Episode 6 X-Ray

You are watching X-ray, bringing you the stories that matter.

Rachel is investigating the Llanelli businessman with a string

of unhappy customers. The company selling Sky warranties

that you do not need. Now the man in charge is under investigation.

Could our care homes be killing you with kindness? Would reveal the

results of an exclusive survey. Tonight, we aren't sunny Llanidloes.

Later, we will be finding out how a car-sharing scheme has been

successful here. First, Rachel has been on the trail of a Llanelli

businessman who has made a fortune from controversial companies which

Cars like this 250 mile an hour Koensegigg cost hundreds of

thousands of pounds. It is the sort of guy you would expect around the

streets of Mayfair or Monte Carlo. But for fans of supercars, this

street in Llanelli is the place to be. It has played host to Ferraris,

Lamborghinis, Rolls Royces. They're here because Grant Evans loves

supercars. P made his fortune in these offices, selling mobile phone

contract. In practice known as slamming, for which he was forced

to pay �500,000 compensation to O2. One newspaper described his company

First it all, it was mobile phones, but the latest company who ran here

-- he ran here was Consumer Credit Services. The company offered to

help customers reclaim money they had paid for mis-sold personal

Carl Higgins from Wrexham was one of their customers. He got a call

out of the blue. He would need to pay �240 up front, but it seemed an

offer he could not refuse. They said to me that whatever happened,

I would not lose out. I thought it was fair enough. He said I was on a

winner from the start, so I would not lose anything. Carol paid �240

on the understanding that he had a 14 day cooling-off period. When the

paperwork arrived, he did not like what he saw and cancelled. But he

could not get his money back. phoned them up on numerous

occasions, and they said I would get it back towards the end of

April. The money has not arrived. How was it left you feeling? Angry

about what he has done. He has taken the money and not given

anything back. Grand Evans said that coral did not follow the right

procedures in claiming a refund. He is just one of the many customers

who cannot get their money back from the company. Unsurprisingly,

the company has caught the eye of the authorities. Firms like

Consumer Credit Services need to be licensed by the Ministry of Justice

and have to stick to certain standards. In January, the company

had its licence suspended. But Grant Evans was not about to give

up. He already had a new company up and running here in the centre of

Cardiff. The name was different, but they did the same job.

You might think that this company and Consumer Credit Services were

completely different companies. Well, think again. They were both

singing from the same hymn sheet. This in sheet. This is the script

that the staff used when they were trying to persuade customers to pay

out. They have been raised the name and replaced it with the new

company's name. The script gives an insight into how the company made

sales. It is a one-off fee of �239. I cannot afford it. Looking at the

potential size of the claim, the question is, can you afford not to?

It was not just that the company used the same Scripts and had the

same director, they had something else in common, too, unhappy

customers. Nigel Caseley thought that Christmas had come early when

claim compensate us rang him. said I should be entitled to about

�1,500. One like him home, I looked upon the demand to find out about

the company and it looked a bit dodgy. -- looked up on the internet.

The Nigel struggled to get a refund. They said they could not issue a

refund because the machine was not broken and had not been broken --

had not been working for a couple of months. The company claims that

Nigel did not follow the proper procedures, a claim he denies. It

is not just customers to have suffered from Grant Evans' business

practices. Some of the biggest losers were staff sacked at the end

of March. Lee Card found out from the company's general manager.

got the call on Sunday night. I was told to tell the staff they were

closing the business. We were told who would get paid on Thursday.

