:00:06. > :00:11.access to your money. Spanish hospitals demanding you hand
:00:11. > :00:14.over money. Plus, Alton Towers, TripAdvisor.
:00:14. > :00:17.LOVEFiLM. And Britain's pothole epidemic. Why
:00:17. > :00:27.should you pay for the damage? It's Watchdog, the programme you
:00:27. > :00:43.
:00:43. > :00:47.Hello and good evening. Welcome to Watchdog. We're with you, as usual,
:00:47. > :00:56.for the next 60 minutes. Tonight: Banned from using your bank
:00:57. > :01:01.account. No access to your money. No explanation why. It is like being
:01:01. > :01:04.charged with a crime and not being allowed to defend yourself. Also
:01:04. > :01:07.tonight: This card is supposed to guarantee you free medical treatment
:01:07. > :01:09.in Europe. Watch out if you're going to Spain.
:01:09. > :01:12.Potholes damaging cars, angering drivers. We show you how to fight
:01:12. > :01:21.back. And Ideal World. Big promises from
:01:21. > :01:25.this shopping channel, shame about these deliveries. Tonight's rogues
:01:25. > :01:31.far from ideal but they do work in the TV business, so you would think
:01:31. > :01:37.they would know about the watershed. How are you doing there? I'm not
:01:37. > :01:43.going to bother with the handshake. Don't be stupid. (BLEEP). Four
:01:43. > :01:47.bleeps. It has only just turned eight o'clock! Very poor reception
:01:47. > :01:52.there from Gurdit Sharma, part of a family of TV rogues. He's a man who
:01:52. > :01:55.has taken our money and who's been holding on to our telly. We want it
:01:55. > :01:57.back, because we are on tonight, and so is he.
:01:57. > :02:01.First, Barclays and NatWest denying customers access to their money.
:02:01. > :02:03.Even those with a perfect credit history. The banks say they only
:02:03. > :02:07.freeze accounts when they suspect fraud. And they do it to protect
:02:07. > :02:10.you. But often they don't explain the reasons. Although they do tell
:02:10. > :02:20.other banks, which means those customers can't open an account
:02:20. > :02:24.anywhere else. The banks have eyes. They watch what comes into our
:02:24. > :02:29.accounts, keep tabs on what goes out, and constantly monitor our
:02:29. > :02:34.finances to ensure they add up. Why? Partly because of the growing risk
:02:35. > :02:40.of fraud. Estimated to cost the UK the �73 billion a year. It is no
:02:40. > :02:46.wonder banks want to stamp it out. What if in their eagerness to tackle
:02:47. > :02:54.fraud banks treat victims like criminals? That's how Barclays
:02:54. > :02:59.customer period warder left -- Peter ward has been left feeling. They
:02:59. > :03:03.banned the pensioner from accessing his own money for 11 days. This
:03:03. > :03:07.restricted availability of money for my wife and I for purchases of
:03:08. > :03:13.groceries and I had no assurity of continue once of payment of bills or
:03:13. > :03:17.anything. There was no explanation forthcoming. So what was the fraud
:03:17. > :03:22.exactly? There wasn't one. Suspicions had been raised because
:03:22. > :03:28.Peter had simply forgotten to log out of his online account. Because I
:03:29. > :03:33.hadn't logged out, you've given me all this distress? This upset. I had
:03:33. > :03:38.done nothing wrong and there's no reason why anybody should restrict
:03:38. > :03:44.me from having my own money. Richard emmy is a card fraud investigator.
:03:44. > :03:48.How does he think the bank acted? think Barclays have treated him
:03:48. > :03:54.completely unfairly. Because they didn't investigate the matter before
:03:54. > :03:58.making a vital decision. It can have an impact with direct debits and
:03:58. > :04:05.Standing Orders not being honoured. Just 11 days is enough to cause
:04:05. > :04:11.major problems. Although there was no fraud in Peter's crease the crime
:04:11. > :04:14.is wide -- in Peter's case the crime is weed spread. If there is
:04:14. > :04:19.fraudulent activity on your account you may be suspected of involvement
:04:19. > :04:26.yourself. For many, there'll be no explanation. For some, there could
:04:26. > :04:30.be no account. Under anti-money laundering laws banks don't have to
:04:30. > :04:36.tell customers why their account has been closed or frozen. In case they
:04:36. > :04:39.tip off fraudsters. And once you've been refused an account by one bank,
:04:39. > :04:48.you are more likely to be turned down by other banks too. That's what
:04:48. > :04:56.happened to one customer of this high street giant. Rajesh applied
:04:56. > :05:04.for a job and passed on his details for salary purposes, but he
:05:04. > :05:10.discovered that the company were scammers. I got in touch with Action
:05:10. > :05:14.Fraud and my bank account got shut down and I was not able to open any
:05:14. > :05:19.bank accounts anywhere with any other banks. I didn't know where to
:05:19. > :05:23.go. NatWest suspended his account for almost two months, only
:05:23. > :05:28.re-opening it after Rajesh complained to the ombudsman. During
:05:28. > :05:32.all of that time he was unable to bank with anyone else. If one bank
:05:32. > :05:36.thinks that you are guilty of fraud, it will be virtually impossible to
:05:36. > :05:41.open an account with any other bank until you have cleared your name. In
:05:41. > :05:45.this particular case it was resolved quite quickly but it still indicates
:05:45. > :05:52.the banks failed at the very start of a process to investigate it
:05:52. > :05:56.properly. I think I wasn't treated fairly. I'm the one who told them
:05:56. > :06:01.about the scam and at the end of the day I was the one who was treated as
:06:01. > :06:06.a criminal. So are banks treating innocent customers fairly when they
:06:06. > :06:09.are suspected of fraud? The new Financial Conduct Authority set up
:06:09. > :06:15.to police standards in the industry has been looking into complaints.
:06:15. > :06:19.The current system is clearly not fair. What shocked us was that
:06:19. > :06:23.people who are in this situation are being suspected of a crime and yet
:06:23. > :06:29.they have no way of justifying what they were doing earthquakes
:06:29. > :06:34.explaining what's was -- what they were doing, explaining what they
:06:34. > :06:37.were doing, appealing and getting a judgment. The FCA is in talks with
:06:37. > :06:42.all the major banks to find a way to tackle the problem, but the
:06:42. > :06:49.complaints still keep coming. NatWest suspended 17-year-old Jordan
:06:49. > :06:54.Rule's account in April. One month on it remains frozen. One day I got
:06:54. > :06:57.four cards off NatWest. I went into the bank and asked what it was and
:06:57. > :07:02.the woman said to me it was a computer error, so I thought nothing
:07:02. > :07:06.else of it. A couple of weeks later I received a later saying they were
:07:06. > :07:09.going to close my account within 14 days because of fraudulent activity
:07:09. > :07:14.had been going on. She had received the cards because criminals had
:07:14. > :07:19.opened four accounts in her name, using them to obtain payday loans.
