Episode 16 X-Ray

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

Tonight: Cavity wall insulation is supposed to make your house warmer

- not damper. The designer gear that you really

don't want to be buying anyone for Christmas.

And it's been a busy year on X-Ray - we reveal our astonishing

Hello. Tonight I'm in Conwy, where I'm going to be finding out if

these trendy UGG boots are really what they seem to be. And I'm

getting into the festive spirit in Swansea. But this time of year

isn't all about mince pies and mulled wine. It's starting to feel

cold - and a lot of us are thinking about how to keep our homes warm.

Cavity wall insulation can be a great way to do this - but not

everyone ends up happy. Rachel's Two homeowners - same problem. Both

Louise Burt and John Littleford had cavity wall insulation fitted.

Since then they've both had damp - and they've both had the insulation

taken back out again. They asked me to put my hands into one of the

holes and I could squeeze it and all water just dripped out. It's

just disgusting what they've done. I've not been able to use my dining

room for nine months because it smells of damp in there so much.

The other thing Louise and John have in common is the company which

fitted their insulation. The Mark Group describes itself as one of

Britain's leading installers. It's also a name familiar to X-Ray

viewers - we first reported on them a few years ago, and just a few

weeks ago we told you how they'd paid �5,000 to a viewer from

Newport whose home developed dry Houses in streets up and down the

country have cavity wall insulation. The theory behind it is simple -

there are gaps or cavities between the walls of many homes, you drill

holes in the walls and pump insulation in to fill the gap. That

stops heat loss through the walls. But sometimes, insulating houses

can have unwelcome side effects. The Mark Group installed cavity

wall insulation at Louise Burt's home in Cwmbran in 2007. Around two

years later, she was getting damp on the walls. She says the company

came back to pump in more insulation, but that made it worse.

The front of the house, the rendering on the outside, started

cracking. The inside was even more mouldy. You went like that on the

wall and it was wet. The Mark Group finally removed the insulation

earlier this year - it says as a gesture of good will. It also

sealed cracks in the outside walls. They say the cracks, rather than

the insulation, caused the damp. Ins them, they have sent two

different sub-contractors who have attempted to repair the damage. --

since then it. So you've had to have done the whole of this wall,

the stairs... The whole of this wall, all the way up there. No dust

sheet put down. He didn't see the need to protect anything. How would

you describe their attitude, then? Slap dash. Didn't care. What about

the pipework in the corner here? you can see - hanging off. It all

proved too much for me. I broke down and then I had a heart attack.

I was in the hospital for about a I came out and the next day the

pipe they hadn't secured properly to the wall came off and the whole

house flooded. The flood last month left her entire ground floor under

water for several hours. Louise says she now has to keep these fans

and dehumidifiers on 12 hours a day for at least a month to dry out her

home. I'm sleeping on friends' sofas. I can't live in this. I

can't. A camera's eye view of the gap

between Louise's walls - and there's still some insulation left

behind. Time for an expert opinion from chartered surveyor Tim Davies.

If you look here, Rachel, they're supposed to have removed all these

fibres, and obviously they haven't. As you can see, it's still quite

damp. I can mould that into a shape. There's moisture in those fibres

there. So the Mark Group have obviously plastered in here to try

to make things right. Has it been a success? There's still a lot of

dampness in the wall, as you can see from the damp meter. In places

registering almost 100% dampness again. It's evident they've taken

shortcuts - the quality is poor. Tim believes that Louise's house

wasn't really right for cavity wall insulation in the first place - and

that should have been picked up beforehand.

So what properties are suitable for cavity wall insulation? This is,

after all, a tried and tested method of improving the energy

efficiency of homes. Well, we're normally talking about houses built

between 1920 and 2000. Properties newer than that normally have

insulation in already. There's a number of reasons why you need to

explore and do your research before you actually go ahead and get

cavity wall insulation. So there's properties where you don't have a

cavity to start with and it's quite easy to look at the outside of the

wall and actually work that out. There's also properties where the

cavity is too small. Other areas are cavities full of rubble or

there's a lot of damp or actually there's driving rain against the

wall. In which case that moisture would get through and that would be

a problem within the cavity, so it's useful in a lot of situations,

but not in every situation at all. And this is one situation where it

certainly didn't work. Meet John Littlewood from Port Talbot.

So what's happened here? Basically the plaster's blown. Blown

means...? Means you tap it and it's not attached to the wall. So it's

liable to come loose at any time? Still damp behind there.

The damp began appearing two years after the walls were insulated -

the Mark Group then agreed to remove all the insulation. Their

contractors have already been in twice to redecorate the house.

said to me, "Don't worry - it'll all be done back to brand new. It

wouldn't be a problem. I haven't got to worry at all". But here we

are a year on, they've decorated twice, it's fell off the wall twice.

