:00:05. > :00:08.You are watching X-Ray. $YELLOW On tonight's programme...
:00:08. > :00:13.A car hire company based in Wales has collapsed, leaving a trail of
:00:14. > :00:21.unhappy customers. $YELLOW A Thomas Cook holiday in
:00:22. > :00:31.Supposed to end. And more complaints about driveway
:00:32. > :00:42.
:00:42. > :00:45.companies. This time, a community Hello. Tonight we are in
:00:45. > :00:49.Monmouthshire. This village, called Jingle Street, should be the
:00:49. > :00:51.perfect place to post your Christmas cards. But where has the
:00:51. > :00:54.postbox gone? Join me later to find out.
:00:54. > :00:57.But first, a Welsh car hire company has collapsed, leaving customers
:00:57. > :01:07.out of pocket and a lot of unanswered questions. Rachel has
:01:07. > :01:13.
:01:13. > :01:20.been investigating. Florida, land of sun, sea and its three ways.
:01:20. > :01:27.Renting a car is a must for most holidaymakers. It is usually very
:01:28. > :01:37.easy, especially for regular travellers, such as Ian Henderson
:01:38. > :01:38.
:01:38. > :01:47.from Dinas Powys near Cardiff. of the weather out there in Florida.
:01:47. > :01:52.Both my wife and myself played golf, so we like to go out there to play.
:01:52. > :02:02.When he went out there or October, he used the car hire company he had
:02:02. > :02:04.
:02:04. > :02:10.used before. I do not think there would be any problem. The company,
:02:10. > :02:17.imaginatively titled The Car Hire Agency did not actually own any
:02:17. > :02:26.cars, but was simply an agency for other companies. So will what
:02:27. > :02:33.happened? We get a voucher to save it they had got our money and paid
:02:33. > :02:43.it on to the car hire company. married and the small print was he
:02:43. > :02:44.
:02:44. > :02:48.clause that it was not eight rental agreement which was binding.
:02:48. > :02:57.Car Hire Agency had taken my money back had not paid it on to the
:02:57. > :03:06.other company. So you're actually took a phone call, saying that if
:03:06. > :03:13.you wanted the car, you would have to pay for it again. Yes, a it was
:03:14. > :03:19.a bit of a shock. It meant that �450 of our money was suddenly
:03:19. > :03:29.swallowed up. They did not even have the decency to inform me that
:03:29. > :03:30.
:03:30. > :03:36.they had ceased trading. Ian Henderson was not the only person
:03:36. > :03:42.to lose money. We have been speaking to victims of the
:03:42. > :03:49.company's collapse from across Britain. Alan Brown from Newcastle
:03:49. > :03:57.played �1,200 and lost it all. A customer from Kent lost more than
:03:57. > :04:03.�250 and a family from Birmingham paid �225. Debbie sparks from
:04:03. > :04:13.Cambridge waves goodbye to nearly �1,000 back in February. And the
:04:13. > :04:14.
:04:14. > :04:18.royal family lost -- a family from Loch last money and they had made
:04:18. > :04:23.their payment way back last September. The company was taking
:04:23. > :04:28.money from customers and failing to pass it on to other car hire
:04:29. > :04:36.companies. Together, these customers have lost �3,500 and that
:04:36. > :04:43.is only the customers we have heard of. I had been investigating. I did
:04:43. > :04:49.not have to travel far to find The Car Hire Agency. It is the trading
:04:49. > :04:58.name for a company called Florida Direct Holidays Ltd. It was set up
:04:59. > :05:08.by Arthur Rowe in 1998. He loves and this rented bungalow. -- heel
:05:09. > :05:09.
:05:09. > :05:17.of this and this rented bungalow. It was a family business. Both his
:05:17. > :05:22.son and daughter were heavily involved. So, whereas the money? It
:05:22. > :05:32.is a question we have asked Arthur Rowe and his family, but they have
:05:32. > :05:33.
