:00:06. > :00:10.I'm Lucy Owen. I'm Rhodri Owen. You're watching X-Ray.
:00:10. > :00:13.Tonight: Cavity wall insulation is supposed to make your house warmer
:00:13. > :00:16.- not damper. The designer gear that you really
:00:16. > :00:20.don't want to be buying anyone for Christmas.
:00:20. > :00:30.And it's been a busy year on X-Ray - we reveal our astonishing
:00:30. > :00:41.
:00:42. > :00:46.Hello. Tonight I'm in Conwy, where I'm going to be finding out if
:00:46. > :00:50.these trendy UGG boots are really what they seem to be. And I'm
:00:50. > :00:54.getting into the festive spirit in Swansea. But this time of year
:00:54. > :00:59.isn't all about mince pies and mulled wine. It's starting to feel
:00:59. > :01:02.cold - and a lot of us are thinking about how to keep our homes warm.
:01:02. > :01:10.Cavity wall insulation can be a great way to do this - but not
:01:11. > :01:17.everyone ends up happy. Rachel's Two homeowners - same problem. Both
:01:17. > :01:20.Louise Burt and John Littleford had cavity wall insulation fitted.
:01:20. > :01:27.Since then they've both had damp - and they've both had the insulation
:01:27. > :01:31.taken back out again. They asked me to put my hands into one of the
:01:31. > :01:34.holes and I could squeeze it and all water just dripped out. It's
:01:34. > :01:37.just disgusting what they've done. I've not been able to use my dining
:01:37. > :01:41.room for nine months because it smells of damp in there so much.
:01:41. > :01:44.The other thing Louise and John have in common is the company which
:01:44. > :01:47.fitted their insulation. The Mark Group describes itself as one of
:01:47. > :01:51.Britain's leading installers. It's also a name familiar to X-Ray
:01:51. > :01:54.viewers - we first reported on them a few years ago, and just a few
:01:54. > :02:03.weeks ago we told you how they'd paid �5,000 to a viewer from
:02:04. > :02:07.Newport whose home developed dry Houses in streets up and down the
:02:07. > :02:11.country have cavity wall insulation. The theory behind it is simple -
:02:11. > :02:21.there are gaps or cavities between the walls of many homes, you drill
:02:21. > :02:21.
:02:21. > :02:24.holes in the walls and pump insulation in to fill the gap. That
:02:24. > :02:30.stops heat loss through the walls. But sometimes, insulating houses
:02:30. > :02:40.can have unwelcome side effects. The Mark Group installed cavity
:02:40. > :02:42.
:02:42. > :02:45.wall insulation at Louise Burt's home in Cwmbran in 2007. Around two
:02:45. > :02:48.years later, she was getting damp on the walls. She says the company
:02:48. > :02:51.came back to pump in more insulation, but that made it worse.
:02:51. > :02:54.The front of the house, the rendering on the outside, started
:02:54. > :03:00.cracking. The inside was even more mouldy. You went like that on the
:03:00. > :03:03.wall and it was wet. The Mark Group finally removed the insulation
:03:03. > :03:07.earlier this year - it says as a gesture of good will. It also
:03:07. > :03:17.sealed cracks in the outside walls. They say the cracks, rather than
:03:17. > :03:20.
:03:20. > :03:23.the insulation, caused the damp. Ins them, they have sent two
:03:24. > :03:28.different sub-contractors who have attempted to repair the damage. --
:03:29. > :03:33.since then it. So you've had to have done the whole of this wall,
:03:33. > :03:37.the stairs... The whole of this wall, all the way up there. No dust
:03:37. > :03:42.sheet put down. He didn't see the need to protect anything. How would
:03:42. > :03:52.you describe their attitude, then? Slap dash. Didn't care. What about
:03:52. > :03:53.
:03:53. > :04:02.the pipework in the corner here? you can see - hanging off. It all
:04:02. > :04:11.proved too much for me. I broke down and then I had a heart attack.