office closed but the money never arrived. Lee Card believes he is

owed 1200 pounds. I am livid. I cannot believe that people would do

that. I am disappointed. I never got paid for my work. Despite the

unpaid staff and unhappy customers, Grand Evans' businesses are still

operating from these offices in Llanelli. So why, when there are so

many unhappy customers, is the Ministry of Justice not doing more

to protect consumers? Consumer Credit Services got its licence

back in May. It has been banned from taking deposits upfront. But

what about its sister company? Even though the Ministry of Justice has

been investigating for at least five months, it has done nothing to

stop them cold calling and taking money up front from consumers. It

is not just the Ministry of Justice to have questions to answer. We

wanted to put these allegations to grant Evans. But this is as close

as we can get. The gates of his mansion near Swansea. We wanted to

ask him face-to-face about all the people he owes money to and about

the way he runs his businesses. But he has refused to meet with us. As

a goodwill gesture, he has refunded car all and some other cases were

brought to his attention. He says he is working to pay staff the

money they are owed. He has sent us 19 pages of letters in which he

challenges many of our claims. He admits that he has broken Ministry

of Justice guidelines but blames the problems on banks, which he

says with true payment facilities. This meant he never actually got

customers' money and could not process refunds. He says this is

because he is championing consumers who have been ripped off by the

banks. In his words, "The raison d'etre for both companies is to aim

at the -- aid of the public in reclaiming money rightfully owned

by banks and financial companies." Given that staff and customers have

been left badly out of pocket, Grant Evans is one consumer

champion that we can probably do without.

Absolutely. Remember, if you get a call from Grant or any other

company offering to reclaim insurance, there is only one

sensible answer. Say no. You can easily reclaim money you have paid

out for mis-sold payment protection insurance, insurance you may have

taken out on a mortgage, loan or credit card, without the help of

these companies. Check out our website for more information.

Let us find out about this week's money-saving scheme. Andrew is in

charge of the Car Club here. Why set up this particular scheme?

had had enough of owning my own car and I wanted to find a way of

having a vehicle without the down sides of ownership. How many

members are there to the Car Club? 34 members. These are three of our

cars. We have a 4th car that is actually be used at the moment.

little bit of everything. It is great. How many savings -- what

amount of savings are you making? We saved �2,000 in the first year.

Other people have said to me that they have had money in their pocket

at the end of the month when they had given up their car. Many of our

members use it as a second car. So they are not necessarily making a

saving, but they have not had to buy a second car. We look forward

Sarah Vine Inn from Cardiff for she had it covered. -- Sarah Vining.

Her trip abroad ended up costing more than she imagines a --

more than she imagines a -- imagined. My husband was performing

in Las Vegas and I was lucky enough to accompany him. Unfortunately, we

received a very large bill from received a very large bill from

Orange when we got home. Time to hit the road.

For three a lot -- 4 mum of four two Sarah, her smartphone is a

lifeline. It was one of the first things she packs for her trip to

Vegas. Before I left, I phoned Orange to check whether there would

be issues involved in taking my phone to the US. I was assured that

everything would be normal. used to phone to check e-mails,

update Facebook and keep in contact with the children. But when she got

home, she was shocked to find a bill for �848. And there was more

bad news to come. That was only part of the bill. I did not realise

that that only covered my first two days and that the second part of

the bill would actually take the whole amount of to �2,500. Sarah

had been caught out by data roaming charges. Without realising, her

phone had been updating, sending the bill sky-high. Nearly �2,500.

What did you think when you receive that? Devastated. I was panicking.

Obviously, I had incurred this cost with nothing to show for it. What

did Dorrans say with regard to the Bill? The only option they offered

us was to be transferred to another department to pay a amount every

month to pay off the bill. -- what did Orange say. What you want me to

do? I hope that X-ray can get in touch with orange and reduce the

bill. I am on the case. It seems that Sarah is not the only person

to get caught out by this. We have been contacted by Mark Rosslea, who

ran up a bill of �2,400 with orange after taking his Blackberry on

holiday to Florida. Let us get some expert advice.

Why are people having these problems? It is primarily the new

smartphones, but a designed to not only make calls but also to

download files. Many of the applications that people download

automatically update. Each time the update, they used a tough. In

Europe, they have placed caps on the amount of usage you can have.

One say that at allowance, it stops. The customer never inadvertently

The customer never inadvertently spent more than 50 euros. But if

you're travelling outside Europe, you need to contact your mobile

company and check up on cops. If you do not want to pay, turn off

you do not want to pay, turn off the data running. -- check-up on

costs. What do Orange have to say about this? They say they advise

customers to call customer services or check the website before

travelling to find out about charges and services available.

They say that I phone users specifically should ensure that

data roaming is switched off. -- iPhone. They understand that Sarah

did not feel that the costs were communicated to her before travel

and are investigating this specific incident to understand why this

happened. They have told Serran that they will reduce the charges

by �1,973 and Sarah will only have to pay �337, the cost of a global

data bundle for the USA, plus her calls and texts while in the States.

