Episode 6 Watchdog

Halifax and Santander - are they charging you more? Is Vauxhall

giving you less? Plus, Boots, Odeon, Argos and Ariel - it is Watchdog,

the programme you cannot afford to Yes, hello and good evening.

Welcome to Watchdog. We are live from Television Centre. Tonight,

Halifax, Santander, small cuts in mortgage rates, but huge rises in

fees. Don't get caught out. It's quite deceptive and for people

struggling already, they then are hit by these big charges.

Also, Vauxhall, Ford, Renault - spare tyres no longer included.

Plus Thomson getting customers' names wrong and making those same

customers pay the price. And shrinking once, shrinking twice -

Ariel does it again. Forget about shrinking, it is

expansion we are into. An expansion vessel to be exact. This plumber

broke the one on our boiler and then overcharged us for a

replacement. A nasty surprise. So we thought we would give his boss a

bit of a shock. Matt Allwright, BBC Rogue Traders. It is interesting...

Can you leave? The company is called ERS Nationwide Limited and

it is run by Jazz! Tonight it is time for him to face the music.

First, Halifax and Santander, two mortgage lenders who signed up to a

scheme to make home loans cheaper. Watch out. They have cut rates but

their arrangement fees have rocketed.

When the "credit crunch" struck in 2008, lending froze. It was

impossible to get a mortgage. High interest rates and the banks were

reluctant to take risks and it has kept the housing market in the

doldrums ever since. Now, the eye- catching deals are back. You can

get a loan at rates below 3%. Good value. There is a catch. Mortgage

interest rates have tumbled since 2008, but since then, the average

mortgage arrangement fee has soared by 70%. This is despite 13 banks

and building societies all joining the Funding for Lending Scheme,

which is supposed to make mortgages more affordable. Since the Bank of

England launched it in August, some lenders have upped some of their

fees again. While the Halifax offers a two-year mortgage with

interest fixed, you will have to pay �1,995 in fees. Santander have

slashed their five-year mortgage deal from 3.79% to 3.19%. But they

have raised their fee by a third leaving buyers with a �1,495 bill.

Which means that although some lenders say they are trying to make

it easy for us to buy, it is just as difficult as it's ever been.

First-time buyer Vicky Gray is struggling. We see a lot of lower

rates trying toen ties you in. We don't see any benefit from it. When

you've got a deposit to think about, you have to set aside another

couple of thousands of pounds in fees. These fees go by lots of

different names. Some lenders charge an arrangement fee. Others a

product fee. Booking fee. Completion fee. Administration fee.

But whatever they are called, does anyone know what they are for? Tell

me what you think about arrangement fees? Well, they are costly.

seem to pay lots of money for not a lot. It is another hidden cost.

guess it is administration. It seems to be particularly high if

all they are doing is extending your mortgage or adding to it.

charge a lot for all of those things that don't seem to take time

or effort. It is not surprising that buyers are so confused what

these fees are for. The lenders are so vague. Look at some of the

explanations. From Santander - by choosing a product with a booking

fee you will normally secure a lower monthly payment during the

benefit period. Normally doesn't mean always. Lower - how much

lower? You will notice they don't tell you what they do for this fee.

So let's try NatWest instead. Well, not much joy here. They tell us

that lenders sometimes charge arrangement fees, also sometimes

known as product fees, for setting up a mortgage. Thanks for that(!)