:07:19. > :07:24.Even though she is too young to take out those loans themselves NatWest
:07:24. > :07:28.still suspected she was behind the fraud. It has caused me so much
:07:28. > :07:31.stress. My exams have been coming up, I've had an operation.
:07:31. > :07:36.Everything has been piling up. It is something I have never experienced
:07:36. > :07:40.before. I put my trust into this bank. Jordan is being treated
:07:40. > :07:45.unfairly by the bank. There is no evidence to say that they opened
:07:45. > :07:49.those four additional accounts. They have no evidence that we have seen
:07:49. > :07:54.to show that she has acted fraudulently. If she doesn't have a
:07:54. > :07:59.reference from NatWest, she will find it virtually impossible to open
:07:59. > :08:03.a normal standard bank account anywhere else in the UK. Frozen out
:08:03. > :08:08.by one bank, banished by them all. If fraudsters target your account,
:08:08. > :08:12.you could be left in the financial cold, as well as being kept in the
:08:13. > :08:17.dark. The one thing that is absolutely consistent is the banks'
:08:17. > :08:22.failure to provide adequate information. All they are doing is
:08:22. > :08:25.hiding behind an unwillingness to disclose information that would
:08:25. > :08:31.allow the customer to clear themselves. It is like being charged
:08:31. > :08:35.with a crime and then not being allowed to defend yourself.
:08:35. > :08:41.Lateef reporting there. We've since spoken to Barclays who blocked Peter
:08:41. > :08:46.Ward's account. They said they never freeze or close an account lightly.
:08:46. > :08:51.The reasons are varied, involving fraud, or even terrorism. They say
:08:51. > :08:54.the laws are clear about their obligation not to tip off customers.
:08:54. > :08:59.They recognise not giving a reason can cause inconvenience but it is
:08:59. > :09:03.the price of compliance with laws and regulations. Peter Ward was
:09:03. > :09:09.badly inconvenienced and he was an innocent customer. And nat weather?
:09:09. > :09:13.They say they don't take these decisions lightly and based on the
:09:13. > :09:19.information they stand by their decision to close Jordan Rule's
:09:20. > :09:23.account. They will look again if she has any more information. They
:09:23. > :09:31.apologised to Rajesh and he did the right thing by contacting them.
:09:31. > :09:41.They've contacted him, assured him his credit rating won't be affected
:09:41. > :09:46.
:09:46. > :09:49.Twitter discussion: There was a big response to last
:09:49. > :09:54.week's report and one in particular. Yes, contactless cards like these.
:09:54. > :09:58.The ones you don't have to put in the payment machine. They've already
:09:59. > :10:03.been complaints from M&S customers, whose bank accounts were wrongly
:10:03. > :10:07.debited. Don't blame us, say M&S, our system is safe. But here's
:10:07. > :10:12.another company whose contactless machines definitely can take money
:10:12. > :10:17.from your account whether you like it or not.
:10:17. > :10:21.They are supposed to make shopping quicker and easier, no more chip and
:10:21. > :10:26.PIN, simply wave-and-pay. Contactless payment cards have been
:10:26. > :10:30.around since 2004-05, and they are very convenient for paying for
:10:31. > :10:36.goods. The person simply swipes their card over a reader and it
:10:36. > :10:40.debits their account up to a maximum value of about �20. Since December
:10:40. > :10:46.last year bus passengers in London have been able to use them too. Get
:10:46. > :10:50.on board, touch in and your card is debited, which is fine, except that
:10:50. > :10:54.Oyster Cards from London Transport work via the same technology. That
:10:54. > :10:59.means if you have one of these as well as a contactless bank card in
:10:59. > :11:03.your purse or wallet you can be charged for your journey twice.
:11:03. > :11:07.get a bus every day to work and this is payment in advance. Usually I
:11:07. > :11:11.keep my cards in the same wallet. Inside is my oyster, my Deb
:11:11. > :11:16.independent and travelcards. I noticed my credit card is being
:11:16. > :11:20.charged for some of the journeys. Oyster Cards and contactless payment
:11:20. > :11:24.cards are different technologies but the readers for Oyster Cards are
:11:24. > :11:30.able to read contactless payment cards as well. If a person has both
:11:30. > :11:34.cards in a wallet, it can subtract payment from each card. You cannot
:11:34. > :11:41.guarantee which card will be read. If you have already topped up your
:11:41. > :11:46.Oyster Card but your fare is deducted from your contactless card
:11:46. > :11:50.you've paid double for your journey, and it could push you into the red.
:11:50. > :11:54.To find I've been charged for something I didn't need or want to
:11:54. > :11:57.be charged for is irritating. It means that I have to contact my
:11:58. > :12:01.credit card provider and ask them to refund it, which takes time and
:12:01. > :12:05.efforts. I asked if there was anything I could do to change the
:12:05. > :12:11.situation, can I change my card to one which isn't contactless or
:12:11. > :12:16.switch it off and they said no, there's nothing I can do. With
:12:16. > :12:20.contactless payments being rolled out on to the underground network
:12:20. > :12:24.this year many more commuters will be at risk. So be careful where you
:12:24. > :12:30.keep your cards For people who want to avoid payment being taken from
:12:30. > :12:34.the wrong card they should simply separate the two, put their Oyster
:12:34. > :12:38.Card in one holder or wallet and the credit card in another and present
:12:38. > :12:43.them individually. You can also get shielded wallets that you can put
:12:43. > :12:50.your card inside and they can't be read by the readers until you take
:12:50. > :12:53.them out. Well, Transport for London says that when a contactless payment
:12:53. > :12:57.card and an Oyster Card are presented together in a wallet or
:12:57. > :13:01.purse there was no possibility of both cards being charged. But if
:13:01. > :13:05.they are together, the wrong card can be debited. Nice of them to let
:13:05. > :13:10.me know that. Well, to be fair, they did publicise
:13:10. > :13:19.this when the contactless payments were launched. They continue to do
:13:19. > :13:24.so on the countdown dot matrix system at the bus stops which I'm
:13:24. > :13:29.sure, Annie, you are familiar with. Of course. And they'll be used on
:13:29. > :13:33.the tram services later this year. Meanwhile they advise passengers to
:13:33. > :13:36.choose which card they want to pay with and keep it separate when
:13:36. > :13:42.touching the reader. Coming up: Going to Spain this
:13:42. > :13:44.summer? Hope you don't need to visit a hospital.
:13:44. > :13:48.Buenas noches y bienvenidos a malos comerciantes. Sorry, I was just
:13:48. > :13:54.brush being up on my Spanish for the holidays there and I forgot where I
:13:54. > :14:04.was. It is always the same, when I pick up a book or watch a movie, I
:14:04. > :14:13.
