Episode 10 X-Ray

I'm Lucy Owen. And I'm Rhodri Owen. You're watching X-Ray. Bringing you

the stories that matter. Thousands of cars on our roads have been

clocked - we go undercover to track down the garages willing to help

you break the law. 86 quid from Boots, but an experts warns women

to be wary of the Breastlight machine.

Claims management companies may seem to prioritise a lot - but do

they deliver? Hello. Over the last couple of

weeks we've been looking at these - Visa Debit cards. Not a lot of you

seem to know that you've got the right to a refund in some

circumstances when you pay for goods with one. And it seems that

quite a few banks and building societies aren't helping. When we

checked out the banks here in Pontypridd last week not all of

them were able to tell us when you're eligible for a refund if

you've used this card. More on that later. First though, if you're

looking for a second hand car finding one with a low mileage is

always a bonus. But amazingly, there are hundreds of thousands of

cars on our roads whose mileage isn't genuine. Rachel Treadaway

Williams has been investigating. In the world of second hand cars,

mileage is king, the lower the better and the more your vehicle

could be worth. But if you thought that just because cars have gone

digital no one could change the mileage, well think again! Gabriel

O'Connell, from Brynmawr, found that out the hard way. To buy a car

that with clocked mileage, I felt totally stitched up and done.

he's not alone. In the year to this March, official figures show there

were nearly 700,000 cars on British roads which had a lower mileage

than the year before - in other words their mileometers had gone

backwards. That's more than one in every 40 cars. So how's that

possible? One answer could be so- called mileage correction firms,

they advertise freely on the internet. They say they help

motorists who need to replace or reset broken or faulty mileometers.

Using specialist computers, they claim to be able to adjust the

mileage on virtually any car. But industry experts doubt the need for

so many of the companies. There's no genuine reason why they should

exist. Modern dashboards rarely go wrong and the only legitimate

reason for them to exist is to actually rectify faulty

speedometers. If there are so few genuine reasons to do it, why are

there so many companies that are? There are very few legitimate

reasons why they should be able to alter or clock a vehicle, but

there's many reasons to illegitimately alter them, simply

for financial gain. We found eight mileage correction firms in Wales.

We told them all we wanted to wind back the mileage on a car before

selling it. It's basically got really high mileage and I want to

get a biat of mileage knocked off it. A classic case of car clocking.

Three refused, the other five appeared ready to do the work. Some

of those were mobile operators, but we decided to concentrate on two

which operated out of their own garages. These are our two test

cars, they're beginning their journey through the world of

mileage correction with 130,000 miles between them. This one is

going to a firm in Cwmbran, and this to a company in Caerphilly.

It's ten years old and in the real world this Peugeot 206 has done

nearly 75,000 miles. We went undercover and took the car to

Rolling Motion in Caerphilly, telling the owner we wanted 30,000

Just a few hours work to wind back the car's clock and potentially add

hundreds to its value. He then asked us to sign a disclaimer,

saying why we wanted the mileage Selling a car with false mileage or

clocking is against the law. But actually doing the work of changing

the mileage, so-called mileage correction is normally considered

legal. We showed our footage to David Sanders from the Trading

Standards Institute. So what do you make of what you've seen? He's

actually pointing out that he knows that that is a criminal act, and

that if he is associated with it then he becomes an accessory, or

he's an aiding and abetting or whatever. The garage even offered

this warning for us if we went on By giving you that advice, he's

actually assuming that what is to follow isn't something that should

happen. So he is in the knowledge? Yes. At what point does mileage

correction move from being legal to illegal? If it is exactly what it

says, mileage correction, no problem. If it is anything other

than that, ie mileage deception, it's got to be illegal. The Office

of Fair Trading has already called for mileage correction firms to be

banned or regulated. It believes people could be over-paying more

than half a billion pounds when it comes to buying cars that have been

clocked. That's exactly what Gabriel O'Connell did. A lifelong

Audi enthusiast, he travelled to Birmingham to buy what he thought

was a bargain - a ten-year-old Audi A3, but he had second thoughts.

paid �30 and had an HPI check on the car, to which I physically felt

sick. I found out the car was showing a lot more mileage than

97,000 and had been clocked twice. So how many miles had it done?

worked it out that the car had roughly done 297,000 miles, which

is as near as dammit 300,000 miles, which is the distance from South

Wales to the moon. Gabriel finally got his money back and has now

bought a car he's happy with. He'd paid for an HPI check - it's also

possible to look online to see the mileage recorded on a car's MOT

certificates. It's time for our other test car - nine-years-old and

with 55,000 on the clock - to go to the second of our mileage

Secret filming at Secure Wise, a firm offering mileage correction in

Cwmbran. The big question is will they do the job when we tell them

Secure-wise did, indeed, wind back the clock from nearly 56,000 to

just over 35,000. But watch what happened when we asked for a

No paper trail, but plenty of evidence on tape. So if a second

hand car is what you're after, check the mileage is genuine.