We are very happy that they have reduced the bill to a more

reasonable and manageable level. Orange have offered the same

solution to mark. And that is So, definitely worth checking out

before you head off on holiday. Especially if you are travelling

outside Europe. Concerns about the standards of

care offered to elderly and vulnerable people have been hitting

the headlines, but the standard of food in care homes is sometimes

overlooked. We have been given exclusive access

to an analysis of the food provided across Wales, and it paints a

worrying picture. Hollylodge provides dementia care

in Cwmbran for 29 residents. Their needs mean their diets must be

carefully managed, so they receive the right nutrition. Chrissy

Hawkins enjoyed a balanced diet provided at Hollylodge, but when

she lived at home on her own, her daughter Wendy Puglsey was getting

concerned about her eating. would take a chop out of the

freezer, defrost it and I would go in the next day and it would still

be there, defrosted and under the grill but not cooked. I was

concerned that she might try and eat it and end up being ill. It is

so important that your mum's nutrition is taken care of. Yes,

definitely. Knowing she is getting food regularly and getting looked

after here. In kitchens like this in care homes across Wales, staff

are working hard to provide suitable food for residents.

Christine Smith is the food standards officer who inspects care

homes in Torfaen for to make sure they are meeting legal requirements.

Concern that the standards of meals, which seemed to vary between homes,

the council conducted a survey of the food provided, and measured

their nutritional value. We decided Sidhu and all-day menu, to give us

a snapshot of what was being provided. -- decided to do.

initial results in Torfaen and Monmouthshire was so worrying that

deep study was rolled out to assess the picture across the country. 13

of the 22 wealth or she -- her Welsh authorities took part in the

survey. 86 of daily menus were nutritionally allies at Cardiff

City Council's official food control laboratory. They were

assessed for levels of protein, carbohydrate, fat, saturated fat

and protein -- na. This represents some of the menus from the sample.

Each of the menus is a day's food. At one end, a relatively small diet.

But at this end, a huge amount of food. That is going to take some

beating! With around 2000 calories a day recommended for most adults,

one home surveyed provided around 750 calories. Another offered

almost five times that - around 3,700 calories in just one day. In

the most extreme examples, some homes provided less than half, and

others more than four times the maximum, recommended amounts of fat.

That was repeated across the board, with levels of protein, sugar,

carbohydrates and salt far higher or lower than the recommended

values in the majority of cases. Tell me about where the majority of

homes fell - you would resume in the middle. Was that the case?

not at all. 74% of homes were above the 24 grams of saturated fat

amount. Salt is one of the best examples of extremes. That is

related to high blood pressure. Saturated fats are not good for

anybody. In terms of protein, you are talking about bones and muscle,

which can deteriorate if there is a lack of protein. Although this home

fared well in the survey, with their results showing they provide

a varied and a balanced diet, Gwyneth Virgo, who runs Hollylodge,

is not complacent about the food she is offering. The survey helped

us a lot. It highlighted some weaknesses but showed some

strengths - that we were delivering a good service. It also highlighted

the downfalls. Some of our staff are not nutritionally trained. That

is where the food standards officer has come in to give us some

professional advice. One of our kitchen staff went on another

training course. That was a positive move for the home.

there is no legal requirement for staff in care homes to be taught

about nutrition. So now Christine is calling for

more advice and information for care providers. She wants to see

statutory minimum standards for care home nutrition across the UK

and Wales. Older People's Commissioner Ruth Marks is backing

assembly funded training for staff. This report should be taken

seriously by councils, care providers and others who work with

older people, especially in care home settings. We need to learn

from those care homes where things are going really well and be able

to share that good practice and make sure that every care home a

cross Wales, every older person living in a care home, and not

forgetting that it is their home, but the standards of food on offer

are consistently high. A subject I am sure we will hear

more about. Earlier, we heard more about the Llanidloes Car Club. Here

are some more of their members. Martin is one of them. The variety

of faith -- vehicles is very handy for you? Yes, I have used the van

to carry equipment to gigs and rehearsals. It has been very useful

for the band. The cars scheme and its members are owed quite a lot to

you. Yes, I donated the first half. It was a nice thing to do - to

share it with people. It saved my car just sitting around doing

nothing. How does it work, cost wise? You pay 40 pence a mile and

it is settled up every month. you have to think ahead? A you do

need to know a bit in advance, I guess. Sometimes you can be lucky

and get their car instantly, but if you really want to go somewhere

important, you do need to book a couple of weeks ahead. Your

favourite vehicle? I don't mind. Just not the ban!