:14:13. > :14:17.It was a Tuesday, a black and white, grey Tuesday, and the rain fell in
:14:17. > :14:22.sheets as thick as lead, and the BBC Weather Centre never forecast lead
:14:22. > :14:26.rain. I was tense, edgy. I went to light a cigarette but didn't,
:14:26. > :14:35.because it is illegal to smoke in the workplace, and I don't smoke. So
:14:35. > :14:39.I revisited an old case. A TV repair company with a rep, for
:14:39. > :14:44.overcharging, doing work you don't need and stealing TVs they've been
:14:45. > :14:49.paid to office. Their top guy was Gurdave Sharma. We've heard from
:14:49. > :14:54.customers who tell us that just like before their TVs are not coming back
:14:55. > :15:04.to them. Two years later he went to the slammer, so why was I looking at
:15:05. > :15:09.
:15:10. > :15:16.him again? Yes, a tip about bad goings-on in his old neighbourhood,
:15:16. > :15:22.which came from Julie Creswell. I am asking for some help because I do
:15:22. > :15:27.not know where my TV is. This is my son, Theodore. He has down syndrome
:15:27. > :15:32.and his main entertainment quite a lot of times is the television.
:15:32. > :15:37.her set broke on machine called a company called TV Repairs R Us,
:15:37. > :15:43.based in Birmingham, like the other company. Funny. They had held onto
:15:43. > :15:47.it for 15 weeks. And when she called them? It was an answering machine
:15:47. > :15:51.and it said they would get back to you and your call was important.
:15:51. > :15:57.They never returned her call and Theodore still has no TV, like other
:15:57. > :16:01.customers we know about. I am sore, too, because let's face it, this is
:16:01. > :16:08.ridiculous. Why are we doing this 1930s stuff? They did not have TVs
:16:08. > :16:13.in the 1930s. Until late in the 1930s. On the subject of TV, I hate
:16:13. > :16:18.repeats. OK, dad's Army is brilliant but I do not like repeats of rogue
:16:18. > :16:22.businesses that quite frankly should have moved onto pastures honest.
:16:23. > :16:26.That is what we could be dealing with. The complaints about TV
:16:26. > :16:31.Repairs R Us are strikingly similar to those that we used to get about
:16:31. > :16:35.the other company. So, is Gurdave Sharma back in business? We need to
:16:35. > :16:45.find out, we need to break some sets. We need an expert who knows
:16:45. > :16:45.
:16:45. > :16:50.about TVs inferencing detail. Meet TV and video specialist Keith Marsh.
:16:50. > :16:53.With 50 years in the business, you knows it all. Mind you, I have a
:16:53. > :17:00.pretty detailed knowledge of television engineering myself. Yes,
:17:00. > :17:06.that is a big one. It is a 40 inch Samsung. A nice TV, if it was
:17:06. > :17:10.working. What have you done to it? Taken the power source out and
:17:10. > :17:18.created 2-macro dried joints, to make the stand-by light flash.
:17:18. > :17:23.it need any parts to fix it? Not at all. The estimated cost of the
:17:23. > :17:31.repair, �80. Our sabotage does not stop with one. We are breaking a
:17:31. > :17:37.second one, a small, 32 inch TV with an smaller fault. We have put a
:17:37. > :17:41.blown fuse inside and an engineer should fix it in minutes. He marks
:17:41. > :17:48.the components in both televisions with a UV pen, so we will be able to
:17:48. > :17:54.tell if they actually fit any new parts. The next step is to send them
:17:54. > :17:59.to our two houses to be looked after by our two stooges. The one with the
:17:59. > :18:06.blowing huge goes to Nottingham. Tina is in Redditch. I can never get
:18:06. > :18:09.my remote to work either! Both households report their sets as
:18:09. > :18:15.broken to TV Repairs R Us, and promptly dispatched to different
:18:16. > :18:19.careers to pick them up, and who are in and out within about 2.5
:18:19. > :18:23.minutes. Quite impressive. Having selected them for repair, we know
:18:23. > :18:28.that the sets should have gone here, to the workshop in central
:18:28. > :18:34.Birmingham. But we know at least one of them has not. I is in the back of
:18:34. > :18:38.our heads, you see. Well, we don't, that would be weird. But we do have
:18:38. > :18:42.a tracker which we fitted to Tina's broken set, which starts
:18:42. > :18:47.transmitting as soon as it leaves her house. And we can see that it
:18:47. > :18:54.goes not to the city centre but out to the suburbs, to another house.
:18:54. > :18:59.But whose house, I hear you cry, altogether. I will tell you. The
:18:59. > :19:06.house belongs to this man, Sukhdave Sharma, brother to Gurdave Sharma,
:19:06. > :19:10.our old friend. It is a link, a sibling. Just like his brother,
:19:10. > :19:13.Sukhdave has had his share of run-ins with the authorities. In
:19:13. > :19:17.2011 he was given a court order prohibiting him from acting
:19:17. > :19:25.dishonestly towards customers. If he is found to do so again, he will be
:19:25. > :19:34.in contempt of that court order and could be facing prison. So, to TV
:19:34. > :19:39.companies, but do they both act in the same way. Let's find out. 2.5
:19:39. > :19:43.weeks after collecting Tina's set, TV Repairs R Us tell her it is back
:19:43. > :19:53.in working order. And the man who returns it is Sukhdave Sharma
:19:53. > :19:58.himself. What was wrong with it? There was nothing wrong with the
:19:58. > :20:03.power inverter when you took it away. Now you are charging �165 for
:20:03. > :20:08.a new one. We will need to get it checked out. Yes, it is time for
:20:08. > :20:14.expert Keith to do his thing once more. The first question is, has
:20:14. > :20:18.Sukhdave really put in a new power board, as he claimed? They have not
:20:18. > :20:23.replaced it. We marked the original with the UV pen and you can see at
:20:23. > :20:26.there. Definitely the original board. What they have done is a
:20:26. > :20:33.simple soul the job, and they have charged double what they should
:20:33. > :20:41.have. Your original estimate was �80. They have lied to us. We have
:20:41. > :20:44.been had. Yes.Now for the second question, what has happened to the
:20:44. > :20:50.other set resent for repair? You know it has been a month and I am
:20:50. > :21:00.still waiting for a call. -- the other set we sent for repair. Hold
:21:00. > :21:07.on. How convenient! What's that? But I have never taken out payment
:21:07. > :21:13.protection insurance. Well, the real phone call did eventually come in,
:21:13. > :21:16.but it turned out to be a bit of a surprise. And to know what it was?
:21:16. > :21:21.No flipping. Next, holidays. This year, 30
:21:21. > :21:24.million of us will travel to Europe, 12 million to Spain. An agreement
:21:24. > :21:29.between governments means tourists are owned by -- entitled to free
:21:29. > :21:33.emergency medical treatment as long as they produce a European Health
:21:33. > :21:39.Insurance Card, EHIC. But some Spanish hospitals have been
:21:39. > :21:44.rejecting the card, leading British tourists with big bills.
