:00:14. > :00:20.Halifax and Santander - are they charging you more? Is Vauxhall
:00:20. > :00:30.giving you less? Plus, Boots, Odeon, Argos and Ariel - it is Watchdog,
:00:30. > :00:45.
:00:45. > :00:49.the programme you cannot afford to Yes, hello and good evening.
:00:49. > :00:54.Welcome to Watchdog. We are live from Television Centre. Tonight,
:00:54. > :00:58.Halifax, Santander, small cuts in mortgage rates, but huge rises in
:00:58. > :01:04.fees. Don't get caught out. It's quite deceptive and for people
:01:04. > :01:09.struggling already, they then are hit by these big charges.
:01:09. > :01:14.Also, Vauxhall, Ford, Renault - spare tyres no longer included.
:01:14. > :01:19.Plus Thomson getting customers' names wrong and making those same
:01:19. > :01:23.customers pay the price. And shrinking once, shrinking twice -
:01:23. > :01:27.Ariel does it again. Forget about shrinking, it is
:01:27. > :01:32.expansion we are into. An expansion vessel to be exact. This plumber
:01:32. > :01:36.broke the one on our boiler and then overcharged us for a
:01:36. > :01:41.replacement. A nasty surprise. So we thought we would give his boss a
:01:41. > :01:45.bit of a shock. Matt Allwright, BBC Rogue Traders. It is interesting...
:01:45. > :01:50.Can you leave? The company is called ERS Nationwide Limited and
:01:50. > :01:54.it is run by Jazz! Tonight it is time for him to face the music.
:01:54. > :01:59.First, Halifax and Santander, two mortgage lenders who signed up to a
:01:59. > :02:03.scheme to make home loans cheaper. Watch out. They have cut rates but
:02:03. > :02:07.their arrangement fees have rocketed.
:02:08. > :02:12.When the "credit crunch" struck in 2008, lending froze. It was
:02:12. > :02:16.impossible to get a mortgage. High interest rates and the banks were
:02:16. > :02:24.reluctant to take risks and it has kept the housing market in the
:02:24. > :02:28.doldrums ever since. Now, the eye- catching deals are back. You can
:02:28. > :02:34.get a loan at rates below 3%. Good value. There is a catch. Mortgage
:02:34. > :02:39.interest rates have tumbled since 2008, but since then, the average
:02:40. > :02:43.mortgage arrangement fee has soared by 70%. This is despite 13 banks
:02:43. > :02:48.and building societies all joining the Funding for Lending Scheme,
:02:48. > :02:52.which is supposed to make mortgages more affordable. Since the Bank of
:02:52. > :02:59.England launched it in August, some lenders have upped some of their
:02:59. > :03:06.fees again. While the Halifax offers a two-year mortgage with
:03:06. > :03:12.interest fixed, you will have to pay �1,995 in fees. Santander have
:03:12. > :03:18.slashed their five-year mortgage deal from 3.79% to 3.19%. But they
:03:18. > :03:21.have raised their fee by a third leaving buyers with a �1,495 bill.
:03:21. > :03:27.Which means that although some lenders say they are trying to make
:03:27. > :03:32.it easy for us to buy, it is just as difficult as it's ever been.
:03:33. > :03:37.First-time buyer Vicky Gray is struggling. We see a lot of lower
:03:37. > :03:42.rates trying toen ties you in. We don't see any benefit from it. When
:03:42. > :03:46.you've got a deposit to think about, you have to set aside another
:03:46. > :03:51.couple of thousands of pounds in fees. These fees go by lots of
:03:51. > :03:55.different names. Some lenders charge an arrangement fee. Others a
:03:55. > :04:00.product fee. Booking fee. Completion fee. Administration fee.
:04:00. > :04:04.But whatever they are called, does anyone know what they are for? Tell
:04:04. > :04:10.me what you think about arrangement fees? Well, they are costly.
:04:10. > :04:13.seem to pay lots of money for not a lot. It is another hidden cost.
:04:13. > :04:17.guess it is administration. It seems to be particularly high if
:04:18. > :04:21.all they are doing is extending your mortgage or adding to it.
:04:21. > :04:25.charge a lot for all of those things that don't seem to take time
:04:25. > :04:30.or effort. It is not surprising that buyers are so confused what
:04:30. > :04:33.these fees are for. The lenders are so vague. Look at some of the
:04:33. > :04:39.explanations. From Santander - by choosing a product with a booking
:04:39. > :04:43.fee you will normally secure a lower monthly payment during the
:04:43. > :04:48.benefit period. Normally doesn't mean always. Lower - how much
:04:48. > :04:53.lower? You will notice they don't tell you what they do for this fee.
:04:53. > :04:56.So let's try NatWest instead. Well, not much joy here. They tell us
:04:56. > :05:00.that lenders sometimes charge arrangement fees, also sometimes
:05:00. > :05:04.known as product fees, for setting up a mortgage. Thanks for that(!)
:05:04. > :05:09.When you consider that in August and September alone the average fee
:05:09. > :05:13.for taking out a mortgage increased by �42, you would expect there to
:05:13. > :05:17.be some form of explanation. But if the banks and building societies
:05:17. > :05:22.aren't being clear about what we are getting in return, we need to
:05:22. > :05:30.speak to somebody who can. Like Claire Francis from the financial
:05:30. > :05:32.services comparison site MoneySupermarket. They will run
:05:32. > :05:36.credit checks and there is paperwork involved. There is an
:05:36. > :05:40.element of cost. We have seen fees increase so much over recent years
:05:41. > :05:43.that it's becoming harder to justify how the fee is
:05:43. > :05:49.representative of the cost of the administration involved. Actually,
:05:49. > :05:53.what the fee is being used as now it is almost a pricing lever and a
:05:53. > :05:57.way for lenders to be able to have greater flexibility in what rate
:05:57. > :06:02.they offer because if they offer a lower interest rate, they can hike
:06:02. > :06:07.their fee a bit so it doesn't cost them any more to offer that
:06:07. > :06:10.mortgage. So generally speaking, the lower the rate, the higher the
:06:10. > :06:14.fee. And this isn't a one-off payment. Every time you want to
:06:14. > :06:20.change your mortgage, it is likely you will have to pay a fee again
:06:20. > :06:24.and the average person changes their mortgage once every seven
:06:24. > :06:27.years. Because people don't tend to factor in the impact of the fee,
:06:27. > :06:31.they are led by the headline rate and they ignore the fee and they
:06:31. > :06:37.ignore the fact that one product could have a �1,500 arrangement fee
:06:37. > :06:40.and another could have a �500 fee. So I think that is where
:06:40. > :06:43.potentially it can catch people out when the lenders talk about the
:06:43. > :06:47.fact they are cutting their mortgage rates. So if you want to
:06:47. > :06:51.avoid being stung, you need to work out what's cheaper - a high
:06:51. > :06:55.interest mortgage with a low fee, or a low interest mortgage with a
:06:55. > :07:03.high fee. There can be a big difference. Ask Oxford University
:07:03. > :07:10.maths genius Dr Kitt Yates. have two options. They are both
:07:10. > :07:17.fixed for two years. So your first option from lender A is an eye-
:07:17. > :07:22.catching low 2.44% mortgage but it does have a hefty arrangement fee
:07:22. > :07:25.of �1,995. Your second option from lender B is a higher rate of 2.99%
:07:25. > :07:35.but there is no arrangement fee. However, once you have factored in
:07:35. > :07:38.the fee, and worked out the true cost like this, so lender A had the
:07:39. > :07:46.lower rate, but once you factor in the fee from lender A and done the
:07:46. > :07:51.maths, it turns out that you end up spending �1,320.84 on lender A's
:07:51. > :07:55.mortgage than lender B's over the course of two years.
