:00:11. > :00:16.Hello, I am Lucy Owens. And I am Rhodri Owen. You are watching X Ray.
:00:16. > :00:20.Tonight: A Welsh Charity said his website was a safe place for
:00:20. > :00:24.vulnerable children to make friends, but it took us a few minutes to
:00:24. > :00:28.find their personal details. This family lost thousands of
:00:28. > :00:32.pounds when their holiday chalet went up in flames. They cannot get
:00:32. > :00:42.their money back. This man was to tackle the dog mess
:00:42. > :00:50.
:00:50. > :00:56.problem on his local beach. We find Hello, tonight we are in Merthyr
:00:56. > :00:59.Tydfil. Later we will be in Aberfan where the local council had taken
:00:59. > :01:03.away the billet play equipment. But they had not reckoned on the local
:01:03. > :01:10.grande mothers. They mounted a brilliant campaign and won the day
:01:10. > :01:14.and we will be meeting them, they made people power work. First, we
:01:14. > :01:18.gave away millions of pounds to charities every year. But we have
:01:18. > :01:23.been looking into one Welsh charity which says it is helping young
:01:23. > :01:30.people with learning disabilities fulfil their dreams. But there are
:01:30. > :01:35.serious questions to answer about the way they spend their money.
:01:35. > :01:42.When you make a donation to charity, do you ever wonder how much of that
:01:42. > :01:48.money actually get spent on the good cause you are supporting? Well,
:01:48. > :01:52.maybe we should be asking a few questions. Because a charity based
:01:52. > :01:57.in Talbot Green has spent tens of thousands of pounds on a social
:01:57. > :02:04.networking site which we have discovered has left vulnerable
:02:04. > :02:06.users at risk of abuse. Special Friends Online is a bit like
:02:06. > :02:10.Facebook for people with learning disabilities, their family and
:02:10. > :02:16.friends. It has got more than 5000 users.
:02:16. > :02:21.It was set up by this man, Martin Harris, from Cardiff. He is the
:02:21. > :02:27.founder of a charity for people with learning disabilities, Follow
:02:27. > :02:32.Your Dreams. It raises money at roadshows where they say they make
:02:32. > :02:38.children's dreams come true. Martin Harris likes to take centre-stage.
:02:38. > :02:43.Over the past three years more than �50,000 of its money has gone to
:02:43. > :02:48.the private business which runs the special friends website. It turns
:02:48. > :02:53.out that company is wholly owned by Martyn Harris who told BBC News
:02:53. > :02:57.Channel why it's special friends was so special. I wanted to try and
:02:57. > :03:04.create an international language that people could use without using
:03:04. > :03:08.a keyboard. By people clicking on a smiley face icon, they can ask a
:03:08. > :03:16.question to somebody in another country by clicking the icon.
:03:16. > :03:22.sounds like a great idea. On the website Mr Harris tells potential
:03:22. > :03:27.users this is as safe place to make new friends. We have moderators
:03:27. > :03:32.working 24 hours a day from different countries and we have
:03:32. > :03:38.still to us on the site like profanity filters. This makes it
:03:38. > :03:42.without doubt one of the safest sites on the internet. Hywel Dance
:03:42. > :03:47.is an expert in children's social networks and we have asked him to
:03:47. > :03:53.test these claims. It did not take him long to set up an account using
:03:53. > :03:58.a false identity and to start looking for friends. I click on
:03:58. > :04:07.this and I choose under 16 and I choose a boy I am looking for and
:04:07. > :04:13.who lives in Cardiff. There it is. In theory, who are you doing this?
:04:13. > :04:19.When you register, what did you say? I am Clark Kent, 14 years old,
:04:19. > :04:25.and I live in a fictitious address. That is worrying. Now you have an
:04:25. > :04:32.option to ask him to be your friend. If he accepts that, you have a
:04:32. > :04:37.direct line to him? Yes, absolutely. And you already know where he lives.
