Episode 7 Watchdog

The Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep Machine.

It claims to have a filter that removes "any impurities" from tap

water, giving you "the very cleanest water" for your baby's formula.

Not according to our tests on machines used by real families.

We have something that is much, much more contaminated than tap water.

Hello and welcome to Watchdog, from our home at BBC

working as well as they say. claim to be healthy but aren't

the Fitbit fitness tracker and dietary supplements Juice Plus.

We reveal the problems that you need to know about.

The cost of the fuel to get you there might be

And that's what Team Watchdog are looking at tonight,

manufactures make? per gallon claims car

I upgraded because it will save me money.

Plus, Nikki Fox has set up camp outside the BBC.

I've investigated one of the biggest caravan park companies,

Park Dean Resorts, who have 73 parks across the UK.

We've heard from elderly owners who were told they had to leave

Maureen couldn't walk and we had to cut a hole and build a ramp. It was

a lot of stress that. And then two weeks after, she died.

And in tonight's Rogue Traders, a car dealer who knows

his responsibilities and completely ignores them.

I look at it that way, you sell it to an old lady, I would rather

straight cars and make money and that is it.

So why is the car we bought not fit for the road?

But first, we've been conducting tests on this,

the Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep Machine.

You use it to make bottles for your baby, but the results

of our tests have raised some interesting questions.

And feeding them with formula can be a military operation.

the kettle, fill it, wait for it to boil and then wait

Then there's the powder, which needs measuring and mixing in.

And finally you have to check it's all served up at a safe

All this because a baby's immune system isn't as strong

So the NHS and the World Health Organisation recommend parents

sterilise everything and only use boiled water.

Because Tommee Tippee claim to have come up with a revolutionary

It looks like an espresso machine and according to Tommee Tippee

it's the "smart" option for weary parents.

You can keep making every bottle the long and hard way,

juggling bottles and heating water while trying to keep baby calm

or you can get smart and let the Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep

Machine do all the hard work in just two minutes.

So how does the Perfect Prep Machine manage to make formula

doesn't use boiling water. waiting around because it

spurt of hot, but not boiling, water that the company says "kills

Then cold tap water is added that's passed

Tommee Tippee claims the filter "removes any impurities" giving

you "the very cleanest water for baby's formula".

It all sounds, well, perfect. But is this machine doing the job

as well as using the traditional method of boiling your water?

And is it worth paying out around ?100 for it?

We decided to test it out for ourselves.

And to help interpret the test results I've enlisted the help

We sent five machines used in the real world by real parents

They contained filters that had been used regularly in ordinary

households for between six and nine weeks - well within the three month

limit that Tommee Tippee advise before replacing the filter.

with sterile cold water. filled the machines

Well we know that the water that the lab's put into the machine

So if we do find bacteria coming out at the other end we know that it's

It could be very interesting. could be very telling.

that came out of the machine, cultured and incubated them to allow

In all of the tests the lab carried out the bacteria level

of the sterile water AFTER it had passed through the machine

was HIGHER than levels you'd expect to find in cold tap water.

In some cases only slightly higher, but some tests found levels

contaminated than tap water. actually much much more

claims their filter "removes any impurities from the water".

But our test shows that those used filters

The exact opposite of what the filter should do.

But what about filters fresh out of the box?

To find out how effective they are - the lab filled a machine containing

called Pseudomonas. of a common bacteria

Well to be fair the lab did put a huge amount

of bacteria through the filter to really challenge it.

At first the filter worked really, really well and even

despite the amount of bacteria that we put through there were no

But unfortunately by the third and fourth test - bacteria

were starting to filter through and get into the water.

could build up over time. from the other test how this

We asked consultant paediatrician Ravi Jayaram to look

He told us that any risk to healthy babies is incredibly low.

However, he adds that although it remains incredibly low risk extra

for vulnerable babies. load" - could possibly be a problem

conditions such as immune deficiencies or cystic fibrosis may

be at higher risk by being exposed to higher bacteria loads.

Now even though the bacteria load is still low there is a potential

that the babies are exposed to a higher load and therefore

Tommee Tippee has produced a machine that doesn't use boiled water

But is it as good as making formula the old fashioned way?