John complained and the Mark Group commissioned its own survey. That

accepted there'd been poor workmanship, but said because

cracks on the outside walls were also contributing to the damp, it

would only pay half the cost of putting right the house. That's

�1,750. Time to call in Tim Davies again. So, Tim, what have you

found? I can still see there's fibre left

in the cavity there, Rachel. It is a problem. It should have all been

removed and will cause further dampness. So is there anything else

that should have been picked up on a survey? Yes, if we go and have a

look. You can have a look at the cracking in the wall. One of the

symptoms or indicators that this isn't a suitable house for fibre-

fill cavity wall insulation. There's even worse news for John

inside. Still very damp there, from where I've put the damp meter on.

Down here it's actually showing 100% dampness, so the wall is still

very damp. Even to the point where you've got wet rot decay in the

bottom of the skirting starting. I'm really angry. It's really

frustrating when, as I say, they've now got the gall to turn round and

say they'll only give me 50% of the cost and it's all down to them.

There's a common thread running through both these stories - the

Mark Group has left both John and Louise feeling let down by not only

the insulation but the way they dealt with the problems afterwards.

They both claim the repairs carried out on behalf of the company were

slip-shod, their attitude, at times, poor. My whole life centres around

my home. I think everybody's centres around their home. I can't

escape it all the time. I'm meant to be on bed rest and I can't even

be in my own home. Do you see an end to it? Oh, no. I'm selling up

and I'm getting out. I can't. It's not a home any more - it's a hell.

Well, Rachel's here with me now - and I think there's one bit of good

news. Yes - we've just heard that Louise's insurance company IS now

paying for her stay in a hotel. I think you've been speaking to the

Mark Group. What have they had to say? Well, they say that they

insulate a quarter of a million homes a year, and that only a tiny

percentage have any problems. They describe both these cases as

exceptional, and say in the rare occasions when there are issues,

they make it a priority to put matters right. But why did it all

go wrong? Should these homes ever have had this insulation? Well, our

surveyor Tim Davies believes neither of these homes were

suitable for cavity wall insulation but the Mark Group don't accept

that. They say they were absolutely right to install the insulation in

both homes and that they made comprehensive assessments on each

one before the work was done. about the quality of the work done

by their subcontractors? Well, they say they did subcontract some

specialist work, and that in John's case it was below standard. They

say they're happy to consider compensation on the basis of the

costs both of them have incurred. So far they've given Louise �240 -

in addition to the �1,700 they offered John. But neither of them

are satisfied with that. Thanks, Rachel. We'll let you know how they

get on. Lucy. Thanks, Rhodri. Now, last week we

brought you the story about the automated pay-and-display car park

which has caused quite a stir in Ebbw Vale. Well, since then we've

had even more complaints. A new parking company at The Walk car

park in Ebbw Vale hasn't proved popular amongst local shoppers.

It's upsetting a lot of people - they don't want to come in here and

park because they're too afraid to park in case they have a fine.

Excel Parking Services upset all kinds of people - including blue

badge holders like the Morgan family. Although everyone has to

pay at the car park, charges were never enforced for disabled drivers

And the company has come under fire for charging a �10 administration

fee to drivers who have had their fines overturned on appeal. Since

last week, lots more of you have been in touch - including Susan

Lewis, who was charged �60 - even though the photographic evidence

from Excel shows she left the car park 37 minutes before her time was

up. They are saying I didn't display my ticket, which I did

display my ticket! I'm not acknowledging this firm at all.

I've got a ticket - if they want to take me to court, they can take me

to court. Perhaps they can spend a bit of money they've had off

innocent people. Excel Parking say they follow the British Parking

Association guidelines in the running of The Walk car park. They

advise anyone who feels they've received a parking charge notice in

error to contact them in writing so Derrick Brown did just that, but

was unhappy with the response he got from Excel. Derrick uses a

wheelchair and couldn't get to the ticket machine on the day he parked

at The Walk. I couldn't access the ticket machine because there was a

car parked in the bay for the public to use the machine. I waited

five to ten minutes, but there was no attendant around or anybody I

could ask for help. Derrick took a photo of the car that had blocked

him from using the machine to buy a ticket. So when he got a letter

from Excel demanding �60, he wrote to appeal. Within about five days,

I got a reply saying there weren't sufficient grounds for cancelling.

