:00:04. > :00:08.You're watching X-Ray. Bringing you the stories that matter. On
:00:08. > :00:17.tonight's programme: This family home in Ebbw Vale, left
:00:17. > :00:19.in a shocking state by this builder. DIY-tattoo kits. They're becoming
:00:19. > :00:29.more popular. Should they be banned?
:00:29. > :00:43.
:00:43. > :00:46.And the ticketless Take That fans. Hello. Tonight we're in the Rhondda
:00:46. > :00:49.and, later in the programme, we'll be finding out how some people
:00:49. > :00:53.around here are losing weight and saving money at the same time.
:00:53. > :00:56.First, we're looking at a builder with a difference. Not only has he
:00:56. > :01:02.been paid huge sums and done a terrible job, he's done it to one
:01:02. > :01:10.of his oldest friends. Rachel investigates.
:01:10. > :01:16.You've grown up together. Played rugby, hung out as teenagers.
:01:16. > :01:19.has known Darren a long time since perhaps the age of 13. They
:01:19. > :01:22.effectively knew each other from youth rugby. Now you're older
:01:22. > :01:27.you've become firm friends. They go out running together, they'd taken
:01:27. > :01:30.their daughters out together, they've gone out socialising.
:01:30. > :01:35.when Beverley Powell and husband Simon from Ebbw Vale needed work
:01:35. > :01:38.done on the house, they got a quote from old pal Darren Watkins.
:01:38. > :01:42.Because Darren was a longstanding friend, we trusted him and thought
:01:42. > :01:49.he knew what he was doing and that he would be the right man for the
:01:50. > :01:54.job. We never had reason to distrust him. They hoped he was
:01:55. > :01:57.going to transform their house into a dream home for their family.
:01:57. > :02:07.were really looking forward to having the loft conversion and
:02:07. > :02:08.
:02:08. > :02:11.garage. Our house is our palace, really. The Powells were getting a
:02:11. > :02:14.new garage, a loft conversion and some other works. It should have
:02:14. > :02:18.taken three months. But, seven months later, it looks like this.
:02:18. > :02:21.The ambitious improvement plans were drawn up by an architect. The
:02:21. > :02:24.bungalow would get an upstairs bedroom and en suite, which meant
:02:24. > :02:32.big changes downstairs to make way for the staircase. The new garage
:02:32. > :02:39.would be used as a play area. In September last year, Darren Watkins
:02:39. > :02:44.started the job. Darren was plausible Yeah, things are going
:02:44. > :02:54.great. He would say, come here next week and you won't recognise the
:02:54. > :02:56.
:02:56. > :02:58.place. November time, alarms bells started ringing. The work should
:02:58. > :03:04.have been finished in time for Christmas, but this home video
:03:04. > :03:10.shows what the house looked like on Christmas Eve. He has ruined what
:03:10. > :03:13.should have been a magical time for the children. We promised these
:03:13. > :03:21.wonderful bedrooms and what they went back to was effectively
:03:21. > :03:28.something out of World War Two. wasn't just that the work was
:03:28. > :03:31.behind schedule. There were no clean lines. Sub-standard work
:03:31. > :03:38.throughout was extensive. So much filler. I think he basically put it
:03:38. > :03:47.on with his hands. The shower was held on by gaffer tape. I couldn't
:03:47. > :03:51.believe we'd been left with this awful mess. This is the honest
:03:51. > :03:54.truth, I broke down and cried. I didn't believe Darren would do this
:03:54. > :04:00.to us. But, was it really as bad as Beverly thought? We asked surveyor
:04:00. > :04:03.Tim Davies to take a look. You can see that by putting the spirit
:04:03. > :04:10.level here how plumb the wall is. This should have been filled with
:04:10. > :04:13.concrete The builders should have used proper wall ties in the cavity.
:04:13. > :04:19.They have just used off-cuts of Rendalath. This will do nothing to
:04:19. > :04:26.hold these two walls together. What is the danger? I'm assuming there
:04:26. > :04:32.is a fair bit of weight behind this wall. There is a lot of weight
:04:32. > :04:42.behind this retaining ground in all this debris. Potentially it could
:04:42. > :04:50.
