Episode 3 Watchdog

Tesco offers disappearing, RBS, Lloyds, savings vanishing. Aerial

liquids size shrinking, plus Orange, day lover Wimpey and Paypal. It's

Watchdog, the programme you cannot Yes, hello and good evening and

welcome to Watchdog. Tonight: Fan tomorrow offers from Tesco, beware

of the deals that don't exist. Into it it were a mistake, which I

suspect the retailer will say it is, then they have a duty to recommend

dithat mistake. Lloyds, nationwide, RBS, why saving money with them

could leave you worse off. And, Travelodge break the smoking ban,

pay the price. Keep to the rules, cow still be fined. Plus, Taylor

Wimpey, it's won a contract to develop the Olympic Park. No prizes

for these earlier efforts. And no medals for tonight's rogue

either. He puts his name to a string of TV aerial businesses that

leave your house looking like this, they get rid of your old aerial

like this. When you try to put the complaints to him... Hi, Mark. BBC.

He reacts like this. How did it go today? Was it not too

good? I would like to talk to you about the BBC and why we are

paying... Was that urine? It certainly had the bouquet. If I am

not mistaken, it was a bottle of Mark Smith, 2012. For him, is about

to become a very bad year. Before that, Tesco and great offers

that never materialise. Now remember earlier this year it

advertised the new iPad 3 for a knockdown �50. An incredible

reduction on the normal prize of �400. As you would expect,

customers piled in only for Tesco to announce there had been an IT

glitch and it wouldn't be honouring the offer. A one-off mistake? Since

then, we found repeated examples. Fancy a few bargains? How about a

this for �5.50. A pressure washer for �25.

And even a bouncy Castle for under a tenner. Amazing deals all offered

online by Tesco. But all leaving customers

disappointed. Janet and Carl were tempted by

Tesco's offer for a steam cleaner and who wouldn't be? At just �19.93

it was a fraction of the usual price. Never heard of the brand

before so I just thought maybe it was an introductory offer or bank

holiday offer. So I placed an order with Tesco Direct, received an e-

mail within a matter of minutes confirming that they had got my

order and with an order reference number. This is the e-mail they

received and you can see it clearly states that it's an order

confirmation. But two days later, Tesco sent them another e-mail,

saying there had been a mistake and the order had been cancelled.

When they checked the website again, the cleaner was still on there but

now for �358, that's 17 times more than previously. Fair? They don't

think so. If something's advertised at a certain price, you do expect

just to pay that price. Unfortunately, these mistakes seem

to keep happening at Tesco Direct. In just ten weeks we know of 28

offers that were cancelled because the low prices on the website were

found to be incorrect. In every instance, cancellation took place

only after customers had parted with their cash. Or their money was

refunded. Does this sound sneaky? Not according to the small print.

Despite customers receiving an e- mail entitled: Order confirmation,

Tesco terms and conditions state this e-mail is not an order

confirmation, or an acceptance of your order. That's nice and clear

then! We have discovered these pricing

mistakes are happening across the entire range, no matter the size of

the price reduction. This children's easel was advertised at

�7.50, down from �30. And this game usually �9.89 was on sale for �3.

Barry bought them along with seven other toys for �32.75. The prices

were really good and I thought these are a bargain and we will get

these and put them away for birthdays. We had confirmation e-

mails for all of them and they said they would be ready for collection

the following day after 4.00pm our local Tesco store. So, Barry had an

e-mail confirmation, a designated collection time and the money had

been taken from his account. What could possibly go wrong? Well,

a lot actually. When Barry wept to his local -- went to his local

Tesco there was nothing there. They had never been sent. Later this

evening he received the now familiar cancellation e-mail.

of the stuff we knew that they would absolutely love. It was ever

so disappointing not to the get the items, especially for their

birthdays. It turns out that not only is the

order confirmation not a confirmation of an order, a

promised delivery date is not a promise of a delivery.

Confused? So are we. Apparently, Tesco only enters into

a contract with a customer once it confirms the goods have been

despatched. So, as long as it cancels the order before the

products have been sent out to the customer, then Tesco are within its

rights to cancel the transaction. We found out it's doing it time and

time again. Is that fair? There is an expectation there that when the

purchaser gets an e-mail confirming the order and the delivery time and

place, that that is the conclusion of the contract. Then we see they

haven't actually purchased anything. If it were a mistake, which I

suspect the retailer will say it is, then they have a duty to remedy

that mistake as quickly as possible. But, if it is a mistake it's one

that keeps happening, so what This is the reply Mr Gupta got.

