:00:00. > :00:00.Tonight on Watchdog - the Student Loans Company.
:00:07. > :00:08.Thousands taken from people's bank accounts but not
:00:09. > :00:20.We went through my contributions year by year and the numbers I had
:00:21. > :00:22.and the numbers they had just didn't match up. There was just over ?8,000
:00:23. > :00:24.missing. More than 5 million of us
:00:25. > :00:26.currently have loans. Tonight we're asking,
:00:27. > :00:44.how many more have they got wrong? Hello and welcome to Watchdog,
:00:45. > :00:47.from our home at Broadcasting House. How safe is your home
:00:48. > :00:50.this Christmas? Throughout the show, we'll be
:00:51. > :00:55.telling you about some products that are dangerous for children,
:00:56. > :00:58.being recalled for safety reasons. Also, details of a Christmas rip-off
:00:59. > :01:01.and more Rogue Traders. Plus, meet 11-year-old Stephen,
:01:02. > :01:03.collecting parts for a 3D The magazine company who've
:01:04. > :01:09.sent him the last 82 parts After our initial report
:01:10. > :01:17.into the Corsa D bursting into flames, more of you have
:01:18. > :01:28.got in touch. As I've just got out of the car, the
:01:29. > :01:33.whole car went up in one big explosion. I was just in shock. I
:01:34. > :01:36.was just crying. And the worst thing is, my son could have been in that
:01:37. > :01:38.car. I wouldn't have got him out in time.
:01:39. > :01:40.We also heard from the owner of this Corsa.
:01:41. > :01:42.Have Vauxhall got to the bottom of it?
:01:43. > :01:45.Also tonight, with the festivities approaching, it's not long now
:01:46. > :01:48.until you have a great excuse to eat and be merry, so Team Watchdog
:01:49. > :01:50.are looking at whether it's cheaper to buy your groceries online
:01:51. > :01:54.Plus, I'll be giving you some tips on how
:01:55. > :02:05.Those apples look lovely. Are they on your list? Get them off, then.
:02:06. > :02:07.But they're pretty! And on Rogue Traders this week,
:02:08. > :02:10.we're tying up loose ends. Unfinished business which you've
:02:11. > :02:11.told us needs finishing. For instance, whatever happened
:02:12. > :02:23.to the driver of this yellow van? I tell you what, this is a best
:02:24. > :02:26.practice... Get off me! This is a best practice guide for flat roofing
:02:27. > :02:29.because you don't seem to know anything about it at all.
:02:30. > :02:31.Well, spoiler alert, he won't be driving around
:02:32. > :02:32.the streets of Lancashire for a while.
:02:33. > :02:36.First tonight, missing money and miserable excuses.
:02:37. > :02:42.The Student Loans Company was set up by the government to help people
:02:43. > :02:47.Tonight, we hear from the graduates who thought they were paying
:02:48. > :02:55.off their debts but who discovered their money had gone missing.
:02:56. > :03:02.Whether you were a student in the 90s, the 2000s or much more
:03:03. > :03:05.recently, if you've been to university or college in the last 20
:03:06. > :03:11.years, there's a good chance you will have taken out a student loan.
:03:12. > :03:14.First introduced in 1990, nowadays, more than 1 million students take
:03:15. > :03:21.out a loan with the Student Loans Company every year. On the current
:03:22. > :03:27.model, once you have graduated, you pay back 9% of all earnings over
:03:28. > :03:33.?21,000. Most people have the money taken straight from their payslip
:03:34. > :03:37.every month by HMRC. After this Student Loans Company instructs the
:03:38. > :03:40.taxman what to take. Graduates are then receive a statement once a
:03:41. > :03:44.year, to let them know how much they still owe. But it can pay to keep a
:03:45. > :03:50.very close eye on the money being taken from your payslip and where
:03:51. > :03:52.exactly it's going. We've heard from a number of graduates who have
:03:53. > :03:56.discovered that hundreds, even thousands of pounds that they
:03:57. > :04:04.thought was being paid towards their loans seems to have completely
:04:05. > :04:10.disappeared. Including Marilyn and Kunal who both studied medicine at
:04:11. > :04:13.Kings College graduating in 2010. We were both medical students, we
:04:14. > :04:17.studied medicine and a one-year extra degree at medical school in
:04:18. > :04:23.London. We were both there for six years and graduated both with about
:04:24. > :04:27.?28,000 of debt. Despite paying back their loans through their payslip
:04:28. > :04:31.saw more than five years, they started to notice that their student
:04:32. > :04:36.loan balance didn't seem to be going down very quickly. The way I first
:04:37. > :04:39.noticed it, because I move house all the time, I don't often get the
:04:40. > :04:44.statement why wasn't then. I got a statement that said that the whole
:04:45. > :04:47.year, I'd paid ?50. That is when I realised that there was a massive
:04:48. > :04:52.discrepancy between what I'd paid and what the Student Loans Company
:04:53. > :05:00.credited to my count. In total, I think the discrepancy was 1100. I
:05:01. > :05:03.logged in online and had a look at my balance but nothing was changing
:05:04. > :05:05.for some time. When I called them up and said it wasn't changing, and we
:05:06. > :05:09.went through my contributions year by year, and the numbers I had the
:05:10. > :05:15.numbers they had just didn't match up. There was just over ?8,000
:05:16. > :05:18.missing. When they contacted the Student Loans Company, Marilyn and
:05:19. > :05:20.Kunal were told they needed to prove the money had gone by sending in
:05:21. > :05:27.every payslip they had ever received. I had to write to
:05:28. > :05:31.hospitals I had worked out, as much as five years ago, asking them to
:05:32. > :05:34.send it to me. It took me a really long time from when I first realised
:05:35. > :05:38.there was a problem to compiling it into as Brigitte and sending it to
:05:39. > :05:41.them and getting anywhere. Student Loans Company very much put the
:05:42. > :05:47.responsibility on me to show that I had the evidence to prove there was
:05:48. > :05:50.a mistake at their rent. After months of contact, they finally
:05:51. > :05:53.prove that the money was missing and after we stepped in, their loan
:05:54. > :05:58.balances were updated to include what was missing. So where has the
:05:59. > :06:03.money gone. The Student Loans Company don't take responsible Dee
:06:04. > :06:09.Ford, they pass the buck to HMRC and I said to them," who can Michael at
:06:10. > :06:14.HMRC?" They said there's no one to speak to. Somewhere, is broken and
:06:15. > :06:21.needs to be sorted. And theirs is a familiar story. Will also contacted
:06:22. > :06:24.by Fleur who lives near Inverness and got in touch after she
:06:25. > :06:29.discovered that ?518 had gone missing and hadn't been taken off
:06:30. > :06:32.her balance. She contacted the Student Loans Company in May and has
:06:33. > :06:37.yet to find out where the missing money has gone. And even if you pay