:04:37. > :04:43.That is shocking. They claim they have a profanity fell to, and I
:04:43. > :04:49.wrote some profanity on my wall and I cannot delete it. If we can do
:04:49. > :04:54.this, anyone can. These vulnerable children could easily be targeted
:04:54. > :05:04.by sexual predators. There is no process in place to check who you
:05:04. > :05:09.are a. They can check, but even I as a 40 year-old man was able to
:05:09. > :05:16.communicate with kids, so even if I am honest and say I am 40, I can
:05:16. > :05:23.send messages to kids. He did not even need to befriend the children
:05:23. > :05:27.to see details of their schools. He is an IT expert, but I am not and I
:05:27. > :05:32.am keen to see how easy it is for me to set up a fake profile and
:05:32. > :05:38.send messages to other users. The first thing I need to do is get a
:05:38. > :05:44.fake e-mail account, which is easy. Within minutes I have set up an e-
:05:44. > :05:48.mail account in the name of David Jones and I am 14. I make up an
:05:48. > :05:52.address and then in a few clicks I have registered those details. I
:05:52. > :05:57.have to wait and see if they will give me access to the details of
:05:57. > :06:03.those children. Later in the programme we will be seeing how
:06:03. > :06:07.Rachel gets on accessing that website. There are other concerns.
:06:07. > :06:13.We have been investigating the charity's accounts and asking that
:06:13. > :06:18.she executive how they are spending their money. Why have you not
:06:18. > :06:22.looked into it? We have looked into it. You cannot have looked into it
:06:22. > :06:29.if I am telling you that within hours I could look at this
:06:29. > :06:33.information. I am going to go. on that later. We have spent years
:06:33. > :06:38.reporting the antics of claims management companies. Their bread
:06:38. > :06:45.and butter is personal protection insurance, but that is about to dry
:06:45. > :06:49.up. So claims management companies are branching out and are now cold-
:06:49. > :06:55.calling offering to claim back all kinds of things as David Jarvis
:06:55. > :06:58.found out. Last month David got a call out of
:06:59. > :07:04.the blue from a company offering to claim back cash he had paid in
:07:04. > :07:11.sewage charges. They were saying if the surface water from our house
:07:11. > :07:18.does not train into the sewers, then they were able to claim back
:07:18. > :07:22.six years of overpayment from Dwr Cymru. That would be �270 and David
:07:22. > :07:27.knew his rainwater did not go into the sewage system, but he was not
:07:27. > :07:32.convinced by the company who said they were called It's your right
:07:32. > :07:39.and based in Swansea. They declined to send me details and said if I
:07:39. > :07:44.paid their fee of �35 first, then they would send be all the details.
:07:44. > :07:49.David spoke to Dwr Cymru who said he could only claim that one year's
:07:50. > :07:57.payment, not six years. He called the company back. The more that
:07:57. > :08:02.they talked, the more suspicious I became of their motives. What is
:08:02. > :08:08.the situation? The Consumer Council for Water as a David could claim
:08:08. > :08:13.back one year's charges, a total of �45. We have not been able to speak
:08:13. > :08:20.to the company, but David will not be taking up their offer. I would
:08:20. > :08:25.have paid them �35 and received �45 back. I think he did the right same
:08:25. > :08:30.turning down the offer. There are several companies offering this
:08:30. > :08:40.kind of scheme, but it is usually easy and free to claim the money
:08:40. > :08:42.
:08:42. > :08:46.back yourself. Next, Lucy is on the case of a dodgy fridge-freezer.
:08:46. > :08:51.and Louise Lacey thought they were in safe hands when they went to
:08:51. > :09:01.Comet, but their trust thought when the freezer packed in and the
:09:01. > :09:03.
:09:03. > :09:13.company failed to repair it. old freezer lasted years, but the
:09:13. > :09:15.
