:00:02. > :00:06.Hello, I'm Lucy Owen. And I'm Rhodri Owen.
:00:06. > :00:14.You're watching X-Ray. This Iraq war veteran spent �34,000
:00:14. > :00:16.getting his house renovated but 11 months on it's uninhabitable.
:00:16. > :00:21.Remember those Motorcare warranties? We meet the Ferarri
:00:21. > :00:31.owner who took them to court and still didn't get his money.
:00:31. > :00:42.
:00:42. > :00:45.And any old iron? Lucy's looking Hello. Tonight we're in and around
:00:45. > :00:52.Pontypridd where I'll been hearing about the growing problem of metal
:00:52. > :00:55.theft. And we'll be talking about holidays.
:00:55. > :00:59.What can you do if your travel company changes your holiday
:00:59. > :01:01.schedule. But first, Rachel's been meeting an
:01:01. > :01:11.Iraq war veteran who spent compensation from his injuries
:01:11. > :01:15.
:01:15. > :01:22.doing up his house. The problem is Tom Cayless joined the army as a
:01:22. > :01:25.doctor and ended up on the frontline in Iraq in 2007.
:01:25. > :01:29.It was pretty frightening at times, I don't think what you do in med
:01:29. > :01:39.school or the NHS really prepares you for some of the stuff that goes
:01:39. > :01:42.
:01:42. > :01:46.As soon as we arrived we were attacked by rocket fire, and that
:01:46. > :01:55.carried on for the rest of my time there. So you never really knew
:01:55. > :02:00.when you were, when you could get Tom was injured in a rocket attack
:02:00. > :02:04.Only quick thinking saved his life. It's only because I changed my mind
:02:04. > :02:11.and jumped down to the right of the blast wall to speak to my medic
:02:11. > :02:16.Tom was awarded �30,000 for his injuries including sustained
:02:16. > :02:21.tinnitus and sent back from the front line. He was stationed in his
:02:21. > :02:24.hometown of Newport and decided to put the money to good use.
:02:24. > :02:33.He bought a house here and planned to use his compensation to renovate
:02:33. > :02:36.He found a local building company called Buildtech Construction 33
:02:36. > :02:42.Ltd run by Stephen Roberts. He thought he could trust them with
:02:42. > :02:45.his money and his home. They came back quite quickly with
:02:45. > :02:53.the quote, it looked very professional the way it was all
:02:53. > :02:57.They told him the job would cost �22,000 and take around two months.
:02:57. > :03:01.They'd priced the job down to the last screw. Work started well the
:03:01. > :03:06.garage demolished and a bathroom removed. A decision to replaster
:03:06. > :03:13.the property increased the initial quote. But 16 weeks later, Tom had
:03:13. > :03:18.paid �28,800 to Buildtech and work had ground to a halt. He called a
:03:18. > :03:21.meeting with the builders. Mr Roberts and his son Kyle, they
:03:21. > :03:30.told me that the company Buildtech Construction 33 Ltd was going to be
:03:30. > :03:36.dissolved, that they were shutting Stephen Roberts had another shock
:03:36. > :03:39.for Tom. He told him the money he'd paid was gone.
:03:39. > :03:44.When they told me that I just felt sick really that that money had
:03:44. > :03:48.gone, I didn't believe how money could just disappear.
:03:48. > :03:57.But Stephen Roberts had a solution. He was setting up a new company,
:03:57. > :04:01.Enterprise Build, and was making The company was based here in the
:04:01. > :04:06.same unit that Buildtech had used. And it's still trading under the
:04:06. > :04:09.Buildtech name. Stephen Roberts said for another �7,200, that's on
:04:09. > :04:19.top of the �28,800 Tom had already paid, this new company would step
:04:19. > :04:22.
:04:22. > :04:28.Tom got a quote from another builder but he was going to charge
:04:28. > :04:33.around �20,000 to finish the job. I had no choice. I either carried
:04:33. > :04:36.on with Mr Roberts for �7,000 or paid �20,000 for someone else. Mr
:04:36. > :04:40.Roberts said he had a good reputation and that he was willing
:04:40. > :04:46.to do it free of charge but that he was under no obligation to do so,
:04:46. > :04:50.so I felt I had little choice. I've been stung, I've just got to make
:04:50. > :04:53.the most of it and pay out an extra �7,000 for materials.