:06:38. > :06:44.back your loan in full, you can still find hundreds of pounds being
:06:45. > :06:47.taken. Rebecca e-mailed us after the Student Loans Company continued to
:06:48. > :06:52.take payments long after she had finished paying off her loan. This
:06:53. > :06:57.has been going on for well over a year. They have been taking about
:06:58. > :07:02.?160 every month, which adds up to quite a large amount. How
:07:03. > :07:05.frustrating is the whole experience? It's really frustrating, not just
:07:06. > :07:09.because of the money being taken but because I have spoken to them so
:07:10. > :07:13.many times and it is difficult to get anywhere with them. Even after
:07:14. > :07:16.phone calls where I have spoken to them and they have is that it is
:07:17. > :07:20.fine and sorted, they will refund me and it will definitely stop, but
:07:21. > :07:24.then it will be taken out again the next month. There's not a lot you
:07:25. > :07:27.can do, really, apart from speak to them and get it back afterwards. It
:07:28. > :07:32.seems really difficult and it was really frustrating trying to stop
:07:33. > :07:37.it. Rebecca has now finally been refunded her overpayments but can't
:07:38. > :07:42.understand where her money had gone. So if you're still paying back your
:07:43. > :07:43.loan or think you're fully paid off, you might want to take a closer look
:07:44. > :07:49.at your statements. Well, in response to our report,
:07:50. > :07:52.the Student Loans Company said it works on the basis of information
:07:53. > :07:55.provided by HMRC, but if it finds that a borrower has
:07:56. > :07:57.overpaid for any reason, it contacts them
:07:58. > :08:00.to arrange a refund. It said Rebecca's employer had been
:08:01. > :08:04.told to stop deducting loan payments but continued in error and,
:08:05. > :08:07.in Fleur's case, it said HMRC hadn't provided full
:08:08. > :08:10.information on repayments. It has now refunded both
:08:11. > :08:13.of them their money. Meanwhile, HMRC said it ensures
:08:14. > :08:16.all repayment details are passed on accurately,
:08:17. > :08:18.and is working with the Student Loans Company to streamline
:08:19. > :08:23.this process further. Two things you can do if you are
:08:24. > :08:27.worried about your repayments. First, check your old statements
:08:28. > :08:29.against your payslips. Second, if you are coming
:08:30. > :08:32.towards the end of your repayments and are worried about overpaying,
:08:33. > :08:35.you can contact the Student Loans Company to switch your payments
:08:36. > :08:37.to direct debits, which you have Now onto some dangerous
:08:38. > :08:43.children's products that First is the Ikea Malm
:08:44. > :08:49.chest of drawers. In the USA, four children have now
:08:50. > :08:52.been killed by the product tipping The problem is illustrated clearly
:08:53. > :08:56.by this clip from the US They tested the drawers
:08:57. > :09:10.using a dummy. Child gets up on the furniture.
:09:11. > :09:22.Parent has turned his or her back for a moment and this is what
:09:23. > :09:24.happens. That is as real as it gets. Really shocking.
:09:25. > :09:28.Here in the UK, Malm chests of drawers are still on sale -
:09:29. > :09:30.with this safety fitting to attach it to the wall, which
:09:31. > :09:34.So if you've got one, or you know someone who has one,
:09:35. > :09:40.We contacted Ikea, who told us they don't know of any tip-over
:09:41. > :09:42.incidents with properly anchored chests of drawers.
:09:43. > :09:45.They say any tall, unsecured furniture is at risk.
:09:46. > :09:48.They've provided these tip-over restraints for years,
:09:49. > :09:51.and the information is always on the price tag.
:09:52. > :09:54.All the details of how to secure these are on our website.
:09:55. > :09:57.And throughout tonight's show, we'll have more safety advice coming up,
:09:58. > :10:02.including another Ikea product you need to know about.
:10:03. > :10:05.You know, just because we've waved rogues off into the distance
:10:06. > :10:10.And quite frankly, we also like to see the best ones again.
:10:11. > :10:33.Because when they do their thing, it can almost be car crash TV.
:10:34. > :10:36.In Lancashire back in 2010, my TV career almost came
:10:37. > :10:39.to an abrupt end thanks to this guy - Simon Fielding,
:10:40. > :10:42.But, coincidentally, he's also been convicted of football
:10:43. > :10:49.It's a bit like being a triathlete at the Rogue Olympics.
:10:50. > :10:52.We'd been fielding a load of complaints about Simon's company,
:10:53. > :10:56.First Call Roofing, based in Clitheroe.
:10:57. > :10:59.It appeared that they were making up work, botching jobs,
:11:00. > :11:02.working dangerously, and intimidating
:11:03. > :11:05.customers when they, understandably, refused to pay.
:11:06. > :11:11.Janet Yuen called him round to fix her roof in September 2009.
:11:12. > :11:17.It needed everything doing to it, mainly to make it watertight.
:11:18. > :11:20.Simon charged her ?2,800 to repair her roof,
:11:21. > :11:23.but when he'd finished, she discovered that
:11:24. > :11:29.I could see there was daylight coming through the tiles,
:11:30. > :11:34.A few days later, I put my head through the loft again
:11:35. > :11:37.and there was different spots of light coming through.
:11:38. > :11:43.Janet got another company in to check the work.
:11:44. > :11:46.They said it would cost a further ?4,800, nearly twice as much again,
:11:47. > :11:54.To make matters worse, Simon Fielding was now
:11:55. > :11:56.chasing Janet for money she said she didn't owe.
:11:57. > :12:00.Obviously, we had to see this for ourselves, so we set up cameras
:12:01. > :12:04.and summoned First Call Roofing to replace our troublesome roof.
:12:05. > :12:10.All they had to do was replace the worn-out felt, but once they'd
:12:11. > :12:12.stripped the old stuff back, Simon told stooge Kiera that
:12:13. > :12:15.water from above was actually leaking down onto the roof.
:12:16. > :12:17.When I come to it, there is water underneath.
:12:18. > :12:19.There is water coming from up here, above your head.
:12:20. > :12:27.He then claimed that the flat roof at the top of the house
:12:28. > :12:34.What they've done - it's hard to explain
:12:35. > :12:47.Back in 2010, it was not called mansplaining, but it is now.
:12:48. > :12:49.We approached Simon Fielding to discuss, oh, you know,
:12:50. > :12:52.the usual things ? the weather, football, and how he treated his
:12:53. > :12:54.customers only marginally better than he treated his horses.
:12:55. > :12:57.We did this in the only place we could ? Clitheroe High Street.
:12:58. > :13:03.Safe to say it wasn't a civilised chat.
:13:04. > :13:10.I tell you what, this is a best practice...
:13:11. > :13:13...this is a best practice guide for flat roofing,
:13:14. > :13:21.cause you don't seem to know anything about it at all, do you?
:13:22. > :13:24.And to show you just how close that was, let's see that again.
:13:25. > :13:40.But even in a yellow pick-up, you can't run away forever.