:07:55. > :07:59.differences aren't so clear-cut. It may take most of us a little longer
:07:59. > :08:07.to work out which is best. But the lesson is clear - before being
:08:07. > :08:10.tempted by a low rate, check the fees and do your sums.
:08:10. > :08:17.The Council of Mortgage Lenders say there is a distinction between
:08:17. > :08:20.charges that relate to administration and other charges.
:08:20. > :08:25.Santander and Halifax say that by charging these fees, they can offer
:08:25. > :08:30.a greater range of deals. They say that some customers do prefer to
:08:30. > :08:34.pay a higher upfront fee in return for a lower interest rate and lower
:08:34. > :08:40.monthly repayment. If you would like to comment on that, you can
:08:40. > :08:44.send an e-mail to watchdog@bbc.co.uk. Or send a text.
:08:44. > :08:48.Dial 83199. If you want to get involved in the discussion, our
:08:48. > :08:54.address are on your screens now. Have you bought a new car recently?
:08:54. > :08:59.Mind you don't have a blowout! In all it's taken 25 minutes for me
:08:59. > :09:04.to understand this bit of kit and although it's taken the sealant
:09:04. > :09:09.into the tyre, it has not fixed the problem. Now, we do like it when we
:09:09. > :09:14.find rogues with a musical connection. It means (a) a great
:09:14. > :09:17.soundtrack and (b) some terrible puns. Last series we had a team of
:09:17. > :09:23.gardeners called the Smiths causing panic on the streets of Kent. You
:09:23. > :09:33.see, I can't help it! We are featuring someone whose very name
:09:33. > :09:46.
:09:46. > :09:51.Jazz! Dictionary definition - a musical style that originated at
:09:51. > :09:54.the beginning of the 20th Century in the southern United States. My
:09:55. > :10:00.definition - the freedom to do as you please, to improvise, to take a
:10:00. > :10:04.piece of pipe in your hand and make something magical happen.
:10:04. > :10:12.Freestyling! You can get rich as a result! Jazz is also the name of
:10:12. > :10:18.the plumbing company boss we are featuring tonight. OK, it's a bit
:10:18. > :10:28.tenuous. Sarah Dunn doesn't like Jazz. She is more a Coldplay fan.
:10:28. > :10:33.
:10:33. > :10:37.She is not keen on Jazzdeep Randhawa Singh. Sarah had a DIY SOS.
:10:37. > :10:40.This is the picture that started it all? Yes, we finished decorating
:10:40. > :10:45.the lounge. My husband was putting some photos up of the children and
:10:45. > :10:50.he put a nail through the central heating pipe. Let's put that to one
:10:50. > :10:55.side. You ended up with wet carpets? Yeah. And needing to get
:10:55. > :11:00.it sorted as quickly as possible? Yeah. A big problem. But easy to
:11:00. > :11:05.fix. Not for ERS. You see, none of the pipes the engineer brought with
:11:05. > :11:09.him fitted. The part we are talking about is just a standard pipe
:11:09. > :11:13.that... It was a basic standard pipe. That seems strange. Yes.
:11:13. > :11:17.meant that ERS couldn't fix the fault that evening so they had to
:11:17. > :11:22.come back the next day with the right pipe. They hit Sarah with a
:11:22. > :11:27.bill for �274 but that wasn't the end of it. They couldn't get the
:11:27. > :11:31.central heating working at that point. They said they could get
:11:31. > :11:35.their central heating engineer out and that would be �65 an hour plus
:11:35. > :11:40.VAT. We were quite concerned they wanted to charge us more money and
:11:40. > :11:46.the costs were going up all the time. So concerned that she called
:11:46. > :11:52.the boss. So was Jazz laid-back, chilled out, maybe mellow? He said
:11:52. > :11:57.if we didn't pay immediately, we would incur further charges, that
:11:57. > :12:01.he would send debt collectors out and the police. He then hung up on
:12:01. > :12:05.me and phoned the plumber and asked him to remove the pipe from the
:12:05. > :12:09.wall that he had just fitted. At that point, we decided to pay
:12:09. > :12:14.because we just wanted them out. Sarah got a new plumber in. He
:12:14. > :12:18.found the problem within 30 minutes and charged just �50 to get the
:12:18. > :12:24.central heating going. I'm going to see another chap now, another
:12:24. > :12:31.customer of ERS. OK. You don't need to know that necessarily. But I'm
:12:31. > :12:35.going. Thank you, Sarah. That other chap is based all the way over in
:12:36. > :12:42.King's Lynn. His name is David Meek. When his boiler stopped working,
:12:42. > :12:48.his usual plumber was on holiday so he found ERS in the Yellow Pages.
:12:48. > :12:53.Hello. Hello. They sent a plumber called Jerry. He checked the fuse
:12:53. > :13:00.box and he then said, "We have some problems there." He said we needed
:13:00. > :13:06.a new fan. Dave paid a deposit of �740 and the fan was fitted, but
:13:06. > :13:10.the boiler still didn't work. So he called Jazz. Dave, he said, it's
:13:10. > :13:18.going to be costly. "We want three more parts for the boiler and they
:13:18. > :13:24.are going to come to �650. I tell you what, we'll forget the �740 and
:13:25. > :13:30.we will come and fit you a new heating system in." Hold on a
:13:30. > :13:34.second! So they have not got it right when it is just fitting your
:13:34. > :13:38.fan? No. Now they are suggesting gutting your house and putting in a
:13:38. > :13:41.completely new heating system? Right. When Dave's usual plumber
:13:41. > :13:45.looked at the boiler he came to a different conclusion to Jazz. The
:13:46. > :13:50.heating wasn't working because the fan had been wired wrongly. That
:13:50. > :13:54.sounds like a bodged job? Very much so, yes. I'm glad I didn't see it.