We asked two of the biggest formula manufacturers which method

They both said just use boiled water.

So is Tommee Tippee's Perfect Prep machine really worth the price?

And isn't it time the company took another look at its claims?

We provided Tommee Tippee with the results of our tests

and asked them for their response to our findings.

They sent us the following statement.

We completely refute the allegations made by Watchdog, who,

despite repeated requests, have refused to provide us with

We have shared the limited data provided to us with a leading

professor of microbiology at a top UK university, who has stated that

Watchdog is "scaremongering", the microbiology is "fundamentally

flawed" and "the results presented simply do not stand scientifically."

You know what you're getting this time of year, a lot of calories.

But in January, when you're looking to get a bit fitter,

here's something that vould catch you out.

This is the Tesco Healthy Living range which sells itself

as being "low in fat" or "reduced fat".

But when you compare some of them to Tesco's Everyday Value range,

You find the Healthy option has more fat than the regular one.

Healthy Living option 7.3g of fat per pack.

Next, sweet and sour chicken with rice.

And finally, coleslaw which is described as "reduced fat".

Per tablespoon, the Healthy Living one contains 5.5g of fat.

And the Everyday Value one, just 3.5g.

And the Everyday Value products are cheaper.

We contacted Tesco about this, who said.

"Products are always clearly labelled with their nutritional

content so that customers can make informed decisions

Two more health and fitness products to watch out for coming up later,

Tonight's Rogue Traders are messing around with our lives.

Selling cars that don't just endanger the drivers,

but others who might be unlucky enough to share

Lancashire, north west of England, home to the beautiful Ribble Valley

But let me warn you, the north west also has a beguiling

The A57 meets M67, M60 and it all takes a place on top

And it's not to be attempted unless your vehicle is in tip top

Which it may not be if you bought it from nearby

Euxton Motor Company Ltd, which changed its name

from Euxton Car Sales as of June this year.

They've been selling cars since 2003 and claim to have a "Fantastic

selection of quality used cars", providing a "personal customer

Luke Hibbert and Curtis Black specialise in selling

Alongside the name change they've also moved premises,

presumably to keep one step ahead of the many unsatisfied

customers they've sold stinkers to, like Stevie.

I had a bit of inheritance money and I thought what better way to buy

Stevie really wanted an Audi A3, so she searched online

and found this one for sale from Euxton Car Sales

Then she went down to their forecourt to have a look.

The MOT was tricky, it was advertised as 12 months

but when I got there I realised it had three months he said

he was gonna get into the garage to get it MOT'd, which he never did.

But Stevie loved the car so went ahead and bought it.

It wasn't long though before the car had problems.

When did it start to go wrong and how?

I picked it up on a Saturday and after driving it

The warning light for one of the headlights, and the aircon

That was the beginning of the obvious faults.

Stevie took it to her mechanic who found dangerously

fitted suspension bushes, it had underside damage

and the aircon fluid was leaking into the engine.

Did the garage give you an idea of how much to put it right?

He said if I had got the car for ?1,000 I would

Having zero luck trying to contact Luke Hibbert for a refund,

Stevie put her evidence in front of a judge who ruled in her favour

and is now preparing to enforce that judgement,

which means the bailiffs could be calling on Euxton

I mean, how dangerous could a car be?

Malcolm Greenbury exchanged his old car for a Land Rover

His car nightmare started only 20 minutes after he'd left

the forecourt, as he was driving down the motorway.

About 22 miles away from the garage the car started filling up

with smoke, the smoke was building and building.

I put the hazard lights on and look for somewhere to pull off.

I could see smoke coming out the engine, I was on the road works

on the M6 motorway and couldn't to pull off.

Eventually I saw some cones further ahead by which time

So I've got no power steering, it's power assisted steering

so doesn't work particularly well, there's no brakes because they work

He was coasting down the motorway at 20mph so he pulled onto the hard

shoulder and used his handbrake to stop the car.

I jumped out of the car, and obviously there was a fire

minutes two police cars arrived, got the dry foam, then a few minutes

later two fire engines turned up and they got the hoses

It could've been a whole lot worse, if I hadn't have found somewhere

to pull off then I'd have had to jump out into moving traffic.