:13:41. > :13:43.Simon Fielding carried on being a dodgepot after he drove off,
:13:44. > :13:50.He came to fix Christine Walmsley's roof in November 2014.
:13:51. > :13:56.And he did some work on the roof, and said it was sorted
:13:57. > :14:10.He told me that water had got into the spray foam
:14:11. > :14:14.insulation under the slates, so it needed completely reroofing.
:14:15. > :14:18.Christine and her husband paid Simon ?8,000 to reroof their house,
:14:19. > :14:21.but he still hadn't fixed the problem.
:14:22. > :14:24.Then on Christmas Eve, he asked for another ?3,000.
:14:25. > :14:30.At that point Christine said no, enough was enough.
:14:31. > :14:34.He walked out of the job and said he wasn't coming back,
:14:35. > :14:40.and took all of his tools away with the roof still leaking.
:14:41. > :14:42.Desperate to get the work done, Christine's husband agreed
:14:43. > :14:55.He kept promising to come back and do the work, but he didn't.
:14:56. > :15:01.In total, they'd given Simon Fielding ?9,200 and were left
:15:02. > :15:03.with their slates missing, the roof unfinished
:15:04. > :15:09.But Trading Standards weren't far behind, and Dawn Robinson
:15:10. > :15:15.was about to turn Simon Fielding's world of bad-eggedness upside down.
:15:16. > :15:18.Following your last programme, he's been a constant thorn in our side.
:15:19. > :15:23.We prosecuted him in 2014 for shoddy and unnecessary workmanship,
:15:24. > :15:25.and he got an eight month suspended sentence for that.
:15:26. > :15:34.In March this year, he was prosecuted again
:15:35. > :15:36.for intimidating customers, threatening to leave jobs
:15:37. > :15:38.and quoting highly inflated prices, and was sentenced to 35
:15:39. > :15:43.But being inside hasn't protected him from being done
:15:44. > :15:49.He has been convicted again in October this year for two more
:15:50. > :15:53.frauds against pensioners, and he's received an extra 44 months
:15:54. > :16:05.The judge has recommended that he serves until at December 2018.
:16:06. > :16:08.We can close the book on Simon Fielding for the moment,
:16:09. > :16:12.but we've got two more chapters of crime and punishment coming up.
:16:13. > :16:18.Time now to tell you about another important product safety warning.
:16:19. > :16:21.Nearly 10,000 of these have been sold in the UK -
:16:22. > :16:28.Seven week old Grace Roseman died while in one in April last year.
:16:29. > :16:31.Her mother Esther says her daughter's neck got caught
:16:32. > :16:35.on the edge of a side panel that had been partially lowered.
:16:36. > :16:39.The design has been changed and cots on sale now don't lower in this way,
:16:40. > :16:44.but we know there are still 3,200 out there that do.
:16:45. > :16:46.The company doesn't need to get the cots returned -
:16:47. > :16:50.instead they've sent a modification kit to anyone whose details
:16:51. > :16:55.they had, because most of the cots were sold online.
:16:56. > :17:01.Grace's mum Esther is also worried about second hand cots,
:17:02. > :17:04.and is now urging anyone with one of these to throw it away.
:17:05. > :17:07.She feels that the instructions and the modification kit could get
:17:08. > :17:09.lost, and children will be sleeping in them without parents
:17:10. > :17:12.Bednest sends its condolences to Grace's parents and family.
:17:13. > :17:14.It says its products are tested by independent labs
:17:15. > :17:17.before going on sale, and that the fix was agreed
:17:18. > :17:22.It says it takes a couple of minutes to fit the kit and that clear
:17:23. > :17:25.The company monitors online second hand sales of the cribs closely,
:17:26. > :17:31.and contacts people who appear not to have the modification fitted.
:17:32. > :17:33.There will be some more answers for Grace's
:17:34. > :17:35.family after the inquest, which starts next week.
:17:36. > :17:38.And if you do want information about that cot fix, you can
:17:39. > :17:47.More important safety information coming up later.
:17:48. > :17:49.Now, it's only 18 days till Christmas.
:17:50. > :17:55.It's a chance to spend time with the people you love
:17:56. > :18:01.Matt, Sophie, do you know what you're having for your
:18:02. > :18:12.Turkey. A soft pork loin. Your posh, aren't you!
:18:13. > :18:15.Once you've decided what you're having, you've got to work out
:18:16. > :18:19.Do you face the stores or do you do it online?
:18:20. > :18:21.So, I asked Team Watchdog to investigate which method
:18:22. > :18:22.they found easier and, more importantly,
:18:23. > :18:38.We have recruited a team of Watchdog viewers right across the UK. To
:18:39. > :18:47.test, interrogate and investigate how to get us all eight better deal.
:18:48. > :18:56.This is team Watchdog. There you are. Hello. This week we are talking
:18:57. > :18:59.online shopping. We want to test out whether buying your groceries online
:19:00. > :19:06.gives you better value for money than buying them in store. Now I am
:19:07. > :19:10.sure you don't need any encouragement for this. Let's get
:19:11. > :19:14.shopping. What do the team think of online shopping? As sad as it
:19:15. > :19:19.sounds, I still like to go into the supermarket to see what I am buying
:19:20. > :19:23.before picking adult and bringing it home. We used to use the Internet,
:19:24. > :19:31.but the number of substitutes they used to put in were barely
:19:32. > :19:39.acceptable. I prefer to go to the shops. I preferred online. We asked
:19:40. > :19:45.the team to do two grocery shop -- shops, one in store and one online.
:19:46. > :19:49.They will test for cost and convenience and tell us which they
:19:50. > :19:55.prefer. Some of them are cynical about giving hope their supermarket
:19:56. > :20:00.visit. I like to feel, touch and talk to the person I am checking
:20:01. > :20:03.out. For us, it benefits going into the shop because we can put him in
:20:04. > :20:13.the pushchair and he can have a snooze. It is our date night! Date
:20:14. > :20:18.night in the supermarket! Is re-church -- as a research shows,
:20:19. > :20:21.nearly half of Brits have never even tried an online shop. Why are so
:20:22. > :20:27.many of us reluctant to make the switch? I was ordering bread and I
:20:28. > :20:37.never even thought it would be in grams and kilograms. This loaf of
:20:38. > :20:43.bread turned up about that big. We got bananas and they were like
:20:44. > :20:46.Hobbit bananas. Home deliveries are nothing new. Throughout much of the
:20:47. > :20:52.20th century we were used to getting things like eggs and milk delivered
:20:53. > :20:58.fresh to our doors. By the 1920s, the milk floats had gone and the
:20:59. > :21:03.supermarkets had taken over. When the Internet burst onto the scene it
:21:04. > :21:08.revolutionised shopping. But food shopping didn't quite catch up. The
:21:09. > :21:11.industry had a sluggish start partly due to slow Internet speeds making
:21:12. > :21:16.it difficult to download images of the food you were buying, which
:21:17. > :21:21.initially put people off. Sainsbury's was one of the first to
:21:22. > :21:27.offer the service back in 1996. Asda shortly followed in 97 and Tesco in
:21:28. > :21:32.2000. Now most supermarkets offer the service, or other -- but as we
:21:33. > :21:36.have seen from this series, we received a huge number of complaints
:21:37. > :21:40.about online shopping. As well as hygiene concerns, lots of you are
:21:41. > :21:44.unhappy with late deliveries and food arriving that is far from
:21:45. > :21:48.fresh. Then there are the dodgy substitutions, where you are sent a
:21:49. > :21:51.replacement because what you want is out of stock. You order a bag of
:21:52. > :21:56.nappies and what you get is a chorizo sausage. I'm not sure that
:21:57. > :22:01.is much of a replacement, to be honest, but it happened to someone.