:21:44. > :21:49.The annual exodus is just weeks away. Once the schools break up in
:21:49. > :21:53.July, millions will head for Spain. Be sure to pack the proper gear, and
:21:53. > :21:59.the right lotion. But perhaps the most important item will be this,
:21:59. > :22:02.the EHIC, a free card that entitles you to free or reduced cost
:22:02. > :22:07.emergency treatment throughout the EU and a number of other countries,
:22:07. > :22:12.like Norway and Switzerland. Present it to any public hospital or clinic
:22:12. > :22:18.and you should be guaranteed the same level of care as any local six.
:22:18. > :22:21.With the cost being met by our own NHS. At least, that is what is
:22:21. > :22:26.supposed to happen. For holidaymakers like Catherine Gerard,
:22:26. > :22:30.the experience in Spain was different. Unfortunately, the day
:22:30. > :22:35.before I was due to leave, I knew I was going to have an attack of
:22:35. > :22:39.asthma. I have had asthma all my life. When I arrived at the
:22:39. > :22:44.hospital, we went to the reception area, where we preferred my EHIC
:22:44. > :22:49.card, which was dramatically waved away, and the request for only my
:22:49. > :22:53.passport. The hospital gave her the treatment she needed, so she could
:22:53. > :23:01.go on to enjoy the rest of her holiday. After she returned home,
:23:01. > :23:06.they sent her a bill for 144 euros. I thought I would not have to pay
:23:06. > :23:12.for anything. I offered my EHIC card and they waved it away. She called
:23:12. > :23:17.the number printed on the card and an adviser suggested she paid up and
:23:17. > :23:21.promised she would be reimbursed. could afford it, but a lot of people
:23:21. > :23:27.can't. I became quite incensed that the British do believe in this
:23:27. > :23:32.reciprocal agreement and we seem to adhere to it, but other countries in
:23:32. > :23:37.the EU are not doing so. How did this happen? One theory is that some
:23:37. > :23:42.Spanish hospitals are trying to bypass PE use system. They have
:23:42. > :23:47.realised they can make more money and get hold of it quicker by making
:23:47. > :23:50.tourists pay for their treatment, or claim for it on travel insurance.
:23:50. > :23:56.Whatever the reason, the number of holidaymakers who find their EHIC
:23:56. > :23:59.being rejected is rising. We have been asked to go to our members
:23:59. > :24:03.telling them about the problem because the European commission is
:24:03. > :24:08.aware of at least 100 cases of British nationals who have had
:24:08. > :24:11.problems trying to use EHIC cards in Spain. Some believe that the euro
:24:11. > :24:14.financial crisis is to blame, forcing cash-strapped hospitals to
:24:14. > :24:17.look for additional revenue. Whether or not that is true, the European
:24:17. > :24:21.commission is taking a dim view. They have announced they are taking
:24:21. > :24:25.legal action against Spain, which could see the country find. Where
:24:25. > :24:29.does that leave British holidaymakers? If you require
:24:29. > :24:34.medical attention in Spain, check that the hospital is providing state
:24:34. > :24:39.care, because the EHIC does not proper -- cover private hospitals.
:24:39. > :24:42.But if you have problems with the acceptance of your card, contact the
:24:42. > :24:46.local British Consul. There are many throughout the Spanish peninsula and
:24:46. > :24:49.they will do their best to assist you. The Spanish Ministry of health
:24:50. > :24:54.so that every hospital and National medical Centre takes care of
:24:54. > :24:57.patients carrying the EHIC. And it does not know of any complaints from
:24:57. > :25:01.patients who have been denied treatment when they produced it. It
:25:01. > :25:05.says if visitors have private health insurance as well as an EHIC vomitus
:25:05. > :25:09.for them to decide which to use, and this is explained to them in their
:25:09. > :25:12.own language. It recommends that tourists carry a current EHIC and
:25:12. > :25:16.make sure any private insurance covers them for all medical costs
:25:16. > :25:20.and eventualities. More than 2 million potholes in
:25:20. > :25:24.England and Wales, according to officials who estimate these things.
:25:24. > :25:31.They are increasing in number and size. That news for drivers, and bad
:25:31. > :25:35.news for their cars. -- bad news. You do not have to drive far to find
:25:35. > :25:40.one and you are lucky if you miss it. For those who hit them, the
:25:40. > :25:47.repair bill is more than �1 million a day. Potholes affect everyone who
:25:47. > :25:50.uses the -- Road. It is something people do not think about, but when
:25:50. > :25:55.they hit one, the effects are obvious. We have seen incidents
:25:55. > :26:00.where it is in thousands of pounds. They form when water seeps into
:26:00. > :26:05.cracks in the road, expands and contracts. As vehicles pass over the
:26:05. > :26:10.weekend surface, the road begins to collapse and crumble. Following the
:26:10. > :26:14.long cold and wet winter, the problem is worse than ever. Councils
:26:14. > :26:21.have spent �338 million on maintenance, but drivers still
:26:22. > :26:26.cannot escape the costs. Every time you hit a pothole, you are one
:26:26. > :26:33.closer to seeing your suspension fail and having to visit a mechanic.
:26:33. > :26:37.It really hits motorists in the pocket. On average, it is �270 to
:26:37. > :26:43.fix an axle suspension failure. That is a considerable amount of money.
:26:43. > :26:47.But as the repair bills rise, so do the claims for compensation. In the
:26:47. > :26:51.north-west of England alone, last year councils paid out �8 million to
:26:51. > :26:57.drivers whose cars were damaged. The trouble is, the road to getting
:26:57. > :27:02.compensation can be very bumpy. How difficult is it to make a claim?
:27:02. > :27:06.It should not be that hard because the authorities must keep roads in a
:27:06. > :27:11.decent state of repair. The problem comes when you have to prove that
:27:11. > :27:15.they have failed in their duty. And you will probably have to be very
:27:15. > :27:25.determined to do that. The sort of determined viewer who writes to us
:27:25. > :27:32.
:27:32. > :27:37.To my's consumer champion is a man of the military. He is Howard Floyd,
:27:37. > :27:42.retired Army pilot from Hampshire. His complaint? Yes, pothole damage,
:27:42. > :27:48.and his consumer weapon of choice, the Freedom of Information Act.