But this is on same day you bought the vehicle.

Another thing Malcolm wasn't prepared for was their reaction

I spoke to the dealer and he said it's your fault,

it's your problem, you sort it out, mate.

After spending near on 4 grand making the car safe,

Malcolm found some more worrying news concerning the car's history

when the V5 registration document arrived in the post.

It told me the vehicle had been written off and because it had been

involved in an accident, the cost of repair was more

The V5 showed that at some point in the past the car had been salvaged.

So they sold you a write-off and never mentioned

How close did you think you were to something really

You don't travel on the motorway at 20 miles an hour on the motorway

whilst still in a lane of traffic, people don't expect that.

Catching fire while you're driving, yeah, that's really dangerous.

So what we need to do now is buy a car from Euxton Motor Company,

Two of our team members are off to Euxton Motor Company Ltd in search

But will it need a little tinker, or be a proper stinker?

Time now to tell you about another heath product, these dietary

They are sold by reps who advertise heavily on social

media, using all sorts of extraordinary claims.

And because the reps use social media, some of them

As well as saying they aid weight loss, a claim even

the company doesn't make, some of the sellers also

say the tablets can, "help many medical issues such

as thyroid problems, depression, Coeliac disease, IBS and arthritis."

We weren't so sure about that, so we checked with dietician Anna Daniels.

They are huge claims with no hard evidence to back them up. What's

worrying is that on the Internet and Facebook, people are being targeted

and often they are desperate people who may have tried many things and

are having severe symptoms. Simply taking a tablet isn't the answer.

We also saw another rep claiming that, "Juice Plus capsules

make a great dietary supplement for diabetics."