:09:15. > :09:18.new one has lasted 18 months. on the case. Reg and Louise are
:09:18. > :09:27.both in their eighties and rely on frozen meals prepared by their
:09:28. > :09:36.family. But now they have to cope without a freezer. Hello, red, good
:09:36. > :09:41.to see you. Can I come in? Let's keep this house nice and warm. The
:09:41. > :09:47.couple have been happily married for 62 years. She looked very nice
:09:47. > :09:54.and she still does, believe me. I am still proud of her. But she is
:09:54. > :09:58.not well at the moment. No, she is diabetic, she has low blood
:09:58. > :10:03.pressure, which means she is very busy and I have to be alongside her
:10:03. > :10:10.at all times otherwise she will fall. It is very rare that we leave
:10:10. > :10:15.the house. They rely on frozen meals made by their family. It is
:10:15. > :10:21.the only way we can get by. The regular frozen meals would keep
:10:21. > :10:28.Louise going. They bought a new Freeserve from Comet, but 18 months
:10:28. > :10:34.later it broke down. I wait -- went up one morning and found the meals
:10:34. > :10:40.were not present any longer and they had gone quite soft and the
:10:40. > :10:49.food inside was of no use. Comet told him they could repair it for a
:10:49. > :10:55.�125. The first Engineer came along and the freezer was working. But
:10:55. > :11:00.the following morning we were back to square one. The freesia kept
:11:00. > :11:06.breaking down and they lost more food. Three months later, it said
:11:06. > :11:10.it could not be fixed and agreed to refund half the repair costs.
:11:10. > :11:17.thought that was very poor recompense for all that we had
:11:17. > :11:23.experienced. 18 months is nothing for a freezer. Surely a working
:11:23. > :11:30.freezer would be the answer. I am on the case. They are still without
:11:30. > :11:34.a freezer. So, what are their rights? They certainly have a right
:11:34. > :11:39.to expect their freezer to last more than 18 months and it seems,
:11:39. > :11:45.it now agree. They say because the couple did not take out a warranty
:11:45. > :11:50.they will not replace the freezer, but they have apologised and given
:11:50. > :11:57.them �250, which covers the cost of the repair and leaves them with
:11:57. > :12:02.�190 to buy a new freezer. Lucy, I want to thank you for all that you
:12:02. > :12:10.have done on our behalf. Louise and diet are forever grateful and now
:12:10. > :12:15.we can go out and buy a new freezer. That is another case closed!
:12:15. > :12:25.lovely couple and a great result. It there is anything you would like
:12:25. > :12:27.
:12:27. > :12:31.us to look into, please get in We all want and New Year's Eve to
:12:31. > :12:35.remember and of one family Kong -- from Gilfach Goch decided to
:12:35. > :12:45.celebrate with a trip to Pontin's, but it turned out to be memorable
:12:45. > :12:47.
:12:47. > :12:52.for all the wrong reasons as water has been finding out. -- Roger.
:12:52. > :12:56.Found it out in 1946 Pontin's is one of the oldest holiday companies
:12:56. > :13:02.in the UK. For generations holidaymakers have flocked to the
:13:02. > :13:06.camps. When Paul and Yvonne Davies decided to but a winter break for
:13:06. > :13:10.all the family, where better to go and to Pontin's at Brean Sands in
:13:10. > :13:17.Somerset. We thought it would be nice for the whole family to be
:13:17. > :13:27.together. We did it some time ago, but we wanted to be together with
:13:27. > :13:34.
:13:34. > :13:41.all the family. Yvonne booked three They packed their Christmas
:13:41. > :13:45.presents, their smart clothes and the family festive beer and off
:13:45. > :13:52.they went. But their dream weekend in Pontin's soon turned into a
:13:52. > :13:59.nightmare. We got back to the chalet and decided to have a quiet
:13:59. > :14:03.night and then we were woken at 2 o'clock with a fire. I could smell
:14:03. > :14:08.the smoke and I could see the flames and I realised it was time
:14:08. > :14:12.to get out. I could hear screaming from the kids next door and the
:14:12. > :14:18.room was starting to fill with smoke. As soon as I opened the
:14:18. > :14:23.doors, the whole room was engulfed with smoke and I was coughing and
:14:23. > :14:29.the next thing was to get my mum and Dad out. The flames were
:14:29. > :14:39.roaring down. The chalets were destroyed. 86 year-old Raymond was
:14:39. > :14:40.