:27:48. > :27:51.knew nothing about it but I went online and read about it. I just
:27:51. > :27:56.searched Freedom of Information Act, and it is amazing what you can
:27:57. > :28:01.request. His battle was to be fought with Hampshire County Council for
:28:01. > :28:05.damage to the car owned by his soldier son, David, caused why a
:28:05. > :28:12.large pothole on a country lane. It was a battle he was determined to
:28:12. > :28:16.win. After the incident, he deployed to Afghanistan, so he was unable to
:28:16. > :28:24.follow it through. When I saw the size of the bill, I thought, this is
:28:24. > :28:31.not fair. David's BMW sustained wheel damage when he was driving
:28:31. > :28:36.home from a friend's house. There were two cyclists coming towards me
:28:36. > :28:40.on the right of the road. Being a narrow road, I took up most of the
:28:40. > :28:47.road, so I moved to the left, which made me hit the pothole with my rear
:28:47. > :28:52.left wheel. The impact caused the wheel to crack, and the tyre to
:28:52. > :28:56.deflate. When he took the car to a barrage, he was told the repairs
:28:56. > :29:02.would cost more than �800. As he was due to serve abroad with the Army,
:29:02. > :29:08.he asked his dad to take up his complaint with the council. It was a
:29:08. > :29:13.massive pothole, four x 2'. And I had remembered that online I had
:29:13. > :29:19.come along -- come across something advising how to make claims against
:29:19. > :29:23.the council for this sort of thing. That was the prompt. By law, local
:29:23. > :29:28.councils and the highways agency must keep public roads in a safe
:29:28. > :29:33.condition. If they fail to do so and your car is damaged, you are
:29:33. > :29:38.entitled to demand compensation. But first you have to prove they have
:29:38. > :29:43.been negligent, and in order to do that, Howard made use of the 2000
:29:43. > :29:47.act. The Freedom of Information Act is a crucial tool for anybody
:29:47. > :29:52.wanting information from public authorities, which can be central
:29:52. > :29:56.government, your local council, or any organisation that has a public
:29:56. > :30:00.remit. You can get pretty much any information that a public authority
:30:00. > :30:04.holds, whatever kind. Facts and figures, stories, policies, details
:30:04. > :30:09.about anything. To make an application, you have to identify
:30:09. > :30:14.the public body you want to apply to and write saying, I would like the
:30:14. > :30:17.following information. They have to respond within 20 days, unless the
:30:17. > :30:23.information falls into one of certain exemptions, in which case
:30:23. > :30:29.they have to respond within a reasonable time. How often the
:30:29. > :30:34.council inspected and maintained the road. The reply said it had last
:30:34. > :30:40.been inspected in April that year but he had seen it before that date,
:30:40. > :30:44.meaning that the council had either missed it or failed to repair it. He
:30:44. > :30:49.compiled a detailed report with photographs, maps and measurements.
:30:49. > :30:52.In submitting his compensation claim he enclosed the repair receipts.
:30:52. > :30:58.was fairly confident because it allowed me to build a fairly strong
:30:58. > :31:01.case, a case that they were unable to argue against. They can't argue
:31:01. > :31:05.against their own facts that they have sent you. Howard was right to
:31:05. > :31:15.be confident, because two months after submitting his claim, the
:31:15. > :31:20.
:31:20. > :31:24.Confirmation for Howard that the pothole had been there when the
:31:24. > :31:28.council last inspected the road. Freedom of Information Act is one of
:31:28. > :31:32.the best things that has happened in this country for a long time. If you
:31:32. > :31:36.have done your homework and you know that they are wrong, submit a claim,
:31:36. > :31:46.because you stand a very good chance of recovering the money that you've
:31:46. > :31:50.had to spend out because of their fault. Hampshire County Council says
:31:50. > :31:54.it has investigated Howard's claim and decided it was legally liable
:31:54. > :31:58.and therefore agreed to settle. It says it is not necessary to submit a
:31:58. > :32:03.request under the Freedom of Information Act, as it investigates
:32:03. > :32:09.and determines all claims applying normal legal principles. If your car
:32:09. > :32:16.has been damaged by a pothole we've put together a guide which spells
:32:16. > :32:19.out your rates. It is on our website. Bbc.co.uk/watchdog.
:32:19. > :32:24.TripAdvisor - who is really writing the reviews?
:32:24. > :32:29.Right, we've had been had by TV Repairs R Us of Birmingham. Not to
:32:29. > :32:33.be confused with other companies of similar names. They lied about
:32:33. > :32:38.putting a new part into our set and charged us double the correct cost
:32:38. > :32:43.of fixing it. Meanwhile they have had hold of another of our sets for
:32:43. > :32:47.a whole month, even though the only thing wrong with it is a blown fuse.
:32:47. > :32:51.How do they explain that then? Well, guess what? After inventing a
:32:51. > :33:01.problem with the first set, they are now lying about a fault with the
:33:01. > :33:03.
:33:03. > :33:09.second. It needs an internal power supply unit. How much will that be?
:33:09. > :33:14.�145. After a month of no telly and repeated phone calls our researcher
:33:14. > :33:23.goes to collect it. Sukhdave Sharma is behind the counter, where he
:33:23. > :33:31.takes our 145 ptsdz and assures us he's fitted a brand-new part. --
:33:32. > :33:38.�145. Oh yeah? Yes, we are asked Keith our expert to give it the once
:33:38. > :33:43.over. So they said that they've replaced this whole board here.
:33:43. > :33:49.they haven't. This is the original board. We've marked the original
:33:49. > :33:53.with the UV pen and there's the mark. Yep, I can see that clearly.
:33:53. > :33:59.The indelible evidence that the company's lied to us again and
:33:59. > :34:05.overcharged us, again. But we paid �145 for that. But it didn't need
:34:05. > :34:11.the board anyway, so I don't know what the big wait was for. It is
:34:11. > :34:17.what on rogue traders we call cobblers. OK, when I set out on this
:34:17. > :34:23.investigation I wanted to know whether Sukhdave is operating like
:34:24. > :34:30.his other brother Gurdit used to. Now we can safely say that he. Case
:34:30. > :34:37.closed? Not quite, because another viewer has been in contact. He's
:34:37. > :34:43.making some serious allegations and he needs to be seriously questioned.
:34:43. > :34:48.Interview with Rob Smith about his telly. When did you last see that
:34:48. > :34:55.television? September 2012.What's happened to it since then? It has
:34:55. > :35:00.been in for repair. Tell me the whole story... Rob lives in Telford
:35:00. > :35:03.and dealt with a repair company, TV Hospital. They turned out the be
:35:03. > :35:08.based in Birmingham. They fixed the set but it didn't stay fixed for
:35:08. > :35:16.long. Within two weeks it was broken again. You called them back?Yes, I
:35:16. > :35:21.did. Six months on and �765 out of pocket, Rob still is waiting for his
:35:21. > :35:26.set to be returned. You hear some terrible things in this job.
:35:26. > :35:33.Sometimes it can get to you. Rob, what was the last programme you ever
:35:33. > :35:38.watched on this television? Mickey must Club House. That is just not
:35:38. > :35:43.right. OK then, TV Hospital of Birmingham,
:35:43. > :35:48.it seems to be up so similar tricks to TV Repairs R Us of Birmingham.