Tesco blamed staff, saying the wrong price had been put on the

website. They promised it wouldn't happen again. That was at the

beginning of July. But guess what? We know of five

more examples of it happening since then.

28 glaring mistakes in ten weeks. Lots of unhappy customers. And a

set of terms and conditions so confusing you don't know which

offers you can trust. Well, it's quite clear from the consumer

regulations that that it can be interpreted as a misleading to set

up ambiguity in this way. Retailers have a special responsibility with

consumers and in contracts with consumers to ensure that there's no

ambiguity and that the terms and conditions are very clear. So it's

up to the Tesco store to make sure that it's very clear in the mind of

the consumer. Every little helps Tesco, please sort it out!

Tesco have since told us they have a huge range of products on Tesco

Direct and they manage a large number of orders every week. They

say that on rare occasions they make mistakes for which they

apologise. They add that they always listen to feedback from

customers and are making improvements to ensure they give

them the best possible service. If would you like to comment on that

or any of tonight's stories here is If you want to get involved in the

Twitter discussion our address is: Meanwhile, loads of have you been

in touch about the size of food and other products shrinking while the

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 48 seconds

price stays the same. Here are a It's outrageous, Chris. And you

have more. I have indeed. Rather than go through the whole list we

are going to concentrate on a couple of the less obvious examples.

Examples that some people might even describe as sneaky. Look at

this. Aerial ExCel jel. It used to be over a litre, that bottle there.

Now it's gone down to 925 mill litres. That one. Can you tell the

difference? If you put the two bottles side by side they're

virtually the same but as you can see, just over a litre there, and

925ml there. Even though the volume inside is less. Scandalous. Yes,

then we have Fry Light oil RSPCA -- spray. This used to be 250. They

display that at the front. Now they've downsized to 190ml and

feeling coy about the new waegt because they've touched the

information down at the bottom and at the back. Just there. What do

they have to say? Firstly, they say they reduced the size due to a

significant rise in production costs. They say they felt most

consumers would prefer to see a smaller more affordable cans rather

than increase in prize and probg -- price and Procter and Gamble said

they introduced the size. The changes were clearly identified on

the pack. Thank you. Coming up: Taylor Wimpey, Britain's

biggest house-builder getting ready to develop the paoeurbgs park. --

Olympic Park. Hope they don't leave a legacy like this.

Yes, the Olympic Park. I can still feel the buzz now. Isn't it? The

excitement, the pride, the sense of togetherness. Britain's not such a

bad place after all, you know. It would be even better if we didn't

have characters like tonight's Yes, London London 2012. The

Olympics and Paralympics made our hearts swell. It was the greatest

show on earth, our athletes thrilled us, moved us, unspired us

and showered us in gold. Gold, gold!

Let's not get too carried away with this whole national pride thing,

because as well as producing those wonderful men and women, we also

gave the world this fella. Yeah, Mark Smith is on top of a

completely different kind of podium. True, he does leave people staring

at their screens in disbelief, but only because of the shoddy work and

overcharging of the aerial businesses that bear his name.

Those businesses are many and so are the number of complaintants who

got in touch about his company Mark Smith Digital Aerials. Wonder where

I can get hold of them? Hit the button. Hi, Matt, I need

your help. Mark Smith has ripped off my nan. Strong words. They

charged her �310 for a new aerial. Sounds a lot. We got a second

opinion and they said they would have done the same job for half the

price. I would really like my nan to get a new aerial installed, but

financially we couldn't do that. I would like at least some of the

money back that we paid out. much to ask.

Let's see what else is on. Hi, Matt. I had an aerial fitted by

Mark Smith Digital Aerials. The workmanship was shoddy and the

engineers all round were shoddy. Shoddy then. I have had the

engineers out five times, paid �200 and I still have poor signal on my

Hi,. Hi, Matt Matt... All right, I get the picture. I wonder what our

expert Keith makes of it all. Matt. I have seen some of this work

and I am not surprised they're disappointed. It's the shodiest

work I have ever seen in all my life. That's weird, I am only

getting audio. All this from a company that boasts a quarter

century's experience spwu less keen to shout about a County court

judgment or over �2,000 or a slap on the wrist for misleading

advertising. Mark Smith Digital Aerials Limited was wound up last

May but since then it seems he's rebranded and expanded.