Unfortunately, it seems to be a prevailing attitude in the trade

that the consumer is a mug and he's there to be ripped off if you can

Shocking. So what have those companies got to say for

themselves? Well we haven't heard back from Secure Wise in Cwmbran.

But Rolling Motion have stopped advertising mileage correction on

their website. They say they wouldn't have allowed the vehicle

to be removed from the premises without the disclaimer being signed.

And if we had refused to sign it then they would have put the

mileage back to where it was. They say they acted in good faith, as

they'd been led to believe the mileage was incorrect for the

reasons set out in the disclaimer. Really? And on the theme of cars,

remember the Lewis's? They thought their car was safetly parked at the

Sytner garage in Newport, until they got a speeding ticket for an

offence that happened 15 miles away from the garage. Well we've heard a

few more interesting stories about Sytners. Mike Jenkins from Newport

told us that when he went to collect his Mini, the door had been

left open, the key was missing and there were McDonalds wrappers on

the seat. And Rupert Montgomery from Barry found that the nearly

new Mini he bought from Sytners had a very bad smell. It was like

driving a compost heap. He took the car back to Sytners. When it was

returned he found out why it smelt. There in the passenger footwell was

a pile of rotten leaves, which had been the cause of the smell. They'd

come in through the vents and had rotted away inside the dashboard of

the car. Oh dear - well Sytner say they'll be getting back in touch

with Mike and Rupert. Next, 650 Boots stores across the

UK sell this - the Breastlight machine. It's used at home by women

to increase breast awareness, but do we really need it? With around

2600 cases diagnosed here each year women across Wales know it's

important to be aware of the early signs of breast cancer. But can

this hand held device, designed to be used in the comfort of your home

be a useful tool in the fight against cancer? Or at �86 is it

cashing in on our health fears? Breastlight is a new product

designed to help you care for your breast health at home. Using this

LED light women are encouraged to look out for and remember changes

in their breasts. According to the kit malignant lumps have an

increased blood supply so dark areas or shadows could be a cause

for concern. Its makers say it's not a diagnostic tool but on their

accompanying video, women using the Breastlight make conclusions about

their own health. And it is reassuring that while I found no

nasty dark patches, obviously I haven't got a lump because it was

all just a big red glow. Since going on sale in 2006, 20,000

Breastlights have been sold to retail and medical outlets

worldwide. They're on sale in 12 countries and in 650 Boots stores

across the UK. At Rhondda Breast Friends cancer support group, Diane

Raybould and Sally Stoat have tested the Breastlight. Sally fears

its cost and its availability on the High Street could lead women to

place their trust in it. It's quite expensive to buy, it's then people

think because they've spent quite a lot of money, bought it from a

reputable place that this is going to be a really good answer and

perhaps rely on it. But Dianne is keen on it. Anything that actually

encourages people to check their own bodies is a really good thing.

Dr Rose Fox is Director of Screening at Public Health Wales.

There isn't any evidence that introducing home testing is going

to have any impact on someone's chances of dying from breast cancer.

