Episode 4 Watchdog

Sainsbury's ads, spot the error, Neurofen tablets, spot the

difference. Walkers multipacks, spot the crisps. Plus HSBC, Odeon,

FIFA 13, and flood waters falling, insurance premiums rising, even if

you live on a hill. It is Watchdog, the programme you can't afford to

Yes, hello and good evening. Welcome to Watchdog, we're live, as

usual, from Television Centre. Tonight, escape the floods, you

might still end up paying for them. When we got the insurance quote for

this year's premium, the cost had almost doubled. We were amazed. We

were shocked, we couldn't understand why. Also, Experian,

Equifax, licensed to keep your credit score, pity about the

mistake. Plus, Neurofen liquid capsules, Neurofen ex press liquid

tablets, which ones work quickest, you will be amazing. Walkers

Ridgess, the packs are half empty. Lid old ladies have been sold

sewing machines from tonight's rogues, he sells them sewing

machines but gets abusive if they have inquiries. If they send the

reasons back, he can get very animated. Can I have my money back?

Yeah, meet Jay Cooper, or whatever name he's going by today. The most

intensive September storms in 30 years, the waters are now receding,

but thousands of homeowners are facing higher insurance premiums.

What if you have escaped the rains or never been flooded or live way

above the risk area. The news isn't good either.

Five inches of rain in three days, roads closed, trains cancelled,

hundreds of families flooded out. Morpeth in Northumberland was one

of the worst towns hit, with a month's rainfall anything 24 hours.

Its residents are growing used to flooding, in 2008, the river burst

its banks, last week it happened again. Just 50ms from Paul's B&B.

Having got up and looked out the window and seeing how quickly the

river was flowing, your heart sinks. We got our guests up for evacuation,

at that stage it was already coming up the front door. The river came

up the park, over the road, cascaded down the front doorsteps,

and flooded the place. Paul has been left with at least �100,000

worth of damage. His business will be closed for months for repairs.

And then, there is the insurance. After the flood four years ago, the

renewal policy arrived on our doorstep, with a big thump. It had

gone from over �900 to nearly �2,000, since then it has steadily

risen to its current rate of �2,500. Obviously not looking forward to

the next renewal which is November 25th.

He has good reason to worry. Currently, insurance companies

agree to guarantee cover to homeowners in if high-risk areas,

provided the Government invests in local flood defences. That

agreement ends in June, leaving 2,000 homes without affordable

cover. If there is any significant increase in the premiums, I'm

looking at financial jeopardy next year, I'm looking at not making any

profit whatsoever. You can't operate a business without profit.

The Government and the insurance companies have been trying to

negotiate a new agreement, but recently the talks have stalled.

The insurers are arguing for a levy on every home, which would help

them provide affordable cover for those who are most at risk of

flooding. The Government is considering the idea, but critics

say the insurance industry has already been inflating the premiums

of low-risk homeowners, to subsidise the others.

This man's mum, Elizabeth, lives near a stream at the end of her

garden. It has flooded her house before, but not since 2007. Now in

2012 her premiums with Santander have rocketed. When we got the

insurance quote for this year's premium, for my mother's insurance,

the cost had almost doubled from the previous year. We were amazed,

we were shocked, we couldn't understand why, after four-and-a-

half years of not being flooded. The house hasn't flooded because

the Environment Agency has put in preventive measures, significantly

reducing the risk. The hundreds of thousands of pounds of remedial

work has been carried out to widening the vex wherever possible.

Dredging the depth of the river, removal of the bridges so there is

no water backing up. Environment Agency sent a list of

the works they have done, and said the house was at reduced risk of

flooding. He passed this to Santander, who said the increase in

premiums still stood. Last Monday and Tuesday, we had torrential rain

for 24-hour periods, we never had the height of the river of the beck,

nothing like we have had in the past. The remedial work seems to

have worked. We can't understand the justification for Santander

putting such an increase on my mother's premiums. If they are not

taking into account, obviously, the remedial work that has been done,

and we are at a loss as to why. Before last week's downpours,

families throughout Britain were contacting Watchdog, complaining

that insurers were raising their household premiums, due to non-

existant flood risks. It soon became clear they had become

victims of their own postcodes. Insurers use a variety of factors

to decide your flood ris be, that can include your -- risk, that can

include your postcode. If your house is not at risk of flooding,

but you share a postcode for those that are, bad luck, you could end

up paying more, even if you live on a hill. Mark lives near a river in

west Wales, and has never been flooded. Yet in 2009 he was told

his house had been designated high- risk. Some insurers refused cover,

even though water would have to travel up the steep incline to

reach his house. The house is 100ms away from that river. It is about

21ms above the level of the river channel. The water levels would

need to rise by over 20ms across a two kilometer area, I don't think

you would see flooding like that since the melting of the glaciers

at the end of the last Ice Age. Mark knows the risks, he's an

academic going fare, specialising in river dynamics he shares a

postcode with houses that are on the ground and at risk of flooding.