When you consider that in August and September alone the average fee

for taking out a mortgage increased by �42, you would expect there to

be some form of explanation. But if the banks and building societies

aren't being clear about what we are getting in return, we need to

speak to somebody who can. Like Claire Francis from the financial

services comparison site MoneySupermarket. They will run

credit checks and there is paperwork involved. There is an

element of cost. We have seen fees increase so much over recent years

that it's becoming harder to justify how the fee is

representative of the cost of the administration involved. Actually,

what the fee is being used as now it is almost a pricing lever and a

way for lenders to be able to have greater flexibility in what rate

they offer because if they offer a lower interest rate, they can hike

their fee a bit so it doesn't cost them any more to offer that

mortgage. So generally speaking, the lower the rate, the higher the

fee. And this isn't a one-off payment. Every time you want to

change your mortgage, it is likely you will have to pay a fee again

and the average person changes their mortgage once every seven

years. Because people don't tend to factor in the impact of the fee,

they are led by the headline rate and they ignore the fee and they

ignore the fact that one product could have a �1,500 arrangement fee

and another could have a �500 fee. So I think that is where

potentially it can catch people out when the lenders talk about the

fact they are cutting their mortgage rates. So if you want to

avoid being stung, you need to work out what's cheaper - a high

interest mortgage with a low fee, or a low interest mortgage with a

high fee. There can be a big difference. Ask Oxford University

maths genius Dr Kitt Yates. have two options. They are both

fixed for two years. So your first option from lender A is an eye-

catching low 2.44% mortgage but it does have a hefty arrangement fee

of �1,995. Your second option from lender B is a higher rate of 2.99%

but there is no arrangement fee. However, once you have factored in

the fee, and worked out the true cost like this, so lender A had the

lower rate, but once you factor in the fee from lender A and done the

maths, it turns out that you end up spending �1,320.84 on lender A's

mortgage than lender B's over the course of two years.

differences aren't so clear-cut. It may take most of us a little longer

to work out which is best. But the lesson is clear - before being

tempted by a low rate, check the fees and do your sums.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders say there is a distinction between

charges that relate to administration and other charges.

Santander and Halifax say that by charging these fees, they can offer

a greater range of deals. They say that some customers do prefer to

pay a higher upfront fee in return for a lower interest rate and lower

monthly repayment. If you would like to comment on that, you can

send an e-mail to [email protected]. Or send a text.

Dial 83199. If you want to get involved in the discussion, our

address are on your screens now. Have you bought a new car recently?

Mind you don't have a blowout! In all it's taken 25 minutes for me

to understand this bit of kit and although it's taken the sealant

into the tyre, it has not fixed the problem. Now, we do like it when we

find rogues with a musical connection. It means (a) a great

soundtrack and (b) some terrible puns. Last series we had a team of

gardeners called the Smiths causing panic on the streets of Kent. You

see, I can't help it! We are featuring someone whose very name

Jazz! Dictionary definition - a musical style that originated at

the beginning of the 20th Century in the southern United States. My

definition - the freedom to do as you please, to improvise, to take a

piece of pipe in your hand and make something magical happen.

Freestyling! You can get rich as a result! Jazz is also the name of

the plumbing company boss we are featuring tonight. OK, it's a bit

tenuous. Sarah Dunn doesn't like Jazz. She is more a Coldplay fan.

She is not keen on Jazzdeep Randhawa Singh. Sarah had a DIY SOS.

This is the picture that started it all? Yes, we finished decorating

the lounge. My husband was putting some photos up of the children and

he put a nail through the central heating pipe. Let's put that to one

side. You ended up with wet carpets? Yeah. And needing to get

it sorted as quickly as possible? Yeah. A big problem. But easy to

fix. Not for ERS. You see, none of the pipes the engineer brought with

him fitted. The part we are talking about is just a standard pipe

that... It was a basic standard pipe. That seems strange. Yes.

meant that ERS couldn't fix the fault that evening so they had to

come back the next day with the right pipe. They hit Sarah with a

bill for �274 but that wasn't the end of it. They couldn't get the

central heating working at that point. They said they could get

their central heating engineer out and that would be �65 an hour plus

VAT. We were quite concerned they wanted to charge us more money and

the costs were going up all the time. So concerned that she called

the boss. So was Jazz laid-back, chilled out, maybe mellow? He said

if we didn't pay immediately, we would incur further charges, that

he would send debt collectors out and the police. He then hung up on

me and phoned the plumber and asked him to remove the pipe from the

wall that he had just fitted. At that point, we decided to pay

because we just wanted them out. Sarah got a new plumber in. He

found the problem within 30 minutes and charged just �50 to get the

central heating going. I'm going to see another chap now, another

customer of ERS. OK. You don't need to know that necessarily. But I'm

going. Thank you, Sarah. That other chap is based all the way over in

King's Lynn. His name is David Meek. When his boiler stopped working,

his usual plumber was on holiday so he found ERS in the Yellow Pages.

Hello. Hello. They sent a plumber called Jerry. He checked the fuse

box and he then said, "We have some problems there." He said we needed

a new fan. Dave paid a deposit of �740 and the fan was fitted, but

the boiler still didn't work. So he called Jazz. Dave, he said, it's

going to be costly. "We want three more parts for the boiler and they

are going to come to �650. I tell you what, we'll forget the �740 and

we will come and fit you a new heating system in." Hold on a

second! So they have not got it right when it is just fitting your

fan? No. Now they are suggesting gutting your house and putting in a

completely new heating system? Right. When Dave's usual plumber

looked at the boiler he came to a different conclusion to Jazz. The

heating wasn't working because the fan had been wired wrongly. That

sounds like a bodged job? Very much so, yes. I'm glad I didn't see it.