Here in Wales there's a comprehensive evidence-based,

screening system for breast cancer. Women over 50 are invited to

screening centres like this every three years for checks. These

detailed mammograms are diagnosed by professionals with extensive

experience. There are lots of different types of cancer, and they

all look very different on the x- rays. If someone who didn't have

that degree of training looked at a mammogram they wouldn't be able to

tell what was normal and what was abnormal. Often it's changes, very

subtle changes between an x-ray that was taken three years ago and

an x-ray that we've just taken recently that will give the clue to

There are concerns that women using the Breastlight at home are

expected to understand and compare changes they spot from month to

month. Maybe they'd do it and feel that everything was all right when,

perhaps, they should be being worried. The other end of the

spectrum, if you like, is women trying to look and, perhaps, being

anxious and not being sure what they are seeing. Sally, who's had

breast cancer, agrees that the Breastlight relies too much on the

individual. Most of us aren't medics so when you actually look at

your breasts through it you can see your veins. But do we really know

what we were looking for? I know when I looked through it I thought,

"That looks fine", but is it OK? But Diane, who lost her daughter to

breast cancer and had her own personal battle with the disease,

knows of some women who find the machine reassuring. One lady came

back, she had a lump in her breast. She'd actually gone to the GP, the

GP said, "Don't worry, it's a cyst. There's no problem". She'd gone

away. The worries hadn't gone away. The worries were still there. The

lump was still there. She tried the lamp. She said, "I shone the

Breastlight on my breast where I felt the lump was. It didn't show

anything up and that really gave me a lot more confidence in what the

GP had said". But, whilst the UK licensed the Breastlight for sale,

last November, Canada recalled the product. Health Canada said there

was no clinical evidence that the Breastlight could be used

effectively as a screening device for the early detection of breast

cancer. Dr Fox agrees that the clinical evidence for the

Breastlight isn't convincing. not aware of any evidence. If you

think about it logically, if there was that level of evidence there,

then maybe we should be offering those tests on the NHS rather than

the breast screening programme that we currently do offer. Its makers

have told us they make it clear in their literature that they don't

encourage women to use the Breastlight as a diagnostic tool to

look for cancer, but as an useful addition to their breast awareness

routine. Thousands of women use it in this way.

Well, Boots say the Breastlight isn't a diagnostic tool and should

be used with self awareness checks. It shouldn't be seen as a

substitute for mammogram screening. They also say the product comes

with information on how to use it properly and customers can also ask

a Boots pharmacist for advice if they need to. Remember, if there's

anything you'd like us to look into, then get in touch. The details are

on your screen now. Next, Lucy's on Carl Davies from Neath thought his

laptop was in safe hands when he sent it off for repair but it seems

to have disappeared without a trace. I'm on the case. PC World said

they'd contact me within ten days but, weeks later, there's still no

sign of the laptop. Last November, Carl decided to

treat his daughter Alice to an extra special birthday gift and so

spent �379.99 on a new laptop from PC World. So Alice was thrilled

with her present, was she? She was, yeah. And does she use the laptop a

lot? Yes, quite a lot for schoolwork and lots of social

networking. And then what happened? The laptop fell off the bed and she

cracked the screen. It was quite bad. There was cracks from top to

bottom. So it was back to PC World for Carl.

They checked the laptop. They said they can replace the screen. We

paid a �50 non-refundable deposit and they said it'd take

approximately ten days but, in between, somebody would ring us and

give us an exact estimate of whether we were going to proceed

with the repair. But when three weeks passed by with

no word from PC World, Carl got in touch with the company. I was just

getting the same answer all the time that it was at the diagnostic

stage. I tried to explain to them that it wasn't for diagnosing

because the screen was cracked. We just wanted a new screen. Finally,

I decided to visit the store and I spoke to the manager on duty at the

time, and then they started investigating more deeper.

Six weeks later, Carl received a shocking call from PC World's Know

How Repair Service admitting they didn't know where his laptop was.

They did offer me a voucher so we could visit the local store and get

a replacement for Alice. But I didn't receive any confirmation

from anybody. It just came to a stalemate.

So, Carl, they've taken the laptop off you, admitted they've lost it,

said they'd refund you but haven't. How do you feel about that?

Frustrated. Disappointed. And how does Alice feel about all this?

very happy. And if Alice isn't happy, I'm not happy. $$WHIT OK,

Carl, what would you like me to do for you? Please, if you can, find

out if I can get a replacement for Alice, please? OK, Carl, I'm on the

It's time to contact PC World and Well, they've got back to me. It

seems there's still no sign of the laptop. PC World say they did

manage to track it to their national repair centre near

Nottingham but they don't know where it went from there, which

they say is very unusual. They've put a flag on their system to make

sure that Carl is contacted as soon as the laptop is found and are

going to offer him a voucher worth �379.99 for a replacement. They'll

also reimburse the cost of the game that Alice left in the laptop when

it was sent for repair. PC World say they're sorry for the issues

Carl's had and as a gesture of goodwill they'd like to offer him

PC World have given us a voucher to get Alice a new laptop so hopefully

she'll get top marks in her GCSEs this year.

Good work. Now, over the past few weeks, we've been looking into the

way in which you can claim a refund on your Visa Debit card. And it

seems that the banks can be quite reluctant to let you know what your

rights are. Last week, we featured Gail and Ken Hughes who were told

by their bank, HSBC in Porthmadog, that they couldn't claim the cost

of two dining chairs they'd bought on their Visa Debit card when the

furniture company went bust. when we did a survey of banks here

in Pontypridd, asking them in what circumstances we could claim a

refund on a Visa Debit card, we got a lot of different answers - some

right, some wrong. And it doesn't seem that you're getting the right

answers either. Barry Rawson's 80th birthday didn't turn out as planned.