Look at these Mark Smith ads. All with similar names, all using the

same photo of Mark and all with telephone number that is go through

to the same place. So will we get the same kind of

job? There's only only one way to find out. That's by getting a

bungalow in Kidderminster, some secret cameras, and an abg actress

called June who is more strictly than X Factor and a signal blackout

courtesy of Keith. The fault I am going to set is replace this

working cable with a faulty cable, which will cut the signal to the

digi box and result in no picture. No picture, no problem. A decent

aerial man would spot and repair the fault within 20 minutes and we

would be covered bay standard callout charge of �40 or so. But we

have called a Mark Smith man who arrives in a Mark Smith aerial

services van. I told you there were 22 years? Well, June is in good

hands then. Imagine how many simple faults he has come across in that

time. For a man of his experience doesn't turn out that way with the

engineer you saw there. As for another using the Mark Smith brand,

watch him walk while he works. Watch him text while he works. Just

don't stand underneath him while he works! Part two is coming up soon.

Stay truned. Travelodge with seven million rooms sold last year. Those

rooms can be a bargain, as low as �19 a night. Be ware, you could be

hit with a bill bill for seven times that as a punishment for

something you haven't done! Smoking. It is unhealthy. Sometimes

anti-social and in enclosed places of work illegal. Smoke on business

premises and you can be fined up to �50. Not only that, the company

concerned can seek more money for damages. Companies like Travelodge

which has a policy of pursuing customers who light up in their

rooms. The problem is, even if you haven't been smoking the hotel

might still come after you anyway. Kelly was aware of Travelodge's

strict no smoking policy when she booked six rooms at Birmingham's

branch. She and her friends stayed there for her 21st birthday.

Then two weeks later I received two letters demanding �300, a fine of

�150 per room saying we breached the terms and the conditions of the

Travelodge and we smoked in two of the rooms.

The betters were from CRS or civil recovery solutions a claims

recovery company employed by Travelodge. According to their

website, they recover compensation on behalf of our clients directly

from the individuals that commit acts of theft, fraud or who wrong

wrongfully cause losses. In Kelly's case those losses amounted to the

cost of cleaning the rooms. She was given 14 days to pay or face legal

action. I was shocked when I read the

letter. I burst into tears. We were aware there was smoke alarms in the

rooms. There were signs up everywhere saying you could get a

fine if you did smoke in the rooms and we have grew up with the

smoking ban in place so we know it is illegal.

Kelly does smoke, but is adamant she only did so outside the hotel.

Still, the official looking letter scared her so she did pay up. So

should she have done? Some people will be tempted to pay even though

they done nothing wrong. Don't do that, to get the money off you,

they have to take you to court and prove their case.

As the legal onus is on Travelodge to prove that guests have been

smoking in its rooms you would have thought they would come up with

evidence before pursuing a claim especially if the guest concerned

doesn't smoke! Mary stayed in the Birmingham

Central Travelodge with her daughter in February. We received a

le demanding �150 from us because they said that we had tampered with

the smoke detector in the room and they said that the room smelt of

smoke. Do you smoke? No. Never have have

done and nor has my daughter. Are you telling me the truth?

I'm going to find out. You wait there!

I met some of the people who know Mary and Ella best. Have you ever

seen her smoke? No, never. No smoke coming over the fence? Maybe a

barbecue, that's about it. I have never seen any evidence in

not a smoker? Yes, she is a non- smoker.

They do not smoke. Joo. Mary, you are telling the

truth, you don't smoke. You must have told Travelodge this, right?

Yes. What happened next? They wrote back and sent me photographs of the

smoke detector covered with a plastic bag.

A photograph? Evidence? Have you got it here? Yes.

Right. OK, well this does look like a bag over a smoke alarm on a

ceiling, but it could be anywhere in the world, couldn't it really?

CRS told Mary that to succeed in a claim Travelodge have to show on

the balance of of of probabilities you have broken the rules.