No. I wish I hadn't! It sounds almost as though what we need is a

house with lots of tiny cameras, an expert and an actor. Yes. That is

how you roll! It is indeed how we roll! Yeah, we are not fibbing.

Look, it is a house with a boiler and a team of rogue investigators.

We are going to set up a job for ERS and Jazz! Nice! Had to come.

Well, the job's not only nice, it is very simple, very cheap and

should be very quick. Will it be? I wonder.

Next, Ford, Vauxhall, Nissan, Renault, Fiat - nearly all the

best-selling car brands in Britain. Have you bought one lately? Notice

something missing? You need to look before it is too late. Throughout

generations of motoring, drivers have had one constant companion -

if you have ever been unlucky enough to have a flat, you could

open the boot, safe in the knowledge it contained a spare tyre

to get you back on the road. Times and cars are changing. Like the

good old cassette player, the spare tyre is becoming a thing of the

past. Almost all car manufacturers have decided to stop supplying them.

So if you have bought a new car in the last few years, then check your

boot. The chances are you will find it empty. Robert Griffiths did that

on New Year's Day. Just after he felt one of his tyres go on a

journey towards Sheffield. The car starts to vibrate, so I'm getting a

bit concerned, so I start to pull over and I realise that I've got a

problem. But instead of a spare, Robert's 2010 Vauxhall was fitted

with a do it yourself repair kit complete with sealant. The tyre had

been shredded. In fact, if I had a spare tyre, it would have taken me

15 minutes to change. How long did it take you without a spare tyre?

Two-and-a-half hours. Why? Well, once I had established the kit

wouldn't work, I had to get on to the rescue services. They take an

hour to come out. They had to call a rescue vehicle out so that my

vehicle could be carried away home. Such stories are becoming familiar.

Recently, the rescue service Green Flag said the number of callouts to

drivers stranded has leapt by 20%. Like Robert, the new cars were

fitted with a repair kit instead of a spare. So this is a typical kit.

You have your electric pump which connects to the see last night,

which you have got to connect -- sealant, which you have got to

connect to the valve of your tyre. It pushes the sealant in inflating

the tyre and sealing the puncture. That is the theory. Let's put it to

practice. I know how it is supposed to work, but I have never tried it

before. To make it easier for myself, I am using a punctured

wheel that is not attached to a car. This bottle of sealant has to be

upside-down. Plug it in. What is that? I don't understand what that

is! I put it on for two minutes. Then off for ten minutes? Let's do

it! So I think it needs to get to two before we activate it. In spite

of my best efforts, no sealant entered the tyre. Time for not

tactic. I use this bit of kit to poke the entrance where the sealant

comes out of so let's try it again. It is all disappearing. That bottle

of sealant is now empty, so it's been pumped into the tyre. I will

switch this off now. Let's have a look. So, in all, it's taken 25

minutes for me to understand this bit of kit and although it's taken

the sealan in, it has not fixed the problem. Imagine what it would be

like if it was raining now, trying to do all of this would be tough. I

tell you what, give me a spare tyre and a jack any day. And according

to one of the biggest breakdown organisations, I'm not alone.

have over 80,000 callouts a year for people who have no spare tyres.

We have limited success with the sealant kits. In some cases, where

the tyre is damaged, we are unable to use the kit. It is up to us to

source the tyre. The kit will only repair tyres with small punctures.

If you have side-wall damage, it won't work. It is very limited to

what you can do with it. Even when the kit does what it is supposed to,

you still may end up paying. When Tom Watkins had a flat on his

brand-new Vauxhall Corsa, he used the sealant. When his dad asked the

dealer to carry out a simple repair, the answer was no. They couldn't

wash the sealant out and look at repairing the tyre. I wasn't very

happy. It wasn't like a major puncture. It could have been

repaired. I have forked out �13,000 and now I have to fork out for a

brand-new tyre! Other drivers are getting similar bills. Whilst some

repair kits are soluable, -- soluble, and more and more

carmakers are getting rid of the spare. Of the top ten best-selling

models, only the VW Golf and Polo came with spare tyres.