But after X-Ray got in touch with Excel, they've reviewed Derrick's

case and cancelled the notice against him. And there's more good

news. We've tracked down the landowner of the car park and

they've told Excel Parking to refund all the penalty notices

issued to blue badge holders. And they've told Excel to refund those

�10 administration fees - but only if they were issued before November

23. They've also told Excel to put up better signs by the disabled

These lights here in Conwy are just the thing to get you in the mood

You would be well-advised to avoid this offer from Tesco. This shop

was offering one for �1 and two for �3. Thank you to gene for bringing

back to our attention. If there is anything that you would like to

bring to our attention, please ring us. You can also go to our website

and click on the get in touch button. Next, we go to Conwy,

checking out things you definitely would not want in your Christmas

stocking. Big brands, they are everywhere. On

the catwalk and on our high streets, especially in the run-up to

Christmas. But with counterfeit goods available in shops and on the

internet, sometimes it is difficult to know what is real and what is

not. One of the items regularly counterfeited are these, Ugg boots.

Genuine Ugg boots come from Australia, and they are made of

sheepskin. They can cost anything from �100 to �400. Patricia would

from Colwyn Bay thought they were just what she needed. I needed some

cosy boots for the winter. I looked on the internet. As you do, I was

trying to find some that were a bit cheaper. Where I found this website,

I thought grade. Patricia bought these boots from an official-

looking website called Ugg Eden. She paid �82. But when they arrived

from China she was less than impressed. I immediate first

thought when I got them out of the box was that they were not

sheepskin. They were much shorter than I had expected them to be.

Ugg dealer confirmed they were fakes. So what were they made of?

There have been claims that some fake Chinese Ugg boots are made of

raccoon dog fur. We sent Patricia's to a lab for testing. The good news

is they were not made from racoons. The bad news is they were made from

polyester and suede. She cannot trace the people that sold them to

her and has been left �82 out of pocket. Do you feel cheated? He

wanted to buy the real thing, didn't you, not a copy? I could

have got a copy in any shoe shop for much less money. �20, �30. I

think it is a big rip-off. For a pair of real sheepskin boots, it

was a very good price. But for a pair of cheap, pretend, sheepskin

boots it is very expensive. It is not just Ugg boots that are being

illegally copied. I have come to a secret location in Conwy where

Trading Standards officers bring all the counterfeit goods that they

have seized. Toys, barbecues, computers, computer disks. John

Donnelly from Trading Standards is showing me round. What have we got

here? Whenever -- one of the major problems with Abercrombie and Fitch,

Gucci, Dolce and Gabbana, is that counterfeit products are being sold

to close to the count of the -- cost of the genuine product. This

is not made of the same materials and it would not keep you warm,

even though it looks like it. People believe they are buying the

genuine product because of the price. Ben 10 toys which we have

brought in because of product safety. This car, the wheels were

damaged and the paint was poisonous, so we seized the lot. We have

counterfeit tobacco. Not the normal none duty-paid, people buying it

for their personal use, and this is actual counterfeit tobacco. Five of

these would be equivalent to 1000 cigarettes. So extremely dangerous.

Perfume is one of those things where we do not know what is

actually in it. If you get a genuine product, you know what is

in it. They have all been tested. But with these, you have no idea.

How much of a problem are these counterfeit goods for the economy?

Massive. I think we're talking trillions of pounds across the

world. At least 23 billion in the UK and locally, in Conwy, possibly

�3 million a year. It put people out of work. We are getting more

and more counterfeit goods, medicines, alcohol, Tobacco. You

name it. Printer cartridges. It can be counterfeited. How can people

avoid buying counterfeit? If you are paying �50 for something that

should be �300, you need common sense. It will not be the real

thing. Shop around. If it sounds too good to be true? It is too good

to be true. Some good advice. At this time of year, students across

Wales are looking forward to going home to spend time with their

families. For one student who has been battling to get the damp

cleared up at his flat in Cardiff, those holidays can't come soon

Going to university is not all about studying. Sharing a flat with

friends is a big part of the experience. Gareth Davies wanted to

make his final year at Cardiff University one to remember by

moving in with his best mate Mike and another French James. The boys

started a hunt for their new home in the spring and they came to this

letting agency. They thought they had found the perfect place. This

three-bedroom flat. They signed on the dotted line and agreed to pay

�680 per month in rent. What were your first impressions when you

came to see it? We thought it looked all right. There were

tenants in it at the time. We only managed to have a quick look round

but everything looked fine. We signed the contract. The thought of

the three of us together, it was going to be fun. But when the flat

mates took over the property in July, Gareth found a number of

problems. We saw the mould behind the wardrobe and some of the other

furniture as well. The wallpaper was peeling off as well in certain

areas. It was more disappointing than I was expecting. Gareth says

that he reported the damp to the agency and went back home to

Swansea for the summer. I moved in the middle of September. Nothing

had been done. There was my old behind the wardrobe. It was all

along the wall. -- mould behind the wardrobe. The wallpaper was peeling

off and you could feel the plaster behind crumbling. We tried to hang

the curtains and the curtain rail fell out of the wall. That was the

icing on the cake. Gareth complaint to Kingston's Residential and

contractors started to visit the flat to provide quotes for the

landlord, and Tariq Mahmood. They would come in, terror of wallpaper,

expose the crumbling mortar. It got much worse before it got better.