:22:02. > :22:06.Back to challenge. Time for the results. Let's start with popping
:22:07. > :22:09.into the shops. On average it took our team one hour and 16 minutes
:22:10. > :22:14.from riding the list, going to the shops and coming back again. Online
:22:15. > :22:21.shopping was an average 20 minutes faster. After doing our test, six
:22:22. > :22:26.out of ten of the team told us they found shopping in store after value
:22:27. > :22:29.for money and therefore spent less. But it was online shopping they
:22:30. > :22:36.found more convenient, even though more than a third got a replacement.
:22:37. > :22:39.So which do they prefer? Despite the convenience, nearly nine out of ten
:22:40. > :22:45.told us they are firmly sticking with shopping once -- in store. So
:22:46. > :22:50.the team are clearly not concerned about switching to grocery shopping
:22:51. > :22:54.online. But coming up, I meet the Churchill family in Devon whose
:22:55. > :23:03.supermarket bills are out of control. I will go in for a few
:23:04. > :23:10.items and come out with ?150. You are still spending. And I see if I
:23:11. > :23:14.can get them and you a better deal at the tills.
:23:15. > :23:28.What does the nationwide polls say about why people are choosing to do
:23:29. > :23:31.their shopping in store? Is for a lot of reasons. The most popular is
:23:32. > :23:41.because people like to buy their own fresh produce. 59% said that was the
:23:42. > :23:47.main reason why. They give other reasons. For example, we like to
:23:48. > :23:54.browse. Nearly half of us find it easier to do that in store. 38% say
:23:55. > :24:00.they are put off by delivery charges. And 9% say they don't shop
:24:01. > :24:05.online because they are concerned about the hygiene of delivery vans
:24:06. > :24:08.and crates. I wonder why that is. Now though, no matter where you
:24:09. > :24:14.shop, I have got some tips that can help your money go further. I have
:24:15. > :24:19.come across Devon to go a weekly shop with Shannon and her daughter
:24:20. > :24:24.to save them some money. Are you going to look at the price of a
:24:25. > :24:30.packet compared to the individual pricing? No, I don't, usually. Is
:24:31. > :24:42.this a family thing? Every now and again. I do find I spend more. Do
:24:43. > :24:47.you sneak treats in? Yeah. Those apples look lovely. If they're not
:24:48. > :25:01.on your list, get them out! There is more to be done. Steve, what is the
:25:02. > :25:06.total? ?61 96. Thank you, Steve. We also asked Shannon to try out online
:25:07. > :25:14.shopping for the same order. It came in at ?70.77. That is ?8 81 more
:25:15. > :25:18.expensive than her in-store shop. I'm convinced she can get a better
:25:19. > :25:24.deal with a few tips that can help us all save. Let's take for example
:25:25. > :25:29.your kiwi fruits. You may think that buying them lose is cheaper. We know
:25:30. > :25:34.when we were doing the shop together, that actually they were
:25:35. > :25:40.cheaper in a pack. So it's always worth looking for things like that.
:25:41. > :25:44.The second tip, you should check your unit sizes really carefully.
:25:45. > :25:56.Similar sized products can deliver very different value for money. Tip
:25:57. > :26:01.three... I know you like... It is worth looking at review sites where
:26:02. > :26:08.people have done taste tests. We have digestives here. They tastes
:26:09. > :26:14.similar to own brands. Have a look to see what people are saying. Check
:26:15. > :26:22.delivery charges, which can really vary. One is ?7 and one of few hours
:26:23. > :26:27.later is only ?1. Look for when it might be cheaper to get the stuff
:26:28. > :26:33.delivered. By following all of these tips, Shannon Goode have got herb
:26:34. > :26:39.groceries for ?52 a saving on a weekly shop at ?18.65. If she did
:26:40. > :26:42.that over a year, that would save ?900.
:26:43. > :26:46.Now though, whether you're shopping online or in store,
:26:47. > :26:48.you've been telling us about a couple of Christmas products
:26:49. > :26:52.that you might want to think twice about before buying.
:26:53. > :26:55.First up is this Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Jam Trio,
:26:56. > :26:57.which the store describes as a "tasty gift to give
:26:58. > :27:06.But Watchdog viewer Doug Roberts isn't so sure.
:27:07. > :27:13.He saw the trio had been for sale for ?10, but then he noticed you can
:27:14. > :27:16.actually buy the three pots of jam - rhubarb and ginger, Morello
:27:17. > :27:18.cherry and apricot - separately, for a total
:27:19. > :27:22.That makes this cardboard box a very pricey ?5.50.
:27:23. > :27:25.We got in touch with Sainsburys to say, hold on -
:27:26. > :27:30.They've just got back to us and said they will drop the price
:27:31. > :27:36.They're also offering refunds via points if you have a Nectar
:27:37. > :27:47.Val Atwell also got in touch after doing a bit of shopping to get
:27:48. > :27:49.ahead for Christmas, because her grandchildren,
:27:50. > :27:51.Daniel and Clara, are going to be staying with her.
:27:52. > :27:56.One of the products she bought was Cadbury's Festive Cake Selection,
:27:57. > :27:59.and she noticed that on the front of the packet it suggests you leave
:28:00. > :28:04.However, when Val looked at the best before date on the pack,
:28:05. > :28:13.So, she wrote to us to say that she's worried she'd be very
:28:14. > :28:15.unpopular if she were to give Father Christmas stomach ache
:28:16. > :28:19.on his busiest night of the year, by giving him an out of date cake.
:28:20. > :28:21.We got in touch with Cadbury's and Premier Foods,
:28:22. > :28:25.They said that production schedules meant that some cakes
:28:26. > :28:27.have a pre-Christmas best before date.