Manufacturers want to make their cars lighter because it improves

the fuel economy. There are lots of ways of making cars lighter. Some

make them out of aluminium. Others re-design seats. For the drivers

who have contacted us, such alternatives would be better,

especially as Britain's roads are likely to deteriorate further

during the coming winter. It is a simple solution - let's have a

spare tyre back. With me now from the UK Society of Motor

Manufacturers and Traders is Paul Everitt. When did you decide that

none of us wanted spare tyres any more? I would challenge that that

is what has happened. What is true is that there are a variety of

safety systems available to deal with punctures. A traditional spare

tyre is available. It is available on the majority of vehicles. But

there are a number of other alternatives. You have identified

the safety kit. We have space-saver tyres. Or we have run-flat tyres

and self-sealing tyres. All of these are options that are

available to the consumer. Underpinning all of that in the

majority of cases, the vehicle manufacturer provides in the new

car package and their warranty guarantee roadside assistance. In

the event there is a problem, the consumer is taken care of one way

or another. I have been driving since I was 17. I have no idea that

I was not going to get a spare tyre with my new car. You didn't come

and ask me? Well, that is true. I didn't come and ask you. What is

true - and the film highlights three important points - things do

change. When you are specifying your vehicle, you should be paying

attention to what you are specifying. If you want a

traditional spare tyre, then that is what you should be asking for.

But I would say that a lot of people actually do find the repair

kits more practical because the idea of being on a cold, windy, wet

traffic verge trying to change a wheel is equally as scary. So for

them, a repair kit provides them with a better option. Now, clearly,

what is important is that the consumer firstly understands what

that safety system is. I have to interrupt you. I have a new car

arriving in November, not till this afternoon did I ring and discover

that it is not coming with a spare tyre, and there is no room for one.

So consumers don't know about it. They also are going to find that

these kits are very unsatisfactory. If your tyre is shredded, they are

no use. They are very fiddly. I don't want one on a main road. When

you take your tyre to a garage, they don't want to repair one

that's used a sealant? There are a range of issues there. Choice is

important and people should understand what they are buying.

Secondly, I think any puncture is inconvenient at the very least. I

think the two circumstances you highlighted, it was exacerbated by

the fact that what they were expecting to see wasn't there and

again that comes with this is a complex and expensive product. We

would expect people to have checked as to exactly how the safety

systems work... Really? I hadn't checked. Am I wrong not to have

checked? No. That is one of the highlights, or the advantage of

being able to talk about this issue. It's to bring to the public

attention there are questions and responsibilities on both sides and

I'm sure - if you look... Do you mind there's 20% increase from

Green Flag of people not having spare tyres, their rate has gone,

20% more people are needing their help, are stranded because they

find they don't have a spare tyre? Do you mind that? I would argue

that they have a safety system in their vehicle to help them if they

have a puncture. Now, it's a reasonable point. We have to stop

you there. Those people need to ensure that we understand the

vehicles that we are driving. you.

A full statement from the SMMT is on our website. Now you may

remember a couple of weeks ago a smooth, devilishly handsome man

explaining how a certain clothes washing liquid had shrunk. Take a

look at this. Ariel with Actilift. Now it's gone down to 925ml. Can

you tell the difference? If you put them side by side, they are

virtually the same. As you can see, just over one litre there and 925ml

there. Even though the volume inside is less.

Good, wasn't he? Who?

I'm still waiting for George! Ariel is back. That is because

after shrinking it once, Procter & Gamble have done it again. Reducing

the contents to 888ml. It is now good for 24 washes instead of the

28 it said on the old bottle. And 25 washes specified on the 925ml

bottle. Once more, they have been very clever with the packaging. It

doesn't look like it's changed at all.

What about the price? No, that hasn't changed either. Nor

has Procter & Gamble's position. Once again, they are blaming rising

commodity costs for this latest content reduction. They say the new

volume is clearly identified on the pack.

The price stays the same. But what it doesn't say is this. These two

reductions mean you are paying 5p more per wash than you used to!

Next, Argos. More than 700 stores, a 1,700-page catalogue, a website,

TV ads, even its own TV channel, so many ways of tempting us, so many

ways of getting it wrong. You know how it works - you order

your item, you wait for it to appear and then you collect it at

the desk. Shopping at Argos is a novel experience, made more fun

when you save money with one of their numerous special offers. I

say "special" but according to some of you, bagging that bargain isn't

as easy as they make it look. Meet Christine Carr, a few months ago

she got an e-mail offering up to 60% off all indoor furniture.