Diabetes is obviously a disease and to make a claim like this, again,

could be quite damaging. Diabetics have to watch their diet very

carefully and ensure that the insulin levels are controlled. So

taking a capsule can't really substitute for a healthy balanced

diet. And finally, most worrying,

it's been claimed that you should, "Switch your children

from medications and multivitamins to Juice Plus",

which sounds plain dangerous. Medications and multivitamins

prescribed to children by their GP, what they should be taking, they

shouldn't be taking advice off the Internet from anyone who isn't their

GP or dietician and taking your children off medication could be

highly damaging. We put all this to

Juice Plus who told us. It does not claim that its capsules

have any benefits related to weight loss and it markets products

as support for healthy living rather It adds that independent brand

advocates occasionally stray off-message and it has a department

that takes swift, decisive action when it discovers

this, or it is brought So, if you do spot any claims

you are suspicious of, tell them, and tell us if you see any product

being sold with claims Now this week's nationwide poll

is all about things that you say really make a difference when you're

trying to decide what car to buy. For example, 81% of Brits say that

miles per gallon figures would be an important factor when choosing

a new car. And 77% say that the level of CO2

emissions are important because of course this affects

which tax band your car is in. And to put this into perspective,

this compares to just 44% who said the colour of the car

would be important. So, since MPG numbers

are so important, I've asked Team Watchdog to investigate how far

they can trust their MPGs. We've recruited a Team of Watchdog

viewers from across the UK. And investigate how to get

us all a better deal. we are looking at your cars and just

how far a tank of fuel Now there's claim's made aren't

there about how many miles per gallon your motor will do,

and that can be a big Well we want you to go out

and test your real MPG compared to what's advertised,

so buckle up, everyone, So what do the team think

about their car's fuel economy? I think that in my family I'm

the only one that has a diesel car so I think that I'm getting

the best mileage. My husband has a gas guzzler

so that does tend to cost What we are promised it can do,

and what it delivers, and what it says it delivers

on the dashboard, none of it is suspicions by hitting the road

and keeping a fuel diary for us. If you want to try this at home,

here's how it works. We've asked our team

to fill their tank to the top then Then they drive until the fuel

gauge hits the red. Refill the car to the top again

and make a note of how many gallons Divide that up and that gives

us their real world MPG. They're then comparing this

to the "combined MPG" advertised When cars were first sold

to the masses MPG figures weren't a big selling point,

although they weren't that bad. In 1908, Henry Ford introduced

the Model T, the first mass-produced car, and it can do up to 25

miles per gallon. But things started to change

during the fuel crisis of the 1970s, which put petrol and diesel prices

firmly in the minds of drivers. Led by this public mood,

manufacturers focused on making big improvements in fuel economy

through the 1980s and 90s. But despite these improvements,

even the most economical drivers will find these advertised

figures almost impossible And that's all down to how

these advertised MPG using what is called the

New European Driving Cycle tests, These are laboratory tests

and manufacturers have a few tactics up their sleeves to get

the best results. They don't use heating,

lighting and there are no weather They also push back brake

pads to reduce friction, which all help to give

an impressive MPG result. figures and what you can actually

achieve can leave drivers paying hundreds of pounds

more than they thought So how realistic are those

advertised MPG scores? When our team tested their real

MPG they told us that on average their results were 20%

below the combined MPG And the worst result saw a team

member telling us their real world MPG being recorded at 66%

less than advertised. Coming up, I head to Northampton

to help one member of our team try and get closer

to his advertised MPG. Steph, an average of 20% lower

than the advertised MPG, What can you find out

from these tests? I'm sure a lot of people are

wondering that. Well, they won't tell you what your

MPG in the real world could be, but they do allow you to compare one

car with another. The good news is, we

contacted the the SMMT, the industry body for car makers,

and they told us that there's a new test being introduced next

year which will better reflect And, Steph, we've had some more

interesting results from this Yes, we asked people to list some

of the things they've done over the last 12 months to reduce how

much they spend on fuel and they are trying a lot

of different things. 24% told us they have changed

to a more energy efficient vehicle. And 47% told us they have modified

the way they drive to use less fuel. Something that I've suggested one

member of Team Watchdog to try out. Your driving style can have a big

impact on your real MPG so I've come to Northampton to meet Arif Rahman

to give him, and you, some tips Arif bought his car several months

ago to travel to and from university and is far from happy

with his fuel economy. You haven't had this car long,

did you know the miles to Arif's car for a week,

to see exactly what fuel economy he was getting and whether his

driving style might First up, his car is

advertised as 74.3mpg. That's actually not

far off my old car. And one of the reasons I upgraded

to this is because it's going to be our experts have pointed out some

simple tips to help him and the rest First up, Arif's data

shows hard acceleration, Drive smoothly away from standing

starts to increase MPG. When your foot is off

the accelerator in modern cars, So when you know you're coming up

to a stop take your foot off the accelerator,

and let the car slow down at its own pace instead of

slamming on the brakes. As we're coming to these

lights, slow down. It goes green, so there

we go, straight off. Another obvious thing is speed,

so 10 mph can so reducing air resistance by 25%,

the more fuel you use. I leave Arif with his tips

and we continue to monitor his data for a week, to see if he can

make his car more fuel efficient. It's been going good, it feels like

a driving diet. LAUGHTER Overall, you're miles per gallon has

gone up by 6% because you are a better driver. That's good news.

Still work to be done. And that 6% improvement could see

a reduction of around ?160 Now, over the series we've been

telling you about some of the latest frauds affecting people

across the UK. Most of them start with

an email or a phone call. Tonight's is a bit different,

and it's particularly believable. It all starts when you get

a letter like this, claiming It's got the bank's logo, address

and also a signature from a customer The letter says there have been some

"unusual transactions" on your account and asks you to call

a number to confirm When you ring up you get

an automated message asking you to type in your card number,

account number, sort code, date of birth and digits

from your security number. Sometimes you then get passed

on to a call centre, possibly even a real Lloyds call

centre in some versions of the scam, which can also

make it seem legitimate. This is a particularly sophisticated

phishing scam and serves as a warning that you should always

question correspondence from your bank, no matter

how genuine it looks. Lloyds told us that

if you are suspicious about any letters you get,

contact them using the number on your bank card, as we've

said before this series. It's the only number

you can completely trust. And of course the same applies

to any letter you receive claiming Park Dean Resorts, elderly

caravan owners were told they could stay for good,

but we heard from many who were told they could be forced out

of places they call home. They drove over a hundred miles

to get the Christmas tree they wanted from B,

only to find it had a faulty plug. We're having a proper rummage around

at Exton Motor Company Ltd There may be other car companies

with a similar name out there. Unlikely, admittedly,

but if there are, then please don't mistake them for this one,

on the Preston Road. In Chorley, Lancashire,

we've rigged two members of our production team with secret

cameras and sent them to the Euxton Motor Company to buy

one of their motors. The car we're interested in is

a silver Volkswagen polo - oooh but that doesn't mean it

shouldn't be roadworthy. It's also being sold

as having 12 months MOT, out it out on the open road.