His quotes were twice what they should have been. The question is

how far is the property away from a water course, what insurers don't

tend to ask, is how far above the water course your property is

located. To me, that would appear that postcode boundaries are being

used ash trairly, to decide flood - - ash tearly to decide flood risk.

Ricky Boletto reporting. Santander, who increased the premiums on the

house in Leeds we featured in the programme told us the policy is

underwritten by aveef that, whose sophisticated models show the house

in the high-risk category for flood, and it remains a significant risk,

which is reflected in the premiums. With me now is Nick Starling, who

represents the Association of British insurers. Mr Starling, the

Environment Agency has spent millions reducing risk of flooding,

they say Mrs Bligh's house has nothing near the risk it used to be,

and yet her premiums have gone up, as if it was, why is that?

first thing to say is that insurers understand the trauma and distress

caused by flooding, which is why they have spent this summer out

there, repairing people's lives and homes, getting communities back

together. The UK is pretty unique in the world in having flood cover

wrapped up in household policies. And we want that to continue, so

that everyone can have access to affordable flood insurance. Yeah,

but the Environment Agency, and afterall, they give us the flood

warnings, officially, do you know better than they do? What our

members do know is everyone in this country is at risk from flooding.

One of the things that was shown in the summer is people were

overwhelmed by torrential rainfall which simply overwhelmed all the

sewers, all the drainage, even people on hills, and quite far away

from water courses are at risk. Our members use sophisticated flooding

maps and systems, they agree on that basis. Should we take your

phone number if we need to know about a flood warning and not the

Environment Agency? If you want to know about flood risk look on the

Environment Agency maps. You are disagreeing with them? Our insurers

use a whole range of techniques. One of the key things that has

emerged in recent years, is the sheer volume of rain we are getting

in these events, which overwhelm systems a long way away from water

courses. You are not answering the question. Mrs Bligh's house, there

is a huge reduced risk of flooding, yet one of your members is charging

her a premium as if no work has been done? What happens under those

circumstances is that the reduced risk, if there is reduced risk, it

comes on to the Environment Agency mapping. Our members use that

mapping, when it comes through on the mapping, that can be reflect.

They use other factors as well, part of which is surface water

flooding, which doesn't come into the Environment Agency maps. What

about the man who is 21ms above the waterfront, but the same postcode,

you are punishing him, there is no likelihood of him ever being

flooded? What we have discovered from this year is everyone in this

country is at risk of flooding, simply because of torrential

rainfall we have. Even people on hills. Have you been flooded?

I live I have seen the sewers. you been flooded? I have not been

flooded. Are you on a hill? I have seen the sewage systems overwhelmed,

people on hills have been flooded. I'm saying if you were on top of a

hill, would you want to be punished? No-one is punished.

are. People pay for the risk. Flooding is extremely expensive, as

you saw from the film, it costs tens of thousands of pounds to

repair properties after a flood, it has to be reflected in premium. We

are all at risk from flooding. We want to make sure we have an

agreement with Government, on which we are working very hard at the

moment, to ensure flood cover remains affordable and available

for the 200,000 properties in this country at very high risk.

If you would like to comment on, that or any of tonight's stories,

Coming up, been turned down for a mortgage because of your credit

rating, that rating could be completely wrong. The new Twilight

movie, fans get their teeth into Odeon.

I'm washed and brushed up after last week's appearance, and the eau

du toilette has been res placed. I put on a new outfit. I say new, it

Make do and mend, that is the thing for these recessionary times,

austerity for posterity. Let's make an heirloom the kids can take them

with them when we are gone. I'm getting into the Kirsty Allsop

thing. Look I have made this custom-fitted seat cover for the

motorbike, from material my wife just had lying around on the bed. I

have also made my own underwear, although we no longer have a cover

for the barbeque. (crunchy sound) OK, I may not be in

Kirsty's class when it comes to home making, but millions are,

Florence Nichols could probably teach you a thing or two.

Up in Chester until last year, Florence was doing what she's been

doing for half a century, making things with her sewing machine. Yes,

this is the tale of Florence and the machine!