:04:50. > :05:00.This window is ill-fitting and difficult to open. It has a large
:05:00. > :05:04.gap, even in the closed position. You can see daylight? Yes. Other
:05:04. > :05:10.surveyors who looked at the works said the war was not built
:05:10. > :05:13.according to plans and would have failed building regulations. The
:05:13. > :05:19.temporary weatherproofing had failed and leaked. How bad is this
:05:19. > :05:24.compared to what you have seen? This rate so as a poor job. There
:05:24. > :05:34.are problems and a lot of money has been paid for work that is
:05:34. > :05:34.
:05:34. > :05:44.defective or not suitable. How much money exactly? He has had over
:05:44. > :05:49.�50,000. That is a lot of money. awful lot of money. I would like to
:05:49. > :05:55.know where some of it has actually landed. There is a lot of it that
:05:55. > :06:02.is not accounted for. The couple sacked to their former friend in
:06:02. > :06:08.December. An expert said he has JUN just �30,000 of work, �20,000 less
:06:08. > :06:13.than they had paid him. What happened to all the money? Perhaps
:06:14. > :06:20.it had been spent on building materials as claimed. The couple
:06:20. > :06:25.said they gave him �2,600 for window and this door. But when they
:06:25. > :06:29.went to the suppliers, there was still more than �1,000 to pay.
:06:30. > :06:38.There are other suppliers to say they have not been paid. How do you
:06:38. > :06:44.feel about it? Shocked, angry, very upset. Darren abused his friendship
:06:44. > :06:54.and that was hurtful. Some body you think you know well, to turn around
:06:54. > :06:55.
:06:55. > :07:01.and do this. It is hard to take. wanted to know what he had to say
:07:01. > :07:06.about the work he had done at their house. He agreed to come to the BBC
:07:06. > :07:11.to tell his side of the story. Tell me why the quality of your work was
:07:11. > :07:18.so poor? Not given the opportunity to work in a comfortable
:07:18. > :07:23.environment. I was constantly pressured. Simon asked me himself
:07:23. > :07:30.to leave a lot of the work you can see now, which is not complete.
:07:31. > :07:37.lost control? I did. Yes. I admit that. I had very good reason for
:07:37. > :07:42.losing control. Tell me about the conversation you had with the
:07:42. > :07:49.couple about agreeing to a three- month timescale. I spoke to Simon
:07:49. > :07:54.with a four months' time scale. Things were delayed. You agreed to
:07:54. > :07:59.three months and said you would get them in by Christmas. I told them I
:07:59. > :08:06.would do everything I could to get them in. I was confident I could.
:08:06. > :08:13.More about the standard of the work carried out by bricklayers? Why use
:08:13. > :08:22.this beading as a watertight? not bring anybody else into this.
:08:22. > :08:27.Why were you not supervising the work? I never saw them go in. I saw
:08:27. > :08:36.them after. Why did she not take the wall down and build It Again?
:08:36. > :08:43.I did not -- I did not have the opportunity. He denies receiving
:08:43. > :08:48.�50,000 and says he was paid �47,000. Clerk of works said there
:08:48. > :08:55.is only �30,000 of work. The cost we agreed was agreed between me and
:08:55. > :09:02.Simon. What has happened to the money they thought he had used to
:09:02. > :09:08.paid for the windows? She had already been let down and pay them.
:09:08. > :09:15.Why did she not give her the money? With this situation involved I sent
:09:15. > :09:21.a solicitor's's letter. This is �50,000. You could not resist?
:09:21. > :09:26.is not the case. The only reason the job went like it was was
:09:26. > :09:32.because I was not allowed to work in a comfortable environment.