:05:33. > :05:38.failed to answer. He did send us a letter: He said he was concerned
:05:38. > :05:44.people had lost money, but he seems to feel a bit more sorry for
:05:44. > :05:51.himself. Perhaps not surprisingly for a man with a very nice house in
:05:51. > :05:58.Florida. A very nice swimming pool. But he claims that is not all at it
:05:58. > :06:08.seems. He says they are bankrupt and his house has and his wife has
:06:08. > :06:11.
:06:11. > :06:18.to drive the 20-year-old banger of But I am not any closer to finding
:06:18. > :06:25.the money. The company account short that I have to go deeper into
:06:25. > :06:35.the Vale of Glamorgan. The company headquarters is here, the horror of
:06:35. > :06:38.
:06:38. > :06:43.Arthur Rowe's son Christopher. -- that warmer. It shows the family
:06:43. > :06:50.took a lot of money out of the company. We have asked a couple of
:06:50. > :06:59.experts to look through the figures. The age dividend has been paid of
:06:59. > :07:03.over �25,000. If you look at their profit and loss account, it is a
:07:03. > :07:11.negative figure. I do not think why they could be paying themselves
:07:11. > :07:15.that as the dividend. We are taking that money out damage the company?
:07:15. > :07:20.Yes, up when you are taking that sort of money out, the customer has
:07:20. > :07:27.every right to be angry, given the time that they actually paid their
:07:27. > :07:36.money. It does seem that something does not quite add up. Defy might
:07:36. > :07:41.deny it wrong doing, but Ian Henderson still has questions.
:07:41. > :07:45.a to be many of the customer, paid for the rental car in the States
:07:45. > :07:51.and retained a fee for doing so. In this case, they kept all the money
:07:51. > :07:55.and made no attempt to pass on anything to car hire companies in
:07:55. > :07:58.the United States. A A frustrating situation there for
:07:58. > :08:00.Ian and other customers of the company. The collapse is being
:08:00. > :08:04.investigated by the official receiver. If there are any
:08:04. > :08:07.developments, we will let you know. Now for some good news on a story
:08:07. > :08:10.we brought you a couple of weeks ago. Remember the Morris family
:08:10. > :08:13.from Cardiff. They had bought a campervan from mechanic Graham
:08:13. > :08:17.Moore in Prestatyn, who had MOT'd it himself and given it a clean
:08:17. > :08:21.bill of health. But six months after getting it home, they found
:08:21. > :08:26.it was so rusty that it failed its next MOT - and the couple were told
:08:26. > :08:30.it was beyond economic repair. Well, Mr Moore has got back in
:08:30. > :08:34.touch. He denies he did anything wrong and says the vehicle was
:08:34. > :08:42.roadworthy when he issued the MOT. But the good news is, he has agreed
:08:42. > :08:46.to refund the couple the full �3,500 they paid for the van.
:08:46. > :08:51.We got our money back, which is great, so we can pay the debt and
:08:51. > :08:56.have something left over. We could not have hoped for a better result.
:08:56. > :08:59.Fantastic news! So if you think you have had a raw deal, get in touch.
:08:59. > :09:02.The phone number is 03703 334 334. Or if you would rather e-mail, you
:09:02. > :09:05.can get us on xray@bbc.co.uk. Do not forget to include a daytime
:09:05. > :09:15.phone number, so we can get back to you.
:09:15. > :09:16.
:09:16. > :09:26.Or you can tweet - @bbcxray. Still to come, the holiday which could
:09:26. > :09:30.have ended in disaster. And the cancellation of her late mother's
:09:30. > :09:33.for my contract. Two weeks ago, we asked for your
:09:33. > :09:36.help in tracking down a man called Tom Connors, who was trading under
:09:36. > :09:39.the name Bellway Paving. He had quoted Terry and Anne Lewis from
:09:39. > :09:43.Pontarddulais �700 to do up their drive, but two hours into the job,
:09:43. > :09:50.he sent them down to the bank. He said they needed a plastic membrane,
:09:50. > :10:00.costing �2,100. Very sad. I am afraid that is
:10:00. > :10:04.