Since we featured Swansea-based company Aurora logistics, lots of

you have been in touch to say that you have been tricked into parting

with your cash. We decided to investigate further.

We first heard about the company, run by a man called Paul De La Mare,

from Val Morris. The company ran her out of the blue and persuaded

her to buy a warranty for her Sky box. The same thing happened to

Sylvia. When she saw Bale's story on X-Ray, she realised the same

company had called her. They said I had renewed it last year, so it was

an annual insurance. I said I would do that, but they actually implied

that they had spoken to my daughter Elizabeth last year, and so that

put me completely at ease. paid-up but then received a letter

from Hollylodge -- Aurora in demanding a payment of nearly �80.

Then came more letters. When the letter came saying that we hadn't

paid, I was quite annoyed and went down to the bank to check that the

cheque had gone through. They said it had been cashed several days

before they had sent this letter. Also, the letter was quite

intimidating in the sense that there were a lot of parts of it

underlined in red. It said there would be an extra charge and that

they would pass it to a debt collection agency.

correspondence Aurora had with Sylvia seems identical to Val's

experience, and that of many others who have written to us. Carol from

Usk is also waiting to get her money back. I had a phone call and

of the blue earlier this year. I was completely taken off guard - a

real senior moment. A nice young man called Gareth persuaded me I

ought to protect my satellite equipment. Carol realised within

the week that she already had insurance and called Aurora to

cancel. Not a problem. We will renew next November and you might

take out insurance with them, -- with us then, but we won't take out

any money from your account. Job done. Going through my bank

statement some time later, I noticed that Aurora had taken

�79.99 from my bank - which they said they would not do. It made me

feel stupid, but also very angry that these plausible young men

could tell such blatant lies on the phone. If they can fool me, they

can fool lots of vulnerable old ladies. So I feel very angry about

it. In one case, Aurora sold as scrap a warranty to a lady who did

not even have a Sky subscription. - - a Skype warranty. And it is not

just Aurora you have been telling us about. We are also hearing from

you about a company called Cable Guy, based in Swansea. They called

it Gethin Hughes from Llanharan last year, and their way of working

sounded suspiciously familiar. said if they send me the

information, I would have a look at it answers see whether I would go

ahead. But they seemed under the impression that I had taken the

insurance arm. When I rang them to cancel it, they said everything was

OK and that I should send the details back and everything would

be done no problem. Gethin is still waiting to get his money back.

Janet Williams got more luck getting our money back from Cable

Guy, but had to send her daughter to collect the money in person from

their offices in this building. Bear right number of legitimate

companies called Cable Guy in Swansea, -- there are a number are.

But the letter was signed up Paul De La Mare. Was it a coincidence?

Our investigation revealed other links. Cable Guy shared a phone

number with Aurora. The two companies share addresses at Walter

Road, Salubrious Passsage and 37 Kingsway in Swansea. Swansea

Trading Standards raided these premises two weeks ago, after we

broadcast our last update about Aurora. They have confirmed they

are investigating issues related to Aurora and Cable Guy, and potential

links between the two companies. They are examining computer is used

in the business and Documentation sees that these premises. Aurora

logistics is run by this man, Paul De La Mare. The company has now

left the office and Trading Standards don't know if they are

still operating. Paul De La Mare did reply to an e-mail week sent

him outlining our view as' concerns. He says he has now stopped trading

and that he is finding all this negative coverage very stressful.

He accuses Trading Standards officers of over-reacting. But he

has not said whether he will refund the people we read to him about,

and hasn't explained his links with Cable Guy.

Remember, if you have reason to believe that you have been

contacted by one of Paul De La Mare's companies, we would love to

hear from you and so would Swansea Trading Standards. We will put

their number on our website. This is the last programme in this

series, so here is an update on some of the stories. Do you

remember Margaret and Stewart to both bought cars from Evans Halshaw

or? Well, the garage has agreed to provide steward with a replacement

car for a fee, so he is happy. But despite tests by independent

engineers, they haven't been able to work out why Margaret's car is

ticking so she is not so happy. And Darren Watkins, the builder who

left Simon and Beverly's house in this state is now being interviewed

by Blaenau Gwent Trading Standards and investigations are ongoing.

Since repeated them last week, we have heard from more unhappy New ID

customers. They offer a makeover and photo-shoot at a bargain price