:35:48. > :35:52.Which in turn has been operating in much the same way as TV RC of
:35:52. > :35:58.Birmingham. We know the connection between these two companies. This
:35:58. > :36:07.one is run by Sukhdave Sharma. And this one was run by his brother,
:36:07. > :36:12.Gurdit Sharma, until he was jailed. But this last one... Well... So
:36:12. > :36:20.you've got the skinny by knew. We are going to ask this new company to
:36:20. > :36:25.repair another of our televisions, one that Keith's tinkered with. He's
:36:25. > :36:32.loosened the T-con cable. Obvious symptom - no sound or picture.
:36:32. > :36:37.they've got to do is check the T-con or connections to it. A qualified
:36:37. > :36:42.engineer would take one look? #24eshd find it - they should find
:36:42. > :36:47.it pretty quick. No parts required. We give it to our new stooge, Tim,
:36:47. > :36:53.who calms TV Hospital who asks if they can fix the fault and get the
:36:53. > :37:03.picture back. Sure, they said, bring it in. So he does. I phoned up
:37:03. > :37:10.
:37:10. > :37:16.Hold on, who is this? Well smell my scart lead, it is only Gurdit
:37:16. > :37:19.Sharma! Like Sukhdave he has a court order prohibiting him from acting
:37:19. > :37:24.dishonestly towards his customers. As you may have guessed from his
:37:24. > :37:30.name, he is related to Sukhdave and Gurdit Sharma. But this is
:37:30. > :37:39.surprising. While carrying out surveillance on TV Hospital we later
:37:39. > :37:45.spot this figure opening up the shop. Cel kiss my Coe axe, it is
:37:45. > :37:49.Gurdit Sharma -- it is Gurdave Sharma, who was jailed in 2011. I
:37:49. > :37:53.told you I hated repeats. But it seems that repeats is what we keep
:37:53. > :37:58.getting. TV Hospital hold on to our set for weeks, just like TV Repairs
:37:58. > :38:02.R Us. They quote double what the work should cost, just like TV
:38:02. > :38:08.Repairs R Us. And when we finally lose patience and go to see them
:38:09. > :38:18.they start inhaven'ting faults like -- they start inventing faults
:38:19. > :38:21.
:38:21. > :38:31.like... You know what I mean. There's nothing wrong with the
:38:31. > :38:35.
:38:35. > :38:39.screen, Gurdit be. How much is a new Gurdit? You have already had it for
:38:39. > :38:44.four weeks and the only thing you need to do with it is plug in a
:38:44. > :38:50.loose cable. How much longer do you want? So at the end of this TV epic
:38:50. > :38:54.what have we learnt? Well, that the three various Sharmas you've seen
:38:54. > :39:00.are connected to a lot of different dodgy television repair companies,
:39:00. > :39:03.but they share similar MOs, one of which is keeping hold of TVs for
:39:04. > :39:08.weeks or even months while telling owners they need ridiculously
:39:08. > :39:13.expensive repairs. No wonder some owners give up. After trying to
:39:13. > :39:18.unravel this world of sets, lies and videotape is just what I'm tempted
:39:18. > :39:23.to do. I think I've got it wrong. Yeah,
:39:23. > :39:27.don't worry. We never give up. Especially now we know what Gurdit
:39:27. > :39:32.Sharma is up to. We are going to pay the TV man a visit soon, so stay
:39:32. > :39:38.tuned. Thank you Matt. Just getting an
:39:39. > :39:44.update on your e-mails, texts and tweets. Lots of you are in touch
:39:44. > :39:48.about contactless cards. Chris from Lincolnshire says he was sent one as
:39:48. > :39:51.a replacement for his credit card. He never asked for one and didn't
:39:51. > :39:55.want one but his provider said he had no choice.
:39:55. > :39:59.An e-mail from a viewer which says when she expressed concern about the
:39:59. > :40:04.security of her new contactless card, her bank said she could revert
:40:04. > :40:10.to the old type if she put in a written request.
:40:10. > :40:16.Next, Ideal World, the shopping channel where you can buy anything
:40:16. > :40:19.from growths, jewellery and gadgets, even wigs in the style of Adele. But
:40:20. > :40:27.Watchdog is getting complaints about quality, service and delivery. A
:40:27. > :40:33.shame, because those shopping channel presenters are so good.
:40:33. > :40:41.Aah, the weekend. No Annie to worry about. Time to myself. And there's
:40:41. > :40:44.only one thing I want to watch with a nice cuppa. Shopping channels. I
:40:44. > :40:52.love 'em. I could catch them for hours. The only problem is every
:40:52. > :40:56.time I switch on, they are advertising something I really need.
:40:56. > :41:02.It is called brush on a opportunity. What you do is connect it to the
:41:02. > :41:08.vacuum and you go round the window frames and suddenly your fluffy faux
:41:08. > :41:14.pass, your dusty problems have gone forever. You see what I mean? My
:41:14. > :41:20.windows are really filthy. Hold on, what's this? Five years ago I was
:41:20. > :41:30.getting a little bald on top until I found this, the hair-restoring
:41:30. > :41:31.
:41:31. > :41:35.follicle foil... I don't need one of those! Do I? How do we get inside?
:41:35. > :41:40.Here we are going to introduce to you the cake-cutting kit. It
:41:40. > :41:44.involves a sharp blade on a handle. They just make everything sound so
:41:44. > :41:51.great when they are selling don't they? But it is only once you've
:41:51. > :41:57.been tempted that the problems can begin. At least if you are an Ideal
:41:57. > :42:02.World customer. Complaints? They could fill a channel of their own.
:42:02. > :42:07.In December I ordered a pressure washer from Ideal World and they
:42:07. > :42:12.promised delivery would be quick and efficient. Seventh January I
:42:12. > :42:20.received the pressure washer which should have come with two bottles of
:42:20. > :42:25.detergents. But the bottles didn't come, so the machine was useless.