:14:40. > :14:47.treated for smoke inhalation and If we hadn't got out within minutes
:14:47. > :14:52.we would not have got out at all. I could have lost everybody. It could
:14:52. > :14:57.have been a whole generation of people gone.
:14:57. > :15:05.Nothing was recovered from the RECs. Between them avant and her family
:15:05. > :15:10.reckon that nearly �6,000 worth of possessions went up in smoke.
:15:10. > :15:19.I lost my grandmother's eternity ring. After she passed away. That
:15:19. > :15:27.was devastating. I lost a digital camera.
:15:27. > :15:33.I lost a watch which my late brother bought me.
:15:33. > :15:43.I lost my wallet with all my money in it. My teeth, my hearing aids,
:15:43. > :15:47.and I felt down and depressed. But there was a small glimmer of
:15:47. > :15:50.hope. The family say that Pontins promise to compensate them for
:15:50. > :15:56.their losses but when they contacted the company again they
:15:56. > :16:02.were shocked by the response. They said they did not find
:16:02. > :16:11.themselves at fault or liable. How did you feel about that?
:16:11. > :16:15.A gutted, angry, disappointed. They really have had a rougher ride.
:16:15. > :16:21.Is there nothing they can do to get the value of their goods back? We
:16:21. > :16:25.asked a lawyer. If you can show fault on the part
:16:25. > :16:29.of the company then they would have to compensate for all the losses.
:16:29. > :16:33.If something happens beyond their control, for instance, another
:16:33. > :16:39.guest does something which causes a problem, there are likely to be
:16:39. > :16:46.held responsible even though you might say morally should be.
:16:46. > :16:54.But that does not satisfy. The least they could have done was
:16:54. > :17:02.compensate us. They must have had insurance. We are now out of pocket.
:17:02. > :17:06.What a traumatic experience. There could be good news after all.
:17:06. > :17:12.Pontins say they never received a letter but will now consider making
:17:12. > :17:18.a goodwill gesture. Fingers crossed. Over the last few weeks we have
:17:18. > :17:21.looked at how a dog mess have been kicked affecting communities across
:17:21. > :17:26.Wales. Lots of you have been in touch
:17:26. > :17:30.including Gary, who has a novel way of dealing with the problem. He
:17:30. > :17:34.sought this device which regenerates energy from dog mess.
:17:34. > :17:44.He thinks it could work here and is having a meeting with the council
:17:44. > :17:46.
:17:46. > :17:52.this week to discuss it. Good luck with that.
:17:52. > :17:57.There are a lot of awards are you could use to describe Tywyn beach.
:17:57. > :18:03.Unspoiled is not always one of them. Have you noticed that fouling is a
:18:03. > :18:08.problem you? Yes. We noticed as we came here
:18:08. > :18:15.today there is quite a lot. How do you feel about people who do
:18:15. > :18:19.not clear up after their dogs? It is disgusting really.
:18:19. > :18:26.When my child is digging in the sand I don't want them coming
:18:26. > :18:31.across any. It is not nice. People want more patrols on the
:18:31. > :18:36.beach. This businessman has a plan. Your idea was to have volunteer
:18:36. > :18:41.wardens, what could they do? Or they would be patrolling the
:18:41. > :18:46.beach to make people aware of what they can and cannot do. Initially
:18:46. > :18:53.the would be advisory. But if necessary it would be possible for
:18:53. > :18:57.the Council to issue them with powers to issue on-the-spot fines.