# Shake it up # Shake it off

Then the machine broke and there were no parts to fix it. So she

ordered a brand new one from Cooper Sewing Machines Limited.

It is a big event for you getting a new sewing machine? It is like a

little girl with a new Christmas present. I couldn't believe it, it

stalled, the bobbin fell out of the case, it was rubbish. As simple

simple as that. I thought I have just spent �250.

Florence phoned Trading Standards who advised her to phone Cooper s

and ask for a refund. I got this voice saying I'm George Cooper, and

he screamed down the phone, screamed down the phone, saying how

dare you threaten my staff with Trading Standards. I said I didn't

threaten them, I said it was just that I found out. He didn't give me

a chance to talk. He said, he went on and on, how dare I, he would

have the machine back here and crush it to pieces. It was horrific,

I put the phone down. About three or four minutes later, the phone

rang again, it was screaming, and I put the phone down again. What

happened then? The third phone call, he said, he was Jay Cooper, he was

the nice brother. I said I just want my money back. Well, after

that, it was even worse, he screamed, he screamed, how dare I,

he said, he said "I hope you die a horrible death "he said "You're not

only old but stupid". I get the impression this has affected you

very deeply. Oh yes. All I wanted was to have a new

sewing machine. But he frightened me, terrified me. Terror is the

word, not frightened, terror. Thanks for talking to us Florence,

I appreciate how much courage it has taken. He may not come face-to-

face with you, but I have a feeling he may have to come face-to-face

with us. Yeah. Hi, my name is Jay Cooper, I'm the

managing director of Cooper Sewing Machines. Jay Cooper's total look

of respect for his customers, is astonishing. We are the only

company in this business to last for well over 100 years. I felt

very small. He made me feel very small. We offer 30-day trials on

all sewing machines, if you are not happy for any reason, you can

exchange it or get your money back. They are nice promise, but the

reality is different. Customers who have contacted us have had shocking

experiences with the Coopers, not just with faults, but the way they

dealt with reasonable requests and questions. Phyllis asked Jay Cooper

about returning her mannequin, and got the same sort of response as

Florence. He was very bullying. Very intimidating. All my nerve

went to jangle. I was completely upset by the whole thing. He made

me feel as though I was the most stupid person in the world. Best

products, best prices, best guarantees, best support. Yeah, but

not the best if you want to query your payment like Charlotte did.

He just got really rude to me, it got to the point where I got really

upset, it actually made me cry. He didn't understand how I was feeling,

and he just didn't take into consideration any of the situation

and how it was affecting me. He just wanted his money. I'm confused,

how can they be the same person, the nice chap on the video and the

nightmare shouty man! There is really only one way to find out.

That is by buying a machine from Coopers ourselves. Not me, but

lovable Mrs Cox, played by lovable actress, lovable Sheila.

# Oh a sewing machine is a girl's best friend

That is because she knows about baubles, bangles and beads, and I

don't. I couldn't sew on a button. Don't rub it in. She orders a

Singer 7470, it costs �270. It arrives in working order. It is a

bit too modern for her, a bit too complicated. See, she's struggling.

It looks like she will have to send it back to Coopers and get a refund,

which she is entitled to do under the distant selling regulations.

Some of you may not be familiar with the Distant Selling skal

regulations, so...Under The selling regulations you have seven days to

change your mind, you should then alert the company and return the

goods. Our actress does that and phones the company. Can Can I speak

to the manager. Who am I talking if not to the manager? Mr Bernard who

I have to get it back to you. is in four days time. Before the

seven-days runs out. If I have to wait a month to send it back to you,

for you to come and get it. Thanks Mr Bernard, how long is the

place closing for again. OK. Mrs Cox is going to have to

play by the Coopers rules, she will send her machine back right away.

Will she get the promised refund? Keep watching to find out if she

does. And, to see the many personas of Mr Bernard, AKA Mr Cooper, AKA

Mr Isow. He has been telling tales to his confused customers. Those

stories are about to unravel. Now, it was a late night for

thousands of Robert Pattison and Kristen Stewart fans on Sunday.

Odeon promised that tickets to the next installment of the Twilight

series, Breaking Dawn Part 2 would go on sale on their website from

midnight. But the witching hour came and went and still no sale

appeared, and by 2.00am, lots of angry, frustrated and very tired

customers were still waiting for news. Including Claire Hardy, who

was trying to buy tickets for herself, her daughter and four

friends. Thank you Odeon, I have been up all these hours waiting,

and I'm angry, frustrated, and not a happy bunny.