60% off deal was amazing. It was perfect. Having just moved into a

new home, it was wonderful. I had been looking for some book cases to

fit my dining room. It just all fell into place perfectly. At least

it would have fallen into place if the deal had turned out to be real.

I tried to order some book cases online, found out they weren't

included in the deal. They weren't reduced at all. It was selected

lines only. It was a real let down to find out they weren't included.

I think they need to drastically rethink their marketing strategies.

They shouldn't be deceiving their customers in this way especially

people like myself that don't have a large budget to spend on

furniture. So, that deal wasn't quite what it seemed. How about

this one? Half price on selected outdoor toys. And the one I want is

featured in the banner itself. I should have no problems getting

these rollerskates. Right? Wrong. The rollerskates are nowhere to be

seen when you click on the banner. Look elsewhere on the website, and

you will find them with only a �3 reduction. Nowhere near half price.

That's just one example of sale banners not delivering on what they

seem to be offering. In fact, we found nine other instances, so can

Argos be accused of misleading customers? Not only is this

misleading because the actual offer doesn't exist, it's an untruth, so

it is not truthful advertising. So that is much worse than being

misleading. OK. No luck so far in enjoying life for less. What if I

know that the item that I really want is definitely in the sale

promoted? Surely then I can get my hands on it? Not always. In

December last year, the Advertising Standards Authority found Argos

offering this toy at half price when they had insufficient stock to

meet demand. They continued to advertise when it was sold out.

Eight months later, they were caught at it again, this time

offering a camera for sale when there were none in stock. So with

the advertising regulators ruling against them not once but twice,

surely we can believe what they are telling us? I think we better check

it out. This is Elaine. In August, she found this offer for a happy

land toy rocket. A great deal and something her daughter would love.

I went online, saw it advertised. Then decided to see where it was in

stock. There is nowhere in stock, so I have checked all the local

stores and ten are out of stock. I checked up in Yorkshire because we

have family up there and we were visiting last week. It was out of

stock there, too. It's happened to me before. Friends have mentioned

it happens to them all the time. It is like when they have these offers

on, they don't have the stock to give it to the people at that price.

We phoned Argos and they said it was out of stock throughout the

country. As was this, the Jamie Oliver three-burner gas barbecue

with a price reduced to �159.99. Unfortunately, it was also out of

stock. Argos told us they didn't know when they will be getting any

more. So there you go. All-inclusive

sales that don't include everything. Banners advertising goods that

aren't included in the sale they are promoting. Special offers that

are not in stock. So, the next time you see a special offer at Argos,

be warned - you could be waiting some time. Argos says it is

concerned that some customers are unhappy at the way it presents

promotions. It refutes there is a company policy to mislead. It has

apologised for excluding a product from an all-inclusive sale blaming

human error. The wording on the banner ad was legal but it accepts

it may not have been completely clear. It appreciates customers can

get frustrated when sale goods are no longer available and says it is

making efforts to ensure future promotions don't continue once

stocks run out. Still to come: They make the

mistakes, you pay the price. Thanks, Thomson(!)

ERS short for Emergency Repair Services Nationwide. JRS short for

Jazzdeep Randhawa Singh who runs it. AHEB short for actor, house, expert

and boiler. RT - short for roll tape!

Let's ditch the acronyms. Here is the house, here is the actor, the

expert, Mike, he is setting a fault on the boiler so what is the fault?

I'm going to use the pressure relief valve to reduce the pressure

so the boiler fails to operate. There is a red light which will

tell ERS what the problem is because it flashes. If that is not

enough, we have provided an extra clue, a leaking pipe outside the

boiler room. What would a competent plumber do? They would check to see

there is no obvious places where there is a leak. That is because

the leak shows there is something wrong with the pressure relief

valve? It is cheap and easy to do. I don't see why it should take very

long. Mike goes and hides upstairs, leaving the on the blink boiler

downstairs and now ERS are on the front stairs, or steps. Hello.