:13:54. > :13:59.No. I wish I hadn't! It sounds almost as though what we need is a
:13:59. > :14:05.house with lots of tiny cameras, an expert and an actor. Yes. That is
:14:05. > :14:08.how you roll! It is indeed how we roll! Yeah, we are not fibbing.
:14:08. > :14:16.Look, it is a house with a boiler and a team of rogue investigators.
:14:16. > :14:21.We are going to set up a job for ERS and Jazz! Nice! Had to come.
:14:21. > :14:26.Well, the job's not only nice, it is very simple, very cheap and
:14:26. > :14:31.should be very quick. Will it be? I wonder.
:14:31. > :14:37.Next, Ford, Vauxhall, Nissan, Renault, Fiat - nearly all the
:14:37. > :14:40.best-selling car brands in Britain. Have you bought one lately? Notice
:14:40. > :14:45.something missing? You need to look before it is too late. Throughout
:14:45. > :14:48.generations of motoring, drivers have had one constant companion -
:14:49. > :14:52.if you have ever been unlucky enough to have a flat, you could
:14:52. > :14:59.open the boot, safe in the knowledge it contained a spare tyre
:14:59. > :15:03.to get you back on the road. Times and cars are changing. Like the
:15:03. > :15:07.good old cassette player, the spare tyre is becoming a thing of the
:15:07. > :15:12.past. Almost all car manufacturers have decided to stop supplying them.
:15:12. > :15:19.So if you have bought a new car in the last few years, then check your
:15:19. > :15:24.boot. The chances are you will find it empty. Robert Griffiths did that
:15:24. > :15:29.on New Year's Day. Just after he felt one of his tyres go on a
:15:29. > :15:34.journey towards Sheffield. The car starts to vibrate, so I'm getting a
:15:34. > :15:40.bit concerned, so I start to pull over and I realise that I've got a
:15:40. > :15:48.problem. But instead of a spare, Robert's 2010 Vauxhall was fitted
:15:48. > :15:52.with a do it yourself repair kit complete with sealant. The tyre had
:15:52. > :15:57.been shredded. In fact, if I had a spare tyre, it would have taken me
:15:57. > :16:01.15 minutes to change. How long did it take you without a spare tyre?
:16:02. > :16:05.Two-and-a-half hours. Why? Well, once I had established the kit
:16:05. > :16:09.wouldn't work, I had to get on to the rescue services. They take an
:16:09. > :16:14.hour to come out. They had to call a rescue vehicle out so that my
:16:14. > :16:19.vehicle could be carried away home. Such stories are becoming familiar.
:16:19. > :16:24.Recently, the rescue service Green Flag said the number of callouts to
:16:24. > :16:29.drivers stranded has leapt by 20%. Like Robert, the new cars were
:16:29. > :16:32.fitted with a repair kit instead of a spare. So this is a typical kit.
:16:32. > :16:37.You have your electric pump which connects to the see last night,
:16:37. > :16:42.which you have got to connect -- sealant, which you have got to
:16:42. > :16:46.connect to the valve of your tyre. It pushes the sealant in inflating
:16:46. > :16:50.the tyre and sealing the puncture. That is the theory. Let's put it to
:16:50. > :16:53.practice. I know how it is supposed to work, but I have never tried it
:16:53. > :17:00.before. To make it easier for myself, I am using a punctured
:17:00. > :17:07.wheel that is not attached to a car. This bottle of sealant has to be
:17:07. > :17:16.upside-down. Plug it in. What is that? I don't understand what that
:17:16. > :17:26.is! I put it on for two minutes. Then off for ten minutes? Let's do
:17:26. > :17:29.
:17:29. > :17:37.it! So I think it needs to get to two before we activate it. In spite
:17:37. > :17:43.of my best efforts, no sealant entered the tyre. Time for not
:17:43. > :17:48.tactic. I use this bit of kit to poke the entrance where the sealant
:17:48. > :17:52.comes out of so let's try it again. It is all disappearing. That bottle
:17:52. > :18:00.of sealant is now empty, so it's been pumped into the tyre. I will
:18:00. > :18:05.switch this off now. Let's have a look. So, in all, it's taken 25
:18:05. > :18:09.minutes for me to understand this bit of kit and although it's taken
:18:09. > :18:13.the sealan in, it has not fixed the problem. Imagine what it would be
:18:13. > :18:19.like if it was raining now, trying to do all of this would be tough. I
:18:19. > :18:24.tell you what, give me a spare tyre and a jack any day. And according
:18:24. > :18:28.to one of the biggest breakdown organisations, I'm not alone.
:18:28. > :18:33.have over 80,000 callouts a year for people who have no spare tyres.
:18:33. > :18:37.We have limited success with the sealant kits. In some cases, where
:18:37. > :18:41.the tyre is damaged, we are unable to use the kit. It is up to us to
:18:41. > :18:46.source the tyre. The kit will only repair tyres with small punctures.
:18:46. > :18:51.If you have side-wall damage, it won't work. It is very limited to
:18:51. > :18:56.what you can do with it. Even when the kit does what it is supposed to,
:18:56. > :19:04.you still may end up paying. When Tom Watkins had a flat on his
:19:04. > :19:08.brand-new Vauxhall Corsa, he used the sealant. When his dad asked the
:19:08. > :19:15.dealer to carry out a simple repair, the answer was no. They couldn't
:19:15. > :19:21.wash the sealant out and look at repairing the tyre. I wasn't very
:19:21. > :19:26.happy. It wasn't like a major puncture. It could have been
:19:26. > :19:30.repaired. I have forked out �13,000 and now I have to fork out for a
:19:30. > :19:40.brand-new tyre! Other drivers are getting similar bills. Whilst some
:19:40. > :19:46.
:19:46. > :19:52.repair kits are soluable, -- soluble, and more and more
:19:53. > :19:58.carmakers are getting rid of the spare. Of the top ten best-selling
:19:58. > :20:05.models, only the VW Golf and Polo came with spare tyres.