:28:28. > :28:31.Anyone who has resisted the temptation to eat Santa's cake,
:28:32. > :28:34.and doesn't want to leave him an out of date treat, can call
:28:35. > :28:48.We had a look on the side Abox. Arrows goes off on the 10th of
:28:49. > :28:50.December, so we ate them! If you've got any concerns
:28:51. > :28:52.about Christmas shopping, present-buying or food,
:28:53. > :28:55.please get in touch. Still to come - with more reports
:28:56. > :28:58.of Corsa Ds like this one bursting into flames,
:28:59. > :28:59.we've been asking Vauxhall to properly investigate
:29:00. > :29:06.the cause of these fires. Also tonight, Stephen
:29:07. > :29:09.and his family have spent around ?700 collecting these
:29:10. > :29:11.magazines to build a 3D printer. But the company who make them
:29:12. > :29:14.have failed to send them Back to our rogues,
:29:15. > :29:26.who just can't seem to quit. Our list of dodgy alumni just gets
:29:27. > :29:29.longer, and some have even taken Allergies are on the rise,
:29:30. > :29:34.according to health officials. Well, our next target
:29:35. > :29:37.was allergic to hard work, British ska emerged from here
:29:38. > :29:51.in the '70s and left a huge A less celebrated Coventrian,
:29:52. > :29:58.although making a mark An appliance repairman that we first
:29:59. > :30:03.encountered in 2015, His speciality seemed to be selling
:30:04. > :30:12.white goods he had no intention of providing to his mostly elderly
:30:13. > :30:15.and vulnerable customers. By the time we'd heard about him,
:30:16. > :30:18.he'd already notched up two convictions and been handed prison
:30:19. > :30:22.sentences for ripping off his customers, most recently
:30:23. > :30:24.spending six months behind So when in April 2015,
:30:25. > :30:32.we were contacted by Philomena Griffiths,
:30:33. > :30:35.alarm bells started to ring. She called out Paul Mahon after her
:30:36. > :30:42.washing machine gave up the ghost. He pulled it out
:30:43. > :30:45.and had a look at it. Opened the back up and he looked
:30:46. > :30:49.as if he knew what he was doing. He said, "This is your problem,
:30:50. > :30:55.your motherboard has gone". He said it would be ?180
:30:56. > :30:58.to have it repaired, and I said it was a lot,
:30:59. > :31:01.I could get a new machine for that. Paul agreed, telling Philomena
:31:02. > :31:04.he could get her a brand She paid a ?140 deposit
:31:05. > :31:08.and Paul said he'd be back with the replacement
:31:09. > :31:09.in a couple of days. But he wasn't, and when Philomena
:31:10. > :31:12.called to find out why... No answer.
:31:13. > :31:19.I rang again and left a message. "Please ring me back
:31:20. > :31:21.about my washing machine. So I told my husband,
:31:22. > :31:27.he rang, no answer. Three days, four days,
:31:28. > :31:31.five days went by. Philomena never heard
:31:32. > :31:35.from Paul Mahon again, and had to buy a new washing machine
:31:36. > :31:38.elsewhere. I think he's horrible,
:31:39. > :31:44.a horrible man to do such It seemed, despite two stints
:31:45. > :31:47.in prison, Paul Mahon hadn't But we wanted to give him
:31:48. > :31:53.the chance to do it right, so we invited him round to not one,
:31:54. > :31:56.but two houses stuffed full of secret cameras,
:31:57. > :32:01.with two senior stooges, and their own faulty
:32:02. > :32:02.washing machines. In both cases it was,
:32:03. > :32:05.as usual, a simple fix, You can tell when you turn the drum,
:32:06. > :32:11.it is clicking on the motor. You've got no motor action at all,
:32:12. > :32:20.so it won't wash, it won't spin. Paul wrongly diagnosed
:32:21. > :32:22.the faults at both our houses, telling us we needed major repairs
:32:23. > :32:24.we knew weren't necessary, and then suggesting the repairs
:32:25. > :32:27.would be so costly we'd be better Now, we were pretty sure
:32:28. > :32:56.we would never see the new machine, but we wanted to give him a chance
:32:57. > :33:00.and so we agreed to buy just one But we were right to have
:33:01. > :33:06.doubts, because that was We wanted our money back,
:33:07. > :33:13.so we set up another house and called him out again,
:33:14. > :33:16.and this time I was waiting to ask him some questions
:33:17. > :33:32.from the safety of a laundry basket. The washing is completely piling up.
:33:33. > :33:35.Hello, BBC Rogue Traders. The other thing that is piling up for US
:33:36. > :33:38.conviction at the moment. What we are trying to do is prevent you
:33:39. > :33:42.having to go back to prison again because I can't imagine you've
:33:43. > :33:45.enjoyed it. People are giving you hundreds of pounds for machines that
:33:46. > :33:52.they never turn up. They are left chasing you and getting no response.
:33:53. > :33:58.That is the real thing, isn't it? Yes, it has happened. Why don't you
:33:59. > :34:02.just do it properly? I've been doing a 22 years, its own in the last few
:34:03. > :34:06.years I've got into a hole. The vast majority of your cases, people who
:34:07. > :34:09.complained were elderly and vulnerable. People have had enough.
:34:10. > :34:12.They don't want to see it any more. They don't want it in their homes
:34:13. > :34:15.and they don't want the upset that comes with it. Is there anything you
:34:16. > :34:19.want to say to the people out there whose money you've taken without
:34:20. > :34:26.offering them anything in return? Not intentionally, I wouldn't, I'm
:34:27. > :34:30.intending to do a job. I've just got myself in the position where I
:34:31. > :34:34.cannot finish it. Are you going to change? Keep doing the same thing?