Odeon has since blamed technical difficulty for the delay. Customers

who would stick with it were able to get their tickets during the

early hours of Monday. So everyone's happy?

Not quite, because Odeon had two types of ticket on sale, one for

Breaking Dawn Part 2, another for Complete Twilight Saga. They didn't

make it clear that saga included Breaking Dawn Part 2, the latest

fans bought tickets for both when they only needed one. Odeon have

apologised, they didn't intend to mislead and made the wording on the

website clearer. Some tried to cancel their tickets, and phoned

the line that cost 80p a minute, but couldn't get through because it

is so busy. We could make a movie out of that

saga. Hopefully it is the final act,

Odeon says you can apply for the money back, the number is on the

screen now. Those entitled to refunds will be offered within 24

hours of making contact. Next Experian, Equifax, Callcredit,

three companies with immense power over all our lives. They are the

agencies that rate everyone's credit worthiness, by keeping track

of our bills, debts and repayments. A good credit score makes it easier

to get a mortgage, personal loan or new credit card. A bad rating and

you might be rejected for a mobile phone contract. A wrong score, more

common than you think. Louise Hulland, who has had her own

problems with credit agencies, reports.

They are big, they are powerful, and they are apparently all knowing.

Defaulted on a debt? Missed a loan repayment, or simply forgotten to

pay a utility bill? That information will go on their

databases, and your credit score will be affected. My credit report

was something I had never even thought about, let alone worried

about. But three years ago I applied for a mortgage and got

rejected. I was stunned. Why? Because an agency I had never

heard of could have such influence over my financial life. The

insecure nature of freelance payment, my credit rating was

affected, and as I changed addresses often, I was also

considered a credit risk, even though I had never missed a rental

payment. This information was sold to my bank, the result, I was

prevented from buying a home. With so much power in their hands, it is

vital these agencies don't make mistakes. But they do. Asad Mostaq

believed his credit record was squeaky clean, until he started

receiving job rejections. I noticed that something wasn't quite correct.

Every time I would apply for positions I would be refused

because of my credit. Asad didn't realise there were a number of

agencies involved, and he thought each one would have the same report,

but he was wrong, you can have three separate scores, there were

no problems with Equifax or Callcredit, but Experian was very

different. I was shocked to kind on Experian I had a CCJ, it was a

county court judgment, that was settled, and shouldn't have been on

there. And a HSBC student default. I was very upset those two items

shouldn't have been there. This wrong information had been left on

the report for two years. Now this it has been corrected, his credit

rating has gone from "fair" to "excellent". Why didn't they act

earlier? It has been stressful, I lost my father two years ago, my

mum relies on me financially, I can't afford to improve my career,

I'm in the same position as two years ago, they are playing with

people's lives. People get penalised. Like Asad I fought a

long battle to get my credit report changed. I used to think I was in a

tiny minority, not any more. surveyed members and one in eight

found errors on their credit rating at one stage in the past. That is a

very difficult situation to extract yourself from, but very important

to ensure you get that sorted, so lenders are making the right

decision. Like me, most people don't realise there is a problem

with their credit report, until they receive a rejection. This is

Brian Childs who applied for a new credit card last year. I was

expecting when I applied for the credit card that I would be a shoe-

in for it, that I would be accepted straight away. But he wasn't, when

the rejection came, Brian checked had his report with one credit

agency, and all seemed fine, then he looked up Equifax. I found to my

horror it was completely blank, there was no credit history at all.

I have had credit cards and loan, a mortgage since 1995, I have had a

good credit history ever since, they had no record of any of it. I

just thought that was shocking. With no credit history and no proof

of him being able to make payment, Brian was turned down for the

credit card. Equifax say they will update his report, but only if

Brian collects and sends details of his loans and payments, stretching

back 16 years. As far as I'm ware it is their job to keep track of

this information, and they weren't doing it properly. Equifax make

their money from selling that information, I was -- aware it is

their job to keep track of this information, and Equifax make money

from selling that information. There are only three credit

agencies in the UK, it is a privilege for those companies to

have a chance to have one of thots three lfpbss, with that privilege -

- those three licenses, with that privilege comes responsibility to

make sure everybody's file is correct. It is not up to them to

rely on the lenders and utility companies to make sure it is right.

Some credit reference agencies do more than collect and sell personal

data, they hold so much information about us, our spending habits and

movements, they also provide a tracing service for third parties.

That means if you go missing out repaying a debt, they will help the

people you owe track you down. Here too they can make mistakes and

cause chaos as a result. Meetdy niece and Paul Smith from Norfolk.