:20:05. > :20:09.Manufacturers want to make their cars lighter because it improves
:20:09. > :20:14.the fuel economy. There are lots of ways of making cars lighter. Some
:20:15. > :20:19.make them out of aluminium. Others re-design seats. For the drivers
:20:19. > :20:27.who have contacted us, such alternatives would be better,
:20:27. > :20:32.especially as Britain's roads are likely to deteriorate further
:20:32. > :20:38.during the coming winter. It is a simple solution - let's have a
:20:38. > :20:43.spare tyre back. With me now from the UK Society of Motor
:20:43. > :20:47.Manufacturers and Traders is Paul Everitt. When did you decide that
:20:47. > :20:52.none of us wanted spare tyres any more? I would challenge that that
:20:52. > :20:57.is what has happened. What is true is that there are a variety of
:20:57. > :21:01.safety systems available to deal with punctures. A traditional spare
:21:01. > :21:06.tyre is available. It is available on the majority of vehicles. But
:21:06. > :21:16.there are a number of other alternatives. You have identified
:21:16. > :21:20.
:21:20. > :21:24.the safety kit. We have space-saver tyres. Or we have run-flat tyres
:21:24. > :21:28.and self-sealing tyres. All of these are options that are
:21:28. > :21:31.available to the consumer. Underpinning all of that in the
:21:31. > :21:35.majority of cases, the vehicle manufacturer provides in the new
:21:35. > :21:40.car package and their warranty guarantee roadside assistance. In
:21:40. > :21:46.the event there is a problem, the consumer is taken care of one way
:21:46. > :21:49.or another. I have been driving since I was 17. I have no idea that
:21:49. > :21:54.I was not going to get a spare tyre with my new car. You didn't come
:21:54. > :21:59.and ask me? Well, that is true. I didn't come and ask you. What is
:21:59. > :22:02.true - and the film highlights three important points - things do
:22:02. > :22:06.change. When you are specifying your vehicle, you should be paying
:22:06. > :22:10.attention to what you are specifying. If you want a
:22:10. > :22:16.traditional spare tyre, then that is what you should be asking for.
:22:16. > :22:24.But I would say that a lot of people actually do find the repair
:22:24. > :22:28.kits more practical because the idea of being on a cold, windy, wet
:22:29. > :22:32.traffic verge trying to change a wheel is equally as scary. So for
:22:33. > :22:36.them, a repair kit provides them with a better option. Now, clearly,
:22:36. > :22:41.what is important is that the consumer firstly understands what
:22:41. > :22:45.that safety system is. I have to interrupt you. I have a new car
:22:45. > :22:51.arriving in November, not till this afternoon did I ring and discover
:22:51. > :22:56.that it is not coming with a spare tyre, and there is no room for one.
:22:56. > :23:02.So consumers don't know about it. They also are going to find that
:23:02. > :23:06.these kits are very unsatisfactory. If your tyre is shredded, they are
:23:06. > :23:11.no use. They are very fiddly. I don't want one on a main road. When
:23:11. > :23:17.you take your tyre to a garage, they don't want to repair one
:23:17. > :23:19.that's used a sealant? There are a range of issues there. Choice is
:23:19. > :23:23.important and people should understand what they are buying.
:23:24. > :23:27.Secondly, I think any puncture is inconvenient at the very least. I
:23:27. > :23:31.think the two circumstances you highlighted, it was exacerbated by
:23:31. > :23:35.the fact that what they were expecting to see wasn't there and
:23:35. > :23:42.again that comes with this is a complex and expensive product. We
:23:42. > :23:45.would expect people to have checked as to exactly how the safety
:23:45. > :23:49.systems work... Really? I hadn't checked. Am I wrong not to have
:23:49. > :23:53.checked? No. That is one of the highlights, or the advantage of
:23:53. > :23:58.being able to talk about this issue. It's to bring to the public
:23:58. > :24:05.attention there are questions and responsibilities on both sides and
:24:05. > :24:10.I'm sure - if you look... Do you mind there's 20% increase from
:24:10. > :24:14.Green Flag of people not having spare tyres, their rate has gone,
:24:14. > :24:18.20% more people are needing their help, are stranded because they
:24:18. > :24:22.find they don't have a spare tyre? Do you mind that? I would argue
:24:22. > :24:26.that they have a safety system in their vehicle to help them if they
:24:26. > :24:29.have a puncture. Now, it's a reasonable point. We have to stop
:24:29. > :24:33.you there. Those people need to ensure that we understand the
:24:33. > :24:37.vehicles that we are driving. you.
:24:37. > :24:43.A full statement from the SMMT is on our website. Now you may
:24:43. > :24:48.remember a couple of weeks ago a smooth, devilishly handsome man
:24:48. > :24:58.explaining how a certain clothes washing liquid had shrunk. Take a
:24:58. > :24:59.
:24:59. > :25:03.look at this. Ariel with Actilift. Now it's gone down to 925ml. Can
:25:03. > :25:10.you tell the difference? If you put them side by side, they are
:25:10. > :25:14.virtually the same. As you can see, just over one litre there and 925ml
:25:15. > :25:17.there. Even though the volume inside is less.
:25:17. > :25:21.Good, wasn't he? Who?
:25:21. > :25:25.I'm still waiting for George! Ariel is back. That is because
:25:25. > :25:30.after shrinking it once, Procter & Gamble have done it again. Reducing
:25:30. > :25:38.the contents to 888ml. It is now good for 24 washes instead of the
:25:38. > :25:42.28 it said on the old bottle. And 25 washes specified on the 925ml
:25:42. > :25:44.bottle. Once more, they have been very clever with the packaging. It
:25:44. > :25:48.doesn't look like it's changed at all.
:25:48. > :25:52.What about the price? No, that hasn't changed either. Nor
:25:52. > :25:57.has Procter & Gamble's position. Once again, they are blaming rising
:25:57. > :25:58.commodity costs for this latest content reduction. They say the new
:25:58. > :26:03.volume is clearly identified on the pack.
:26:03. > :26:08.The price stays the same. But what it doesn't say is this. These two
:26:08. > :26:15.reductions mean you are paying 5p more per wash than you used to!
:26:15. > :26:19.Next, Argos. More than 700 stores, a 1,700-page catalogue, a website,
:26:19. > :26:29.TV ads, even its own TV channel, so many ways of tempting us, so many
:26:29. > :26:31.
:26:31. > :26:34.ways of getting it wrong. You know how it works - you order
:26:34. > :26:39.your item, you wait for it to appear and then you collect it at
:26:39. > :26:44.the desk. Shopping at Argos is a novel experience, made more fun
:26:44. > :26:49.when you save money with one of their numerous special offers. I
:26:49. > :26:57.say "special" but according to some of you, bagging that bargain isn't
:26:57. > :27:05.as easy as they make it look. Meet Christine Carr, a few months ago
:27:05. > :27:10.she got an e-mail offering up to 60% off all indoor furniture.
:27:10. > :27:14.60% off deal was amazing. It was perfect. Having just moved into a
:27:14. > :27:18.new home, it was wonderful. I had been looking for some book cases to
:27:18. > :27:24.fit my dining room. It just all fell into place perfectly. At least
:27:24. > :27:29.it would have fallen into place if the deal had turned out to be real.