:04:53. > :04:58.By September Tom had paid another �5,000 to the new company and
:04:58. > :05:01.though work started well it soon stopped again.
:05:01. > :05:04.I tried first of all getting in contact via e-mail, just a polite
:05:04. > :05:10.reminder of the work that was outstanding, didn't get any
:05:10. > :05:14.response. There was no response to that so I wrote a letter of concern,
:05:14. > :05:23.no response to that, so I wrote a formal complaint and there was no
:05:23. > :05:27.response to that either. I got back an e-mail in November saying that
:05:27. > :05:29.they had been working away and saying that they were going to come
:05:29. > :05:39.back and do the kitchen, this didn't happen until eventually in
:05:39. > :05:42.December to fit the kitchen units. How much is the work worth? That is
:05:42. > :05:48.disputed. Stephen Roberts hired a quantity surveyor who says it's
:05:49. > :05:53.almost finished and will be worth over �35,000. Another builder told
:05:53. > :05:57.Tom it'll cost another �20,000 to finish.
:05:57. > :05:59.I can't move in in the state that it is in at the moment, the
:05:59. > :06:02.electricity hasn't been completed, the central heating hasn't been
:06:02. > :06:05.completed, there's no bathroom fitted so it is completely
:06:05. > :06:10.uninhabitable at the minute. So I'm paying out for a mortgage every
:06:10. > :06:13.month for a house I can't move in In total Tom's paid out nearly
:06:13. > :06:20.�34,000 to two different failed to complete the job both run by
:06:20. > :06:29.Stephen Roberts and his family. And both companies failed to complete
:06:29. > :06:35.I've come to Companies House in Cardiff to check them out. Stephen
:06:35. > :06:38.Roberts told Tom in writing back in July that Buildtech was dissolving.
:06:38. > :06:48.But look, the company is still active, although they've never
:06:48. > :06:48.
:06:48. > :06:58.Records show the company has moved to a new building in Stoke on Trent,
:06:58. > :06:59.
:06:59. > :07:02.and it's got a new director, Salim So has the company been sold? Well,
:07:02. > :07:07.Salim Rahman hasn't answered our letter and Stephen Roberts won't
:07:07. > :07:10.tell us. Had I been told that truth that
:07:10. > :07:15.that company was still trading, I would have acted in a different
:07:15. > :07:19.manner. It's just been a big shock really, and it has taken over the
:07:19. > :07:25.whole of my life for the last 10 months and especially the last six
:07:25. > :07:30.months since I was told the company was being dissolved. It's been
:07:30. > :07:33.difficult to focus on anything else really.
:07:33. > :07:36.I'm not surprised he's upset, the work's been on and off, mostly off,
:07:36. > :07:39.for 11 months. Yes, well Stephen Roberts hasn't
:07:39. > :07:43.been very good at answering Tom's letters but his accountant has
:07:43. > :07:49.replied to us. He says Stephen is "displaying a supportive and
:07:49. > :07:52.diligent attention to his clients". He blames business difficulties for
:07:52. > :08:00.the delays and last week he said he would complete the work within two
:08:00. > :08:04.weeks. But in another letter he now says he might not finish the job.
:08:04. > :08:07.We'll be going back to Tom's house to see what happens.
:08:07. > :08:11.And if you've had any experience of Stephen Roberts' building firms,
:08:11. > :08:15.good or bad, get in touch. Now, you might be wondering what
:08:15. > :08:19.we're doing in the middle of a playing field. Well, metal thefts
:08:19. > :08:21.are on the rise here in Llantwit Fardre. The goal posts in these
:08:22. > :08:28.playing fields have been stolen twice, forcing games to be
:08:28. > :08:31.cancelled and costing �800 a time. And it's not just here. In St Asaph
:08:31. > :08:34.�10,000 of lead was stolen from the Cathedral roof, in Anglesey they're
:08:34. > :08:44.using plastic drain covers because so many of the metal ones were
:08:44. > :08:45.
:08:45. > :08:48.being stolen. Lucy's been finding The reason why we've got such a
:08:48. > :08:53.huge problem with metal theft is very simple the value of this stuff
:08:54. > :08:57.has gone through the roof. Thanks to demand from countries like China
:08:57. > :09:05.the price of copper has risen from �2,000 to �6,000 a tonne in just
:09:05. > :09:15.So it's no surprise that criminals are stealing anything they can to
:09:15. > :09:16.