Debt collect -- meet Denice and Paul Smith from Norfolk, they have

debt collectors chasing people because of information provided by

Equifax. This year we received letters from a debt collection

agency, they made demands for return of unpaid council tax,

housing been fit and bold red letters saying they were going to

send a van round and do not ignore this letter. Not just frightening,

but shocking because the couple don't owe anything. The debts have

been run up by another Paul Smith. Equifax have handed the wrong man's

details to the debt collectors. They made the connection between me

and the other Paul Smith by date of birth. They hadn't used any other

data points, they should have been a lot more careful, especially with

my name being Paul Smith, it is fairly common. Equifax boast of

unique techniques that reduce mistracing. Maybe they should just

stick to checking the electoral roll, if they bothered to have done

that, they would have found that this Paul Smith has lived at the

same address for 22 years, in a completely different county to the

other one. The council have now confirmed that Paul and Denise owe

them nothing. Yet the couple are still being chased. The letters

from the debt collection agencies haven't stopped. And I have a trail

on Equifax of debt collection agencies, and that may very well

impact on, if I go for a loan in future. With the amount of data

that they hold, they have a duty to be careful with it. The credit

reference agencies have files on almost every single adult in the UK.

They are also bound by the Data Protection Act, which stipulates

that the information they hold must be accurate. They may be powerful,

but the law applies to them as much as it does to the rest of us.

Experian have since apologised to Asad for failing to update his

credit report, and saying they are discussing with him how to put

things right. They blame an administrative error and says such

cases are rare. Equifax apologised and will contact Brian Childs to

make sure the information is up-to- date. As for Denise and Paul Smith,

they say debt collectors should validate the information given to

them, and will make sure the search records are deletes, and any link

to the other Mr Smith removed. The additional search records will not

adversely affect his credit score. Still to come, need to get rid of

back or headache fast, which of these tablets to choose. Walkers,

if you bought a pact of their new Deep Ridged Crisps, are you still

hungry? -- packet of their new Deep Ridged Crisps, are you still

hungry? To Cooper Sewing Machines Limited,

the company whose boss is rude and abusive to customers trying to

return the machines, when they are perfectly within their rights to do

so. Just to make sure there are no problems, we need to make sure our

machine, when we return it, is in tip top condition. It has only been

out of the box for five minutes, the actress hasn't used it at all,

now it is parceled up for Cooper's HQ. It is going by courier, or a

member of the team posing as a courier. We want to make sure it

gets there before the distant selling regulation's deadline. To

get a refund it must be returned within seven days, our's arrives

Now Mr Bernard, you will remember, of the how the man who answered our

actress's phone call referred to himself.

Hang on, this isn't Mr Bernard is it? No, it is Jay Cooper, the boss,

the same guy who appears on the company website boasting about

their great service, only now he's telling us we can't return our

machine, even though we are absolutely within our rights to,

remember Cheggers told us. I have Right, so he has told us, wrongly,

that we have missed the seven-day deadline, any more surprises? Now

this is getting really odd. You see before this visit, there was no

mention of a Rugby depot, anywhere on their website, a few hours

afterwards, one miraculously appeared. Our courier will now have

What? Who amI talking to if I'm not talking to the manager? Mr Bernard.

And again, eh? My name is Jay Cooper, I'm the managing director

of Cooper Sewing Machines Limited. Yeah, viewers, we appear to have

stumbled on an identity crisis, the man we know to be Bernard is now

Isow, we have heard the voice of Mr Bernard analysed, you have guessed

it, he and Mr Cooper and Mr Isow are all one in the same! Still,

none of this is getting us our money back. The following Monday

our actress phones the company to find out why they refused to accept

the return of the sewing machine. Is that Mr Bernard. No Mr Bernard

and everybody is away on holiday. I bought a sewing machine off you,

and whoever I spoke to last week told me to send it back.

I sent it back within seven days. I wasn't told to send it back to

Rugby. Remember, Mrs Cox isn't asking for anything out of the

ordinary. She's perfectly within her rights. The machine was

returned in perfect condition, within seven days. Can I have a

refund. No? Look, just a minute Mr Cooper, could you just reassure me.

(line goes dead) Mr Cooper, are you there. During all the calls we made

to Cooper, he's what our producer calls "curt". Is that another

identity? As in short, unsympathetic and increasingly

snappy. Is that Mr Cooperer. It is Mr Cox, I think we got cut off, I'm

an old lady and I'm upset, can you please tell me what to do. Why are

you upset? I just make a few curtains for a few people to make a

bit of money, can I have my money back.