:27:29. > :27:33.I tried to order some book cases online, found out they weren't
:27:33. > :27:38.included in the deal. They weren't reduced at all. It was selected
:27:38. > :27:42.lines only. It was a real let down to find out they weren't included.
:27:42. > :27:48.I think they need to drastically rethink their marketing strategies.
:27:48. > :27:52.They shouldn't be deceiving their customers in this way especially
:27:52. > :27:57.people like myself that don't have a large budget to spend on
:27:57. > :28:02.furniture. So, that deal wasn't quite what it seemed. How about
:28:02. > :28:08.this one? Half price on selected outdoor toys. And the one I want is
:28:08. > :28:12.featured in the banner itself. I should have no problems getting
:28:12. > :28:17.these rollerskates. Right? Wrong. The rollerskates are nowhere to be
:28:17. > :28:25.seen when you click on the banner. Look elsewhere on the website, and
:28:25. > :28:30.you will find them with only a �3 reduction. Nowhere near half price.
:28:30. > :28:37.That's just one example of sale banners not delivering on what they
:28:37. > :28:43.seem to be offering. In fact, we found nine other instances, so can
:28:43. > :28:48.Argos be accused of misleading customers? Not only is this
:28:48. > :28:52.misleading because the actual offer doesn't exist, it's an untruth, so
:28:52. > :28:56.it is not truthful advertising. So that is much worse than being
:28:56. > :29:01.misleading. OK. No luck so far in enjoying life for less. What if I
:29:01. > :29:07.know that the item that I really want is definitely in the sale
:29:07. > :29:13.promoted? Surely then I can get my hands on it? Not always. In
:29:13. > :29:17.December last year, the Advertising Standards Authority found Argos
:29:17. > :29:21.offering this toy at half price when they had insufficient stock to
:29:21. > :29:25.meet demand. They continued to advertise when it was sold out.
:29:25. > :29:30.Eight months later, they were caught at it again, this time
:29:30. > :29:35.offering a camera for sale when there were none in stock. So with
:29:35. > :29:40.the advertising regulators ruling against them not once but twice,
:29:40. > :29:50.surely we can believe what they are telling us? I think we better check
:29:50. > :29:54.
:29:54. > :30:03.it out. This is Elaine. In August, she found this offer for a happy
:30:03. > :30:08.land toy rocket. A great deal and something her daughter would love.
:30:08. > :30:12.I went online, saw it advertised. Then decided to see where it was in
:30:12. > :30:16.stock. There is nowhere in stock, so I have checked all the local
:30:16. > :30:20.stores and ten are out of stock. I checked up in Yorkshire because we
:30:20. > :30:23.have family up there and we were visiting last week. It was out of
:30:23. > :30:27.stock there, too. It's happened to me before. Friends have mentioned
:30:27. > :30:34.it happens to them all the time. It is like when they have these offers
:30:34. > :30:37.on, they don't have the stock to give it to the people at that price.
:30:37. > :30:42.We phoned Argos and they said it was out of stock throughout the
:30:42. > :30:50.country. As was this, the Jamie Oliver three-burner gas barbecue
:30:50. > :30:54.with a price reduced to �159.99. Unfortunately, it was also out of
:30:54. > :30:59.stock. Argos told us they didn't know when they will be getting any
:30:59. > :31:03.more. So there you go. All-inclusive
:31:03. > :31:07.sales that don't include everything. Banners advertising goods that
:31:07. > :31:13.aren't included in the sale they are promoting. Special offers that
:31:13. > :31:23.are not in stock. So, the next time you see a special offer at Argos,
:31:23. > :31:24.
:31:25. > :31:28.be warned - you could be waiting some time. Argos says it is
:31:28. > :31:31.concerned that some customers are unhappy at the way it presents
:31:31. > :31:35.promotions. It refutes there is a company policy to mislead. It has
:31:35. > :31:40.apologised for excluding a product from an all-inclusive sale blaming
:31:40. > :31:45.human error. The wording on the banner ad was legal but it accepts
:31:45. > :31:49.it may not have been completely clear. It appreciates customers can
:31:49. > :31:52.get frustrated when sale goods are no longer available and says it is
:31:52. > :31:55.making efforts to ensure future promotions don't continue once
:31:55. > :32:01.stocks run out. Still to come: They make the
:32:01. > :32:08.mistakes, you pay the price. Thanks, Thomson(!)
:32:08. > :32:15.ERS short for Emergency Repair Services Nationwide. JRS short for
:32:15. > :32:20.Jazzdeep Randhawa Singh who runs it. AHEB short for actor, house, expert
:32:20. > :32:24.and boiler. RT - short for roll tape!
:32:24. > :32:29.Let's ditch the acronyms. Here is the house, here is the actor, the
:32:29. > :32:34.expert, Mike, he is setting a fault on the boiler so what is the fault?
:32:34. > :32:38.I'm going to use the pressure relief valve to reduce the pressure
:32:38. > :32:42.so the boiler fails to operate. There is a red light which will
:32:42. > :32:47.tell ERS what the problem is because it flashes. If that is not
:32:47. > :32:52.enough, we have provided an extra clue, a leaking pipe outside the
:32:52. > :32:56.boiler room. What would a competent plumber do? They would check to see
:32:56. > :33:00.there is no obvious places where there is a leak. That is because
:33:00. > :33:04.the leak shows there is something wrong with the pressure relief
:33:05. > :33:10.valve? It is cheap and easy to do. I don't see why it should take very
:33:10. > :33:16.long. Mike goes and hides upstairs, leaving the on the blink boiler
:33:16. > :33:26.downstairs and now ERS are on the front stairs, or steps. Hello.
:33:26. > :33:27.
:33:27. > :33:32.Laszlo, your friendly neighbourhood plumber. He is from Hungary. Jim
:33:32. > :33:36.points Laszlo towards the boiler and leaves him to it. The same
:33:36. > :33:43.boiler with the flashing red light alerting all good plumbers to the
:33:43. > :33:53.problem with water pressure. Seems to have passed this plumber by,
:33:53. > :33:58.
:33:58. > :34:08.though. He looks lost. The clue is on the front, a flashing red light,
:34:08. > :34:16.
:34:16. > :34:26.The cylinder? OK. After missing the flashing light, Laszlo asks to go
:34:26. > :34:35.