:09:16. > :09:23.And they're taking a lot. Last year 15,000 tonnes of metal was stolen.
:09:23. > :09:25.In Wales, it cost councils �700,000. That's one of the buildings they
:09:25. > :09:28.took it off, by there, as well, the children's centre.
:09:28. > :09:32.One town where they've been busy is Barry. Councillor Rob Curtis is
:09:32. > :09:35.showing me around. Rob, what kinds of things have been going on here
:09:35. > :09:37.in Barry? Well, we've had lead stolen off
:09:37. > :09:40.some of council bungalows, pensioner bungalows, which is
:09:40. > :09:47.absolutely appalling. Barry cemetery, the direction signs was
:09:47. > :09:50.hit by there. �3,500 worth of signs was stolen. Now I can't think of
:09:50. > :09:53.anything lower than actually taking signs from a cemetery.
:09:53. > :09:58.Rob's taking me to meet one of the pensioners whose bungalow was
:09:58. > :10:07.targeted by metal thieves. Some people think that metal theft is a
:10:07. > :10:16.victimless crime but here in Barry Hello?
:10:16. > :10:21.It was my next door neighbour. He came and said, "Did you know that
:10:21. > :10:25.all the lead has gone?" The lead created a seal around
:10:25. > :10:29.Carolyn's roof. Without it rainwater would flood in. What do
:10:29. > :10:37.you think about the fact that lead had been taken from your roof?
:10:37. > :10:39.I was disgusted, disgusted. It could have all been ruined here
:10:39. > :10:42.everything would have been well soaking wet.
:10:42. > :10:47.How has it left you feeling? Oh, I'm concerned, definitely. I've
:10:47. > :10:50.got to go out now when I heard a noise. I used to think it was the
:10:50. > :10:58.birds on the roof. Now I'm more aware and me and the dog goes out
:10:58. > :11:01.looking. There are now plans for a total
:11:01. > :11:04.change in the law to combat metal theft. Politicians want a ban on
:11:04. > :11:07.cash deals. People selling metal should all present identification
:11:07. > :11:11.and there should be more powers for the police to combat unscrupulous
:11:11. > :11:18.scrap yards. But the proposals aren't going down well with
:11:18. > :11:28.Scrap old iron, any old iron, old cookers, old washers microwaves,
:11:28. > :11:34.
:11:34. > :11:39.TVs. Any old iron, any old iron, any old iron, scrap old iron?
:11:39. > :11:42.Damien Duffy is a regular fixture on the streets of South Wales. So
:11:43. > :11:46.Damien, what do you reckon to this new cashless system? Do you think
:11:46. > :11:51.it's going to stop metal thieves? It's not going to stop metal
:11:51. > :11:55.thieves. It might stop the minor metal thieves. The little kiddies
:11:55. > :11:59.who go out and try and make a couple of quid because they're not
:11:59. > :12:02.going to go to a scrap yard and have a cheque for like �20. It's
:12:02. > :12:05.not going to make a difference to the big time thieves because
:12:05. > :12:09.they'll be able to cash a cheque anywhere, won't they. So basically,
:12:09. > :12:15.they're going to carry on doing it. The people running the scrap yards
:12:15. > :12:18.like Roy Sheedy are also concerned. The only thing it will do, it might
:12:18. > :12:20.drive metal theft underground. So you think it could have a
:12:20. > :12:24.detrimental affect? I think it might. Yes, I honestly
:12:25. > :12:29.do. There are unscrupulous people who deal in stolen metal. There
:12:29. > :12:33.always have been always will be. But one thing the campaigners and
:12:33. > :12:37.the scrappies agree on is more powers for the people on the front
:12:37. > :12:40.line in the fight against metal theft.
:12:40. > :12:43.I think we need better policing of the situation, and I don't just
:12:43. > :12:53.mean the police themselves, I mean the Environment Agency and all the
:12:53. > :12:54.
:12:54. > :12:57.other bodies that's concerned with it. They need to work together more.