so not fine to drive it straight There we go, here's

Luke Hibbert and Curtis Black. For the VW, I got lost,

I was speaking to one Yeah the polo.

Is this your first Normally to get a car started you'd

use an ignition key. He has such low expectations

of what the car can do, he goes straight for a jump pack -

a portable battery with some Once he's given the battery a bit

of a boost it's ready It's a good job we're

not in a hurry. Now we know it works,

the next question. We know it doesn't have

a certificate, but that it's No, I'll get it in, I'll

get it booked in today, It's got a week and half left

on it, it's got a week But we know the certificate for this

car expired in March. He's lied to us, and is prepared to

let us drive the car out, illegally. It's got a full service

history this car. I didn't even know,

I don't really check them, Ah so that's 'personal customer

service that is second to none' Before we make a decision,

Curtis wants to show us Gonna need your jump

leads again aren't you? But this one doesn't have much life

in it either and even with his trusty jump pack Curtis

can't get it started at all. So back to the first

car - the Silver Polo. Has that one had any history

of accidents at all or is it? It's clear pal, I look it that way,

you sell it to an old lady with a family or anything like that

and something happens it's on me, I'd just rather, straight cars,

make money and that's it, Another lie Curtis,

remember, the car he's happy With our possible purchase

still running in the background our Although I'm a bit concerned

about the surprised it just made. If you put the fuel in there now

it'll be as sweet as a nut. us for our 500 quid.

