello, is that the Queen of England? I'm

planning a trip to London and want to visit Buckingham Palace. Will I

get a discount because I'm British? I can stick my corgi where? Oh,

well, no stay-cation for me this year. Now, where's my passport? A

few responses, Abercrombie & Fitch say companies do incur increase

costs when they do business in multiple companies. EuroStar says

it doesn't use exchange rate variations to manipulate fares. It

aims to charge the same price for the same ticket. Exchange rate

variations are small and can work in favour of travellers buying in

sterling. Disneyland Paris have told us the price of standard

admission tickets is the same in all markets, but tailor made

promotions are offered in different countries to meet local needs. You

can ring the reservation office if you are interested and they

apologise to Mrs Hughes because she wasn't given this information.

Here's a few more stories. A TV ad featuring a crowd of naked

individuals applying various coloured substances to their bodies,

what's not to like? According to the advertising standards authority

this commercial for Sanex zero per cent shower gel was misleading. It

gave the impression it contained no man-made chemicals, even though it

does. The maidge -- makers Colgate Palmolive contains 11 ingredients,

compared to the average of 23. The ASA ruled that the ad must not run

again in its current form. But I still vai few copies if you're -- I

still have a few copies if you're interested.

The iPad 3, according to some it could be too hot to handle. Apple

have sold around three million since launching it last weekend.

Some owners complain it reaches uncomfortable temperatures after

around 45 minutes of use. An American consumer group has claimed

it gets up to 7.3 degrees Celsius hotter than the iPad two. Whilst

safe it takes it close to the 48.8 degree Celsius point at which it

could cause minor burns over time. Apple says any concerned owners

should contact them, about you it played down the claims, saying the

new iPad operates well within its thermal specifications. Cool.

Rave reviews for Cineworld the first big screen operator to scrap

charges if you're paying for tickets on your credit or debit

card. The chain had previously levied a fee of 70p per ticket, up

to a maximum of �4.20. Wisely, as the Government is planning to ban

these sort of charges by the end of the year, Cineworld decided to

remove them in advance. The Consumers' Association Which has

called on rival operators including Vue and Odeon to follow suit. They

still have the charges in place. So good start Cineworld, maybe next

you could cut the price of your pop corn.

Back to gold star gs and heating services limited of south London, a

one-man band that needs to change its tune. We've seen how Rodney

Goldson exaggerates simple problems. He condemned one perfectly working

boiler to charge �1500 for repairs. Well, I'm close to catching up with

Rodney. But first, can he possibly get it wrong yet again?

There's only one way to find out by calling him out again to another

house containing another stooge Lisa. Mike has set a tiny fault

with the boiler, nothing more than a loose connection. So simple to

fix the �85 call out charge should cover it. Rodney's been working on

his act. Are you ready for the Catchphrase? Do you want the bad

news or the bad news Initially he condemns the boiler entirely, then

he sorts the loose connection. Then he claims to have identified a

bigger fault during the safety Without stripping the boiler down

it's impossible to see the condition of the thermo couple, but

we can see that it's working just fine. We know that even if it did

need replacing the part costs about �6. How much generally if that

goes? To change that you're looking at about �100. Expensive. Yeah and

about to become even more so because that's in addition to the

�85 call out charge and a new figure that seems to keep rising.

Obviously because you've got to pay �85 so thats �185. Oh, right on top

of the �85. It's supposed to be �150. This type of job is �250 for

everything. That's gone up from �85 to �250. Rodney goes to buy the

part. He comes back with it and gets cracking. We tell you

everything. We might even go into intricate detail of how to fit a

termo couple or demonstrate how this device produces a voltage

proportional to either end of the alloys. Let's just look at his

trouser instead! Right serious consume pror Graeme. It's fixed.

But the work is shoddy. He's lighting the boiler and testing it.

He hasn't checked to see if he's got a leak on that union he's just

rejoined. He should have tested that with leak detection fluid at

the least and preferrably have checked at the metre that there's

no leak on the system at all. like he's finished. He's done no

safety checks. So you've done the service as well, have you? OK

lovely. So all the checks and all the service, so when will it next

need to be done? One year's time. No, no. You haven't done any safety

checks. You can't fill out the safety certificate. An essay.

I've got to log everything I have done. Bye. Rodney hasn't checked

for leaks after working on the boiler, luckily Mike is on the case.

He also has a look at the old thermo couple, which truth be told

has signs of wear and tear, Rodney couldn't tell that from his glance

at the boiler earlier on. What's the verdict on the service, Mike?

He didn't do a service. As for the gas safety certificate that was a

waste of time. He never.checks required for that service. It's a

worthless piece of paper. If you buy a certificate without having

the boiler checked properly you've got a danger boiler. Thank you Mike.

Serious stuff. Now you know what happens next, it's a face-to-face

chat with Rodney. New house, check. New cameras, check. New stooge,

check. Now it's time to tell Rodney what time it is. It's teatime.

We've been waiting here since 1pm, when he said he would turn up and

fix a boiler, which frankly hasn't got a problem. I want him to come

today and I want him to bring his cheque book because look who I've

got with me. Hi Matt. Hello. We mean business.

# Just tea for tea and two for tea We've been writing to Rodney and

have received the most extraordinary responses. Firstly he

said he'd rather I punched him in the face, kicked him in the

Gooleies than appear on national television. I can't really do that.

He then gave us a full and franc confession and said he would change

completely and to prove it, he promised to refund Mary-Anne Kerr.

When the cheque arrived it wouldn't cash because Rodney had stopped it.

We then received another cheque and the same thing happened. How can we

trust he's changed his ways? Hold on, he's here. I'll ask him.

Rodney, Sorry darling. This is your ID is it? My mum always told me to

ask for ID. Brilliant. Thank you. Come on in and try to save my life,

will you. What's happening, It's not firing up, not doing anything.

Have you heard the news today. Rodney, do you want the bad news...

Or the bad news. You've given up on your promise to send back thousands

of pounds to Mary-Anne Kerr. The cheques that you sent bounced

because you cancelled them. It's the latest in a series of promises

you failed on which makes you deeply, deeply untrustworthy, isn't

that right. I've sent the cheque in the post. And you've cancelled it.

So she hasn't got the money. I knew this was a set up. Why did you come

then? Because you wanted to have a chat, let's have a chat. Let's not

have a chat. How can you curry on telling people that you need to...

That's Rodney Goldson of gold star, still holding onto Mary-Anne Kerr's

money despite promising he wouldn't. He took the bad news... Badly, I'd

say. Rodney has apologised to us and his customers. He's refunded

our �300 and sent another �2500 cheque to Mary-Anne Kerr. We'll

know next week whether this one has cleared. And then we'll keep you

posted. He says he's failed the public and himself and is now

determined to dot right thing and that his appearance on Rogue

Traders has given him a wake-up call, a moment to reflect. While

he's reflecting he becomes the latest face on our new rogue's

gallery. Thanks Matt. Just a quick update.

Big response to our saving money by haggling with your suppliers. One

viewer says he called his home insurer, land line and Broadband

and he's �450 better off. Liz says she's not the queen just of England

but the United Kingdom, the whole thing, Rick Wakeman. Keep sending

us your stories. Go to the website, click where it says "your story" or

write to us. Thanks guys. Next week, the DVLA selling your details to

private parking companies, even those who have broken the law. AXA

Sun Life, Parky recommends their over 50s insurance plans. We say