Laszlo, your friendly neighbourhood plumber. He is from Hungary. Jim

points Laszlo towards the boiler and leaves him to it. The same

boiler with the flashing red light alerting all good plumbers to the

problem with water pressure. Seems to have passed this plumber by,

though. He looks lost. The clue is on the front, a flashing red light,

The cylinder? OK. After missing the flashing light, Laszlo asks to go

You see, that is not a lot of pipes. This is a lot of pipes! However

many there are, they have confused him. He is not doing much better

back at the boiler. He is struggling. He is touching things

all the time. No constructive diagnostics. OK, maybe the boss can

help him with some constructive diagnostics. He is on the line to

Jazz, several times in fact, now he is talking to the head engineer in

his native language. Maybe he is Hungarian, too? Time for a quick

fag break, I presume? Yeah. After all that talking, it's left him

gasping, or is it because he is charging us �90 an hour? The thing

is, you can get a lot done in an hour. OK, seeing as Laszlo still

hasn't managed to iron out our boiler problem, it is time for our

actor to give him a nudge. Our producer sends a message to his

Hello? Laszlo's missed the earlier smaller clue so now what is known

as a dead giveaway! Is it anything to do with that? Yeah, I think.

It is the bleeding obvious! It would be OK if he did something

about it. But he doesn't. He goes back inside, takes a screwdriver

out and uses it on a part of the boiler that has been working just

fine. He's interfered with the expansion vessel. Letting the

pressure out of it and making it look like the system pressure is

too high. He seems to be breaking it. Now, we are going to have to

pay for a new expansion vessel, which we don't need in the first

place. There is nothing wrong with it. Once it's regassed, it will

work perfectly. Not according to That's the one, Jim. It won't be

cheap to fix. The cost he's put down for the parts is far over what

you would take as being reasonable charging for a reasonable profit

margin. And there is more bad news to come. They won't be able to get

hold of the part for another 24 Is the part really that difficult

to find? Cue that familiar music. Hello, would you have an expansion

vessel for a boiler? You do? How much is it? Just �92? I'll take it!

Oh, my name? It's JR Hartley. Over # I've been waiting

# All this time for you. # Where have they been? It is under

an hour. Is that what you want? Yes! Despite what ERS told us, we

managed to find three within one hour's drive of our house, all

between �92�135. This job has definitely expanded! Yes, our faith

in ERS Nationwide Limited to do it has contracted, especially as

Laszlo is about to suffer an identity crisis. He will be talking

a whole load more boilers later. Right now, feels like someone else

has put the heating on! This is nice.

Wonderful. On holiday with you. A dream come true(!)

You can put some cream on my back later. Now, it is quite warm here

on the Watchdog beach, but Thomson have been making mistakes and

demanding their customers pay for them. Brian Dinsdale and his wife

booked a holiday to Gran Canaria. They noticed their names had been

spelt wrongly - Mr and Mrs BINSdale. Easy to correct?

First Choice said it would cost �100 to do it. If it wasn't

corrected, the couple would lose their deposit. Even though it was

the company's fault, it said they had to pay for the correction.

This is a holiday outrage. It is. Here is another one

involving Matt Brighton. Thomson spelt the name of one of his fellow

passengers wrongly. Because he had also made a mistake on his booking

form, it said he had to pay for all the corrections - �70.

Thomson say? TUI, owners of Thomson and First

Choice, says it is common industry practice for airlines to charge for

amendments near departure time. Matt signed documents to confirm

all the details were correct. As he contacted them about the error more

than 14 days later, the standard charge applied. As the Dinsdales

received their documents late, it has refunded their �100 and

apologised. Here is another holiday company to

look out for, On The Beach. If you have a complaint about them, the

very best of luck! Cheap holidays booked online, but

with all the protection you would expect from an established travel

agent. At least that is what you think you are getting with On The

Beach. According to our viewers, if you book with them, you might want

to pack a few extra things, like a map to find a new hotel, something

to clean your room with and even a spare pair of airline tickets, just

in case. If you are going with On The Beach, you need to be prepared

for anything. These two took their three daughters to Sharm el-Sheikh.