Travelodge seem satisfied with their evidence, but what about our

expert? The photographic evidence doesn't seem to have any relevance

at all. It is not linked to a particular room or to the person

receiving the letter. I don't think a photo of that kind would convince

a judge. It is for them to prove the case, not for you to disprove

the case. They would need to show a judge that you have done something

wrong. Well, if a judge would have taken

some convincing about the photographic evidence against Mary,

I'm not sure what he would make of the next exhibit. Take a look at

this. Can you tell what it is? Well, it is another smoke alarm, but this

time with a sock wrapped around it. A sock apparently put there by

Henry Pugh in a Travelodge branch in Manchester.

That's according to Travelodge who demanded yes, �150 to cover the

cost of cleaning his room. Two problems - this photo could be of

anyone's room and there is something you need to know about

Henry! I have been in a wheelchair for over five years. I have had

operations on my neck, spinal damage which affects my movements.

It would be impossible for me to do it. Travelodge withdrew its claim,

but if you can't point to similar proof of your innocence, well

Travelodge believe you? I don't think it is right that a hotel

chain should be able to say with minimum or no evidence, "You smoked

in our hotel room. We are going to go for you for �150." Despite

requests for proof or evidence, it is very difficult to get them to

back down. It is not right. They are a self

appointed judge and jury. Travelodge apologised to Henry Pugh

and sent a a voucher. It said it is looking into the case involving

Mary and her daughter. No action It says action is only started if a

staff member is confident that someone has breached the terms and

conditions. The case is passed to CRS who investigate the claim. It

adds the zero tolerance smoking policy applies to staff who will be

subject to disciplinary action if they break it. You can see the

company's full response on our Next, Taylor Wimpey, it won the bid

to redevelop the Olympic Park in a deal worth �250 million. Taylor

Wimpey is promising over 800 homes on the site in East London. Let's

hope the owners end up with better houses thang -- than these. 2007,

Taylor Wimpey get planning permission to build over 100 homes

in Cheltenham. 20 2012 and this estate is the

result. Battle Down Park, a new community built from scratch.

It was designed with green spaces, dedicated communal areas and not

one, but two children's playgrounds. It sounds idyllic, but is it?

Well, see what you think. After looking at the boarded up

playgrounds that have never been used and the overall workmanship,

that's not the highest quality. Residents complain of landscaped

areas that are not properly maintained and they are not alone.

The local council council won't adopt the estate until Taylor

Wimpey improves and maintains the communal areas and until then

residents will have a neighbourhood in limbo. The problems would be

relax indoors. One home-owner has been left with a problem, you can't

see, but you can hear. You hear them in the morning,

afternoon, late at night. You don't feel comfortable in your house and

you don't feel comfortable having people around.

Andrew paid �180,000 for a house plagued by rats in the walls.

What did Taylor Wimpey say when he reported it? I need to prove how

they are getting in, in order for them to admit whether it is their

fault. Andrew for a drain survey, maybe

that could prove how the rats are getting in.

According to footage from inside the pipes, the drains deneth the

for it, we gave the report to an chaps suggested that the rats are

getting in around the drain pipes and they are living underneath the

voids and getting access to the walls.

continue to build up in the pipes and recommended excavating the

garden to carry out repairs. Our expert believes neighbouring homes

could be affected. This Is a problem that is very, very serious

and affecting a terrace of properties and it really requires

urgent investigation. It is unacceptable at the present time.

Whilst Taylor Wimpey left Andrew with a serious structural fault,

they have given other customers a host of problems. When you buy a

brand-new home, the odd problem here or there is to be expected.

But imagine how you would feel if the house you spent hundreds of

thousands of pounds on was riddled with them.

Scott bought a three bedroomed Taylor Wimpey house on the the

Buckingham estate. It still isn't finished.

We have had loads of faults in the last 15 months. This step for

instance has been replaced on two separate occasions and it still

wobbles around. The the front door has been leaking. We have had to

have the inside resealed. OK, so we are in the shower now.

The original original tiles were peeling away from the wall. So they

had to replace all of the tiles. We kitchen leaked and caused a

substantial flood. The whole of the kitchen ceiling needed to be

removed to stop what they called microcracking.