:10:04. > :10:07.heavy-duty dampproof gauge. It is worth about �50-�70 a roll.
:10:07. > :10:10.Since then, we have had lots of calls from you about driveway
:10:10. > :10:20.companies. Rhod has been to meet people on one street who decided to
:10:20. > :10:22.
:10:22. > :10:31.Welcome to the friendly street, where everyone looks out for each
:10:31. > :10:37.other. We have been living here a long time. The neighbours to look
:10:37. > :10:42.after each other, very much soul. If that we have lived here for
:10:42. > :10:50.nearly 40 years. Keith as up Alzheimer's, so the neighbours
:10:50. > :10:58.lookout for them. I am back and forth, trying to help my sister-in-
:10:59. > :11:03.law. The pair wanted some work done on their driveway, so what was good
:11:03. > :11:09.timing when a company called Classic Driveways turned up.
:11:09. > :11:15.was thinking that someone was here to help us. That is how it started.
:11:15. > :11:24.Joyce agreed to the Court of �520 from Classic Driveways to replace
:11:24. > :11:30.some paving and drainage. It was a lot of money. She was concerned
:11:30. > :11:36.untroubled that she had made the right decision. There were cars
:11:36. > :11:42.turned up and started work, taking up part of the driveway. But the
:11:42. > :11:50.sooner had some bad news for choice. Yes, she also needed a protective
:11:50. > :11:57.membrane to go with the new driveway. She had a feeling. She
:11:57. > :12:01.was not happy. I at this point, the alarm bells started ringing. The
:12:01. > :12:07.company said they were a way to get the Materials and she took the
:12:07. > :12:13.opportunity to tell a neighbour. She to old as that they had asked
:12:13. > :12:16.her that she would need the Hall of the driveway taken up and the
:12:16. > :12:22.membrane put down. It seemed an awful lot of money for what they
:12:22. > :12:31.were doing. So, she got on the phone and gave Classic Driveways a
:12:31. > :12:41.piece of her mind. The then said, we are a reputable company. It did
:12:41. > :12:42.
:12:42. > :12:52.not feel right. So I said, 0, told off on the work. But they were in
:12:52. > :12:55.
:12:55. > :13:01.for a shock. The neighbours turned out in force to greet them. Because
:13:01. > :13:07.they saw us all here, the scurried off. If we had not been there, that
:13:07. > :13:12.might not have been the case. we thought that Classic Driveways
:13:12. > :13:22.might have something any comment with our all friends Bellway Paving.
:13:22. > :13:23.
:13:23. > :13:31.Look at the contracts given by the two companies. The look pretty
:13:31. > :13:39.similar, don't they? And another has been attracting attention in
:13:39. > :13:45.the area. It also has the same fake registration number and are both
:13:45. > :13:55.run by eight Tom Connors. There are a lot of different groups are
:13:55. > :13:59.
:13:59. > :14:09.It is very more important to help picture there and to stop this from
:14:09. > :14:09.
:14:09. > :14:12.happening. It could have been anyone. We and now extremely weary.