It wasn't an ordinary family holiday. This was a two-week

honeymoon and they paid more than � �2,300. We went to the reception

desk to be shown to our room. We were told that we had to leave,

that our reservation wasn't with that hotel. We had got paperwork in

front of us saying otherwise and were asking this is just ridiculous,

we have paid this money. Although On The Beach offered them another

hotel, this was the one they had set their heart on, but they

couldn't afford to. The hotel manager said if they were going to

stay, it would cost them another �2,000. We received an e-mail

telling us it was the booking agent's fault and they weren't

going to take responsibility for it, but they would pass it on. So what

makes On The Beach think they aren't responsible when things go

wrong? They say it's because the trips they sell are not package

holidays. While they do book your flights and accommodation, it is

done through a range of separate third party booking agents. That

means holiday-makers enter into contracts with those agents rather

than On The Beach themselves. Problem is, you might not realise

that when you book. That is because the information is buried away in

the terms of business section on its website. Here you will discover

that On The Beach accept no responsibility or liability for the

acts or services provided by travel suppliers. As they don't sell

packages, you are not covered by a crucial piece of protection, the

Package Travel Regulations. They say the tour operator, the company

that's organising your holiday, has complete responsibility for

delivering that holiday from the moment you turn up at Manchester or

Gatwick Airport to the moment you come home. If anything goes wrong,

they are responsible. Contrast that with On The Beach and they will say

no, we are only acting as an agent for these different companies. If

anything goes wrong, you are on your own. Dealing with a middleman

company can complicate the simplest request as Russell Hill found out.

When he discovered his rowing club had won a place on the Thames

Pageant, he asked On The Beach to postpone his holiday flight by 24

hours. On The Beach wouldn't let me because they said the airline,

their terms and conditions wouldn't allow me to do that. So I contacted

the airline, they told me there was plenty of availability. They needed

On The Beach to make the change for me. On The Beach failed to do that.

Russell spent �1,000 on two separate flights just so that he

could take his holiday. I was passed between on On The Beach,

their booking agent and the airline and although the airline and the

booking agent were happy to make the change, On The Beach blamed

them for not wanting to make the change. All On The Beach had to do

was say, yeah, that is fine. That was it. Job done. Instead, months

and months of them not doing their job and I end up spending over

�1,000. It is not all right. even if the flight goes according

to plan and the hotel has a record of your reservation, you are still

not necessarily in the clear. It seems On The Beach is not always

bothered about the standard of the place they have booked you into.

Just ask Sally Warren who took her daughters to kurky. This was how

the hotel looked from the outside, but once inside... My eldest

daughter burst into tears. She was appalled. Filthy dirty, no self-

catering equipment. We had one chipped cup. The rest of the

cupboards were empty. No patio furniture. Appalling electrics.

Sockets hanging out of the wall. Light switches taped over. Dirty

sheets. Broken furniture. Nothing pleasant about it whatsoever.

thought On The Beach's credentials meant they would be safe to book

with. We assumed it was a package. It's a tour company, you assume the

whole lot is with them. Quite clearly states they are ABTA

recognised. If you book a package holiday, you can be sure that the

tour operator has sent someone round before the season starts to

check a list of a hundred different things to make sure that it is safe

for you. They will of course be responsible for delivering a decent

standard of accommodation. But if you go through an online travel

agent, which says we are only acting as an agent, then if there

is something wrong with the accommodation, if it is not fit for

human habitation, you are on your own. There are some things they

can't blame others for, like using photos of the wrong hotel on their

website. Tom booked the five-star Kos Imperial Hotel. When he arrived,

staff had no idea who he was. On The Beach had booked him into the

three-star Imperial Hotel in Kos Town, similar name, different hotel

and definitely not five-star. On The Beach do offer cheap holidays,

but they can come at a price. Leaving you with a dream holiday

you can't wait to forget. On The Beach says customer

satisfaction is of paramount importance. They have more than

750,000 customers each year receiving satisfaction scores of

over 95%. They stress that when booking with them your holiday and

money is totally protected by the ATOL licence. Anyone happy with any

part of their holiday, they must contact them or their suppliers

whilst in resort. They say when they make mistakes, they accept it

and offer full refunds. We are happy to report they have offered

refunds to all the contributors featured.

Good. That was only after Watchdog contacted them. Here is a few more

stories. Heard the one about the organic

baby wash that is more than 95% non-organic? Here it was on the

Boots website. It contained pear, mall low and Aloe vera. The

Advertising Standards Authority found the total organics

ingredients came to less than 5%. The ASA said they shouldn't include

the product in future promotions without a disclaimer.

# I can't get no... # Tickets for the Rolling Stones'

50th anniversary -- for the 50th anniversary gig next month. Well, I

might be able to. Surprise to surprise, the fee includes hefty

booking fees. Still, the band aren't complaining as they are

getting �16 million for their latest tour. Don't think

Ticketmaster are doing too badly either!

Odeon, two for one vouchers, valid every day from September 22nd to

October 18th except the vouchers don't tell you certain blockbuster

films are excluded, such as Taken 2, Madagascar 3 and Hotel Transylvania.