Scott reckons that Taylor Wimpey made over 40 visits to repair the

faults. Now, most of those have been fixed.

I think the whole experience over the last 15 months has been

dreadful and not what we expected. One of Scott's neighbours had

similar problems. Adam has been left with unfinished guttering.

Doors that are peeling apart. A wonky porch canopy, creeky stairs

and power sockets that don't switch off. These are the last of nearly

70 different issues he had with the house since he moved in in November

2010. But that's not always the case. We

heard of one Taylor Wimpey development where residents homes

are being torn apart. The first crack I noticed down here,

it was winter time and I thought it was frost getting into the mortar.

Unfortunately, it was the start of the house moving.

Aidan Taylor's house in Cambridgeshire is heaving. That

means there is movement underground causing one side to dip and the

other to rise. Aidan's house is cracking up along

with his neighbours. What does our really significant cracking which

shows that the corner of the building is actually rotating

against the remaining part of the building. Yes, we have got a

serious problem with this wall. Whilst you might expect some

This is something that needs to be addressed urgently.

A survey found that the clay soil under the house is expanded and

contracting with the seasons. The inspector suspects the developer

used the wrong foundation for the soil and didn't take into account

the removal of large tree frts site. -- from the site.

It is a severe problem because you can't leave this on the hope that

it is going to correct itself because it won't. The one one

corner of the house is particularly badly damaged and needs to be put

right. And obviously the foundations need to be put back

into a condition that is adequate to support the structure.

What would Barry do to tackle the problem? Take down the house. Dig

up the foundations and start again and of course, that would be the

ideal scenario because you get rid of the problems at once

Heartbreaking really after moving into what you think is a dream home

and it, what it feels like, it is falling down around you basically.

Unfinished estates and shoddy workmanship and crumbling houses as

Taylor Wimpey prepares work on 800 new homes at the Olympic Park, we

have one wish, that this isn't the Taylor Wimpey told us it's

dedicated to delivering excellence in design and construction of its

homes and has a long history of delivering a high level of customer

service. And no doubt the vast majority of

their customers say 99.9% are delighted? Not quite 99%. 91% of

them them apparently. They're so satisfied with the quality of their

new home they would recommend them to a friend. Good for them.

company goes on to say it builds around 10,000 homes each year and

regretably it's clearly not met high quality standards in the cases

we have highlighted. It says it was already working with each of our

interviewees to rectify problems and it's committed to resolving

their remaining issues as quickly as possible. It's also apologised

to each of them. Reashaouring. -- reassuring.

Vanishing savings. Why putting your money in these accounts could prove

expensive. Back to Worcestershire, home to a

string of TV aerial businesses bearing the name Mark Smith,

businesses that overcharge and leave your TV reception in a worse

state than it was to begin with. All that's wrong with our aerial is

a single faulty cable. An engineer has told us he has 22 years'

experience. This shouldn't take very long then.

Wayne's offer to a flier, checking the signal strength on the cables

behind the TV. Now, those look like the right

moves to me but I am no expert. Yeah, he does earn his money later

on, honestly. Wayne has found the faulty cable so that should wrap

things up. Well, there is a signal.Est it's

not just getting past the dodgy cable. Wayne wants to investigate

He is right! Our booster is doing what it's supposed to. Wayne fits a

new one anyway. One our expert can't see. I wish I knew what that

amplifier was up there. That, Keith, is an anti-ference. That's been out

of production for years now, it's not suitable for reception and and

worse than the amplifier in there in the first place. At �80 we have

been charged twice what we should have been. Tell me, Wayne, who

OK, a successful sting but no sign of Mark himself. I need a think. I

need advice. I need cake. From the slightly resentful actresses now so

well known they can no longer work on the show. Come on, give me...

Too late! Sit down love. Tricky sting? Yeah, aerials.'s's got it

wrong. He's fitted parts which are inappropriate. But he hasn't

charged that much. There's not that much financial benefit, a bit, but

not a lot. Well, they might just be a bit rubbish rather than dodgy. I

would give them another go. Really? That would be my advice. If I still

worked on your programme. And I would use this. Yeah, what is that

exactly? It tells whether you are dealing with a rogue. You spelt it

wrong. I will take that. Thank you very much. Cheers. See you again.