:12:57. > :13:00.But whatever happens to the law, right now there's an epidemic of
:13:00. > :13:03.metal thefts across Wales. I'm out with the British Transport Police
:13:03. > :13:05.on the hunt for a scrap yard with stolen metal. We've come to Old
:13:05. > :13:12.Barry Sidings in Trehafod near Pontypridd.
:13:12. > :13:16.OK Bob, we're going to do a quick visit on your premises. Just going
:13:16. > :13:18.to have a look at your books, I'll have a look round for your cable?
:13:18. > :13:23.So what are you looking for here, Derek?
:13:23. > :13:26.We're looking for mainly railway cable. This is Rob's copper store.
:13:26. > :13:30.He's got some cable over there. So we're just having a general look
:13:30. > :13:33.around just to see whether he's got anything of interest to us.
:13:33. > :13:39.Thefts of railway cables have cost millions and led to 10 deaths in
:13:39. > :13:46.the past three years. He hasn't got much cable here. This
:13:46. > :13:48.is maybe all household by the looks of it. Erm, this is out of a house,
:13:48. > :13:56.this is all household stuff, there's nothing of the sort of
:13:56. > :13:59.The police visit is part of an ongoing campaign. By targeting
:13:59. > :14:03.specific areas, they are having an impact.
:14:03. > :14:05.So nothing suspicious there, Derek? No, no, nothing suspicious this
:14:05. > :14:08.time. Well Rob. We've finished the visit,
:14:08. > :14:09.erm, we'll see you in a couple of weeks.
:14:09. > :14:11.Everything's in order and we're happy, OK.
:14:11. > :14:14.Thank you. Job done.
:14:14. > :14:21.All in order there, but last year the crackdown on metal thefts from
:14:21. > :14:25.railways led to more than 60 Good to see police taking action
:14:25. > :14:28.but metal thefts are having a real impact on communities here. This
:14:28. > :14:38.road has had no street lighting all winter because thieves stole the
:14:38. > :14:42.
:14:42. > :14:46.power cables. Locals in this pub are not happy.
:14:46. > :14:53.They have been stolen since last March. A long time. We've gone
:14:53. > :14:57.through the winter without lights. They've been cut-off.
:14:57. > :15:01.It's lethal to try and get down the back, down there. You can't find
:15:01. > :15:04.your way. Somebody will have an accident.
:15:04. > :15:09.Do you think the people realise the effect it has?
:15:09. > :15:13.The trouble is, the people who do these thefts, they don't think
:15:13. > :15:17.about other people and how it's affecting them. I think it's
:15:17. > :15:20.disgusting. I've had an incident where they've
:15:20. > :15:29.took the guttering of the side of my house. They are concerned about
:15:29. > :15:32.having money. Well, that's the view from the Black Diamond in
:15:32. > :15:36.Edmondstown. Now if you have anything you need us to look at,
:15:36. > :15:46.get in touch. The details are on the screen now. Next, Lucy's On the
:15:46. > :15:48.
:15:48. > :15:51.Jeff and Marian Walters thought they'd booked the perfect holiday
:15:51. > :16:01.to suit Jeff's arthritis, but their dream trip soon turned into a
:16:01. > :16:04.
:16:04. > :16:06.We were looking forward to our holiday until Saga changed the
:16:06. > :16:13.flights and we ended up on a cramped coach for hours.
:16:13. > :16:23.Jeff and Marian run a holiday cottage business from their home
:16:23. > :16:24.
:16:24. > :16:27.here on Gower - but it's their Hi, Lucy, come on in.
:16:27. > :16:35.To fit in with their business, Jeff and Marian planned to take a week's
:16:35. > :16:38.holiday last October. We happened to be sitting down
:16:38. > :16:42.Sunday morning reading The Times, and we happened to see the advert,
:16:42. > :16:46.it happened to be with Saga. Croatia all-inclusive, and we
:16:46. > :16:51.thought, this is what we would like, somewhere different. We rang, got
:16:51. > :16:54.the details and booked it there and then.