:14:12. > :14:15.These people are causing so much worry for so many people. We know
:14:15. > :14:18.that investigators from Trading Standards are trying to track them
:14:18. > :14:22.down. But we did manage to get though to Classic Driveways boss
:14:22. > :14:25.James Quigley on the phone. He said he had offered a fair price for the
:14:25. > :14:28.work at Keith and Joyce's house and never suggested pulling up the
:14:28. > :14:31.whole driveway. He says the job's left him �150 out of pocket and he
:14:31. > :14:36.wants HIS money back. And he says he's never heard of those other
:14:36. > :14:39.companies even though they use almost identical paperwork. So
:14:39. > :14:41.Classic Driveways say they have done nothing wrong but there have
:14:41. > :14:48.been many instances of major problems with doorstep selling of
:14:49. > :14:52.this type of product. Iwan Rhys Roberts is from Age Cymru. Is this
:14:52. > :14:56.kind of story familiar to you? hear of this kind of thing
:14:56. > :14:59.happening all the time. This is something called elder abuse. There
:14:59. > :15:07.are some 39,000 people suffering elder abuse across Wales and it is
:15:07. > :15:10.something that does need urgent action. Is enough being done? What
:15:10. > :15:12.do you want to see happen? We want to see new rules introduced that
:15:12. > :15:15.would force authorities to investigate any allegations of
:15:15. > :15:18.abuse they hear about and to work more closely together and to share
:15:18. > :15:22.information they have to ensure that if there is abuse happening
:15:22. > :15:25.then prosecutions can happen. what would be your advice?
:15:25. > :15:28.three quotes don't do anything off pat. Plan any building work you are
:15:28. > :15:31.going to have done. Get the names of reputable builders and get three
:15:31. > :15:34.quotes. And we saw a wonderful example of people coming together
:15:34. > :15:37.to protect an elderly member of their community, didn't we? It is
:15:37. > :15:47.very important that we all show community spirit and watch out for
:15:47. > :15:49.
:15:49. > :15:57.each other. Excellent advice. Next, Putting everything in order after
:15:57. > :16:02.the death of a loved one is a stressing -- distressing job. A
:16:02. > :16:08.problem with the Orange mobile make things worse. I thought I had
:16:08. > :16:17.cancelled the phone contract. When it turns out they were still taking
:16:17. > :16:21.money for monthly repayments. on the case. Samanta's mother died
:16:21. > :16:27.after a short battle with cancer in April this year. Samantha knew her
:16:27. > :16:35.mother had a phone contract which needed cancelling. She went to the
:16:35. > :16:43.Orange shop to stop it, also see -- she thought. How are you? I here
:16:43. > :16:48.you are having a tough time. This is you on your wedding day. You
:16:48. > :16:55.look lovely as does your mother. Were you very close? Definitely for
:16:55. > :17:04.us that she was my best friend. You had to know her to believe how
:17:04. > :17:13.badly she was. She enjoyed life. When was she diagnosed? December.
:17:13. > :17:21.She just went downhill straight away. On April 17th, she passed
:17:21. > :17:25.away. Six days after her mother died, Samanta took her death
:17:25. > :17:31.certificate into the phone shop and cancelled the contract. She thought
:17:31. > :17:37.it would be the end of it. I went in on 23rd April with her death
:17:37. > :17:42.certificate and phone bill just to cancel it. They took them and
:17:42. > :17:46.photocopied them and said they would not hear anything else.
:17:46. > :17:50.did you discover they were still taking money out? It was a couple
:17:50. > :17:56.of months later that I noticed money coming out. I contacted the
:17:56. > :18:02.company straight away and they said they were sorry but it would be
:18:02. > :18:08.refunded into the bank. It never happened. Desperate to sort out the
:18:08. > :18:15.problem, Sam made call after call to Orange. She sent another death
:18:15. > :18:20.certificate to the company to prove her mother had passed away. They
:18:20. > :18:25.were quite apologetic but it was different every time. There would
:18:25. > :18:30.be no records of the death certificate, phone calls. I was
:18:30. > :18:36.just banging my head against a brick wall. As the months passed by,
:18:36. > :18:40.she realised Orange had taken more than �70 from the account. She
:18:40. > :18:45.decided to return to the store in Cardiff to sorted out once and for
:18:45. > :18:49.all. I thought I would come away with a weight lifted from my
:18:49. > :18:59.shoulders but it did not happen like that. There was no empathy at
:18:59. > :19:02.
:19:02. > :19:06.all for what we have been through. He was just very rude. It has been
:19:06. > :19:11.months and it still has not been sorted. Let me see what I can do.