Can I have my money back, no! that day, Mrs Cox's son, played by

one of the team, calls again. hoping to speak to Mr Cooper, my

name is Mr Cox. You're Mr Bernard? Mr Bernard, right, OK. You spoke to

my mum this morning, she's a little bit upset, to be honest, Mr Bernard.

She's on OAP. Quite an old age to Well, once again, our voice analyst

reckons the man on the phone, calling himself Mr Bernard, is

talking nonsense, he is, in fact, Jay Cooper. Yeah. As for me, I

reckon the time for playing telephone tag is now over!

Yeah, there is only so long you can occupy someone else's fantasy world,

then there comes a time when you have to get real. And reality is

about to bite for Jay Cooper. See if he bites back in about ten

minutes. Quick, time for an update on some

of your e-mails, texts and tweets. A lot of you complaining about high

home insurance premiums because of called flood risk. This is from

Paul Collins, he says he lives 170 feet above sea level, above a

reservoir that is at 110 feet above sea level, yet the insurers have

increased the premiums because they say they are at risk. Arron lives

on the 13th floor of an apartment building next to a river that is

below ground level, but insurance companies have refused to cover him.

Keep sending your e-mails and tweets, and we will hopefully read

them out. The biggest talking point is the new Deep Ridged Crisps from

Walkers. Cue the bloke that sounds like Matt. It isic about, it is

epic, it is Ridges. Give me a minute. Are you ready to make on

the Deep Ridged. Twice as epic for faction.

If you are epically hungry you could be disappointed, Steve Rhodes

was. He sent us this photo of the packet he just opened, a lot more

air than crisps. It was the same story for Daniel Moon from Sussex,

this is the amount he got in his packet. Two packet, two different

parts of the country, is it a coincidence? It could be, if it is

it is a very strong one. This week we went out and bought a few

multipacks of Walkers Deep Ridged Crisps. Owe opened six in all,

ready salted, mature cheddar and onion, salt and vinegar and flame-

grilled steak flavour. The average number of crisps,ing bits was 13

the most we found in one bag was 1, and in this packet of ready salted,

the one in my hand, we found a grand total of 11 whole crisps.

What do Walkers say? They say they have deeper ridges than other

crisps on the market, making them susceptible to breakage, to stop

that they have put them into slightly larger packets with

cushioning, it gives the impression of low bag fill. Fabulous! There

are 28 grams of crisps in the multipack bag, and this is above

average. Low bag fill, you heard it here first. Next painkillers, the

biggest-selling overth counter medicine.

-- over-the-counter medicine. Great claims, can we believe them,

they act fast. What do you think? We buy an estimated �530 million

worth of painkillers in the UK each other. With so much money -- year.

With so much money at stake, the big companies make sure we think of

their products first. Can I ask you what type of painkillers you buy?

normally by Panadol. Nurofen. go for the bigger names, a reason

for that? I trust them, because I know they come from big

pharmaceutical companies. Most of these well known drugs cost far

more than supermarket's own-brands, are they really any more

trustworthy. Take one heavily- advertised brand, and compare it to

a supermarket version costing around six-times less. These are

basically the same drug at the same dose in the same type of medicine.

If you look at the ingredients, they look quite different, these

are just to help manufacture the tablet, or in the case of the

Anadin there is something that will help mask the bitter taste of the

par set mol. A patient taking either of these drugs would

experience effectively the same pain relief. Do customers realise

there is no effective difference whatsoever between such tablets.

Welcome to Watchdog's Pop Up Clinic. What if I told you the own brand

was six-times cheaper and the same effectiveness. The own-brand one

you could get that for half the price. I didn't know, that I would

go for the own-brand one. You told me you tend to buy Nurofen, what if

I was to say this product had the name amount of pain-killing

ingredient in it, but less than half the price. I would buy it, no

problem. Studies have shown that some people do get more benefit

from a brand name painkiller, the reason is the called placebo effect,

because those taking it think it will work better, so it does. Does

that justify the extra cost. When I'm advising patients about buying

medicines over the counter from the high street or the supermarket, I

advise them to buy the cheapest own-brand they can find. The brand

ed products differ little from the generic. In the NHS most of the

medicines we give are generic forms, we don't think branded products

give value for money. Clever advertising is just one way the

companies persuade us to spend more on painkillers than we need to.

Another is by convifpbsing us that their drugs can target --

convincing us that their drugs can target pain wherever it strike. If

you go a pharmacy you will find pills for pain in your head, your

back, and even your joints, but how do they know which pain in your

body to tackle. Basically they don't, they are not

specially formulateded in any way to treat a particular pain in the

body. Once they are in the blood, the drug will circulate and counter

the part of the body that needs to be treated, but other parts of the

body as well. That doesn't stop some companies claiming otherwise.