:16:54. > :16:58.Jeff, you suffer with arthritis, don't you, so the transfer times
:16:58. > :17:02.were going to be important to you? Yes, I don't like sitting for long,
:17:02. > :17:06.if I'm up and about and moving I'm better. Sitting for long periods, I
:17:06. > :17:10.find it hard. But we choose to do things which will suit. You book a
:17:10. > :17:17.holiday, and you book it because it's got what you want. $$NELWINE
:17:17. > :17:20.Jeff and Marian paid �875 for the week-long break. They expected
:17:20. > :17:23.great service - as the latest Saga advert says, nothing would be too
:17:23. > :17:27.much trouble. But I can see from the notes here
:17:27. > :17:32.that you had a call from Saga just before you travelled? It was about
:17:32. > :17:38.a week before. They rang about 6:30pm. "I'm very sorry but Croatia
:17:38. > :17:41.Airlines have pulled the flights." This is how they put it. So we had
:17:41. > :17:45.to change our travel arrangements. So this map sums it up, Jeff,
:17:45. > :17:48.doesn't it? This is where you were flying to, and you had a 35-mile
:17:48. > :17:52.trip to Porec, your holiday destination, and that was due to
:17:52. > :17:59.take about an hour, wasn't it? an hour which we thought, wonderful,
:17:59. > :18:03.but in actual fact, that's where we flew to, the capital. And you can
:18:03. > :18:07.just see how much longer that journey is? Absolutely. Horrendous.
:18:07. > :18:11.Jeff and Marian would have to travel an extra 240 miles by coach,
:18:11. > :18:14.but Saga insisted it was only a minor change.
:18:14. > :18:23.We said to Saga, this isn't the holiday we chose, this isn't the
:18:23. > :18:27.holiday we paid for. We're not getting the product we paid for.
:18:27. > :18:31.You wanted to cancel, but I can see here that Saga wouldn't let you do
:18:31. > :18:35.that? No, they said there was no way they would refund it, "It's a
:18:35. > :18:40.minor change and we're allowed to do it." At no time did anyone say,
:18:40. > :18:42."We're sorry about this, byt." As expected, the coach journey was
:18:42. > :18:49.uncomfortable. I think the journey overall was
:18:49. > :18:52.about four and a half hours, we got to the hotel about 9:00pm. It was
:18:52. > :18:55.pretty horrendous, not what we wanted at all. We would like
:18:55. > :19:05.something more than the stock answer we've been getting of, "Well,
:19:05. > :19:06.
:19:06. > :19:09.it's only a small change." I'm on Jeff and Marian have had a rough
:19:09. > :19:13.ride, so what can you do if your holiday changes and you want to
:19:13. > :19:16.cancel? Well, you can get in touch with the
:19:16. > :19:20.Association of British Travel Agents, which offers a service to
:19:20. > :19:23.help deal with disputes. Abta advise that customers put
:19:23. > :19:28.complaints in writing to their holiday company, even if they
:19:28. > :19:32.intend to travel as Jeff and Marian did. A letter of protest will make
:19:32. > :19:36.clear that a customer may want to complain on their return.
:19:36. > :19:38.So what about Jeff and Marian? Well, Saga say they found the best
:19:38. > :19:42.possible alternative after the original flight to Pula was
:19:42. > :19:45.cancelled. They offered Jeff and Marian three other holidays, which
:19:45. > :19:50.were turned down, but do admit they could then have given the couple a
:19:50. > :20:00.credit towards a future holiday. After reviewing the case, Saga have
:20:00. > :20:01.
:20:01. > :20:03.now offered Jeff and Marian a Thanks, Lucy. We're pleased to get
:20:03. > :20:11.this sorted, and now we can book another holiday.
:20:11. > :20:17.Another great result. Now, last week, we brought you the story of
:20:17. > :20:20.Motorcare Elite, which provided breakdown warranties on used cars.
:20:20. > :20:24.The company was run by Harby Panesar from the Vale of Glamorgan,
:20:24. > :20:33.who flaunted his wealth on TV back in 2009 in a cable TV show about
:20:33. > :20:36.his daughter's birthday party. But he was less happy to be on telly
:20:36. > :20:38.when we asked why some of his policies had turned out to be
:20:38. > :20:43.worthless. Have you got nothing to say to your
:20:43. > :20:47.customers? At this point, no. you owe them an answer? At this
:20:47. > :20:50.point, no. Well, since last week, we've heard
:20:50. > :20:53.from more unhappy Motorcare customers, including one guy with a
:20:53. > :20:56.very nice car! When Richard Sexton from Cardiff
:20:56. > :21:01.splashed out on this gleaming Ferrari 360, it came with a
:21:01. > :21:07.Motorcare Elite warranty. But when the car needed repairs costing more
:21:07. > :21:12.than �2,400, he struggled to get the money from Motorcare.