:42:25. > :42:32.Unfortunately the pressure washer wouldn't work. Ideal World did sort
:42:32. > :42:40.the problem, but that's little comfort for this customer who bought
:42:40. > :42:46.this tablet for �300. I called customer service and they told us to
:42:46. > :42:51.sent the product back to then. When it was returned to us it was in a
:42:51. > :42:55.worse state. Some of the pixels were dead on the screen and when you held
:42:55. > :43:02.the tablet you got a distorted image on the screen. We contacted them
:43:02. > :43:07.again and again and again. Hell-sent the tablet back a second time. And
:43:07. > :43:15.Ideal World returned it, a second time. Still damaged. They promised a
:43:15. > :43:20.refund but she is still waiting. It is elegant, beautiful, and portable,
:43:20. > :43:26.and it tells the time. And it is time for me to change the way you
:43:26. > :43:31.live your life forever. Because this little baby can boil a kettle, make
:43:31. > :43:35.you toast, and keep you cool in the summer. All you need are these
:43:35. > :43:40.attachments. I know what you're thinking. Where have you been all my
:43:40. > :43:48.life? Yeah, now there's a question. And it is one that some Ideal World
:43:48. > :43:53.customers have been asking too. 18th October last year I ordered two
:43:53. > :43:57.Go Note laptops from Ideal World... I purchased a Karcher pressure
:43:57. > :44:01.washer from Ideal World... And the agent assured me it was ten working
:44:02. > :44:06.days and it should arrive by the third at the latest... I waited for
:44:06. > :44:11.the order to arrive. Unfortunately it didn't. Neither of them arrived
:44:11. > :44:17.and I heard nothing from Ideal World. So I had to place another old
:44:17. > :44:22.but unfortunately it didn't arrive either. Despite several e-mails they
:44:22. > :44:26.never did explain what the problem was, just sent a text saying I had
:44:26. > :44:31.been refunded. So we have goods with parts missing, goods that don't work
:44:31. > :44:39.and goods that simply just don't turn up. It is definitely worth
:44:39. > :44:43.calling customer services. Talking of which. Along with the phone it
:44:43. > :44:52.comes with wireless headphones, so if you are put on hold you can get
:44:52. > :44:58.on with your everyday chores, so no-one can fob you off. Hm, I wish.
:44:58. > :45:03.I contacted Ideal World, spent over 35 minutes on the phone They told me
:45:03. > :45:07.I couldn't claim my refund back unless I signed a non-receipt form.
:45:07. > :45:10.When I eventually got through to customer services they cut me off.
:45:10. > :45:15.They kept on telling me it was in the post but unfortunately I never
:45:15. > :45:20.received that either. Later on I get really frustrated because I couldn't
:45:20. > :45:24.get through to the customer service line, so I decided to tweet and
:45:24. > :45:33.emill. It was only after I put something on Twitter that someone
:45:33. > :45:38.came back and helped me. Ideal World say they offer an exciting,
:45:38. > :45:44.personal, convenient home shopping experience. Despite that, some
:45:44. > :45:51.customers have their own reviews. Ideal World did not keep their word
:45:51. > :45:57.or their bond. I will not be ordering from them again. Poor
:45:57. > :46:03.service, poor customer replies. I would never use them again. I will
:46:03. > :46:09.not be giving them any more money. will have to give my shopping
:46:09. > :46:16.channel amis, too. It is costing a fortune. So it is good night from
:46:16. > :46:20.me, and it is good night from him. Good night. Are you having them? Are
:46:20. > :46:24.you struggling to snooze because of snoring? Missing out on beauty
:46:24. > :46:32.sleep? I might have the answer. Snooze lotion.
:46:32. > :46:37.Quite enough from you! That the jacket is irresistible. You
:46:37. > :46:41.could stop doing this and you could do panto in great Yarmouth, the
:46:41. > :46:46.shopping channels. I have thought about it. Are you going to come with
:46:46. > :46:54.me? I have not got the face, or the frocks. You would never be able to
:46:54. > :46:59.replace me. Yes, I would. Ideal Shopping Direct Limited says
:46:59. > :47:03.the overwhelming majority of its customers are satisfied with its
:47:03. > :47:08.service, which is why they return repeatedly. It says it has
:47:08. > :47:12.occasional complaints. However, it has had a higher number of
:47:12. > :47:16.challenges than normal during a transition between customer service
:47:16. > :47:19.providers. It apologises to any customers affected. It says it has
:47:19. > :47:26.invested heavily to address this and it is pleased with the improvements
:47:26. > :47:29.it is making. Thanks to everyone who has been in touch about that story.
:47:29. > :47:32.Here are a few more. Columnar faces at Alton Towers after
:47:32. > :47:37.the first 14 loop roller-coaster, the Smiler, failed to open on bank
:47:37. > :47:40.holiday weekend. The new ride had been advertised for weeks,
:47:40. > :47:43.attracting visitors from all over the country. Just 24 hours before
:47:43. > :47:50.the opening, it announced the delay, blaming unforeseen teething
:47:50. > :47:53.problems. It now says it cannot put a timeframe on when the ride will
:47:53. > :47:58.start, but anyone who bought specifically for the opening day can
:47:58. > :48:01.get their ticket revalidated for a future date. But the problems were
:48:01. > :48:05.not that unforeseen. Just a few days earlier, it broke down on a launch
:48:05. > :48:12.event, leaving more than a dozen invited journalists dangling in
:48:12. > :48:17.midair. No giggling! As well as major celebrities, like Jessica
:48:17. > :48:25.Wright from the only way as Essex. Showbiz, Jess! One minute you are
:48:25. > :48:29.up, the next you are down. LOVEFiLM, the subscription movie and
:48:29. > :48:33.TV service owned by Amazon. You will not be seeing this advert again
:48:33. > :48:36.because it has been banned for saying you could watch unlimited
:48:36. > :48:39.content across loads of devices, even though you could not. The
:48:39. > :48:44.company said that their statement that you could access content on
:48:44. > :48:48.platforms like PS3s, iPads, Xboxes and LOVEFiLM ready TVs were correct,
:48:48. > :48:52.and they gave as much information as was possible, but the Advertising
:48:52. > :48:56.Standards Authority said they misled viewers because the entire catalogue
:48:56. > :49:01.was not available on every device, and ruled that the commercial must
:49:01. > :49:08.not run in the same form again. LOVEFiLM? Not so keen on the
:49:08. > :49:11.misleading adverts. The website offering supposedly
:49:11. > :49:15.impartial reviews of hotels, TripAdvisor. Millions check it for
:49:16. > :49:19.deciding where to book, but how reliable are they? A senior
:49:19. > :49:23.executive of one of the world 's biggest chains has admitted posting
:49:23. > :49:29.glowing reviews about his own company's hotels. And critical
:49:29. > :49:33.reviews about rivals. Peter Hook, whose Accor company owns hotel
:49:34. > :49:37.brands like Novotel, used a false name and went writing on the site,
:49:37. > :49:42.but he was caught out when TripAdvisor's new Facebook app
:49:42. > :49:46.showed his photo. He says that his reviews were based on real
:49:46. > :49:50.experience and did include positive verdicts on competitors. But
:49:50. > :49:55.TripAdvisor says he broke the rules of the website. It has removed his
:49:55. > :50:04.reviews, and what's more, Accor has given him leave of absence while it
:50:04. > :50:08.investigates. So, no stars for him. We have been featuring a couple of
:50:08. > :50:13.TV repaired businesses in the Midlands to night. Businesses that
:50:13. > :50:19.both overcharge and invent unnecessary work and both run by men
:50:19. > :50:25.called Sharma, who are related to another TV man named Gurdave Sharma,
:50:25. > :50:29.who first featured on Rogue Traders in 2009. To Mike, he is back, with a
:50:29. > :50:36.walk on role. Yes, that was Gurdave when I first caught up with him four
:50:36. > :50:38.years ago. A couple of years later he went to jail for fit teen mums
:50:38. > :50:43.for breaching court orders by continuing to behave dishonestly
:50:43. > :50:46.with customers. But he has been spotted again, opening the premises
:50:46. > :50:54.of TV Hospital in Birmingham, another repair business run by his
:50:54. > :50:58.relative, Gurdit, Gurdit Sharma. Gurdit has a habit of keeping hold
:50:58. > :51:04.of TVs and pretending they are in a worse state than they really are. He
:51:04. > :51:09.has had Rob Smith's was six months, despite rocketing �165 in repair
:51:09. > :51:13.fees. And he has had hours for four weeks, even though the only thing
:51:13. > :51:22.wrong is a loose cable. Well, we are fed up with waiting. We want it
:51:23. > :51:29.back. We are right outside the TV Hospital and we are waiting for our
:51:30. > :51:35.customer, Tim, to go inside and try and find his TV. And to be sure that
:51:35. > :51:41.Gurdit is on the premises, I am listening for a code word from Tim.