:34:35. > :34:40.I'm going to knock it on the head and get a job if I can. Can I have a
:34:41. > :34:44.promise from you? Of course you can. I don't know what it's worth but
:34:45. > :34:47.you're making it not just in front of me but in front of millions of
:34:48. > :34:50.people, promise you won't take money Goodings, lie about what you've done
:34:51. > :34:53.and then don't give them the service that they have asked? -- take money
:34:54. > :34:56.for things. Absolutely. His promises sounded,
:34:57. > :34:58.well, promising, but Paul was telling big fat lies again,
:34:59. > :35:00.because just a few days after our investigation broadcast,
:35:01. > :35:02.Shirley Hensman called him out Paul told Shirley the fridge
:35:03. > :35:10.needed a new compressor, but that she would be better off
:35:11. > :35:13.replacing it entirely. So she forked out ?320
:35:14. > :35:15.for a brand new one. No prizes for guessing
:35:16. > :35:16.what happened next. I phoned and Mr Mahon
:35:17. > :35:22.answered, and then began When you contacted him and said,
:35:23. > :35:29."Hold on, you've got my money, He assured me that it would be
:35:30. > :35:40.delivered, and fitted. This went on and on,
:35:41. > :35:42.and suddenly the mind clicked, Keen to get her money back, Shirley
:35:43. > :35:46.kept calling but Paul started But then, when one of my nephews
:35:47. > :35:55.phoned him up on his own phone, so he didn't know the number,
:35:56. > :35:57.he answered. Paul eventually offered Shirley
:35:58. > :36:00.a refund, but just like the fridge, I was very angry with myself
:36:01. > :36:04.for being taken in. Then I was very concerned that
:36:05. > :36:08.nobody else should be taken in. Shirley's case formed part
:36:09. > :36:13.of another Trading Standards investigation, and before
:36:14. > :36:16.you could say spin cycle, Paul was back in court
:36:17. > :36:19.for breaching his enforcement order The judge described Mahon
:36:20. > :36:23.as an "unrepentant, disreputable and unscrupulous trader",
:36:24. > :36:26.and said he wouldn't believe him On 4th May, he was sent back
:36:27. > :36:32.to prison for 12 months, and banned from working
:36:33. > :36:34.as an independent repairman Contrite Paul Mahon changes
:36:35. > :36:41.his ways, for as long A holiday lettings rogue gives me
:36:42. > :36:54.a run for my money, in 10 minutes. Now Steph - what other
:36:55. > :37:04.stories have the team been A lot of people reacting to last
:37:05. > :37:05.week's programme and more consumer concerns coming in. Let's have a
:37:06. > :37:14.look. First, this one. We heard from the Haycock family
:37:15. > :37:16.about their son, Steven, who's been collecting parts for a 3D
:37:17. > :37:19.printer via a magazine He started collecting
:37:20. > :37:22.these when he was nine. Now he's 11, and his family
:37:23. > :37:24.have spent around ?700 However, they are missing nine
:37:25. > :37:28.issues which they say they never received -
:37:29. > :37:30.meaning the collection he has is totally useless
:37:31. > :37:32.because he doesn't have We got in touch with Eaglemoss
:37:33. > :37:36.who told us that, due to unprecedented demand for this
:37:37. > :37:38.collection, it has experienced The family's most recent issue
:37:39. > :37:44.has been sent out free. It told us it is in the process
:37:45. > :37:47.of manufacturing the missing parts, which will be ready to send
:37:48. > :37:50.at the end of January. So it sounds like Stephen
:37:51. > :37:52.will eventually get When you do, print something
:37:53. > :37:56.out and send it to us. We heard from Phil
:37:57. > :38:02.Bradley, who saw an ad for a Christmas Markets break
:38:03. > :38:06.in Prague on a voucher website. He booked the ?414 trip for him
:38:07. > :38:09.and his partner, Karen. They went to Prague
:38:10. > :38:11.on the 21st of November, only to discover that the central
:38:12. > :38:13.markets were closed. And they wouldn't open
:38:14. > :38:15.until the 26th of November, Phil complained
:38:16. > :38:27.to holiday company Deluxe Breaks and voucher website GoGroopie,
:38:28. > :38:29.but was not happy with the response. So we got in touch with both
:38:30. > :38:32.companies, who told us they are sorry the couple did not
:38:33. > :38:36.visit any Christmas markets, and that there were markets open
:38:37. > :38:39.while the couple were in Prague. Phil has now had his voucher
:38:40. > :38:45.refunded as a goodwill gesture. If you want our help with any
:38:46. > :38:50.consumer concerns, you can email us at watchdog@bbc.co.uk,
:38:51. > :38:53.tweet us @bbcwatchdog, go to our First, it was the Zafira B
:38:54. > :39:03.that was bursting into flames. They issued not one but two recalls
:39:04. > :39:06.after our investigation last year. We've had even more people getting
:39:07. > :39:11.in touch with with us, saying their Corsa D has suddenly
:39:12. > :39:28.burst into flames too. When we first raised concerns about
:39:29. > :39:34.Corsa Ds catching fire, Vauxhall pointed us under the bonnet.
:39:35. > :39:37.Specifically to a vacuum pump in the braking system of some 1.4 turbo
:39:38. > :39:43.petrol is. Vauxhall admitted that water could get in and cause a fire
:39:44. > :39:49.but said they had recalled 2767 cars to fix the problem. The company said
:39:50. > :39:54.that this water could cause a short circuit in the vacuum pump relay
:39:55. > :39:59.box. But Vauxhall couldn't explain why we'd had reports of fires in
:40:00. > :40:05.other Corsa Ds. And now more Vauxhall companies -- customers have
:40:06. > :40:11.contacted us to save their Corsa Ds have also caught fire and none of
:40:12. > :40:18.them 1.4 turbo petrels. Among them, Judy Reynolds from Kent. She sent us
:40:19. > :40:23.these photos of her cart which went up in flames just as she was
:40:24. > :40:28.arriving at work. My manager drove past and she pulled up and said,
:40:29. > :40:32."Get out of the car!" And I wondered why and anyway, as I just got out of
:40:33. > :40:37.the car, the whole car went up in one big explosion. All the windows
:40:38. > :40:41.went in. And then the next explosion, and then another
:40:42. > :40:46.explosion and we felt the ground. I was just in shock. I was just
:40:47. > :40:51.crying. And the worst thing is, my son could have been in that car. I
:40:52. > :40:54.wouldn't have got him out in time. Julie told Vauxhall about the fire
:40:55. > :40:59.but the company said it had to deal with her insurer to investigate. I
:41:00. > :41:03.wanted Vauxhall just to write a letter, you know, just to say they
:41:04. > :41:13.would look into it. And there's even more, including Bethan Powell from
:41:14. > :41:15.Manchester whose Corsa Energy caught fire which it was driving. She
:41:16. > :41:21.nudges smoking the dashboard and within minutes, the whole car was on
:41:22. > :41:25.fire. As in five left his Vauxhall Corsa in a supermarket car park only
:41:26. > :41:29.to find it on fire when he returned. Sharon and Des Platt from West
:41:30. > :41:32.Lothian e-mailed us voters of their Vauxhall Corsa would burst into
:41:33. > :41:41.flames on the street outside their house. The fire spread to the
:41:42. > :41:46.neighbours' car as well. And this Corsa SRI burst into Tish -- burst
:41:47. > :41:50.into flames while it was moving, belonging to Tish's daughter. Some
:41:51. > :41:55.of the fires bear striking similarities to other Vauxhall fires
:41:56. > :41:59.we reported on last year. It was a fault in the heating and ventilation
:42:00. > :42:03.system for the Vauxhall Zverev B which prompted the company to recall
:42:04. > :42:07.almost a quarter of a million vehicles following our investigation
:42:08. > :42:16.last year. -- voxel Zafira be. So when the heater caught fire in
:42:17. > :42:20.Sharon's always, she suspected it was the same problem. So tell us
:42:21. > :42:24.what happened with your fire? At the time, my husband was driving the car
:42:25. > :42:26.and we just dropped my son off at school and he was halfway back to
:42:27. > :42:32.the house and he noticed smoke coming from the passenger side. When
:42:33. > :42:37.you took it into the garage, what did they say? They said they had had
:42:38. > :42:41.this problem before with the Vauxhalls, mostly be Zafira. They
:42:42. > :42:50.said it was the exact same part on my car. So is there a design fault
:42:51. > :42:55.with the Corsa D's heating unit, like there was with the Zafira?