:21:12. > :21:14.I got into a very protracted correspondence with them. Various
:21:14. > :21:19.telephone calls and various swapping of correspondence with no
:21:19. > :21:24.real joy, really. Richard took Motorcare to court and
:21:24. > :21:28.won, but by then they had gone out of business. Underwriters Alpha
:21:28. > :21:32.Insurance did agree to pay some of the money. But Richard says he's
:21:32. > :21:36.still �800 out of pocket. Harby Panesar says he administered the
:21:36. > :21:41.policy correctly. It made me very sceptical of the
:21:41. > :21:45.whole warranty system. I just feel this company has acted in a very
:21:45. > :21:49.unprofessional and poor manner. And it's not just Ferrari drivers
:21:49. > :21:51.who've been let down. A driving school based just eight hundred
:21:51. > :21:55.yards from Motorcare's HQ in Llantwit Major also fear they have
:21:55. > :22:03.lost out. Sue Newbon bought life of ownership warranties for her
:22:03. > :22:06.driving school cars. Now the insurance company named on her one
:22:06. > :22:12.remaining policy says it's not valid, though Mr Panesar insists it
:22:12. > :22:16.We really did need those warranties. It was going to keep our vehicles
:22:16. > :22:21.running, and it was going to help pay for some of what can be quite
:22:21. > :22:24.expensive repairs to the vehicles. Lots of unhappy customers there.
:22:24. > :22:34.Next, Rhod's been down to a very foggy Ogmore-by-Sea, to meet a
:22:34. > :22:35.
:22:35. > :22:38.family whose brand new flat roof When you live by the seaside,
:22:38. > :22:47.there's nothing better than a stroll along the beach, even at
:22:47. > :22:56.this time of year. Then going home to a warm house to dry off. That is,
:22:56. > :22:59.if you're home's not as wet on the inside as it is on the outside.
:22:59. > :23:04.This house in Ogmore-by-Sea has suffered from damp ever since its
:23:04. > :23:10.owner, Sharron Taylor, had flat roofs replaced in 2009.
:23:10. > :23:15.We've been here about six years now. We inherited the house from Chris's
:23:15. > :23:20.parents when they passed away. It was very run down, it needed major
:23:20. > :23:24.modernising. We completely gutted the house and renovated the place.
:23:24. > :23:28.How essential was it to have a new roof here? It didn't actually need
:23:28. > :23:31.doing when we had it done, it wasn't urgent, but we decided as we
:23:31. > :23:37.were doing the entire house out at the time, to save us hassle in the
:23:37. > :23:40.future, we'd have it done then. Sharron's husband had a look in the
:23:41. > :23:43.Yellow Pages and found a local roofer in Bridgend. Malcolm Butler
:23:44. > :23:51.from MJW Roofing Services, also known as ACE Roofing, said he'd do
:23:51. > :23:58.the work for �1,500. But within a year of the job finishing, Sharron
:23:58. > :24:02.started to notice a damp problem. And you can see the water marks as
:24:02. > :24:05.running down the wall there. At one stage it really was literally, we'd
:24:05. > :24:09.be sitting here and there'd be brown dirty water running down the
:24:09. > :24:12.inside of the wall. We had an issue with damp on the
:24:12. > :24:16.wall and we said, it's got to be the roof, so we went outside. My
:24:16. > :24:18.husband took the fascia off and had a little look, and the roof was
:24:18. > :24:21.absolutely soaking, sodden and rotting underneath the fascia.
:24:21. > :24:24.As the problem got worse, Sharron decided to ask Malcolm Butler, who
:24:24. > :24:26.had fitted the new roof, to come and see if there might be a problem
:24:26. > :24:30.with it. He's adamant there's nothing wrong
:24:30. > :24:34.with his work and he told us it was coming in under the fascia and it
:24:34. > :24:36.was nothing to do with the roof. Sharron then got in touch with her
:24:36. > :24:40.insurance company, who sent out an independent surveyor to inspect the
:24:40. > :24:46.property back in November 2011. And the surveyor's findings did not
:24:46. > :24:49.reflect well on Malcolm Butler's roofing skills.