:09:32. > :09:39.did you not to walk away? I am not that sort of person. I tried to
:09:39. > :09:46.help a friend and it backfired. This series we look at how on
:09:46. > :09:54.people save money. We have come across an interesting scheme. This
:09:54. > :09:59.is called a fat club. Why did you set-top? Are a group of people
:09:59. > :10:04.decided to lose weight. We could not afford the money to join the
:10:04. > :10:11.club in the village and we started one our cells. We started with six
:10:11. > :10:19.people and we now have 30 members. Some people have lost two stones,
:10:19. > :10:25.some people three stones. People learn to cook from scratch. Perhaps
:10:25. > :10:32.they want to try something out they cannot at home. We paid 50p per
:10:32. > :10:41.week. It goes towards food. later in the programme we will chat
:10:41. > :10:45.to some of the success stories. Next, something worrying parents.
:10:45. > :10:53.Celebrity culture has made tattoos are socially acceptable for
:10:53. > :10:57.teenagers. Everybody from Robbie Williams to Cheryl Kohl seems to be
:10:57. > :11:05.turning their body into a canvas and becoming a piece of living art.
:11:05. > :11:11.But not everybody who wants a tattoo comes to a registered studio.
:11:11. > :11:17.There are people active across Wales called up scratches.
:11:17. > :11:22.Elizabeth, Jessica out and Charolais and our fans of body art.
:11:22. > :11:27.They say they are choosy about who they choose to work on their skin,
:11:27. > :11:34.but two of them say they have allowed friends to use DIY tattoo
:11:34. > :11:40.kit sport on the internet to create these tattoos. Their heads on my
:11:40. > :11:50.arms, the fish, the finger, my paw prints and one on the back of my
:11:50. > :11:50.
:11:50. > :11:57.neck, which is a diamond. What are you not happy with? The size and
:11:57. > :12:04.shaping. A friend did it at her house. It is permanent, why would
:12:04. > :12:08.anybody let to a complete amateur tattoo their skin? I thought he was
:12:08. > :12:16.learning and wanted to help him out. If you go into it with that mind
:12:16. > :12:25.frame... They are just learning. If you understand what they are doing,
:12:25. > :12:30.it is acceptable. Registered artists are concerned that amateur
:12:31. > :12:36.tattoo artists are bringing the profession into disrepute. The main
:12:36. > :12:45.issue with those who are not licensed is hygiene and
:12:45. > :12:49.sterilisation techniques. The fact that its they will be re using
:12:49. > :12:56.equipment that is not sterile and not cleaning down their work areas
:12:56. > :13:02.is a concern. This is an environmental health officer who
:13:02. > :13:08.inspects tattoo parlours. We have records of people who have con
:13:08. > :13:16.tract did HIV, hepatitis B, they have wounds that do not heal. They
:13:16. > :13:21.come back to tattoo artists saying, but look what you have done to my
:13:22. > :13:27.arm and hold out an arm that is injured. Those who are not
:13:27. > :13:30.registered are breaking the law and can face a criminal record. If the
:13:31. > :13:35.Health and Safety Executive were able to prove there was work
:13:35. > :13:42.activity, they could use health and safety legislation and the maximum
:13:42. > :13:49.fine is �25,000. What you are fans of tattoos make of this
:13:49. > :13:57.information? Under-aged drinking is illegal, but they still do it.
:13:57. > :14:05.is not something that worries you? No. To be honest, I did not mind. I
:14:05. > :14:10.said I will pay for it. He was using his equipment. I do not mind.
:14:10. > :14:20.Would you consider reporting someone who is not registered?
:14:20. > :14:20.
:14:20. > :14:23.It's actually surprising easy to set up as an amateur tattooist.
:14:23. > :14:30.Anyone with internet access is just a few clicks away from getting all
:14:30. > :14:34.the kit they would need for as little as �30. I went online and
:14:34. > :14:39.found several companies willing to sell a tattoo gun, needles and inks.
:14:39. > :14:49.Everything you'd need to become an amateur tattooist. So what does
:14:49. > :14:52.professional artist Lee think of the kit I bought? The main issue
:14:52. > :14:55.obviously is quality of the equipment. There parts made of
:14:55. > :15:02.plastic, or materials which are unsuitable or likely to break
:15:02. > :15:12.during a tattoo. The lack of advice given in the kit on applying
:15:12. > :15:14.