:04:11. > :04:14.I was in the hospital for about a I came out and the next day the
:04:14. > :04:24.pipe they hadn't secured properly to the wall came off and the whole
:04:24. > :04:29.house flooded. The flood last month left her entire ground floor under
:04:29. > :04:33.water for several hours. Louise says she now has to keep these fans
:04:33. > :04:41.and dehumidifiers on 12 hours a day for at least a month to dry out her
:04:41. > :04:47.home. I'm sleeping on friends' sofas. I can't live in this. I
:04:47. > :04:50.can't. A camera's eye view of the gap
:04:50. > :04:55.between Louise's walls - and there's still some insulation left
:04:55. > :04:58.behind. Time for an expert opinion from chartered surveyor Tim Davies.
:04:58. > :05:04.If you look here, Rachel, they're supposed to have removed all these
:05:04. > :05:07.fibres, and obviously they haven't. As you can see, it's still quite
:05:07. > :05:17.damp. I can mould that into a shape. There's moisture in those fibres
:05:17. > :05:24.
:05:24. > :05:28.there. So the Mark Group have obviously plastered in here to try
:05:28. > :05:31.to make things right. Has it been a success? There's still a lot of
:05:31. > :05:34.dampness in the wall, as you can see from the damp meter. In places
:05:34. > :05:36.registering almost 100% dampness again. It's evident they've taken
:05:36. > :05:40.shortcuts - the quality is poor. Tim believes that Louise's house
:05:40. > :05:42.wasn't really right for cavity wall insulation in the first place - and
:05:42. > :05:44.that should have been picked up beforehand.
:05:44. > :05:47.So what properties are suitable for cavity wall insulation? This is,
:05:47. > :05:50.after all, a tried and tested method of improving the energy
:05:50. > :05:55.efficiency of homes. Well, we're normally talking about houses built
:05:55. > :05:59.between 1920 and 2000. Properties newer than that normally have
:06:00. > :06:02.insulation in already. There's a number of reasons why you need to
:06:03. > :06:05.explore and do your research before you actually go ahead and get
:06:05. > :06:09.cavity wall insulation. So there's properties where you don't have a
:06:09. > :06:12.cavity to start with and it's quite easy to look at the outside of the
:06:12. > :06:16.wall and actually work that out. There's also properties where the
:06:16. > :06:19.cavity is too small. Other areas are cavities full of rubble or
:06:19. > :06:22.there's a lot of damp or actually there's driving rain against the
:06:22. > :06:26.wall. In which case that moisture would get through and that would be
:06:26. > :06:30.a problem within the cavity, so it's useful in a lot of situations,
:06:30. > :06:37.but not in every situation at all. And this is one situation where it
:06:37. > :06:39.certainly didn't work. Meet John Littlewood from Port Talbot.
:06:40. > :06:45.So what's happened here? Basically the plaster's blown. Blown
:06:45. > :06:50.means...? Means you tap it and it's not attached to the wall. So it's
:06:50. > :06:53.liable to come loose at any time? Still damp behind there.
:06:53. > :06:58.The damp began appearing two years after the walls were insulated -
:06:58. > :07:01.the Mark Group then agreed to remove all the insulation. Their
:07:01. > :07:06.contractors have already been in twice to redecorate the house.
:07:06. > :07:11.said to me, "Don't worry - it'll all be done back to brand new. It
:07:11. > :07:15.wouldn't be a problem. I haven't got to worry at all". But here we
:07:15. > :07:19.are a year on, they've decorated twice, it's fell off the wall twice.
:07:19. > :07:21.John complained and the Mark Group commissioned its own survey. That
:07:21. > :07:24.accepted there'd been poor workmanship, but said because
:07:24. > :07:29.cracks on the outside walls were also contributing to the damp, it
:07:29. > :07:38.would only pay half the cost of putting right the house. That's
:07:38. > :07:40.�1,750. Time to call in Tim Davies again. So, Tim, what have you
:07:40. > :07:45.found? I can still see there's fibre left
:07:45. > :07:48.in the cavity there, Rachel. It is a problem. It should have all been
:07:48. > :07:53.removed and will cause further dampness. So is there anything else
:07:53. > :07:56.that should have been picked up on a survey? Yes, if we go and have a
:07:57. > :07:59.look. You can have a look at the cracking in the wall. One of the
:07:59. > :08:03.symptoms or indicators that this isn't a suitable house for fibre-
:08:03. > :08:08.fill cavity wall insulation. There's even worse news for John
:08:08. > :08:11.inside. Still very damp there, from where I've put the damp meter on.