:34:35. > :34:39.You see, that is not a lot of pipes. This is a lot of pipes! However
:34:39. > :34:43.many there are, they have confused him. He is not doing much better
:34:43. > :34:50.back at the boiler. He is struggling. He is touching things
:34:50. > :34:54.all the time. No constructive diagnostics. OK, maybe the boss can
:34:54. > :34:58.help him with some constructive diagnostics. He is on the line to
:34:58. > :35:07.Jazz, several times in fact, now he is talking to the head engineer in
:35:07. > :35:16.his native language. Maybe he is Hungarian, too? Time for a quick
:35:16. > :35:21.fag break, I presume? Yeah. After all that talking, it's left him
:35:21. > :35:31.gasping, or is it because he is charging us �90 an hour? The thing
:35:31. > :35:33.
:35:34. > :35:37.is, you can get a lot done in an hour. OK, seeing as Laszlo still
:35:37. > :35:43.hasn't managed to iron out our boiler problem, it is time for our
:35:43. > :35:53.actor to give him a nudge. Our producer sends a message to his
:35:53. > :36:02.
:36:02. > :36:09.Hello? Laszlo's missed the earlier smaller clue so now what is known
:36:09. > :36:13.as a dead giveaway! Is it anything to do with that? Yeah, I think.
:36:13. > :36:17.It is the bleeding obvious! It would be OK if he did something
:36:17. > :36:21.about it. But he doesn't. He goes back inside, takes a screwdriver
:36:21. > :36:27.out and uses it on a part of the boiler that has been working just
:36:27. > :36:30.fine. He's interfered with the expansion vessel. Letting the
:36:30. > :36:37.pressure out of it and making it look like the system pressure is
:36:37. > :36:41.too high. He seems to be breaking it. Now, we are going to have to
:36:41. > :36:46.pay for a new expansion vessel, which we don't need in the first
:36:46. > :36:56.place. There is nothing wrong with it. Once it's regassed, it will
:36:56. > :37:12.
:37:12. > :37:22.work perfectly. Not according to That's the one, Jim. It won't be
:37:22. > :37:27.cheap to fix. The cost he's put down for the parts is far over what
:37:27. > :37:31.you would take as being reasonable charging for a reasonable profit
:37:31. > :37:41.margin. And there is more bad news to come. They won't be able to get
:37:41. > :37:45.
:37:45. > :37:55.hold of the part for another 24 Is the part really that difficult
:37:55. > :37:56.
:37:56. > :38:02.to find? Cue that familiar music. Hello, would you have an expansion
:38:03. > :38:12.vessel for a boiler? You do? How much is it? Just �92? I'll take it!
:38:13. > :38:30.
:38:30. > :38:37.Oh, my name? It's JR Hartley. Over # I've been waiting
:38:38. > :38:47.# All this time for you. # Where have they been? It is under
:38:48. > :38:48.
:38:48. > :38:56.an hour. Is that what you want? Yes! Despite what ERS told us, we
:38:56. > :39:00.managed to find three within one hour's drive of our house, all
:39:00. > :39:04.between �92�135. This job has definitely expanded! Yes, our faith
:39:04. > :39:08.in ERS Nationwide Limited to do it has contracted, especially as
:39:08. > :39:12.Laszlo is about to suffer an identity crisis. He will be talking
:39:12. > :39:18.a whole load more boilers later. Right now, feels like someone else
:39:18. > :39:21.has put the heating on! This is nice.
:39:21. > :39:26.Wonderful. On holiday with you. A dream come true(!)
:39:26. > :39:36.You can put some cream on my back later. Now, it is quite warm here
:39:36. > :39:37.
:39:37. > :39:44.on the Watchdog beach, but Thomson have been making mistakes and
:39:44. > :39:50.demanding their customers pay for them. Brian Dinsdale and his wife
:39:50. > :39:55.booked a holiday to Gran Canaria. They noticed their names had been
:39:55. > :39:59.spelt wrongly - Mr and Mrs BINSdale. Easy to correct?
:39:59. > :40:02.First Choice said it would cost �100 to do it. If it wasn't
:40:02. > :40:06.corrected, the couple would lose their deposit. Even though it was
:40:06. > :40:10.the company's fault, it said they had to pay for the correction.
:40:10. > :40:14.This is a holiday outrage. It is. Here is another one
:40:14. > :40:17.involving Matt Brighton. Thomson spelt the name of one of his fellow
:40:17. > :40:24.passengers wrongly. Because he had also made a mistake on his booking
:40:24. > :40:27.form, it said he had to pay for all the corrections - �70.
:40:27. > :40:32.Thomson say? TUI, owners of Thomson and First
:40:32. > :40:35.Choice, says it is common industry practice for airlines to charge for
:40:35. > :40:38.amendments near departure time. Matt signed documents to confirm
:40:38. > :40:46.all the details were correct. As he contacted them about the error more
:40:46. > :40:50.than 14 days later, the standard charge applied. As the Dinsdales
:40:50. > :40:53.received their documents late, it has refunded their �100 and
:40:53. > :40:57.apologised. Here is another holiday company to
:40:57. > :41:02.look out for, On The Beach. If you have a complaint about them, the
:41:02. > :41:05.very best of luck! Cheap holidays booked online, but
:41:05. > :41:09.with all the protection you would expect from an established travel
:41:09. > :41:14.agent. At least that is what you think you are getting with On The
:41:14. > :41:19.Beach. According to our viewers, if you book with them, you might want
:41:19. > :41:24.to pack a few extra things, like a map to find a new hotel, something
:41:24. > :41:29.to clean your room with and even a spare pair of airline tickets, just
:41:29. > :41:37.in case. If you are going with On The Beach, you need to be prepared
:41:37. > :41:41.for anything. These two took their three daughters to Sharm el-Sheikh.