what Curtis is going to sell Yeah yeah it's got tax yeah,

it's showing tax now. And I'll put it on my database now,

I'll put it on the insurance now. As there's no current MOT

certificate - any tax or insurance registered

on the vehicle is invalid. We soon find out the ?500 we pay

for the car is pennies in comparison to what Curtis has raked in in car

sales in the last 3 hours. I've sold 5 already this morning,

one 4 grand car, one a 1000 pound, one 4.5 grand and I've just sold two

online that adds up to 12.5 grand. And he's not the only

one raking it in. Luke Hibbert is also

benefitting in a big way. You know the Lake District - he's

got a million pound boat. by our purchase we want to get this

unMOT'd car off the road On Curtis' advice we head just down

the road to the petrol station to get some juice for our little

runner so that it will make it to the low loader we have safely

waiting for us around the corner. Though far from being 'sweet

as a nut' after we filled I've just gone to fill it up and now

the car won't start. But holy moly - look who's just

turned up at the petrol station!? By complete coincidence

he came to fill up too. Curtis' first tactic is to use brute

force to try and move I'll just chuck my

jump pack back on it. Where would we be

without Curtis' jump pack. Get it on the motorway and that

will charge that easy. I'm an honest company

I wouldn't sell you. That's matter of an opinion Curtis -

an opinion better given After a trip on a low-loaded

lorry it's time our Mike the mechanic and MOT expert

gave our run-a-round Mike has been working

with cars for over 30 years, and what he doesn't know about cars

isn't worth knowing. When I bought the vehicle

in the first thing I noticed The engine management light

is displayed which indicates a fault - even if they have no mechanical

knowledge they should've I'd expect the clutch to last maybe

a couple of weeks before it needs replacing - it's an expensive job

on any vehicle! Mike estimated the cost

of replacing the clutch at 290 Tyres quite badly perished,

you can see the cracking It must pass the MOT with a minimum

tread depth of 1.6 ml - this car would not pass the mot test

with that tyre fitted to it. The one thing I have spotted

straight away is the washer bottle. The washer motor is not even

connected electrically to anything. Because that's not working

that is an MOT fail We knew from the advert

that the car's windscreen had a SMALL crack, but this

is not small. As you can see there's a on this car

there's a continuous crack all the way through - if there's

a more than 40 mil worth of damage that's becomes an MOT fail -

as you can quite clearly see that area there itself is 400 ml so that

vehicle is not road worthy on the basis of that crack

on the windscreen. It's at this point you may be asking

yourself 'can this get any worse? If you pop round this side notice

the steering cowling is all missing. You've got the indicator

arm on this side. When we go for the wiper arm,

it's missing so we've effectively got no washers or wipers

on the vehicle at what point do you realise the washer and wipers

aren't going to work - is that at 70 miles an hour when you're

approaching the back of a truck? It's definite MOT fail - the washers

and wipers are a must. You paid 500 I'd probably pay 50 -

it's a scrap vehicle the price of the clutch and the other items

that need addressing to make the vehicle road worthy outweigh s

the 500 pound of the cost So, we another Euxton Motor Company

car that's not street legal, and isn't going to be

without spending Luke Hibbert has supplied us

with an accident waiting to happen. Not much, a pair of trainers

if they're on sale. But it's free to see what happens

when we take our car in compact form Stick around for

the next ten minutes. Now, Steph, who else has been

getting in touch this week? We've had a right mix,

including Paul Potts, remember him? Cracking voice and also

used to be a supermarket Well, he's a big fan of the show

and got in touch to say he couldn't believe that a supermarket had

swapped nappies for chorizo. First up is 41-year-old

Cheryl Aspinall. She booked a holiday to Portugal

for herself and her sister, They were due to travel

in September, but earlier this year Cheryl found out she has

a congenital heart condition Because Ryanair has a discretionary

policy to refund people who are seriously ill,

Cheryl applied to get her money back, but the airline refused,

despite Cheryl providing letters from her GP and consultant

cardiologist. We got in touch with Ryanair

who told us the letter from Cheryl's doctor did not say she was unfit

to fly or when the surgery But said it would look

into the matter further And I'm pleased to tell you,

Cheryl's also on the mend. Now if you've been on the hunt

for a good Christmas tree, We got an e-mail from James

Vannuffell, surname of the series, and his partner Martin

after they bought Here it is, the 6ft,

pre-lit LED pop-up Christmas tree. James Vannuffell did a 100-mile

round trip to collect the tree, but after getting it home,

realised the plug didn't work. In fact, it blew the main

fuse in the house. Then, when he put the tree back

in the box he noticed a returns label, stating the tree

did have a faulty plug. So he drove 100 miles round trip

again to return the tree, We got in touch with B who told us

it has apologised to James and are investigating how

he was sold the faulty tree. They've also refunded him

for the cost of his trips to B and found him a new tree,

but he'd already got If you think you've been treated

unfairly and want our help, you can e-mail us at [email protected],

tweet us @bbcwatchdog, go to our They have 73 sites across the UK,

a mix of holiday rentals But we've heard from some caravan

owners who were told they had Despite being previously

told they could stay Decorating your home

for Christmas is one And what we all want for Christmas

is time with our friends and family Most of those who visit

Parkdean Resort's 72 nationwide You can buy a caravan and rent

a pitch spending up to 10 months But some residents of

Parkdean Resorts have contacted us to say they've been told they'll

have to leave their caravans All this despite being

told they could stay So they'll be spending

their Christmas packing A lot of the residents we've heard

from bought their caravans when the sites were owned

by a company called Their initial contracts stated

that they could have their caravan or pitch for 10 years,

then they'd have to spend thousands of pounds on another

caravan or move on. This is known as the "age rule".