:08:11. > :08:20.Down here it's actually showing 100% dampness, so the wall is still
:08:20. > :08:24.very damp. Even to the point where you've got wet rot decay in the
:08:24. > :08:28.bottom of the skirting starting. I'm really angry. It's really
:08:28. > :08:32.frustrating when, as I say, they've now got the gall to turn round and
:08:32. > :08:35.say they'll only give me 50% of the cost and it's all down to them.
:08:35. > :08:38.There's a common thread running through both these stories - the
:08:38. > :08:43.Mark Group has left both John and Louise feeling let down by not only
:08:43. > :08:46.the insulation but the way they dealt with the problems afterwards.
:08:46. > :08:52.They both claim the repairs carried out on behalf of the company were
:08:52. > :08:57.slip-shod, their attitude, at times, poor. My whole life centres around
:08:57. > :09:03.my home. I think everybody's centres around their home. I can't
:09:03. > :09:11.escape it all the time. I'm meant to be on bed rest and I can't even
:09:11. > :09:21.be in my own home. Do you see an end to it? Oh, no. I'm selling up
:09:21. > :09:22.
:09:22. > :09:26.and I'm getting out. I can't. It's not a home any more - it's a hell.
:09:26. > :09:29.Well, Rachel's here with me now - and I think there's one bit of good
:09:29. > :09:35.news. Yes - we've just heard that Louise's insurance company IS now
:09:35. > :09:38.paying for her stay in a hotel. I think you've been speaking to the
:09:38. > :09:41.Mark Group. What have they had to say? Well, they say that they
:09:41. > :09:44.insulate a quarter of a million homes a year, and that only a tiny
:09:44. > :09:47.percentage have any problems. They describe both these cases as
:09:47. > :09:50.exceptional, and say in the rare occasions when there are issues,
:09:50. > :09:55.they make it a priority to put matters right. But why did it all
:09:55. > :09:57.go wrong? Should these homes ever have had this insulation? Well, our
:09:57. > :10:00.surveyor Tim Davies believes neither of these homes were
:10:00. > :10:03.suitable for cavity wall insulation but the Mark Group don't accept
:10:03. > :10:06.that. They say they were absolutely right to install the insulation in
:10:06. > :10:10.both homes and that they made comprehensive assessments on each
:10:10. > :10:14.one before the work was done. about the quality of the work done
:10:14. > :10:17.by their subcontractors? Well, they say they did subcontract some
:10:17. > :10:20.specialist work, and that in John's case it was below standard. They
:10:20. > :10:25.say they're happy to consider compensation on the basis of the
:10:25. > :10:29.costs both of them have incurred. So far they've given Louise �240 -
:10:29. > :10:33.in addition to the �1,700 they offered John. But neither of them
:10:33. > :10:39.are satisfied with that. Thanks, Rachel. We'll let you know how they
:10:39. > :10:42.get on. Lucy. Thanks, Rhodri. Now, last week we
:10:42. > :10:46.brought you the story about the automated pay-and-display car park
:10:46. > :10:56.which has caused quite a stir in Ebbw Vale. Well, since then we've
:10:56. > :10:56.
:10:56. > :10:59.had even more complaints. A new parking company at The Walk car
:10:59. > :11:02.park in Ebbw Vale hasn't proved popular amongst local shoppers.
:11:02. > :11:06.It's upsetting a lot of people - they don't want to come in here and
:11:06. > :11:08.park because they're too afraid to park in case they have a fine.
:11:08. > :11:11.Excel Parking Services upset all kinds of people - including blue
:11:11. > :11:18.badge holders like the Morgan family. Although everyone has to
:11:18. > :11:22.pay at the car park, charges were never enforced for disabled drivers
:11:22. > :11:28.And the company has come under fire for charging a �10 administration
:11:28. > :11:31.fee to drivers who have had their fines overturned on appeal. Since
:11:31. > :11:34.last week, lots more of you have been in touch - including Susan
:11:34. > :11:37.Lewis, who was charged �60 - even though the photographic evidence
:11:37. > :11:46.from Excel shows she left the car park 37 minutes before her time was
:11:46. > :11:50.up. They are saying I didn't display my ticket, which I did
:11:50. > :11:54.display my ticket! I'm not acknowledging this firm at all.