:19:11. > :19:14.We have been in touch with the company who have apologised to
:19:14. > :19:18.Samantha for the upset and inconvenience caused. They say they
:19:18. > :19:23.fully appreciate she has not been given the service sheet should
:19:23. > :19:27.expect. They say they can confirm the account has now been closed and
:19:27. > :19:31.they will pay back the money they talk by mistake. Orange also say
:19:31. > :19:39.they are carrying out a thorough investigation into the actions of
:19:39. > :19:43.the staff involved. Thank you. All the hard work paid off. There was a
:19:43. > :19:46.cheque and lovely flowers in the post this morning. That is another
:19:46. > :19:52.case closed. Good work. Remember, however big or small your problem,
:19:52. > :19:55.Lucy's here to help. 03703 444 334. Now, Christmas is coming and it's
:19:55. > :19:59.nearly time to start writing those Christmas cards. But here in the
:19:59. > :20:03.festively named hamlet of Jingle Street they've got a problem. The
:20:03. > :20:06.post box disappeared two years ago and it's not the only one. More
:20:06. > :20:14.than a hundred have gone from towns and villages across Wales over the
:20:15. > :20:23.last ten years. Well, Peter Yeomans has been fighting to get it back.
:20:23. > :20:29.Peter it used to be here didn't it? What happened to it? The postman
:20:29. > :20:36.told me he came to collect letters one-day but he found that the post
:20:36. > :20:42.box was a bit loose. He threw it in the van and drove away with it.
:20:42. > :20:46.Everybody says they miss the post box. Not only was the day land mark,
:20:46. > :20:49.but it has one of the last services we have in the parish. But to
:20:49. > :20:57.confuse matters, Sheila Thomas has an antique post box for her own
:20:57. > :21:03.mail. It's been a bit of a nightmare for you hasn't it? I keep
:21:03. > :21:09.getting other people's post in my box. What at the Post Office
:21:09. > :21:16.telling you? They did not say they want or would not replace it. They
:21:16. > :21:24.could not see a problem because they thought we could use a postbox
:21:24. > :21:31.which is one mile away. Post Office told us they will put the post box
:21:31. > :21:34.back there. Good news. Now, if you book a holiday with one of
:21:34. > :21:38.Britain's leading travel firms, you'd expect your accommodation to
:21:38. > :21:48.be safe. But Lucy's been to meet a family who say their holiday almost
:21:48. > :21:54.
:21:54. > :21:59.It is every family's worst nightmare. Jodie priest as more
:21:59. > :22:08.reason than most to be afraid of fire. We lost a friend in a house
:22:08. > :22:13.fire. I do feel much safer with smoke alarms at home. When it came
:22:13. > :22:18.to booking a holiday abroad, she went to to make sure her family
:22:18. > :22:26.were in the best possible hands. She chose a well-known brand she
:22:26. > :22:35.thought she could rely on. They are Britain's second biggest travel
:22:35. > :22:41.company. We had been with them a few times on holidays with just
:22:41. > :22:48.myself and by has done. We have also been with the children as well.
:22:48. > :22:53.We felt very comfortable booking with them. The family paid almost
:22:53. > :22:58.�2,300 for a couple of weeks in the third. The apartments looked great
:22:58. > :23:04.and they could not wait to go. Six days into the holiday, after a day
:23:04. > :23:13.on the beach, she put the children to bed as usual. The room was very
:23:13. > :23:19.warm up. I put the fan on. I spent about half-an-hour ago -- also
:23:19. > :23:23.tidying up around the apartment. I could smell the burning tight smile.
:23:23. > :23:27.I searched around the apartment and the last room I checked was the
:23:27. > :23:33.bedroom with the children were sleeping. She was horrified when
:23:33. > :23:38.she opened the door. I put the light on and the room was filled
:23:38. > :23:48.with white smoke. I panicked. I got the children out of the room. I
:23:48. > :23:50.