:41:41. > :41:48.It wasn't an ordinary family holiday. This was a two-week
:41:48. > :41:52.honeymoon and they paid more than � �2,300. We went to the reception
:41:52. > :41:56.desk to be shown to our room. We were told that we had to leave,
:41:56. > :42:01.that our reservation wasn't with that hotel. We had got paperwork in
:42:01. > :42:04.front of us saying otherwise and were asking this is just ridiculous,
:42:04. > :42:09.we have paid this money. Although On The Beach offered them another
:42:09. > :42:12.hotel, this was the one they had set their heart on, but they
:42:12. > :42:16.couldn't afford to. The hotel manager said if they were going to
:42:16. > :42:20.stay, it would cost them another �2,000. We received an e-mail
:42:20. > :42:25.telling us it was the booking agent's fault and they weren't
:42:25. > :42:28.going to take responsibility for it, but they would pass it on. So what
:42:28. > :42:33.makes On The Beach think they aren't responsible when things go
:42:33. > :42:38.wrong? They say it's because the trips they sell are not package
:42:38. > :42:42.holidays. While they do book your flights and accommodation, it is
:42:42. > :42:46.done through a range of separate third party booking agents. That
:42:46. > :42:50.means holiday-makers enter into contracts with those agents rather
:42:50. > :42:54.than On The Beach themselves. Problem is, you might not realise
:42:54. > :42:59.that when you book. That is because the information is buried away in
:42:59. > :43:02.the terms of business section on its website. Here you will discover
:43:02. > :43:09.that On The Beach accept no responsibility or liability for the
:43:09. > :43:13.acts or services provided by travel suppliers. As they don't sell
:43:13. > :43:19.packages, you are not covered by a crucial piece of protection, the
:43:19. > :43:22.Package Travel Regulations. They say the tour operator, the company
:43:22. > :43:25.that's organising your holiday, has complete responsibility for
:43:25. > :43:31.delivering that holiday from the moment you turn up at Manchester or
:43:31. > :43:36.Gatwick Airport to the moment you come home. If anything goes wrong,
:43:36. > :43:40.they are responsible. Contrast that with On The Beach and they will say
:43:40. > :43:45.no, we are only acting as an agent for these different companies. If
:43:45. > :43:49.anything goes wrong, you are on your own. Dealing with a middleman
:43:49. > :43:52.company can complicate the simplest request as Russell Hill found out.
:43:52. > :43:56.When he discovered his rowing club had won a place on the Thames
:43:56. > :44:03.Pageant, he asked On The Beach to postpone his holiday flight by 24
:44:03. > :44:10.hours. On The Beach wouldn't let me because they said the airline,
:44:10. > :44:14.their terms and conditions wouldn't allow me to do that. So I contacted
:44:14. > :44:18.the airline, they told me there was plenty of availability. They needed
:44:18. > :44:22.On The Beach to make the change for me. On The Beach failed to do that.
:44:22. > :44:28.Russell spent �1,000 on two separate flights just so that he
:44:28. > :44:32.could take his holiday. I was passed between on On The Beach,
:44:32. > :44:35.their booking agent and the airline and although the airline and the
:44:35. > :44:39.booking agent were happy to make the change, On The Beach blamed
:44:39. > :44:42.them for not wanting to make the change. All On The Beach had to do
:44:42. > :44:47.was say, yeah, that is fine. That was it. Job done. Instead, months
:44:47. > :44:51.and months of them not doing their job and I end up spending over
:44:51. > :44:55.�1,000. It is not all right. even if the flight goes according
:44:55. > :45:00.to plan and the hotel has a record of your reservation, you are still
:45:00. > :45:06.not necessarily in the clear. It seems On The Beach is not always
:45:06. > :45:11.bothered about the standard of the place they have booked you into.
:45:11. > :45:16.Just ask Sally Warren who took her daughters to kurky. This was how
:45:16. > :45:24.the hotel looked from the outside, but once inside... My eldest
:45:24. > :45:28.daughter burst into tears. She was appalled. Filthy dirty, no self-
:45:28. > :45:34.catering equipment. We had one chipped cup. The rest of the
:45:34. > :45:40.cupboards were empty. No patio furniture. Appalling electrics.
:45:40. > :45:45.Sockets hanging out of the wall. Light switches taped over. Dirty
:45:45. > :45:49.sheets. Broken furniture. Nothing pleasant about it whatsoever.
:45:49. > :45:53.thought On The Beach's credentials meant they would be safe to book
:45:53. > :45:59.with. We assumed it was a package. It's a tour company, you assume the
:45:59. > :46:03.whole lot is with them. Quite clearly states they are ABTA
:46:03. > :46:07.recognised. If you book a package holiday, you can be sure that the
:46:07. > :46:10.tour operator has sent someone round before the season starts to
:46:10. > :46:15.check a list of a hundred different things to make sure that it is safe
:46:15. > :46:20.for you. They will of course be responsible for delivering a decent
:46:20. > :46:23.standard of accommodation. But if you go through an online travel
:46:23. > :46:26.agent, which says we are only acting as an agent, then if there
:46:27. > :46:31.is something wrong with the accommodation, if it is not fit for
:46:31. > :46:36.human habitation, you are on your own. There are some things they
:46:36. > :46:42.can't blame others for, like using photos of the wrong hotel on their
:46:42. > :46:48.website. Tom booked the five-star Kos Imperial Hotel. When he arrived,
:46:48. > :46:54.staff had no idea who he was. On The Beach had booked him into the
:46:54. > :46:59.three-star Imperial Hotel in Kos Town, similar name, different hotel
:46:59. > :47:04.and definitely not five-star. On The Beach do offer cheap holidays,
:47:04. > :47:11.but they can come at a price. Leaving you with a dream holiday
:47:11. > :47:15.you can't wait to forget. On The Beach says customer
:47:15. > :47:19.satisfaction is of paramount importance. They have more than
:47:19. > :47:22.750,000 customers each year receiving satisfaction scores of
:47:22. > :47:28.over 95%. They stress that when booking with them your holiday and
:47:28. > :47:33.money is totally protected by the ATOL licence. Anyone happy with any
:47:33. > :47:36.part of their holiday, they must contact them or their suppliers
:47:36. > :47:40.whilst in resort. They say when they make mistakes, they accept it
:47:40. > :47:44.and offer full refunds. We are happy to report they have offered
:47:44. > :47:51.refunds to all the contributors featured.
:47:51. > :47:56.Good. That was only after Watchdog contacted them. Here is a few more
:47:56. > :48:03.stories. Heard the one about the organic
:48:03. > :48:13.baby wash that is more than 95% non-organic? Here it was on the
:48:13. > :48:15.
:48:16. > :48:19.Boots website. It contained pear, mall low and Aloe vera. The
:48:19. > :48:29.Advertising Standards Authority found the total organics
:48:29. > :48:29.
:48:29. > :48:38.ingredients came to less than 5%. The ASA said they shouldn't include
:48:38. > :48:45.the product in future promotions without a disclaimer.
:48:45. > :48:53.# I can't get no... # Tickets for the Rolling Stones'
:48:53. > :48:59.50th anniversary -- for the 50th anniversary gig next month. Well, I
:48:59. > :49:09.might be able to. Surprise to surprise, the fee includes hefty
:49:09. > :49:12.
:49:12. > :49:16.booking fees. Still, the band aren't complaining as they are
:49:16. > :49:20.getting �16 million for their latest tour. Don't think
:49:20. > :49:25.Ticketmaster are doing too badly either!
:49:25. > :49:31.Odeon, two for one vouchers, valid every day from September 22nd to
:49:31. > :49:36.October 18th except the vouchers don't tell you certain blockbuster
:49:36. > :49:40.films are excluded, such as Taken 2, Madagascar 3 and Hotel Transylvania.