His family spent nearly �181 on tickets to see Andre Roo and The

Johann Strauss Orchestra in Birmingham. Lovely. But when the

tickets didn't arrive, Lloyds TSB told his son they wouldn't be

eligible for a refund. And for Leanne Griffiths from Wrexham, it

was her Take That tickets which never materialised from website

Book Me Tickets. She spent �224 back in November 2008, but never

got to see the band. What a shame, Leanne. When she got in contact

with her bank, Lloyds TSB again, they said they couldn't help and

offered her a credit card instead. The Chargeback guidelines suggest

both Leanne and Barry should have been eligible for money back

because neither set of ticket ever arrived. We'll be passing their

details onto Lloyds TSB. Next - there are plenty of companies who

will offer to help you reclaim any insurance you might have been miss-

sold on financial products. But, as Rachel finds out, you could end up

Have you taken out a loan, mortgage or credit card in the past six

years? You might be entitled to thousands of pounds. Pick up the

phone and call us now. It's hard to avoid the messages

from the claims management companies who all seem eager to

help us get money back from the people who loaned it to us in the

first place. There are adverts on the TV, radio, internet and even on

Reclaiming PPI, or Payment Protection Insurance, has been big

business for years. But now the firms which claim on our behalf are

branching out, offering to reclaim all sorts of other charges from

financial institutions. There are concerns about how some of them are

One consumer who's been left baffled by his experience of a

claims management firm is PE teacher Haydn Trew from Cardiff.

was in the house one evening and had a call. This company said, do

you want to win some money back? They were looking into the

companies - mortgage companies, credit card companies - to see

overcharges, overpayments, charging for late payments or to see if I'd

been wrongly sold any mortgages. the phone, the advisor was pretty

persuasive, convincing Haydn this was a great way to reclaim money

from organisations which had taken advantage of him in the past?

were saying things like they'd won money back for people, talking in

the tens of thousands. My eyes lit up, as they would if anybody tells

you they're going to get a substantial amount of money back.

The process was frighteningly efficient. Before he knew it, Haydn

was handing over his credit card details. So on the basis of just

one phone call, the company was able to withdraw almost �600 from

Haydn's credit card. With his claim on-going, a few months later, Haydn

was contacted again by the company offering to look into more claims.

In for a penny, in for a pound. Or, by now, over a thousand pounds.

They wanted more money from Haydn. Because they really wanted to push

for these two claims, I thought as I already paid �600 and didn't want

to risk losing that, I thought if I gave them the �700 I might have a

chance of getting a successful claim and getting something back.

How much have they had altogether from you? So far around �1,300.

who's Haydn paid his money to? The first letters came from Money

Claiming Experts, based in Swansea. But they changed their name to

Lifestyle Claims, although the parent company is called Client

Connection Limited. It's been over a year since Haydn first heard from

the company and most of his claims have been unsuccessful. But there's

one still outstanding. I telephoned Lifestyle Claims and the chap that

came on the phone said it's gone to another company which deals with

the final process. At the moment there's about ten stages and it's

on stage five, so I'm not very hopeful with that at the moment.

So why did Haydn have faith in the company in the first place?

thing that sold me to them was the fact that they said they were with

the Ministry of Justice. Client Connection Limited say they

only refer to themselves as being regulated by the Ministry of

Justice in respect of regulated claims management activities. The

first fees of almost �600 were charged to Haydn's credit card the

same day as their initial phone call. The Ministry of Justice,

which regulates claims management firms, has provided guidance which

suggests they aren't allowed to do that. Some firms are taking payment

details during their initial call. This is not permitted. Client

Connection Limited say. "The guidance note to which you have

referred is not statutory and has no legal basis".

But the Ministry of Justice is critical of this, saying the

guidance clarifies what businesses need to do to protect consumers.

"If a business is found to be flouting these guidelines, the

Ministry of Justice can take appropriate action which can

include investigation and suspension of a company".

The Ministry of Justice has told us that they are investigating

consumer complaints made against Client Connection Ltd - Lifestyle

Claims. They say they will carefully consider the issues

raised about this business. One of the claims, against Haydn's credit

card company, was successful, earning him just over �100. But

Client Connection have asked for 30% as their fee. One more claim is

still outstanding, so Haydn is still waiting to hear if he's due

any more money. I don't understand how they operate and I wish I

hadn't entered into it in the first place.

The consumer organisation Which? Has recently conducted research

into claims management firms. Money editor James Daley has a stark

warning. Dozens of firms out there don't declare fees, overstate their

value, charge up front fees, get consumers to sign the contract

before knowing what the service is. The Ministry of Justice needs to

clamp down on this industry so those firms which aren't following

And we'll be sure to let you know if Haydn does get any more money

back. Now, lots of you have been in touch after we revealed last week

that Tesco no longer give Green Clubcard points in Wales. Next week

we'll be following up on all your e-mails about the carrier bags

charge. So if you want to tell us how you think it's going.

there's anything you'd like us to investigate, then get in touch.