Take this, Feminex, the drug that supposedly targeting period pain.

Take a look at the product witness here on the side of the packet, it

is issued by the medicines regulator, the MHRA, it is the

exact same as the Superdrug own brand migraine relief, and Asda's

own-brand migraine relief, Sainsbury's and Morrison's, yep,

you have guessed it, own -brand migraine relief. All the drugs are

exactly the same, but the Feminax costs twice the price. You don't

need to be a scientist to know this, the information is a click away.

Most of us are taken in by the claims of targeted pain relief.

This, Feminax that says it targets period pain and the tablets here

are exactly the same. I can't believe it. Exactly the same.

Does it annoy you a little bit? Yeah, if they are trying to charge

for more the same thing. At least you know you can use period pain

pills for your headaches! These three have the same product license

code? That really surprises me. well as claims about targeting pain,

some companies like us to believe their drugs work faster. One

example is Reckitt Benkiser, makers of Nurofen, you can find two

versions of its liquid capsules on sale from the chemist, the standard

type and the express variety, that is a pound more expensive in one

store. You would think with this you would be getting an express,

faster version, but take a closer look. They have the same product

license number, which means they are exactly the same. There is no

difference between the two products. Both have the same product licenses,

so the formulations behave in exactly the same way, a patient

taking this will experience no difference in the pain relief from

them. The same is through for Nurofen migraine pain and tension

headache, one is purple and one is orange, costing up to �34 -- 34p

more a pack. But the active ingredients are identical,

according to some, such mrbgting messages aren't only confusing,

they could be dangerous. -- marketing messages aren't only

confusing, they could be dangerous. There is a concern about safety,

beau the patient may be confused, for example, if they have a period

pain and back pain they may take ieb brof fen for period pain and

for back pain, in Israel toe they are taking the same product -- in

reality they are taking the same product twice and twice as much as

they need to. We know the packs may look different and the words may

sound convincing, if you want to save money as well as kill pain,

you would be advised to look at the numbers.

The Proprietary Association of Great Britain representing all the

companies mentioned, said over the counter medicines only get approval

once their safety is proven. The quality of pain relief and the

parts of the body it is used for also have to be approved. The

packet list aadditional benefits that people want, and Thesee said

work better than some generic quantities. They say the sale price

is set by the retailers. You can see the responses from individual

companies on the website. None of that explains why Express Nurofen

Liquid Capsules are exactly the same as the ordinary one. Thanks

for all those who have been in touch about the story. Here is a

few more. Great news for gamers, EA Sports

FIFA 13 is now out. Bad news for gamers, it is not really working.

That is according to the hundreds who have contacted Watchdog and on-

line forums, with the catalogue of woes surrounding FIFA 13, since it

was released last Thursday. It includes freezing and locking up

computers, money has been taken out of people's accounts and not

converted into points as promised. We reported on similar problems on

the game's forerunner, FIFA 12, back in March. EA Sports says it is

constantly listening to feedback, continuing to improve the game, and

addressing issues so all players have a good experience. For those

who have been in touch with us, it is unlucky FIFA 13.

Sainsbury's brand match, its big weapon in the supermarket price

wars, but it wasn't all it seemed. A TVad claimed shoppers wouldn't

pay for more brands than they would at Asda and Tesco. But there were a

series of exclusions and catches, you had to spend at least �20 or

more to qal fight. Receipt funds were over a whole basket of goods

rather than individual terms. The refunds was given in the form of

coupons and you had to redeem with them in two weeks. Sainsbury's said

they are committed to easy to understand advertising, and have

changed the current ads to explain it. The Advertising Standards

Authority said all further promotions must be clear, it found

the TVad to be misleading on four separate accounts. Need to visit

your local bank, get a move on, the big four are closing branches at a

rate of one every two days. It has left 900 towns in villages in

England and Wales with no bank and some with none at all. HSBC is the

worst offender closing 47 branches this year. It claims they were

underused with customers opting for phone and internet banking. It has

also announced from next year customers will be able to conduct

their finances at local post offices, if they can find one.

Meanwhile, with another 21 branches set to shut between now and

Christmas, no wonder HSBC has stopped using this slogan.