:42:56. > :42:59.Specifically, the mechanisms that controls the four speed fan. We
:43:00. > :43:05.asked forensic vehicle investigator Mark Brown to take a closer look.
:43:06. > :43:09.He's come to a scrap yard to inspect ten Corsa Ds that have not caught
:43:10. > :43:16.fire. The components that control the fan speed is different on the
:43:17. > :43:19.Corsa to the Zafira but it's a variation on a theme. I will
:43:20. > :43:26.concentrate on that. This is not a very good start. In the first car,
:43:27. > :43:30.Mark finds a section of wiring going on to the fan motor's resistor has
:43:31. > :43:31.been damaged and then replaced with black tape covering the new
:43:32. > :43:40.connections. And in the second car, there is
:43:41. > :43:45.evidence that some of the wires have started to melt. In total, Mark
:43:46. > :43:50.finds evidence of problems in three of the ten cars. Interestingly, they
:43:51. > :43:54.happened to be the versions of the Corsa without air conditioning. It
:43:55. > :43:59.is clearly a small sample that I have looked at but vehicle incident
:44:00. > :44:02.on the three vehicles without air conditioning? They have suffered
:44:03. > :44:07.similar problems in the same area and it is certainly a cause for
:44:08. > :44:10.further investigation. So does Vauxhall have yet another problem
:44:11. > :44:11.with some of its parts and more importantly, what is the company
:44:12. > :44:16.going to do about it? We asked Vauxhall to come
:44:17. > :44:20.in and explain - but they declined. There is a statement though
:44:21. > :44:22.and they've looked at two of the burnt out cars from the film,
:44:23. > :44:25.including the one behind us. Vauxhall said it didn't have enough
:44:26. > :44:28.information to establish the root cause of the fires in Julie,
:44:29. > :44:33.Bethan, Sharon or Ciaran's cars. But it has inspected Des Platt's
:44:34. > :44:36.and Tish Cochraine's cars. It is still investigating, but says
:44:37. > :44:42.it hasn't established the cause yet, and says it hasn't found a material,
:44:43. > :44:44.manufacturing or design It says it will inspect any Vauxhall
:44:45. > :44:51.car fire if the vehicle It admits the fault with the 1.4
:44:52. > :44:55.turbo petrol Corsa D, but says it is not aware of a fire
:44:56. > :44:59.risk to any other type of Corsa. And it says better information
:45:00. > :45:02.sharing about fires would So, with the cause of the fires
:45:03. > :45:08.still unclear, we'll continue But as Vauxhall has suggested,
:45:09. > :45:34.there does appear to be a problem If you had to decide whether to
:45:35. > :45:36.recall a make or make model of vehicle, there is something you
:45:37. > :45:44.would want to know. How many times it had caught fire. The fire service
:45:45. > :45:49.regularly do training like this because last year they were called
:45:50. > :45:56.to more than 7000 car fires caused by crashes or vehicle faults. But we
:45:57. > :45:59.were shocked to find that details of these fires do not always get to the
:46:00. > :46:04.people who have ultimate responsibility over recalls. Namely
:46:05. > :46:10.the driver and vehicle standards agency, the DV essay. Here is why.
:46:11. > :46:17.When a car catches fire, there are usually several people who will find
:46:18. > :46:20.this out. The fire service will record the make and model and the
:46:21. > :46:25.most likely cause. They will pass this information onto the home
:46:26. > :46:30.Office. But frustratingly, the Home Office does not seem to this
:46:31. > :46:34.information. Secondly, if you call your insurance company, they will
:46:35. > :46:37.note down your details and may carry out their own investigation. But
:46:38. > :46:42.again, they are not obliged to pass on their findings. Thirdly, you may
:46:43. > :46:50.tell your manufacturer directly but they have no obligation to pass this
:46:51. > :46:55.on at this stage. Finally, you could report the fire to the driver and
:46:56. > :46:59.vehicles standards agency. Information about potentially
:47:00. > :47:08.dangerous false simply isn't getting to the people who needed. -- needed.
:47:09. > :47:12.It is clear the current system is complicated, chaotic and
:47:13. > :47:18.fundamentally flawed. But don't take our word for it. The current system
:47:19. > :47:22.is complicated, chaotic and fundamentally flawed. What is the
:47:23. > :47:27.solution? We think we have got one. And here it is. A vehicle fire
:47:28. > :47:32.database into which information about car fires is fed. This is then
:47:33. > :47:36.available to everyone. Simple. Some of the key players in the industry
:47:37. > :47:40.are already on board. The UK fire services are represented by the
:47:41. > :47:47.Chief Fire officers Association and its head of fire organisation is
:47:48. > :47:53.Chris Blackwell. I would be supportive of a database because it
:47:54. > :47:59.would enable people to analyse that data. One MP has already suggested
:48:00. > :48:03.the idea. I think a database would help the consumer to know that their
:48:04. > :48:08.vehicle was saved, as safe as it could be, and wore any flaws
:48:09. > :48:12.identified that could be resolved. It will also help the manufacturer
:48:13. > :48:16.to make sure that the cars we buy good -- are the safest ones
:48:17. > :48:21.possible. Without capturing that information and without a system in
:48:22. > :48:26.place, that is not happening. Key MPs and fire officers already on
:48:27. > :48:34.board. Over to the manufacturers, insurers and the DVS A.
:48:35. > :48:39.What are the organisations said about the idea of a central
:48:40. > :48:43.database? The industry body, the Society of motor Manufacturers and
:48:44. > :48:47.traders, have said if manufacturers are informed of a car fire, they
:48:48. > :48:49.will launch a full-scale invest -- investigation, provided they can get
:48:50. > :48:55.permission. It said its members working
:48:56. > :48:57.with the insurance industry to work out better ways
:48:58. > :48:59.of sharing information. The Association of British Insurers
:49:00. > :49:01.said whenever a vehicle is written off by a fire,
:49:02. > :49:04.insurers report this to the DVSA, and it raises issues
:49:05. > :49:07.with manufacturers if it suspects a design fault is to
:49:08. > :49:09.blame for a fire. The DVSA said it ensures faults
:49:10. > :49:11.are communicated to vehicle owners, and had questioned Vauxhall
:49:12. > :49:14.about why it has taken so long from the initial
:49:15. > :49:16.reports of the problem The Home Office said it regularly
:49:17. > :49:19.releases data on incidents attended by the fire and rescue services,
:49:20. > :49:40.and continuously reviews Over the next couple of weeks many
:49:41. > :49:44.of us will be looking at holiday accommodation websites. But here is
:49:45. > :49:46.a warning tale, particularly in the capital.