:15:14. > :15:20.tattoos and sterilisation and hygiene during the process. What's
:15:20. > :15:22.the answer for kits like this, what do you think should happen? Perhaps
:15:22. > :15:24.there should be legislation put in place to stop people selling
:15:24. > :15:27.equipment to unregistered tattooists. Bridgend MP Madeleine
:15:27. > :15:31.Moon is campaigning for controls on the sale of tattoo equipment to
:15:31. > :15:41.suitably qualified people. can't take blood in a GP's surgery
:15:41. > :15:43.
:15:43. > :15:46.without undergoing years of training. Why on earth are we
:15:46. > :15:49.allowing people to not just stick one needle in somebody's arm and
:15:49. > :15:51.extract blood, but to inflict many needles going into the skin,
:15:51. > :15:57.possibly scarring someone for life, no qualification, no minimum
:15:57. > :16:00.standards of training before you can do it? That's crazy. Until
:16:00. > :16:07.there is a change in the law, professionals like Lee are left
:16:07. > :16:15.cleaning up the mess left by illegal amateurs. Not a day goes by
:16:15. > :16:25.without people ask for cover-up or rework. If it's too scarred, it's
:16:25. > :16:36.
:16:36. > :16:42.difficult to fix. Skin is not so elastic. People need to be aware,
:16:42. > :16:49.they may never be able to have a decent tattoo in that area.
:16:49. > :16:57.And if you've got anything to say on the subject, let us know. What
:16:57. > :17:05.is on the menu? We're making pizza. This is all white making cheap
:17:05. > :17:13.fruit healthy food. It is about healthy eating and knowing about
:17:13. > :17:23.diet. People have an overload and are concerned about taste. Keep up
:17:23. > :17:26.
:17:26. > :17:33.the good work. How are you benefiting? I have lost two pounds
:17:33. > :17:40.this week. I have lost three stone and four pounds overall. How long
:17:40. > :17:50.did that take you? One year and four months. I am really happy with
:17:50. > :17:51.
:17:52. > :17:55.myself. I feel more confident. I am a sinner. My confidence was not
:17:55. > :18:02.before because I didn't think people will -- people were
:18:02. > :18:12.concentrating on my singing, just my body. It has helped me with my
:18:12. > :18:17.
:18:17. > :18:20.walking. Well done. Next, we are on Caroline Walker from Cardiff booked
:18:20. > :18:29.a romantic getaway last year, but the hotel wasn't as picture perfect
:18:29. > :18:33.as she'd hoped. I'm on the case. carefully planned a holiday for
:18:33. > :18:36.myself and my boyfriend to go to Turkey through On the Beach, but
:18:36. > :18:39.when we got there it all went downhill. Right. Time to hit the
:18:39. > :18:42.road. Back in October 2010, after months of research, Caroline booked
:18:42. > :18:46.a week's holiday for her partner's birthday with a company called On
:18:46. > :18:53.the Beach. But the surprise trip didn't go to plan and she has been
:18:53. > :18:59.complaining since. So, Caroline, tell me about the holiday you
:18:59. > :19:09.booked. I booked it in secret. I booked his leave with his boss
:19:09. > :19:10.
:19:10. > :19:13.without him knowing, emailing him and texting him. I wanted to do
:19:13. > :19:17.something like you see in the movies really, a complete surprise
:19:17. > :19:20.and I put the tickets in a birthday card for him and when he opened it,
:19:20. > :19:24.it was just, he didn't know what to say really. So, very romantic. Tell
:19:25. > :19:34.me about the hotel that you booked. I originally saw it on the On the
:19:34. > :19:36.Beach website. And I saw the Crystal Beach Hotel, and the price
:19:36. > :19:41.seemed quite reasonable, and the description sounded wonderfu.l and
:19:41. > :19:44.the pictures looked beautiful so I decided that that's where we'd go.