:49:40. > :49:44.Movie-goers complain they have been misled and they have taken to the
:49:44. > :49:47.internet to voice their anger. Odeon says the exclusions may not
:49:48. > :49:57.be on the voucher. If customers check the website, all is made
:49:57. > :50:06.clear, but why would you check the website? Ask Odeon.
:50:06. > :50:11.Final callout for ERS Nationwide Limited. Their plumber missed a
:50:11. > :50:16.boiler fault, he broke a perfect part, then said he couldn't get a
:50:16. > :50:26.replacement for 24 hours. He is on his way back now, in fact is that
:50:26. > :50:27.
:50:27. > :50:32.him pulling up the driveway? Oh it is! It's, what's his name?
:50:32. > :50:36.Laszlo, remember that. He is two hours late, but at least he is
:50:36. > :50:40.working quicker than he was yesterday. Still, it takes him half
:50:40. > :50:50.an hour to fit the part, throw in yesterday's visit, that makes three.
:50:50. > :51:04.
:51:04. > :51:14.Remember, we are being charged by That can't be right. Jim is not
:51:14. > :51:44.
:51:44. > :51:48.having it. Can he speak to someone It is sack eventually. We didn't
:51:48. > :51:54.need it. ERS's total bill is 12 times what it should have cost to
:51:54. > :52:04.fix our fault. There is one last thing. Do you have a gas safety
:52:04. > :52:05.
:52:05. > :52:15.card? Yeah, yeah. Do you show it to me? Yeah. I thought your name was
:52:15. > :52:23.
:52:23. > :52:31.Your middle name is Laszlo, right? I can't take that at face value?
:52:31. > :52:37.The name on the gas safe card is Jerry for short. Is that Jerry?
:52:37. > :52:42.that is not him. Thanks. That has cleared that up. Laszlo lied. He
:52:42. > :52:46.showed us a gas safe card belonging to someone else, this man in fact.
:52:46. > :52:51.The Chief Engineer at ERS. This isn't right. This isn't legal. This
:52:51. > :52:53.isn't something I can tackle without time to think, somewhere to
:52:53. > :53:02.ponder and something very sweet with with with with with with with
:53:02. > :53:06.jam in the middle and sugar on top. So we have a gas fitter who is
:53:06. > :53:10.overcharging massively and using the gas safe card of another fitter.
:53:10. > :53:15.That's not the end of the world! is unacceptable, Val. The gas safe
:53:15. > :53:21.card is there to make sure that your gas fitter is safe to work on
:53:21. > :53:27.gas safely. Oh, I wondered what it was for. You need to ask a few
:53:27. > :53:37.questions. The problem is I don't speak Hungarian. I may need some
:53:37. > :53:58.
:53:59. > :54:03.I have found a teach yourself Hungarian book, but I didn't get to
:54:03. > :54:10.use it as we never saw Laszlo again. More importantly, we are off to
:54:10. > :54:16.find ERS boss, Jazz. We have heard he's left Cambridge and has headed
:54:16. > :54:23.north to Nottingham. The home of Robin Hood. Torvill and Dean. The
:54:23. > :54:32.lace market. And Brian Clough. None of whom are gas safe registered. He
:54:32. > :54:37.nicked this off Usain Bolt. We are here outside their HQ. We have
:54:37. > :54:47.heard that Jazz is in the house and we are ready to rock 'n' roll. Good
:54:47. > :54:51.
:54:51. > :54:55.luck, everyone. Hi, there. Come on in, guys. Matt Allwright, BBC Rogue
:54:55. > :55:00.Traders. It is interesting that your... Can you please leave?
:55:00. > :55:05.are wearing the Gas Safe logo, but you are sending out engineers who
:55:05. > :55:12.are not Gas Safe registered. That is not true. Like Laszlo, the guy
:55:13. > :55:17.you were on the phone to when he came to our place on the 14th
:55:17. > :55:23.June... Can you leave? You were sending them out. That is not even
:55:23. > :55:32.including the fact of course that you charged us �600 - could we have
:55:32. > :55:42.a chat? No. Jay? Hold on a sec. I have to get this little legal
:55:42. > :55:48.
:55:49. > :55:53.letter... There you go. So that's Jazzdeep Randhawa Singh. Jazz
:55:53. > :55:59.improvised as an art form. There is nothing with wrong with the
:55:59. > :56:05.expansion vessel. Do you have a gas safety card? Yes, yes. You couldn't
:56:05. > :56:09.make that up! ERS Nationwide Limit have said they told our interviewee
:56:09. > :56:13.Dave Meek they had no experience of his type of boiler and that they
:56:13. > :56:16.tried to fix it as best they could. They have now fully refunded him.
:56:16. > :56:21.In Sarah Dunn's case, they say the pipe needed wasn't standard pipe
:56:21. > :56:26.and they didn't have it on them at the time. They maintain that Laszlo
:56:26. > :56:30.didn't need a gas safe ID card because the work he did wasn't gas
:56:30. > :56:33.safety work. They say his English was poor. He thought he was showing
:56:33. > :56:37.the ID of the company not a gas safe ID. They don't explain how he
:56:37. > :56:41.came to show the card belonging to their head engineer. They say they
:56:41. > :56:46.have undertaken hundreds of repairs and have many satisfied customers
:56:47. > :56:52.who have been assisted facing emergency situations. We haven't
:56:53. > :56:57.heard from those customers. Because of what they have told us, Jazz
:56:57. > :57:00.Singh becomes the latest face on our Rogues' Gallery.
:57:00. > :57:10.Loads of you have been in touch about that story involving many new
:57:10. > :57:10.
:57:10. > :57:14.cars that no longer come with spare tyres. The sealant is useless.
:57:14. > :57:19.Another one, there is no substitute for a spare wheel. I'm a breakdown
:57:19. > :57:24.patrolman and a puncture with no spare is a total nightmare.
:57:24. > :57:29.Cadbury's have shrunk their Dairy Milk bar. Can you believe it? Is
:57:29. > :57:36.nothing sacred? Lots are saying it's gone from 49 to 45 grammes.
:57:36. > :57:41.Cadbury's have confirmed it is true. We are shocked! Do keep sending us
:57:41. > :57:46.more stories just like that and more top tip-offs. Go to our
:57:46. > :57:49.website. You will find it at bbc.co.uk/watchdog and please click
:57:49. > :57:57.on Your Story. There is the old- fashioned way as well. You can
:57:57. > :58:01.write at: Thanks. Coming up next week:
:58:01. > :58:05.British Gas, NPower, Scottish Power raising prices. Do their excuses
:58:05. > :58:10.add up? Indesit, sales have gone with a bang, so have these washing