But then in 2004 the sites And the deal seemed to get a whole

lot better, Park Resorts told owners that this age rule didn't apply

and they could stay in their caravan Owners were told in person

and received a newsletter saying that the age rule had been removed

and, "You can keep your caravans But last year another merger led

to the creation of Parkdean Resorts. And unwelcome letters from both

Park Resorts and Parkdean suggested there had been a major

change of policy. Over the past two years owners have

been shocked to receive letters saying that the company will not be

extending their contracts. And they'd either have

to spend thousands to buy 74-year-old Valerie has been

on the Naze Marine site in Essex since 1999 and has many happy

memories with her family there. My children came

there in their teens. And then my grandchildren came

since they were a year old. They could run on the grass,

go on the beach, on to the pier and it was family time,

for all of us. And for 30 years we've always had

somewhere to go for fun. But despite having received

the newsletter saying she could stay on the site in her caravan

as long as she wanted, she has recently been sent a letter

saying she has to buy a new caravan What did it feel like

when you got the letter? I was really upset because I knew

I couldn't afford to upgrade and really I just thought my only

option is to leave, and you're My grandchildren, two

of them were in tears, because my grandsons

wanted their children to be down there and have the same

freedom that they'd had. What would you say to Parkdean

Resorts if they were here now? I would say to them please let me

stay because of all the wonderful They are getting their ground

rent every year, our I feel like I can't do anything

to alleviate apart from spending perhaps ?30,000 to buy a caravan,

which I don't have. Unable to pay, Val is packing

up her caravan and preparing to say goodbye to

the site at Christmas. Lynda Alexander who has

lived at the Camber Sands resorts since 2004, was also shocked

to receive a letter this autumn saying that she had

to leave within 90 days. Over the past two years she has

invested heavily in the caravan, spending ?7,000 on decking,

believing she could stay And we have heard from many more

residents across the country who are shocked to hear

they will have to leave too. And more concerningly,

it seems even if you have a very good reason to stay,

it doesn't mean Parkdean Last year Derek Hicks and his wife

Maureen received a letter from Park Resorts also asking them

to upgrade or leave their caravan on the Cresswell Towers

site in Northumberland. We'd been on the caravan

site about 19 years It was lovely, we adapted

the caravan the way we wanted it. We had some lovely times,

it was a great feeling Everybody spoke to you,

the atmosphere was terrific. But then in the last two

years Maureen got ill. Um, and she had quite

a few problems, she went We had to live in the front

room of our caravan, we had to sleep in the front room

of our caravan, she was so bad. But there was always hope

that she would get better in time. The physios were coming in,

trying to get her on her feet a bit. Maureen's doctor wrote a letter

stating she shouldn't be moved. But the newly-merged company,

Parkdean Resorts, refused to listen. It was a begging letter, pleading,

stating about the health that Maureen was in,

her mam was in. I would have thought they would have

looked at the situation and perhaps given us a bit extra time,

and they just didn't, In the end, they were

forced to leave the site. What we had to do to get

Maureen out of the caravan We had to cut a hole in the side

of the caravan door and we had to get a wheelchair and built a ramp

and we had to wheel her down the ramp into a taxi, got her home

that way and it was a lot of stress, that, then two

weeks after she died. Very unhappy times and I'm really

still very very raw, raw about it. So, are Parkdean Resorts allowed

to do this to their residents after the previous company

sent that newsletter? We asked contract law

expert Christina Perry that the newsletter is admitted

as what we call a side contract And the terms of this newsletter may

well overturn or override the terms But, it is very much an open

question and it is not something So will Parkdean's Resorts residents

have to leave by new year? Or will the company

have a change of heart? So, Nikki, what have Parkdean

Resorts said about your report? Parkdean say they are sorry

for any distress caused and has now confirmed,

in writing, that all those affected The company apologises

to Derek Hicks for how they dealt with his late wife,

admitting it handled It has offered Val the right to stay

in her caravan and is working to try to resolve Mr

and Mrs Alexander's complaint. And, Nikki, you've also got

some tips for anyone You are not just buying the caravan,

the annual fees of being on the site and also the maintenance costs, gas,

electricity. It can mount up. The contract as well, important that you

look at it closely. You need to know how long you can stay on this, the

minimum should be ten years. And people might want to sublet it, that

may not be allowed? You might be allowed, you might not, they might

sublet it for you. You must work out how much of the year you can spend

in it because you can't spend the whole time that Mac. Heavenly check

how long you can stay. And what if you want to sell it? Buying a

caravan, wonderful as it is, is not like buying a house, it is more like

buying a car, it is going to depreciate and you won't make any

money. If you are selling, you may only be offered the trade price. If

you sell it privately, you may not be able to or the site might take

commission. You buy it for love, don't you, not money.