:19:44. > :19:47.Caroline booked a seven-day all- inclusive trip to Crystal Beach
:19:47. > :19:50.Bodrum Hotel, Turkey, for a total of �639. It was described as a four
:19:50. > :19:53.star hotel, but the reality was rather different. We walked through
:19:53. > :19:58.the door and immediately it struck us that this wasn't quite the
:19:58. > :20:04.standard for the star rating. it didn't look like the hotel you
:20:05. > :20:08.booked? No, we actually had to move hotels after a couple of days.
:20:08. > :20:11.There was a note pinned to the door saying that the hotel had decided
:20:12. > :20:14.that they were going to close three weeks early from the end of the
:20:15. > :20:19.season and we're moving the entire hotel and all its guests to
:20:19. > :20:22.somewhere else. And once we arrived at the other hotel it became
:20:22. > :20:27.apparent that this is the one where most of the photographs were
:20:27. > :20:33.actually taken from. And were advertised against the Crystal
:20:33. > :20:36.Hotel. For Caroline and Bryan, their trip abroad was ruined and
:20:36. > :20:42.she was bitterly disappointed with the whole experience. She's been
:20:42. > :20:46.complaining to the company ever since. What are the company saying,
:20:46. > :20:49.what are they offering you? Well, after six months of toing and
:20:49. > :20:51.froing, with letters back and forth, they are currently offering 25%
:20:51. > :20:57.refund as a goodwill gesture of the accommodation costs which amounts
:20:57. > :21:03.to �33.29. And how do you feel about that? Really quite insulted,
:21:03. > :21:07.to be honest. So, Caroline what would you like me to do? I'd like
:21:07. > :21:10.to be able to take Bryan away for the holiday we were meant to have
:21:10. > :21:17.and I would like for the companies to admit their errors and correct
:21:17. > :21:20.what's wrong on the website. I'm on the case. Now, there are a
:21:20. > :21:22.few things Caroline could have done differently. If she'd read the
:21:22. > :21:27.small print she'd have realised that the star ratings were the
:21:27. > :21:30.hotel's own. It's always a good idea to check as not all countries
:21:30. > :21:34.have a standardised system. Caroline didn't complain to the
:21:34. > :21:38.company till she came home. She could have contacted On the Beach
:21:38. > :21:41.while on holiday to see if they could help. She did take some
:21:42. > :21:44.pictures on holiday as evidence of her complaint. If a holiday company
:21:44. > :21:52.or hotel uses photos to misrepresent their facilities, then
:21:52. > :21:59.this kind of proof could help you win your case. So, let's see what
:21:59. > :22:02.On The Beach have to say. On The Beach have got back to me they say
:22:02. > :22:04.every effort is made to display the correct images of their hotels, but
:22:04. > :22:10.on rare occasions they receive incorrect pictures from their
:22:10. > :22:19.suppliers. On this occasion, one of the images displayed was
:22:19. > :22:21.unfortunately incorrect. This has now been deleted and replaced. The
:22:21. > :22:26.hotel in question had been overbooked and the management had
:22:26. > :22:29.no alternative but to accommodate guests at the sister hotel. But
:22:29. > :22:31.they say if Caroline had contacted them at the time they would have
:22:31. > :22:41.done everything their power to provide her with a suitable
:22:41. > :22:45.replacement hotel. -- in their power. On The Beach have apologised
:22:45. > :22:52.and as a gesture of goodwill they've offered a voucher up to the
:22:52. > :22:56.total cost of the original holiday. On the Beach have now given us a
:22:56. > :22:59.voucher for the full cost of the holiday of �640 and we've now used
:22:59. > :23:03.it to book another holiday to Crete in October. Well, that's another
:23:03. > :23:07.case closed. Now, since we featured a company
:23:07. > :23:11.called Aurora Logistics lots of you have been in touch. Last week, we
:23:11. > :23:14.told you about Val Morris from Abergavenny. She was sold a
:23:14. > :23:24.warranty she didn't need for her Sky box by Swansea based Aurora
:23:24. > :23:27.