Lovely. There are other tea shops, you

know! Yes and other low roofed residential properties, like this

one with cameras and flies, that's weird. It also has Joseph. To the

untrained eye this may look like a device for barbecuing fish but it's

a television aerial. It is, it's well designed. And you have Cream

Crackered it, how? What I have done, I have removed the connector here,

from the aerial, and made it so it doesn't actually make a connection.

How much time and money would this take to fix? It would take in the

region of 20-30 minutes, covered by a standard a -- callout charge,

�40-�50. Keith gets ready to say what he sees. And I have the rogue-

o-metre. They can put a car on Mars and this is the best we have. Not

my idea. It's twitching because two engineers have arrived. This one's

called Jamie and he's from Mark Smith Aerials Company.

He's got a sidekick. About four or tpoeuf days ago it

started playing up. Do you want to Didn't try the telly. Cutting

corners. Not a great start. Jamie tells Joseph he is going

outside to test the aerial. Fetching a ladder then, climbing on

to the roof? Well, no. A quick glance around and he is back inside.

You see, that's not checking, that's just looking. That's a

medium-sized pork pie. Back in the living room Jamie's assistant uses

a meet tore check signals behind the TV, that's the beeping. Jamie's

Yeah, that's just nonsense. And there's more to come. But in

the meantime, where is the other one?

Danger, danger! # I climb way up... #.

I am up on a roof. Neither man bothers looking for the

actual fact pwau they -- but they Yeah, one good aerial out, one

cheap and unnecessary replacement in. Along with a second amplifier.

Oh no, it's going wild, because... It's a rip-off. Yes, �180 is four

times as much as the bill should be. They did work that didn't need

doing and left us with a worse signal than before. I think we're

done here. Done with the boys bearing the Mark

Smith name, that is, but not with the man himself. Yes, it's almost

time to have a word with the face of the TV aerials brand. His boys

go up a ladder, but he can't control his bladder.

Thanks, Matt. MUSIC

. We are back in the corner of shame. Earlier we are looking at

products that have gone down in size and stayed at the same prize

price this is different. This is a litre of SMA baby milk, old price

�2.19, new price, a 70 increase. This is why, recently they've

changed packaging to this new bottle. They've also changed the

250ml version so they're now resealable and it and you can get

the same amount of milk as with the old carton but it costs 20p extra.

Quite a few parents fuming over this, including Jo. She has two

babies on SMA milk and she reckons this change in packaging that she

never asked for is going to cost an extra �17 a week. I bet you SMA say

it's for the customers' benefit. Yeah, they do. Apparently the 250ml

bottles are more convenient for feeding babies when you are out and

about. And the new one litre bottle can be resealed which reduces

wastage and allows leftover milk to be stored hygienically for later

use. They say individual retailers decide what to charge. Fabulous. We

have had shoppers feeling cheated, but with interest rates stuck at a

record low, savers should feel even worse. Here is Rick.

It's an age-old gripe, if you want to borrow from your bank the

interest rate is high. But if you want to save with your bank, the

interest is, well, how can I put this? How about derisory or paltry

or in some cases insulting? Think I am going overboard? Well, consider

this. Inflation is currently running at 2.5% per year, which

means that if my savings rate is less than that figure, I would be

losing money. Well, I have looked at savings ktsz on offer from --

accounts on offer from the ten big banks and over 85% of those rates

are below that of inflation. I might as well leave my money under

the mattress, which of course is what I have always done. Bank of

England base rate has been at a historic low of half a percent for

quite sometime now. With that it's dragged all of the savings rates

down, which means that these days people are getting a very small

return on their savings, the average instant access account is

0.94%. If you take into account inflation, eaten into that interest,

you are actually losing money on your return.

OK. So the average account is bad. But which are the worst of the big

ten? Armed with with �500, just about the cost of my entire

wardrobe, I am on the hunt for the UK's lowest savings rates.

It doesn't take me long to find a couple of early contenders. Take

this, the E-savings account from Nationwide offering 0.45% a year,

under quarter of the rate of inflation.

Or the smart saver account from the the scoop scoop -- Co-operative.

I would earn just �1.25 of interest after 12 months.

And that's before tax. But it turns out that these aren't

the worst. Because when it comes to finding a savings deal there is one

particular phrase you need to look out for - introductory rate.