:51:41. > :51:51.As soon as I hear the word spooky, that means we are going in. Just
:51:51. > :51:59.
:51:59. > :52:06.wondering what is going on with my nothing wrong with the screen. That
:52:06. > :52:11.is my cue to make an appearance. We are going in. Hello, Gurdit. How are
:52:11. > :52:16.you? Matt all right from BBC Rogue Traders. How are you doing? Not
:52:16. > :52:22.going to bother the handshake? We have left our TV with you. It did
:52:22. > :52:29.not need any new parts and you were about to say it needed a new screen.
:52:29. > :52:37.It does. It does not. The only thing wrong with it was the signal board
:52:37. > :52:41.connector was very slightly pulled out. Hang on. If you disconnect the
:52:41. > :52:49.panel or the connection, how are we supposed to know you have done that?
:52:49. > :52:55.Do a voltage test? Don't talk stupid. Get a proper TV engineer to
:52:55. > :53:02.work it out. How are we supposed to know that? Get your hands off me,
:53:02. > :53:11.mate. You just push that back in. That is the signal. It comes out of
:53:11. > :53:15.here. If you have messed about with it, how do you expect me, as an
:53:15. > :53:20.engineer for 27 years, self-employed, to work out that you
:53:20. > :53:25.have put a man-made part in there. How would we inspect you as an
:53:25. > :53:32.engineer of 27 years to diagnose a fault on television? Not when you
:53:32. > :53:37.have put a man-made fault on it. is simple and requires no part. My
:53:37. > :53:40.name is Matt all right, BBC Rogue Traders. Rob Smith actually went for
:53:40. > :53:43.your business because he thought it was local. You should not be
:53:43. > :53:49.advertising yourself as a Telford business when you are based in
:53:49. > :53:55.Birmingham. We can call ourselves what we want. You cannot pretend to
:53:55. > :54:05.be local when you are not. We did not pretend to be local. It is a
:54:05. > :54:10.name. The name is?Telford TV. you are not implying you are in
:54:11. > :54:15.Telford? We found three members of the same family doing the same
:54:15. > :54:21.thing. Are the companies linked? We have seen your brother's firm.
:54:21. > :54:28.Separate entities. There are striking similarities between the
:54:28. > :54:35.way that they operate. Gurdave does not work Mo more in the TV trade.
:54:35. > :54:41.is here doing jobs for you. He might open the shop but that is it. That
:54:41. > :54:49.is not against the law. Can we have robbed's TV back. Rob Smith from
:54:49. > :54:57.Telford. His TV is missing, �600 of television, a repair you carried out
:54:57. > :55:03.for 106 to �5 which broke straightaway. He is now on 606 �5,
:55:03. > :55:10.no TV, no repair, no money. That is thoroughly dishonest. I am not
:55:10. > :55:14.dishonest at all. Anyway, thank you very much. Can you except my shop? I
:55:14. > :55:18.will get the TV back to Mr Smith. You should not be acting
:55:18. > :55:24.dishonestly. You are hanging on to TV sets and not letting people know
:55:24. > :55:34.what is going on. He thinks it is gone forever. Six months, you give
:55:34. > :55:36.
:55:36. > :55:43.up eventually. He is wrong.Cheers. Well, it is a hospital. It is a TV
:55:43. > :55:49.Hospital. But if you are going to put your TV in there, then you will
:55:49. > :55:54.be the one requiring a lot of patience. Gurdit Sharma has since
:55:54. > :55:59.reiterated that he is a hard-working TV engineer with 27 years experience
:55:59. > :56:02.and many hundreds of satisfied customers. Once again, he says he
:56:02. > :56:07.could not have diagnosed the man-made fault on the TV we sent in,
:56:07. > :56:11.which is now ready for collection. He adds that he is still planning to
:56:11. > :56:16.send Rob Smith's TV back. Well done, Gurdit. You have only had it
:56:16. > :56:21.eight months. Sukhdave Sharma insists he does not work with other
:56:21. > :56:23.family members. His businesses cover a wide area and as a result they
:56:23. > :56:29.sometimes have difficulty collecting and delivering items, which they
:56:29. > :56:32.regret. He says if any customer has a complaint, he will investigate and
:56:32. > :56:38.rectify awareness of Surrey. He is also working with trading standards
:56:38. > :56:42.to ensure he is running his business appropriately, which is nice.
:56:42. > :56:49.Tonight, he and Gurdit Sharma become the latest faces on our rogue's
:56:49. > :56:53.gallery. Thank you to everyone who has been
:56:53. > :56:57.getting in touch about potholes. We heard from one viewer earlier,
:56:57. > :57:00.Lawrence Stack, from Hertfordshire. He got so fed up with potholes in
:57:00. > :57:05.his area that he started spray-painting around them to warn
:57:05. > :57:09.drivers and cyclists. And once he did that, the council filled them
:57:09. > :57:14.in. He reckons since he started back in December, around 200 holes have
:57:14. > :57:18.been repaired, and there is one of them. We spoke to Hertfordshire
:57:18. > :57:22.council which says they were planning to fix them anyway, as part
:57:22. > :57:26.of their responsible at you to maintain the roads. How lucky is
:57:26. > :57:31.that? I love his smile and his thumbs up. Happy consumer
:57:31. > :57:41.champions, that is what we like. Please keep sending your stories and
:57:41. > :57:43.
:57:43. > :57:52.tipoffs. You can do that by going to our website. You can always write to
:57:52. > :57:56.us as well. That is always available as an option. Coming up next week,
:57:56. > :58:00.making an insurance claim - why companies like Tesco are reluctant
:58:00. > :58:04.to pay out. Plus, Apple, how children can run up big bills with
:58:04. > :58:09.their so-called free apps. And ordering a restaurant takeaway