We have been stitched up by Cooper Sewing Machine of Hertfordshire, we

sent it back for a refund in the satry seven days, the boss refused

to accept it, and kept our money.'S a funny bloke Jay Cooper, he hasn't

been himself recently. Cheggers plays pop, he also plays multiple

characters like Jay Cooper, who throughout the dealings with him

has assumed a series of identities, seemingly to confuse, the customer,

however many times he changes his name, one characteristic remains.

How dare you, he said, he said he hoped I died a horrible death.

he tries to make people feel is so humiliating. Request I have my

money back? No, how's that? Got it in one, don't ring me again.

sorry Jay, we can't oblige, since that phone call, you see, we have

put our allegations to him, and he has failed to address all our

points. He still has questions to answer. And that's why we are off

to Hertfordshire. We are not far away from Cooper's office, we have

sent a delivery to see if we can talk to Jay Cooper and ask him

about his multiple identities and the way he deals with his customers.

So, hopefully we should be able to get to see him face-to-face. The

man, himself. None of the alternatives! Mr Cooperer? You need

to sign for these. Our delivery man is inside, he's delivering boxes to

Jay Cooper, the problem with them is there are no sewing machines

Hello mate. I can't hear you, why not come outside, the reception is

better here. Excellent, Cooper has taken the

debate, he's following the fake courier down the staircase. Hell

loi Jay how are you doing, I'm from BBC Rogue Traders, you could have

been expecting this at some point, when you treat the customers the

way you do, it was inevitable, don't you think? I haven't been

very good, I have been very ill. That is not an excuse. Have you

been ill for the past seven years, we have had complaints over the

last seven years about the way you treat your customers? I haven't

been very good, I hold my hand up, I'm sorry if I have caused people

agravation,. To be honest with you, I did send a statement. What we

have done is to fill the gaps in the statement, because you claim

that you don't adopt false personalities when we know you do,

and you know you do as well. So that's really something that's very

disturbing and very worrying. make no excuses I hold my hand up,

I'm very sorry, I know this is out on television, I have no excuse, we

have sold many hundreds of thousands of sewing machines over

the last few years, and we have had a few complaints, there is no doubt.

But we are addressing all that situation, working very well with

the Trading Standards locally, and we have a call centre taking all

our calls, we started well before your letter, so everything is in

hand to make sure we give a much more productive, better service to

our clients. He went on to explain that his background is in retail,

and now the business operates on- line he has had to learn how to

adapt. He also said he had brought in consultants to help improve

customer service. He then told us he had been very short staffed and

that a close family member had recently been very ill, but to his

credit, he didn't try to use that as an excuse. What I need to take

away from today is you won't be dealing with customers any more.

Customer service is handed over. That you will honour the distant

selling regulations. We always have. That is not the case. The distant

selling act can get abused by the client. There are times when

customers have bought the machines, used them, returned them damaged.

We demonstrated that is not the case. Not Mrs Cox's, that is true,

I said in my statement I acted badly when it came to Mrs Cox, I

tried to phone her, but I realised she was an actress. The other thing

we need to do is look at all the cases we have heard, the complaints

we have had, where people have been poorly treated by you, and by your

company, and inspect those and make sure those people. It won't happen

again. Not that it won't happen again, but the people we find that

come to us are going to get proper redress and be properly. We will

compensate all of them. Compensated or given a machine that work.

Whatever they want f they deal with me personally, one-to-one, if it is

a genuine case, we will deal with T I would ask people to take into

consideration the 400,000 items we have sold in the last few years and

look at the few complaints in relation to that. You have to look

at that, the overall picture. I'm sorry I have caused any grief to

any customers, if they contact me, I will deal with it as a matter of

urgency, I'm very, very sorry. Cooper-Isow has since refunded us

in full, he has told us while a small number of customers were

freeted badly, he categorically denies there was any attempt to

manipulate them, he denies telling our interviewee Florence that he

hoped she died a horrible death. He said there has been 400 positive

comments in the last few months. His full statement is on the

website. His photo, just the one of him, goes here, in the Rogues'

Gallery. Some of you have been getting in

touch about having problems with credit reference agencies, and one

viewer has said he has had the same experience as Paul and Denise Smith,

he has been chased by debt collectors because one agency has

confused him with someone else and passed on his details. Another man

called Jimmy says he has the same name as his dad but one agency

refused to separate their files. We have Chris-gate, one viewer said --

crisp-gate, one viewer only had seven in her bag. Do keep sending

us your stories, and tip-offs, go to the website.

You can write to us, include a crisp, the address is on the

screens now. Thanks guys. Coming up next week,

Vodaphone, 02, still trying to make you pay the bill when your mobile

is stolen. Virgin Media, the truth about those broadband claims, and