:18:57. > :19:04.Mike did not want to set up the scheme without some kind of
:19:04. > :19:10.official backing. So he went to Gwynedd Council. What did they say?
:19:10. > :19:16.It was disappointing. They kicked it into the long grass.
:19:16. > :19:19.They had health and safety concerns, didn't they? What if wardens were
:19:19. > :19:23.attacked? You could say that with practically
:19:23. > :19:27.everything. If you have a fear of confronting people are committing a
:19:27. > :19:32.crime because they might get aggressive then we would have crime
:19:32. > :19:36.are rife. He isn't really passionate about
:19:36. > :19:40.this and extremely frustrated by the problems.
:19:40. > :19:49.If but Gwynedd Council say they are working to tackle the problem.
:19:49. > :19:52.say they have put a new saints and pens. They even as you penalty
:19:52. > :19:57.notices. But they're not keen on the warden
:19:57. > :20:03.idea. They say that training and assured us would be needed.
:20:03. > :20:07.So people are struggling. But here in Aberfan they have had success.
:20:07. > :20:12.Until a fortnight ago there was a play area here.
:20:12. > :20:16.If but the council felt that the equipment was no longer safe.
:20:16. > :20:21.they took it down. And there were no plans to replace it. But they
:20:21. > :20:26.did not bank on grandmothers like Susan here putting their foot down.
:20:26. > :20:30.How did you feel when the equipment was taken down?
:20:30. > :20:34.I thought they were putting a new park back because this has been run
:20:34. > :20:39.down over the years. But when I was talking to them they said, no, they
:20:39. > :20:45.did not have the money. We felt that something had to be done. I
:20:45. > :20:53.said, let's get a petition going. I put it on Facebook. I have had such
:20:53. > :21:03.a response. If how many signatures?
:21:03. > :21:04.
:21:04. > :21:11.Eight or 900. How do you feel about the campaign. It is a great pity.
:21:11. > :21:13.Knowing that the park was donated by people for the children of
:21:13. > :21:18.Aberfan. After the campaign the council
:21:18. > :21:28.changed their minds. Equipment will be replaced within six weeks. A
:21:28. > :21:33.great result. How do you feel? For marvellous.
:21:33. > :21:40.You must be thrilled that they listen to you?
:21:40. > :21:45.Absolutely. Brilliant news. Now we have been
:21:45. > :21:50.following the charity, Follow Your Dreams. 11 the programme we looked
:21:50. > :21:55.at a Web site funded by the charity which claims to be a safe place for
:21:55. > :22:00.vulnerable children to make friends. We try to sign up using a fake
:22:00. > :22:05.identity. It took just a few minutes to set up an e-mail address
:22:05. > :22:11.in a false name and apply to join the website. I have been accepted.
:22:11. > :22:20.As far as they're concerned I am a 14-year-old boy locking in. Let's
:22:20. > :22:26.have a look around. I just find it shocking. The website talks about
:22:26. > :22:34.how safe it is yet there am I pretending to be 14-year-old boy
:22:34. > :22:43.and I am in a position in the out to message a 10 to 15-year-old boy.
:22:43. > :22:48.We took our findings to a leading The absolutely terrifying that that
:22:48. > :22:54.does not appear to be a proper safeguards in place if people can
:22:55. > :23:04.just log on and immediately start talking to people with disabilities.
:23:05. > :23:06.
:23:06. > :23:15.There has to be some kind of . The website is funded by the
:23:15. > :23:21.charity follow your dreams. But the row which was a controversial.
:23:21. > :23:25.We feel uncomfortable about the idea. People with learning
:23:25. > :23:35.disabilities performing in public and money being collected which is
:23:35. > :23:39.not necessarily going to them. It is going somewhere else.
:23:39. > :23:44.Where is the money going? We have investigated the finances. It turns
:23:45. > :23:53.out that over �160,000 were paid out to private businesses owned and
:23:53. > :23:58.run by its founder, Martin Harris. And expelled looked at the accounts.