:11:54. > :11:57.I've got a ticket - if they want to take me to court, they can take me
:11:57. > :12:01.to court. Perhaps they can spend a bit of money they've had off
:12:01. > :12:04.innocent people. Excel Parking say they follow the British Parking
:12:04. > :12:07.Association guidelines in the running of The Walk car park. They
:12:07. > :12:16.advise anyone who feels they've received a parking charge notice in
:12:16. > :12:19.error to contact them in writing so Derrick Brown did just that, but
:12:19. > :12:23.was unhappy with the response he got from Excel. Derrick uses a
:12:23. > :12:28.wheelchair and couldn't get to the ticket machine on the day he parked
:12:28. > :12:32.at The Walk. I couldn't access the ticket machine because there was a
:12:32. > :12:35.car parked in the bay for the public to use the machine. I waited
:12:35. > :12:42.five to ten minutes, but there was no attendant around or anybody I
:12:42. > :12:47.could ask for help. Derrick took a photo of the car that had blocked
:12:47. > :12:51.him from using the machine to buy a ticket. So when he got a letter
:12:51. > :12:57.from Excel demanding �60, he wrote to appeal. Within about five days,
:12:57. > :13:00.I got a reply saying there weren't sufficient grounds for cancelling.
:13:00. > :13:06.But after X-Ray got in touch with Excel, they've reviewed Derrick's
:13:06. > :13:09.case and cancelled the notice against him. And there's more good
:13:09. > :13:11.news. We've tracked down the landowner of the car park and
:13:12. > :13:16.they've told Excel Parking to refund all the penalty notices
:13:16. > :13:19.issued to blue badge holders. And they've told Excel to refund those
:13:19. > :13:27.�10 administration fees - but only if they were issued before November
:13:27. > :13:35.23. They've also told Excel to put up better signs by the disabled
:13:35. > :13:45.These lights here in Conwy are just the thing to get you in the mood
:13:45. > :13:50.
:13:50. > :13:56.You would be well-advised to avoid this offer from Tesco. This shop
:13:57. > :14:01.was offering one for �1 and two for �3. Thank you to gene for bringing
:14:01. > :14:07.back to our attention. If there is anything that you would like to
:14:07. > :14:13.bring to our attention, please ring us. You can also go to our website
:14:14. > :14:17.and click on the get in touch button. Next, we go to Conwy,
:14:17. > :14:22.checking out things you definitely would not want in your Christmas
:14:22. > :14:26.stocking. Big brands, they are everywhere. On
:14:26. > :14:30.the catwalk and on our high streets, especially in the run-up to
:14:30. > :14:34.Christmas. But with counterfeit goods available in shops and on the
:14:34. > :14:44.internet, sometimes it is difficult to know what is real and what is
:14:44. > :14:47.
:14:47. > :14:51.not. One of the items regularly counterfeited are these, Ugg boots.
:14:51. > :14:57.Genuine Ugg boots come from Australia, and they are made of
:14:57. > :15:02.sheepskin. They can cost anything from �100 to �400. Patricia would
:15:02. > :15:07.from Colwyn Bay thought they were just what she needed. I needed some
:15:07. > :15:12.cosy boots for the winter. I looked on the internet. As you do, I was
:15:12. > :15:19.trying to find some that were a bit cheaper. Where I found this website,
:15:19. > :15:23.I thought grade. Patricia bought these boots from an official-
:15:24. > :15:27.looking website called Ugg Eden. She paid �82. But when they arrived
:15:27. > :15:30.from China she was less than impressed. I immediate first
:15:30. > :15:38.thought when I got them out of the box was that they were not
:15:38. > :15:42.sheepskin. They were much shorter than I had expected them to be.
:15:42. > :15:48.Ugg dealer confirmed they were fakes. So what were they made of?
:15:48. > :15:58.There have been claims that some fake Chinese Ugg boots are made of
:15:58. > :15:58.