:24:49. > :24:52."Fibreglass on the roof above the lounge not sufficiently applied and
:24:52. > :24:55.as a result water penetrating the roof," "Sections of roofing of poor
:24:55. > :24:57.design and detail," "Damage is the result of poor workmanship," "Roof
:24:57. > :25:04.is of inadequate standard and should be replaced under
:25:04. > :25:09.guarantee." I was horrified, I was like, I knew
:25:09. > :25:12.we had a problem there and he said we needed to get the roofs re-done.
:25:12. > :25:18.The leak was caused by poor workmanship, and we wouldn't trust
:25:18. > :25:21.him to come up and repair it. $$NELWINE So Sharron then asked two
:25:21. > :25:23.other roofing companies to come and assess the property, one of which
:25:23. > :25:30.claimed the previous work was "substandard" and "beyond remedial
:25:30. > :25:33.work". So repairing the damage was going to be pricey.
:25:33. > :25:37.We had to shell out �900 just before Christmas out of our savings,
:25:37. > :25:41.which has pretty much wiped us out now. The garage roof still needs
:25:41. > :25:45.doing, and we haven't got the money at the moment to do it - unless we
:25:45. > :25:48.get some money back off Mr Butler, we won't be getting our garage roof
:25:48. > :25:50.done. We asked chartered surveyor Kevin
:25:50. > :25:56.Thomas to take a look at the problem.
:25:56. > :26:00.Therein lies proof of how much water it's soaked up. That is
:26:00. > :26:05.absolutely soaking wet. There has been no effort to prepare anything,
:26:05. > :26:09.no effort to do something properly. And what does he think of the
:26:09. > :26:14.remaining flat roof? OK, so this is it, what are your
:26:14. > :26:18.thoughts? The immediate things that come to mind are, if you look at
:26:18. > :26:24.the fibreglass mat on this, you can see it, you can see it clearly here,
:26:24. > :26:27.and you can see it on these ridges there. And obviously you shouldn't
:26:27. > :26:30.be able to see it. Shouldn't be able to see that. That's just not
:26:30. > :26:33.thick enough. It'll break down fairly quickly over the short term.
:26:33. > :26:37.You've got these cracks also, obviously water is going to get
:26:37. > :26:40.through those, isn't it? Water's going to get in there. In fact, you
:26:40. > :26:44.can already see you've got algae growth in amongst the matting, and
:26:44. > :26:46.in a marine environment like this, it's not going to last any time at
:26:46. > :26:49.all. It's not a suitable replacement, and it is poor
:26:49. > :26:54.workmanship. Is there anything positive you can say about it?
:26:54. > :26:57.really, no. No is the short answer. That's not good at all. Take it off,
:26:58. > :27:01.re-do it. So what's Kevin's advice to people
:27:01. > :27:03.looking to replace their flat roofs? You're well worth paying
:27:04. > :27:08.someone to write a small specification for you of what you
:27:08. > :27:11.have been priced by the relevant builders. The other thing you need
:27:11. > :27:16.to have from anyone who's quoting for this sort of work is the
:27:16. > :27:19.guarantee, and it really should be an underwritten guarantee.
:27:19. > :27:23.This advice has come a bit late for Sharron.
:27:23. > :27:28.Very frustrating, very upsetting to think we've put in all the years of
:27:28. > :27:34.work and renovation and decorating. The more I keep looking at it and
:27:34. > :27:37.thinking, "Oh my God, it's horrific."
:27:37. > :27:42.Now, we have spoken to Mal Butler, and over the phone at least, he has
:27:42. > :27:46.now promised to repay Sharron and her family the full �1,500. This
:27:46. > :27:49.hasn't happened yet, so we'll be keeping an eye on the situation.
:27:49. > :27:54.That's all we've got time for this week, but next week I'm heading
:27:54. > :27:57.north to Dolgellau. So wherever you are in Wales, if there's anything
:27:57. > :28:04.you'd like to get in touch with us about, the lines are open now -
:28:04. > :28:10.03703 334 334. Or go to our website, bbc.co.uk/xray, and go to the "get
:28:10. > :28:13.in touch" button. Or remember you can always tweet us @bbcxray!