They are an extra bit of interest that's added to an account when you

first open it and it lasts for a limited period. It's usually a year.

The problems with them are that people forget when that

introductory rate disappears and when that happens the interest

drops down to usually a very uncompetitive rate and unless you

are aware you are just going to end up getting hardly any interest at

all. Out of the top ten big banks nine

out of ten offer you an attractive introductory rate which is slashed

just 12 months later. One of the biggest offenders here is Lloyds.

Yes, the same Lloyds that needed bailing out by the taxpayer and in

which you and I now own a 40% stake. So, seeing as we kept them affloat,

who do they give us in rush -- in return? Well, if we were to open an

easy saver account we would be offered 1.6% and if we opted for

the advantage saver account that rate would be 1.8%.

But in both cases those very attractive rates expire after 12

months. The interest rate our money will earn afterwards just 0.1 and

0.2% which mean that is with the easy saver account my initial �500

could be earning just 10p every year.

It wouldn't be so bad if Lloyds were the exception, but they're not.

In fact, when the research group Moneyfact analysed 186 of the low

erst plans this year they found that 0.1% was the most common

interest rate of all with 60 accounts offering it. But what do

you know, even they weren't the worst.

There is 19 accounts that pay 0.05% and three accounts that pay 0.01%

and this is high street brands, as well. RBS Group is amongst these.

If you were to have �500 in one of these accounts for a year, you

Some of the most micely rates on offer were to kids and among the

worst offenders were bank accounts affiliated to football clubs. Open

one and your club gets a proportion of the interest so it is a goal for

them every time. But what interest do you get. Leeds United gives you

0.1%. I give that a red card. Open one with Norwich City or or Derby

County and you will get 0.1% and if you are with Birmingham City, you

will only pocket 0.05%. Oh, come on r ef. So rates as low as 0.05%.

Enough to make your eyes water! That's something I know about only

Joining me now is is James Daily, you wonder if it is worth having a

saving account? Well, of course, it is worth having a savings account.

Everybody needs to have some money put away for a rainy day. People

are disappointed with the rates they are getting paid and you have

to work hard to get anything that gets close to descent.

So are there descent deals out there? Well, you can get something

close to 3% if you want instant access, but if you are willing to

tie it up for longer, you can get something approaching 4%. But these

are not high rates and they have come down over the last year.

What's the advice? Well, the advice is, you heard it time and time

again, shop around and be ware they going to have access to that money,

you need to start putting dates in your diary and going back and find

a new account a year later. You are saying move on? Most of the best

rates out they will be paying you 2.39% and after a year that will go

to 1 1% and you won't notice.. you have to keep being a new

customer? Some banks don't allow existing customers to become new

customers again so you have to take your business to a different

Nationwide said, "Inflation is not a factor." "Lloyds say it advises

customers to review its rate. ""Ulster Bank says its Ease y

account is the only account that offers 0.4%.". The football clubs,

the money goes to the clubs concerned.

. There are details on our websites. Seeing double at the supermarket,

the big retailers have been accused of making some of their own

products look too much like famous brands. The property office has

started an investigation following complaints and expects to report by

the end of the year. In the meantime, we have done a shop

around and found a few lookalike products. They include Tesco My

Senses conditioner. Ring any bells? And Asda's Choco Snaps and these

examples, Samson's vinegar and this one. I can't believe it is not -

Utterly Buterly! Should I compare thee to a few

terms and conditions. Some of you have noticed some companies have

small print that is windier than Shakespeare's endics.

Window's Live. ITunes have more. Their T and Cs clock in at 20,140,

that's 2,000 more than the script for Macbeth.

This script has 6,000 more words than Shakespeare's play, Hamlet.

Alas poor PayPal. I knew it well. Orange is pressing ahead with plans

to withdraw free broadband for users on monthly contracts despite

a customer back lash. Those who took out the contracts between

October 2006 and the end of 2008 were promised the service at no

charge. Now, Orange says the deal was time limited and if customers

want to continue with broadband, they will have to sign up to its

line rental at �11.50 for the first three months and �14 afterwards. It

is not known how many customers are affected, but Watchdog has been

deluged with complaints. Orange A final trip to Worcestershire to

catch up with the man behind Mark Smith Aerials and Mark Smith Aerial

Services. Mark Smith sure has an original way with words and faced

with difficult situations, he tends to lose control. How embarrassing.