:15:58. > :16:02.raccoon dog fur. We sent Patricia's to a lab for testing. The good news
:16:02. > :16:06.is they were not made from racoons. The bad news is they were made from
:16:06. > :16:11.polyester and suede. She cannot trace the people that sold them to
:16:11. > :16:16.her and has been left �82 out of pocket. Do you feel cheated? He
:16:16. > :16:22.wanted to buy the real thing, didn't you, not a copy? I could
:16:23. > :16:27.have got a copy in any shoe shop for much less money. �20, �30. I
:16:27. > :16:36.think it is a big rip-off. For a pair of real sheepskin boots, it
:16:36. > :16:45.was a very good price. But for a pair of cheap, pretend, sheepskin
:16:45. > :16:49.boots it is very expensive. It is not just Ugg boots that are being
:16:49. > :16:51.illegally copied. I have come to a secret location in Conwy where
:16:51. > :16:59.Trading Standards officers bring all the counterfeit goods that they
:16:59. > :17:03.have seized. Toys, barbecues, computers, computer disks. John
:17:03. > :17:11.Donnelly from Trading Standards is showing me round. What have we got
:17:12. > :17:16.here? Whenever -- one of the major problems with Abercrombie and Fitch,
:17:16. > :17:26.Gucci, Dolce and Gabbana, is that counterfeit products are being sold
:17:26. > :17:26.
:17:26. > :17:30.to close to the count of the -- cost of the genuine product. This
:17:30. > :17:34.is not made of the same materials and it would not keep you warm,
:17:34. > :17:38.even though it looks like it. People believe they are buying the
:17:38. > :17:42.genuine product because of the price. Ben 10 toys which we have
:17:42. > :17:48.brought in because of product safety. This car, the wheels were
:17:48. > :17:53.damaged and the paint was poisonous, so we seized the lot. We have
:17:53. > :17:57.counterfeit tobacco. Not the normal none duty-paid, people buying it
:17:57. > :18:02.for their personal use, and this is actual counterfeit tobacco. Five of
:18:02. > :18:08.these would be equivalent to 1000 cigarettes. So extremely dangerous.
:18:08. > :18:12.Perfume is one of those things where we do not know what is
:18:12. > :18:18.actually in it. If you get a genuine product, you know what is
:18:18. > :18:23.in it. They have all been tested. But with these, you have no idea.
:18:23. > :18:29.How much of a problem are these counterfeit goods for the economy?
:18:29. > :18:34.Massive. I think we're talking trillions of pounds across the
:18:34. > :18:40.world. At least 23 billion in the UK and locally, in Conwy, possibly
:18:40. > :18:45.�3 million a year. It put people out of work. We are getting more
:18:45. > :18:52.and more counterfeit goods, medicines, alcohol, Tobacco. You
:18:52. > :18:57.name it. Printer cartridges. It can be counterfeited. How can people
:18:57. > :19:01.avoid buying counterfeit? If you are paying �50 for something that
:19:01. > :19:05.should be �300, you need common sense. It will not be the real
:19:05. > :19:10.thing. Shop around. If it sounds too good to be true? It is too good
:19:10. > :19:13.to be true. Some good advice. At this time of year, students across
:19:13. > :19:18.Wales are looking forward to going home to spend time with their
:19:18. > :19:21.families. For one student who has been battling to get the damp
:19:21. > :19:31.cleared up at his flat in Cardiff, those holidays can't come soon
:19:31. > :19:31.