How did you cope living in a damp room? It was a nightmare. You would

open the door and it would hit you. Stale is probably the best word.

Really nasty. A horrible smell. Especially on the clothing. It

clung to them and nothing would get rid of it. Gareth was eventually

given a date for work to start months after he says he first

complained. The contractor came in to begin the work. He came in and

moved everything out of the room. He stripped the wallpaper

completely off and discovered that the job was much bigger than they

had anticipated. The smell got so bad that Gareth moved into the

living room. When work finally started, he was moved out to this

nearby flat with complete strangers. The work was expected to take two

weeks, but more than two weeks later, his room looked like this.

Absolutely everything, including the bed, was in the hallway. It

made get into the kitchen a nightmare. There was less than 1 ft

gap to get through. And they traipsed the past all the way

through. It was disgusting, if I'm honest. -- the plaster. Last week

Gareth was finally able to move back into his bedroom, five months

after he started playing for it. This is the living room. Now nobody

is expecting a student flat to be the top of the range des res, but

when we asked an environmental health experts to look round, she

was not impressed. The floorboards at the top of the stairs, that

certainly needs to be sorted out because it is a tripping hazard.

There is dampness in that wall outside the bathroom. It is hard to

say what is causing it but it needs some investigation because it is

moving quickly across the wall. We need to find out what the source of

it is and sort it out. Should the landlord have sorted the problem is

that? You want your landlord to come round quickly and acknowledge

any problem. If there is, you want a schedule of works with some

understanding as to whether it will be carried out. When this started I

did not know to to go to. If you are having difficulties, get in

touch with environmental health department and get one of the

offices around to do an inspection. They can talk to the Landlord and

if necessary serve a notice on the landlord requiring works to be done.

Why was nothing done about the damp until November in Gareth's bedroom

when he says he reported it in July? Let's ask the letting agency

boss, Omar Moulani. There is probably a cause of conflict. I am

going by the notes on the system. According to the system, it was

only picked up at the end of September. We tried to progress as

best as possible with the landlord to try and rectify that issue. In

this particular contract, the landlord carries out all

maintenance on the propertied. he and the landlords say they are

doing all they can to sort out the issues highlighted by our experts.

There is some good news. Kingston's Residential and the landlord, Tariq

Mahmood, have been in contact with the boys to offer them compensation

for the inconvenience that they have suffered. So far they have not

said how much that will be. This is the last X-Ray of 2011, and

what it year it has been. We have been fighting for refund and

getting outrageous bills cancelled. We have won a total of �52,000 for

viewers this year. This is how we did it.

These are just some of the people that we have been fighting for. We

have taken on the big companies and the small. We wanted to put these

allegations to Grant Evans but this is as close as we can get.

Potentially it could catastrophically collapse. We have

been getting refunds galore. have been getting some results and

the Browns will be getting their money back. Great news. How do you

feel? Relieved. Absolutely delighted. We had the banks in our

sides, especially those slow to tell customers how to claim a

charge back on the debit cards. just seems ridiculous. I can

understand us not knowing about it but surely the Bank should know.

The bird and Catherine, X-Ray was a lifeline. It was nice to know that

somebody believed us in the end. And we have dealt with some crazy

Welsh Water bills. I have been worried about it. I have been

getting restless nights. The Fred and other water customers we cut

bills by more than �10,000. We also And we came to the aid of Vauxhall

owners, out of pocket after a product recall. The Vauxhall to

argue that their servicing record is not correct is not really a

reasonable argument. Total refund? Over �5,000. Bryan and Lynne Lewis

could not get their deposit back from a solar panel company. PV

Solar Solutions could have broken several parts of the industry

consumer code in this case. But we got them a big refund. And we also

looked at makeovers and New ID in Cardiff. We went undercover and got

more than �800 back from -- for customers. And we were on the case

of phone companies charging a fortune for using the internet

abroad. Outside the European Union, in Turkey, America and anywhere

else in the world, data that would cost to �10 in Britain can cost as

much as �8,000. We got nearly �5,000 taken off your bills. Karen

and Andrew had to cancel the crews of a lifetime to Mexico after he

got cancer. Then their insurance company refused to pay up, until we

got on the case. They say her claim will be played -- paid in full.

Over �3,000. Another case closed. That is it from Conwy and that is

it for this year. We will be back after Christmas and in the meantime

we will keep on working to solve your problems. Just because we are

off-air does not mean that we are on holiday. If you have any problem,