Yes, we've seen some of the work. We've seen some of the workmen. But

to see Mark Smith himself despite our best efforts. We have had a

tip-off that he is going to be in court today. The Small Claims Court

is hearing about the way he treated one of his customers so hopefully

we will have a chance to catch up with Mark Smith. But it appears we

out, but there is a rumour he is hiding inside. We know now that he

is actually agreed to pay his customer in there, the claimant the

amount thea owed her, so -- that he owed her. So that's good, isn't it?

Let's see if we can sort out a few of his other cust customers. That

would be nice. He is refusing to leave the courthouse building, as

it is not residential, I don't know what is going to happen. Well, here

with Mark Smith appears with a camera. We are being filmed as well.

Just so you know we have got this is Mark is about to come out of the

court. Hi Mark. How is it going? Matt Allwright BBC Rogue Traders...

So mm. Have a bit of that. Did you miss it? Have another look.

Action replay, you lucky people. good. That was salty.

I would like to talk to you about the BBC and why we're paying the

licence fee. Was that urine, Mark Smith takes

the floor. We can't show you what he said as we would end up in court,

but it is a ran about a few BBC presenters past and present who may

have had the odd spot of bother. You can probably guess the name of

one of them at least! Your colleagues... Let's talk about

Dan, your colleague. Let's talk about Dan, your colleague. I

written back to you saying I would come back to you in 30 days. That's

the BBC's stated time for a reply. Accept it.

We wrote to Smith weeks ago. He had time to reply to our allegations

but chosen not to. He is probably too busy crafting this response and

filling his bottle! So can we talk about your customers

and the fact... Let's talk about Richard Bacon.

How is that relevant? Does he install aerials? No, he works for

the BBC. Does he rip off customers? No, he works for the BBC and we pay

the BBC licence. It is safe to say he would rather

talk about anything rather than the terrible work carried out by

companies carrying the Mark Smith brand. Talking of rubbish, why did

you cover me in water? You shocked me when I came out.

You had known for ages. You took me by shock. Can you step away from my

car door now? Are the cust customers who come with problems...

As I say, let's talk about Dan, your colleague... He is not working

on the programme anymore. That's why it is not relevant.

Enjoy your afternoon. Thank you.

If you wouldn't mind please getting out of my door.

Can we talk about your customers. Sorry, if you would step back from

my door please. OK. OK. I asked you politely.

You have still not answered about your customers and your operatives.

The battery has gone, has it? have to do a 30 day response.

That's not a flattering angle. I'm going to leave you now. Enjoy

your day. Thank you.

Have a nice journey. See you, Mark.

Mm, Mark Smith, I don't need to shower tonight!

It turns out mm, that I will need a shower because Mark Smith's water

bottle was empty when he went into the toilet with it and it was full

know, I could go to the police with that. It could be assault or it

He denied any involvement with the that had Mark Smith is a trading

businesses have nothing to do with him or any other businesses using

it and they said they have no complaints and condition be held

responsible for complaints about others. Wayne denies the amplifier

he fitted was unsuit iab for digital -- unsuitable for digital

reception. He said he charged for an unnecessary part. He has given

us a full refund. Jamie denies doing anything wrong. He accused us

of entrapment and says his opinions were on a fault we fabricated. He

says he has completed the health and safety at heights course and he

carried out a full risk assessment assessment prior to working on our

bungalow. Mark Smith hasn't answered any of

the customer complaints. So here is a wee reminder of what he looks

Thanks, Matt. Thanks to everyone who has been in touch. Please keep

sending us your stories and tip- offs. Go to our website:

Click where it says, "Your story." You can write to us now. The

address is on your screens now. You are used to getting drenched?

Yeah, it is working out that way. I prefer water.

You smell all right. I've showered. Five Star Cars of Brentford,

remember them? You couldn't forget Well, the good news is that since

our report, they have packed up and gone. They have cleared their yard

and are nowhere to be seen. If they resurface in your area, make sure

to let us know! Thanks, guys.

Next week, been turned down for a loan, the mistakes on your credit