:19:31. > :19:37.Going to university is not all about studying. Sharing a flat with
:19:37. > :19:41.friends is a big part of the experience. Gareth Davies wanted to
:19:41. > :19:48.make his final year at Cardiff University one to remember by
:19:48. > :19:51.moving in with his best mate Mike and another French James. The boys
:19:51. > :19:55.started a hunt for their new home in the spring and they came to this
:19:55. > :20:01.letting agency. They thought they had found the perfect place. This
:20:02. > :20:05.three-bedroom flat. They signed on the dotted line and agreed to pay
:20:05. > :20:09.�680 per month in rent. What were your first impressions when you
:20:09. > :20:15.came to see it? We thought it looked all right. There were
:20:15. > :20:19.tenants in it at the time. We only managed to have a quick look round
:20:19. > :20:24.but everything looked fine. We signed the contract. The thought of
:20:24. > :20:27.the three of us together, it was going to be fun. But when the flat
:20:27. > :20:33.mates took over the property in July, Gareth found a number of
:20:33. > :20:37.problems. We saw the mould behind the wardrobe and some of the other
:20:37. > :20:45.furniture as well. The wallpaper was peeling off as well in certain
:20:45. > :20:48.areas. It was more disappointing than I was expecting. Gareth says
:20:48. > :20:54.that he reported the damp to the agency and went back home to
:20:54. > :21:00.Swansea for the summer. I moved in the middle of September. Nothing
:21:00. > :21:06.had been done. There was my old behind the wardrobe. It was all
:21:06. > :21:10.along the wall. -- mould behind the wardrobe. The wallpaper was peeling
:21:10. > :21:14.off and you could feel the plaster behind crumbling. We tried to hang
:21:14. > :21:18.the curtains and the curtain rail fell out of the wall. That was the
:21:18. > :21:23.icing on the cake. Gareth complaint to Kingston's Residential and
:21:23. > :21:32.contractors started to visit the flat to provide quotes for the
:21:32. > :21:36.landlord, and Tariq Mahmood. They would come in, terror of wallpaper,
:21:36. > :21:40.expose the crumbling mortar. It got much worse before it got better.
:21:40. > :21:45.How did you cope living in a damp room? It was a nightmare. You would
:21:45. > :21:50.open the door and it would hit you. Stale is probably the best word.
:21:50. > :21:54.Really nasty. A horrible smell. Especially on the clothing. It
:21:54. > :21:58.clung to them and nothing would get rid of it. Gareth was eventually
:21:58. > :22:04.given a date for work to start months after he says he first
:22:04. > :22:08.complained. The contractor came in to begin the work. He came in and
:22:08. > :22:12.moved everything out of the room. He stripped the wallpaper
:22:12. > :22:18.completely off and discovered that the job was much bigger than they
:22:18. > :22:22.had anticipated. The smell got so bad that Gareth moved into the
:22:22. > :22:27.living room. When work finally started, he was moved out to this
:22:27. > :22:33.nearby flat with complete strangers. The work was expected to take two
:22:33. > :22:37.weeks, but more than two weeks later, his room looked like this.
:22:37. > :22:40.Absolutely everything, including the bed, was in the hallway. It
:22:40. > :22:44.made get into the kitchen a nightmare. There was less than 1 ft
:22:44. > :22:51.gap to get through. And they traipsed the past all the way
:22:51. > :22:54.through. It was disgusting, if I'm honest. -- the plaster. Last week
:22:54. > :22:59.Gareth was finally able to move back into his bedroom, five months
:22:59. > :23:04.after he started playing for it. This is the living room. Now nobody
:23:04. > :23:06.is expecting a student flat to be the top of the range des res, but
:23:06. > :23:12.when we asked an environmental health experts to look round, she
:23:12. > :23:18.was not impressed. The floorboards at the top of the stairs, that
:23:18. > :23:21.certainly needs to be sorted out because it is a tripping hazard.
:23:21. > :23:25.There is dampness in that wall outside the bathroom. It is hard to
:23:25. > :23:29.say what is causing it but it needs some investigation because it is
:23:29. > :23:33.moving quickly across the wall. We need to find out what the source of
:23:33. > :23:36.it is and sort it out. Should the landlord have sorted the problem is
:23:36. > :23:42.that? You want your landlord to come round quickly and acknowledge
:23:42. > :23:45.any problem. If there is, you want a schedule of works with some
:23:45. > :23:55.understanding as to whether it will be carried out. When this started I
:23:55. > :23:55.
:23:55. > :23:57.did not know to to go to. If you are having difficulties, get in
:23:57. > :24:02.touch with environmental health department and get one of the
:24:02. > :24:05.offices around to do an inspection. They can talk to the Landlord and
:24:05. > :24:10.if necessary serve a notice on the landlord requiring works to be done.