Movie-goers complain they have been misled and they have taken to the

internet to voice their anger. Odeon says the exclusions may not

be on the voucher. If customers check the website, all is made

clear, but why would you check the website? Ask Odeon.

Final callout for ERS Nationwide Limited. Their plumber missed a

boiler fault, he broke a perfect part, then said he couldn't get a

replacement for 24 hours. He is on his way back now, in fact is that

him pulling up the driveway? Oh it is! It's, what's his name?

Laszlo, remember that. He is two hours late, but at least he is

working quicker than he was yesterday. Still, it takes him half

an hour to fit the part, throw in yesterday's visit, that makes three.

Remember, we are being charged by That can't be right. Jim is not

having it. Can he speak to someone It is sack eventually. We didn't

need it. ERS's total bill is 12 times what it should have cost to

fix our fault. There is one last thing. Do you have a gas safety

card? Yeah, yeah. Do you show it to me? Yeah. I thought your name was

Your middle name is Laszlo, right? I can't take that at face value?

The name on the gas safe card is Jerry for short. Is that Jerry?

that is not him. Thanks. That has cleared that up. Laszlo lied. He

showed us a gas safe card belonging to someone else, this man in fact.

The Chief Engineer at ERS. This isn't right. This isn't legal. This

isn't something I can tackle without time to think, somewhere to

ponder and something very sweet with with with with with with with

jam in the middle and sugar on top. So we have a gas fitter who is

overcharging massively and using the gas safe card of another fitter.

That's not the end of the world! is unacceptable, Val. The gas safe

card is there to make sure that your gas fitter is safe to work on

gas safely. Oh, I wondered what it was for. You need to ask a few

questions. The problem is I don't speak Hungarian. I may need some

I have found a teach yourself Hungarian book, but I didn't get to

use it as we never saw Laszlo again. More importantly, we are off to

find ERS boss, Jazz. We have heard he's left Cambridge and has headed

north to Nottingham. The home of Robin Hood. Torvill and Dean. The

lace market. And Brian Clough. None of whom are gas safe registered. He

nicked this off Usain Bolt. We are here outside their HQ. We have

heard that Jazz is in the house and we are ready to rock 'n' roll. Good

luck, everyone. Hi, there. Come on in, guys. Matt Allwright, BBC Rogue

Traders. It is interesting that your... Can you please leave?

are wearing the Gas Safe logo, but you are sending out engineers who

are not Gas Safe registered. That is not true. Like Laszlo, the guy

you were on the phone to when he came to our place on the 14th

June... Can you leave? You were sending them out. That is not even

including the fact of course that you charged us �600 - could we have

a chat? No. Jay? Hold on a sec. I have to get this little legal

letter... There you go. So that's Jazzdeep Randhawa Singh. Jazz

improvised as an art form. There is nothing with wrong with the

expansion vessel. Do you have a gas safety card? Yes, yes. You couldn't

make that up! ERS Nationwide Limit have said they told our interviewee

Dave Meek they had no experience of his type of boiler and that they

tried to fix it as best they could. They have now fully refunded him.

In Sarah Dunn's case, they say the pipe needed wasn't standard pipe

and they didn't have it on them at the time. They maintain that Laszlo

didn't need a gas safe ID card because the work he did wasn't gas

safety work. They say his English was poor. He thought he was showing

the ID of the company not a gas safe ID. They don't explain how he

came to show the card belonging to their head engineer. They say they

have undertaken hundreds of repairs and have many satisfied customers

who have been assisted facing emergency situations. We haven't

heard from those customers. Because of what they have told us, Jazz

Singh becomes the latest face on our Rogues' Gallery.

Loads of you have been in touch about that story involving many new

cars that no longer come with spare tyres. The sealant is useless.

Another one, there is no substitute for a spare wheel. I'm a breakdown

patrolman and a puncture with no spare is a total nightmare.

Cadbury's have shrunk their Dairy Milk bar. Can you believe it? Is

nothing sacred? Lots are saying it's gone from 49 to 45 grammes.

Cadbury's have confirmed it is true. We are shocked! Do keep sending us

more stories just like that and more top tip-offs. Go to our

website. You will find it at bbc.co.uk/watchdog and please click

on Your Story. There is the old- fashioned way as well. You can

write at: Thanks. Coming up next week:

British Gas, NPower, Scottish Power raising prices. Do their excuses

add up? Indesit, sales have gone with a bang, so have these washing