A lot of these are going to be under the Christmas tree

It's a fitness tracker you wear on your wrist that records how much

But we've heard the Fitbit might not be fit for purpose,

with hundreds of people saying that the strap is prone to breaking

For example, Aisling Temperley bought a Fitbit Charge HR

Since then the strap has peeled away and needed replacing three times.

Although Fitbit has given Aisling the new straps free of charge,

she's tired of having to get in touch every few

So, is there a manufacturing problem with the Fitbit strap?

"The experiences reported are not typical and Fitbit conduct extensive

testing and apply stringent standards to their products.

It also says that when customers like Aisling report problems,

There's more information about maintaining your

And you can watch our full investigations into Fitbit straps,

the Tesco Healthy Living range and Juice Plus on our

Luke Hibbert and Curtis Black have been selling cars that could bring

If you're lucky, they'll break down like ours did and leave

But we've heard of them being dangerously unroadworthy,

and, in one case, even catching fire.

So, Curtis Black and Luke Hibbert sold us this car that they said

But before I confront Euxton Motor Company Ltd, there's

The first thing we need to do is deal with this,

our 50 quid's worth of car; chances are were not

going to get our money back so we need to the decent thing.

Crushing our car will ensure that it doesn't end up on the road

again or on the forecourt of another dodgy dealer.

And it doesn't take long before it's boxed and ready for transport back

to the company that flogged it to us.

We reach Euxton Motor Company Ltd's premises, the place

we bought our car from, and surprise, surprise,

driven by Luke Hibbert and Curtis Black is still there.

But our security expert told us they can be aggressive and advised

I'm adamant they need to hear what we have to say.

So, time to bring out the loud hailer.

Luke Hibbert, Luke Hibbert, if you're on the premises come

How can you sell cars to people when you claim they have

got MOTs when they haven't, it means they are taking them out

onto the road thinking they are safe when they are not.

Just as it seems my protestations are falling on deaf ears,

Curtis turns up, the man we bought our car from just days earlier.

Curtis, we are returning the car you sold us for ?500.

It's scrap, 50 quid, that's all it's worth it was sold to us

completely un-roadworthy with no MOT it shouldn't have been on the road

at all and you're doing it for other customers other customers whose cars

let them down, and other customers whose cars in some cases

We'd love to hear explain why you can do that, Curtis.

And just as I was getting started, Curtis seeks to avoid

the confrontation and backs his car out and off down the road.

But I managed to speak to him on the phone a short while later.

Yeah it's Matt Allwright from BBC Rogue Traders.

BBC Rogue Traders, it's the country's leading motorcycle

themed investigative consumer programme.

You sold us a car, a VW Polo, a silver one, and it

home and it would never pass its MOT and we scrapped it.

And that's what you saw on the flatbed truck earlier today.

So can you explain to me why you are selling motor cars

which are unroadworthy and in some cases burst into flames

It seems my questioning has hit a nerve and Curtis hangs up.

I haven't managed to press Curtis Black or Luke Hibbert

for information on the dangerous cars they're selling,

but at least we've put the Polo we bought from them under pressure.

That is one less car that will be driven onto the roads

from either Euxton Car Sales, or Euxton Motor Company, and that

In a statement to us, Luke Hibbert said he was previously

employed for a short time by Euxton Motor Company, but that he

He says at no point has he had any involvement

He denied any allegation that he has had any knowledge of or been

responsible for or complicit in misleading any of his former

employer's customers, at point of sale or otherwise,

However, their involvement in selling cars which have no place

on the road means that they both find a place on our Rogues Gallery.

Keep sending us your stories and tip-offs.

You can email us, get in touch via social media,

or go to our website and click where it says "send us your story".

You can, of course, write to us as well.

Don't forget you can catch up on all the previous episodes

Next week on the Watchdog Christmas special...

Considering getting Sky Q for the ultimate

We've heard from some customers who wish they'd never upgraded.

And hoping to find any of these in your stocking

Santa might not be giving you as much as you expect this year.