:24:10. > :24:14.Why was nothing done about the damp until November in Gareth's bedroom
:24:14. > :24:20.when he says he reported it in July? Let's ask the letting agency
:24:20. > :24:25.boss, Omar Moulani. There is probably a cause of conflict. I am
:24:25. > :24:28.going by the notes on the system. According to the system, it was
:24:28. > :24:33.only picked up at the end of September. We tried to progress as
:24:33. > :24:36.best as possible with the landlord to try and rectify that issue. In
:24:36. > :24:40.this particular contract, the landlord carries out all
:24:40. > :24:45.maintenance on the propertied. he and the landlords say they are
:24:45. > :24:49.doing all they can to sort out the issues highlighted by our experts.
:24:49. > :24:54.There is some good news. Kingston's Residential and the landlord, Tariq
:24:54. > :24:57.Mahmood, have been in contact with the boys to offer them compensation
:24:57. > :25:03.for the inconvenience that they have suffered. So far they have not
:25:03. > :25:06.said how much that will be. This is the last X-Ray of 2011, and
:25:07. > :25:13.what it year it has been. We have been fighting for refund and
:25:13. > :25:18.getting outrageous bills cancelled. We have won a total of �52,000 for
:25:18. > :25:22.viewers this year. This is how we did it.
:25:22. > :25:28.These are just some of the people that we have been fighting for. We
:25:28. > :25:34.have taken on the big companies and the small. We wanted to put these
:25:34. > :25:36.allegations to Grant Evans but this is as close as we can get.
:25:36. > :25:41.Potentially it could catastrophically collapse. We have
:25:41. > :25:46.been getting refunds galore. have been getting some results and
:25:46. > :25:53.the Browns will be getting their money back. Great news. How do you
:25:53. > :25:56.feel? Relieved. Absolutely delighted. We had the banks in our
:25:56. > :26:01.sides, especially those slow to tell customers how to claim a
:26:01. > :26:07.charge back on the debit cards. just seems ridiculous. I can
:26:07. > :26:13.understand us not knowing about it but surely the Bank should know.
:26:13. > :26:17.The bird and Catherine, X-Ray was a lifeline. It was nice to know that
:26:17. > :26:25.somebody believed us in the end. And we have dealt with some crazy
:26:25. > :26:29.Welsh Water bills. I have been worried about it. I have been
:26:29. > :26:39.getting restless nights. The Fred and other water customers we cut
:26:39. > :26:44.
:26:44. > :26:50.bills by more than �10,000. We also And we came to the aid of Vauxhall
:26:50. > :26:53.owners, out of pocket after a product recall. The Vauxhall to
:26:53. > :27:00.argue that their servicing record is not correct is not really a
:27:00. > :27:05.reasonable argument. Total refund? Over �5,000. Bryan and Lynne Lewis
:27:05. > :27:09.could not get their deposit back from a solar panel company. PV
:27:09. > :27:16.Solar Solutions could have broken several parts of the industry
:27:16. > :27:21.consumer code in this case. But we got them a big refund. And we also
:27:21. > :27:29.looked at makeovers and New ID in Cardiff. We went undercover and got
:27:29. > :27:31.more than �800 back from -- for customers. And we were on the case
:27:31. > :27:35.of phone companies charging a fortune for using the internet
:27:35. > :27:40.abroad. Outside the European Union, in Turkey, America and anywhere
:27:40. > :27:49.else in the world, data that would cost to �10 in Britain can cost as
:27:49. > :27:52.much as �8,000. We got nearly �5,000 taken off your bills. Karen
:27:52. > :28:00.and Andrew had to cancel the crews of a lifetime to Mexico after he
:28:00. > :28:10.got cancer. Then their insurance company refused to pay up, until we
:28:10. > :28:13.
:28:13. > :28:18.got on the case. They say her claim will be played -- paid in full.
:28:18. > :28:21.Over �3,000. Another case closed. That is it from Conwy and that is
:28:21. > :28:25.it for this year. We will be back after Christmas and in the meantime
:28:25. > :28:30.we will keep on working to solve your problems. Just because we are
:28:30. > :28:35.off-air does not mean that we are on holiday. If you have any problem,