:23:50. > :23:54.grab them both and brought them out. My son was coughing. I put them on
:23:54. > :24:01.the balcony so that they could get fresh air. The smoke was coming
:24:01. > :24:08.from the van which had overheated. I told the fan out of the wall
:24:08. > :24:16.socket. I have lost a lot of sleep considering what could have
:24:16. > :24:20.happened. When she complained to the rep, she says he told her that
:24:20. > :24:26.all the properties have smoke detectors. But this was not true.
:24:26. > :24:30.There was a fire alarm that had to be acted mannerly. Smoke alarms can
:24:30. > :24:35.play an important role in fire safety but they are not required by
:24:35. > :24:41.law in Spain. What does the company tell potential customers? We went
:24:41. > :24:44.on to the website and asked their advisers a simple question. Are
:24:44. > :24:49.there smoke detectors in the properties you advertise? Their
:24:49. > :24:55.reply was clear. All hotels and apartments have smoke alarms in
:24:55. > :25:02.every room. But this was not true in the Granada apartments. Jodie
:25:02. > :25:06.spoke to a manager. What was the rep's reaction when it was
:25:06. > :25:11.confirmed there were no smoke alarms in the apartment. He was
:25:11. > :25:16.amazed and apologetic. He said it was no longer safe for as to say --
:25:16. > :25:20.stay there. He told us to pack up and be in touch for alternative
:25:20. > :25:27.accommodation. He made it clear they would not allow you to stay
:25:27. > :25:32.there. At I felt reassured that he was on our side and that he knew
:25:32. > :25:37.customer-service was paramount. And customer safety was paramount.
:25:37. > :25:44.There was still a week of the holiday left. They put their faith
:25:44. > :25:48.in Thomas Cook to make the rest of their holiday memorable for the
:25:48. > :25:55.right reasons. Things look brighter when they found another hotel. But
:25:55. > :26:03.the family's excitement did not last long. The rep phoned me back
:26:03. > :26:07.and said the last room had been taken. We had a phone call from the
:26:07. > :26:11.company saying they would have flights back on the following day
:26:11. > :26:15.because there was no more accommodation. That was the end of
:26:16. > :26:19.the holiday. I was devastated. I did not want to read it -- or
:26:19. > :26:29.return home. The children were upset as well. How did you feel
:26:29. > :26:29.
:26:30. > :26:35.about having to come home early? Crying. I like it there. Instead of
:26:35. > :26:44.a relaxing fortnight in the sun, the family had a six-day holiday
:26:44. > :26:51.from hell. Surely the company would want to make it up to them? She
:26:51. > :26:57.says the rep assured her they would get her money back. But the office
:26:57. > :27:03.back home said they would not pay her a penny. When we contacted the
:27:03. > :27:08.company they denied the rep off that her a refund. They say it was
:27:08. > :27:12.her decision to cut short their holiday, something she denies.
:27:12. > :27:18.cannot believe how dismissive they are over something which I see as
:27:18. > :27:21.very serious. It was our children's lives. What a nightmare. Now, we've
:27:21. > :27:24.been in touch with Thomas Cook and they now say that their properties
:27:24. > :27:26.don't have to have smoke alarms! They say the hotel's fire alarm
:27:27. > :27:30.system meets industry guidelines, so they're still sending guests
:27:30. > :27:33.there. They deny that their rep ever told the Preece family that it
:27:33. > :27:36.wasn't safe to stay there. But there is some good news, After we
:27:37. > :27:42.after we got in touch, Thomas Cook has agreed to give the family �590
:27:42. > :27:45.compensation. And that's all we've got time for this week. But if
:27:45. > :27:52.you've got anything you want us to investigate, give us a call. 03703
:27:52. > :27:57.334 334. Or you can email us: xray@bbc.co.uk. Don't forget to
:27:57. > :28:00.leave us contact numbers so we can Next week, Hair straighteners like