:49:47. > :49:52.Last year a record-breaking 31.5million tourists came
:49:53. > :49:58.But, for some, London calling turned into London appalling,
:49:59. > :50:01.thanks to this man, Mohammed Ali Abbas Rasul,
:50:02. > :50:04.who runs family companies London Victoria Estates Ltd
:50:05. > :50:07.and Grosvenor Property Investments Ltd, not to be confused
:50:08. > :50:13.These companies boasted luxury holiday lets in some of London's
:50:14. > :50:16.most sought-after locations, but in reality they were
:50:17. > :50:21.As Salla and her family discovered when they visited
:50:22. > :50:29.They paid ?275 a night for a three-bed flat.
:50:30. > :50:32.It took them five hours to get the keys and when they did,
:50:33. > :50:36.it was for an entirely different property to the one they'd booked.
:50:37. > :50:39.They said it would be a premium apartment.
:50:40. > :50:57.We complained at their office and they just didn't care.
:50:58. > :50:59.They said something like, "We know your address",
:51:00. > :51:09.I'm very sorry, can I apologise on behalf of the entire
:51:10. > :51:12.United Kingdom for the thing that you've experienced in our
:51:13. > :51:22.Salla wasn't the only in need of an apology.
:51:23. > :51:26.We found at least 80 online complaints about
:51:27. > :51:34.We wanted to see for ourselves and so it was time for a mega sting!
:51:35. > :51:38.Three teams, three properties, and expert property lawyer,
:51:39. > :51:45.They reserved a one-bed flat in Knightsbridge,
:51:46. > :51:48.but after collecting the keys, they were asked to pay
:51:49. > :52:00.They coughed up the dosh and headed to what should have been
:52:01. > :52:03.But instead they were greeted by this.
:52:04. > :52:06.That to me is a clear breach of contract, if nothing else,
:52:07. > :52:11.the customer should be getting some, if not all of their ?50 back.
:52:12. > :52:15.It wasn't any better at property number two.
:52:16. > :52:17.Our team members booked a luxury flat in Hyde Park,
:52:18. > :52:23.But after handing over the money, they were taken to a completely
:52:24. > :52:29.Inside we found mouse droppings, dangerous electrics,
:52:30. > :52:37.And the same thing happened at property number three.
:52:38. > :52:44.It's wasn't even an apartment, just a damp room, with a toilet seat
:52:45. > :52:46.stuck together with Sellotape, and it wasn't in the nicest
:52:47. > :52:49.The flat had been split into several bedrooms,
:52:50. > :52:52.something that came as a bit of a shock to the homeowner
:52:53. > :52:56.He told us it's a five-bedroom family home and had no idea
:52:57. > :53:00.it was being rented out as a house in multiple occupation,
:53:01. > :53:05.It was time to have a word with the man in charge
:53:06. > :53:07.of the day-to-day running of this family firm, Mohammed
:53:08. > :53:11.We caught up with him at one of his offices
:53:12. > :53:29.Let me talk to you about the fantasy business you are running, where you
:53:30. > :53:35.advertise properties for short-term let and people turned up... There is
:53:36. > :53:40.nowhere to go any more. You are letting out places that don't exist.
:53:41. > :53:46.When people turned up, you take them somewhere else. He doesn't want to
:53:47. > :53:51.answer any of my questions in his office. Let's talk outside. You can
:53:52. > :53:55.explain how people come here on their holidays, based on our
:53:56. > :54:01.advertisement your people put out there. They come here for a trip to
:54:02. > :54:11.London and they wind up being taken... He is doing a runner on the
:54:12. > :54:18.Edgeware Road. Now he is on the phone to try to avoid my
:54:19. > :54:22.questioning. The properties are nothing like the ones advertised.
:54:23. > :54:30.That's what happens, isn't it? The business is a major up thing. You
:54:31. > :54:38.chop up properties. The landlords do not know. Your previous property was
:54:39. > :54:47.fined ?25,000 for that. Excuse me, Mohammed. A little bit of
:54:48. > :54:49.argy-bargy. Don't touch me! He's running. I am second though, I am
:54:50. > :54:52.still second! We have no idea how long
:54:53. > :54:54.he kept running for, but what we did find out
:54:55. > :54:57.is that we weren't the only ones In November 2015, Environmental
:54:58. > :55:02.Health officers discovered 18 people living in slum-like conditions
:55:03. > :55:05.in this Grade II listed property in Kensington,
:55:06. > :55:09.run by Mohammed Ali Abbas Rasul's father, Abbas Mohammed Jawad Rasul,
:55:10. > :55:13.who is director of London Victoria Estates Ltd
:55:14. > :55:15.and Grovesnor Property The large flat had been
:55:16. > :55:21.subdivided into 14 rooms The ceiling was falling in,
:55:22. > :55:25.there were no fire alarms, and there was a cracked flue
:55:26. > :55:30.on the unserviced gas boiler. Yet to live here cost each
:55:31. > :55:36.tenant ?800 a month. On 11th October, Abbas
:55:37. > :55:39.Mohamed Jawad Rasul, London Victoria Estates Ltd
:55:40. > :55:43.and Grosvenor Property Investments Ltd were found guilty of failing
:55:44. > :55:46.to license a house and in breech They were ordered to pay
:55:47. > :55:59.a whopping ?162,000 fine. Because he's the one running
:56:00. > :56:05.the companies day to day, Mohammed Ali Abas Rasul,
:56:06. > :56:07.makes it onto the Rogues Gallery, along with Simon Fielding and Paul
:56:08. > :56:10.Mahon, all paying the price. Time now to tell you about one more
:56:11. > :56:15.product safety recall, Three different models of the gate
:56:16. > :56:21.have been recalled since last year, after customers reported them
:56:22. > :56:24.opening unexpectedly and children Some of them had to have
:56:25. > :56:30.medical attention. Ikea told us that the locking
:56:31. > :56:32.mechanism is not reliable, and it does pose a risk
:56:33. > :56:34.for small children. It said Ikea is not willing
:56:35. > :56:37.to risk children's safety. It urges anyone with a Patrull
:56:38. > :56:41.safety gate to immediately stop using it and to bring it back
:56:42. > :56:46.to a store for a full refund. Keep sending us your
:56:47. > :56:50.stories and tip offs. You can email us, get
:56:51. > :56:53.in touch via social media, or go to our website and click
:56:54. > :56:56.where it says, Send Us Your Story. You can, of course,
:56:57. > :57:08.write to us as well. If you want to see any are of our
:57:09. > :57:11.investigations were BBC Three, head over to their website. You can
:57:12. > :57:15.ketchup with previous episodes on the iPlayer. -- catch up.
:57:16. > :57:17.Next week, Team Watchdog investigate miles per gallon claims -
:57:18. > :57:21.And Park Dean Resorts - they've got over 70 caravan
:57:22. > :57:25.We've been hearing from some owners who have been thrown out
:57:26. > :57:28.of a place they consider to be their home from home.
:57:29. > :58:01.See you next Wednesday at eight o'clock.
:58:02. > :58:05.I fundamentally disagree with hunting rare animals.