:23:27. > :23:30.Logistics. Paul de la Mare, the company's director, promised us
:23:30. > :23:34.he'd refund Val's �80. But, guess what. She is still waiting for her
:23:34. > :23:37.money. And it seems that Val isn't the only one. A number of you have
:23:37. > :23:40.realised that you too have paid out for what you thought was a Sky
:23:40. > :23:43.warranty. Sylvia Parsons from Newport was called by Aurora back
:23:43. > :23:46.in March and agreed to buy a warranty for �79.99. Now she wants
:23:46. > :23:49.her money back. We'll be passing her complaint on to the company.
:23:49. > :23:56.We're also checking out some other companies you've told us about who
:23:56. > :24:00.seem to be using these sales tactics. So, if you've been cold-
:24:00. > :24:03.called by anyone trying to sell you a warranty for your Sky box, we'd
:24:03. > :24:06.love to hear from you. In the meantime, Sky's tell us they have
:24:06. > :24:10.only one approved warranty provider, Sky Protect, who will never cold-
:24:10. > :24:14.call you. If you're in any doubt ask the person on the phone to
:24:14. > :24:17.confirm your Sky account number. If they are from Sky, they should have
:24:17. > :24:20.your details already. Now, where will you be tomorrow
:24:20. > :24:23.night? Will you be amongst the thousands watching Take That at the
:24:23. > :24:27.Millennium Stadium? I know I will be. Just try stopping her. We've
:24:27. > :24:35.heard from a couple of fans who had more trouble than most getting hold
:24:35. > :24:38.This front door in Cwmbran may look pretty ordinary as far as front
:24:39. > :24:42.doors go, but it's actually the key to the curious case of the missing
:24:42. > :24:45.Take That tickets. Tickets that Jane Morris, like fans across the
:24:45. > :24:53.nation needed hours of cool, calm determination to snap up when they
:24:53. > :25:00.went on sale last October. I was in work with three computers, two
:25:00. > :25:04.phones. Clare had her phone, her house phone, her laptop. My sister
:25:04. > :25:07.had phones, laptops and her husband we were all trying to get the
:25:07. > :25:13.tickets. Ticket Master was down, nobody could get on there, but I
:25:13. > :25:16.managed to get our tickets by 10am. The tour sold out within hours but,
:25:16. > :25:21.certain they'd bagged four tickets to see Gary Barlow and the boys,
:25:21. > :25:31.the friends just waited for their tickets to arrive. But things were
:25:31. > :25:34.
:25:34. > :25:38.about to take a very strange turn. I received an email to say that the
:25:38. > :25:41.tickets had been delivered on the Tuesday at 10:58am. On the
:25:41. > :25:44.Wednesday, I had the email, but we didn't get any tickets. A baffled
:25:44. > :25:47.Jane got on to SEE Tickets. They spoke to the courier company, DX
:25:47. > :25:51.Secure, who offered a rather surprising way of proving the
:25:51. > :26:01.tickets had indeed been delivered. Now, remember that average looking
:26:01. > :26:04.
:26:04. > :26:10.door? I did ask if a signature had to be given, to which she replied
:26:11. > :26:13.if you are not in they take a photo of your door. OK, time for a quick
:26:14. > :26:16.game of spot the difference. First here's Jane's door and now here's
:26:17. > :26:19.another door 300 metres away. DX Secure says human error meant the
:26:19. > :26:21.tickets were delivered to this very similar front door. DX has
:26:22. > :26:29.apologised and says it should've investigated rather than just
:26:29. > :26:32.sending out the photograph. home from work and there was a note
:26:32. > :26:36.on the floor from the Post Office to say that a parcel had been
:26:36. > :26:41.delivered and it needed a signature, so I went straight over to the Post
:26:41. > :26:45.Office. Nothing else mattered that day. I was getting my tickets.
:26:45. > :26:48.Well hope they have a great time after all that! I am sure they'll
:26:49. > :26:51.have a night they'll Never Forget. That's all we've got time for this
:26:51. > :26:54.week. Remember, if you've got anything to say about tonight's
:26:54. > :26:58.stories, or if there's anything you think we should investigate, then