:23:58. > :24:08.The majority of the money is going through contractual relations with
:24:08. > :24:14.private organisations. Mr Harris is involved in those also.
:24:14. > :24:18.Is that normal? Quite unusual in my experience.
:24:18. > :24:24.There are lots of organisations involved and it is unclear if the
:24:24. > :24:29.money is going to the charity for the purposes set out.
:24:29. > :24:32.We have also looked into the history of Follow Your Dreams. It
:24:32. > :24:37.was are ritually called the Greg Silvester Trust, named after this
:24:37. > :24:43.young man, who Martin Harris claimed was his inspiration for
:24:43. > :24:51.setting up the charity. I met a young man with Down's
:24:51. > :24:56.syndrome who changed my life. We became companions and close friends.
:24:56. > :25:01.We contacted Greg and his family who said they had no idea the
:25:01. > :25:06.charity had been registered as the Greg Silvester Trust al though
:25:07. > :25:12.Martin Harris insists they knew the facts. Follow Your Dreams is being
:25:12. > :25:15.investigated by the Charity Commission. Martin Harris says he
:25:15. > :25:20.earns �15,000 per year running the roadshows and that thousands of
:25:20. > :25:25.children have benefited. He said that one business to got over
:25:25. > :25:29.�100,000 from the charity was a trading arm of which are funded
:25:30. > :25:36.awareness projects. He is investigating the security issues
:25:36. > :25:44.that we have highlighted. This person to go over as chief
:25:44. > :25:47.executive last year. She agreed to speak and started by reading a
:25:47. > :25:52.statement. Martin is a wonderful man who would
:25:52. > :25:55.do anything for anybody full stops he cares so much for people with
:25:55. > :26:00.learning disabilities. If you look at his businesses there will to
:26:00. > :26:05.help people with disabilities. But what about the safety of the
:26:05. > :26:10.website? We sponsor of the website because
:26:10. > :26:15.it is wonderful. It says it is one of the safest
:26:15. > :26:21.websites and the internet. I was able to register with a false name
:26:21. > :26:27.as a 14-year-old boy and that incorrect address details.
:26:27. > :26:32.I will definitely look into that. Well you question whether Follow
:26:32. > :26:39.Your Dreams continues to fund the site.
:26:39. > :26:46.Of course I will. Why did you not look into it?
:26:46. > :26:52.We did look into it. I am going to go, sorry.
:26:52. > :26:59.Eventually she agreed to stay. What about the money that the
:26:59. > :27:05.charity pays to Martyn Harris's companies?
:27:05. > :27:09.A we pay to a trading arm colt Follow Your Dreams GB.
:27:09. > :27:14.accountant we were using at the time advised us that we cannot
:27:14. > :27:19.trade as a charity, we have to set up a trading arm. That is what
:27:19. > :27:25.Martin did. When we look at the account, it is
:27:25. > :27:31.not transparent, it is not clear to people where the money...
:27:31. > :27:35.I North. But of this leg cannot comment because I was not employed
:27:35. > :27:42.again. But I can assure you now that the charity is being run as it
:27:42. > :27:47.should be. We're talking about �160,000 over
:27:47. > :27:52.three years. One man. There are lots of other people that
:27:52. > :27:56.help us and do things. Hand on heart can you happily say
:27:56. > :28:04.that the majority of money the charity receives goes to fulfilling
:28:05. > :28:09.dreams? Yes, it does. Yes.
:28:09. > :28:15.Since that interview we have heard more. The charity says that Special
:28:15. > :28:19.Friends have carried out a thorough investigation. It has been up to
:28:19. > :28:23.users to protect their privacy but Special Friends will look to change
:28:23. > :28:31.that. Once security is improved then they walked the charity will
:28:32. > :28:35.. Shocking revelations there. We passed on our concerns to the