Episode 13 X-Ray

You are watching X-Ray. $YELLOW On tonight's programme...

A car hire company based in Wales has collapsed, leaving a trail of

unhappy customers. $YELLOW A Thomas Cook holiday in

Supposed to end. And more complaints about driveway

companies. This time, a community Hello. Tonight we are in

Monmouthshire. This village, called Jingle Street, should be the

perfect place to post your Christmas cards. But where has the

postbox gone? Join me later to find out.

But first, a Welsh car hire company has collapsed, leaving customers

out of pocket and a lot of unanswered questions. Rachel has

been investigating. Florida, land of sun, sea and its three ways.

Renting a car is a must for most holidaymakers. It is usually very

easy, especially for regular travellers, such as Ian Henderson

from Dinas Powys near Cardiff. of the weather out there in Florida.

Both my wife and myself played golf, so we like to go out there to play.

When he went out there or October, he used the car hire company he had

used before. I do not think there would be any problem. The company,

imaginatively titled The Car Hire Agency did not actually own any

cars, but was simply an agency for other companies. So will what

happened? We get a voucher to save it they had got our money and paid

it on to the car hire company. married and the small print was he

clause that it was not eight rental agreement which was binding.

Car Hire Agency had taken my money back had not paid it on to the

other company. So you're actually took a phone call, saying that if

you wanted the car, you would have to pay for it again. Yes, a it was

a bit of a shock. It meant that �450 of our money was suddenly

swallowed up. They did not even have the decency to inform me that

they had ceased trading. Ian Henderson was not the only person

to lose money. We have been speaking to victims of the

company's collapse from across Britain. Alan Brown from Newcastle

played �1,200 and lost it all. A customer from Kent lost more than

�250 and a family from Birmingham paid �225. Debbie sparks from

Cambridge waves goodbye to nearly �1,000 back in February. And the

royal family lost -- a family from Loch last money and they had made

their payment way back last September. The company was taking

money from customers and failing to pass it on to other car hire

companies. Together, these customers have lost �3,500 and that

is only the customers we have heard of. I had been investigating. I did

not have to travel far to find The Car Hire Agency. It is the trading

name for a company called Florida Direct Holidays Ltd. It was set up

by Arthur Rowe in 1998. He loves and this rented bungalow. -- heel

of this and this rented bungalow. It was a family business. Both his

son and daughter were heavily involved. So, whereas the money? It

is a question we have asked Arthur Rowe and his family, but they have

failed to answer. He did send us a letter: He said he was concerned

people had lost money, but he seems to feel a bit more sorry for

himself. Perhaps not surprisingly for a man with a very nice house in

Florida. A very nice swimming pool. But he claims that is not all at it

seems. He says they are bankrupt and his house has and his wife has

to drive the 20-year-old banger of But I am not any closer to finding

the money. The company account short that I have to go deeper into

the Vale of Glamorgan. The company headquarters is here, the horror of

Arthur Rowe's son Christopher. -- that warmer. It shows the family

took a lot of money out of the company. We have asked a couple of

experts to look through the figures. The age dividend has been paid of

over �25,000. If you look at their profit and loss account, it is a

negative figure. I do not think why they could be paying themselves

that as the dividend. We are taking that money out damage the company?

Yes, up when you are taking that sort of money out, the customer has

every right to be angry, given the time that they actually paid their

money. It does seem that something does not quite add up. Defy might

deny it wrong doing, but Ian Henderson still has questions.

a to be many of the customer, paid for the rental car in the States

and retained a fee for doing so. In this case, they kept all the money

and made no attempt to pass on anything to car hire companies in

the United States. A A frustrating situation there for

Ian and other customers of the company. The collapse is being

investigated by the official receiver. If there are any

developments, we will let you know. Now for some good news on a story

we brought you a couple of weeks ago. Remember the Morris family

from Cardiff. They had bought a campervan from mechanic Graham

Moore in Prestatyn, who had MOT'd it himself and given it a clean

bill of health. But six months after getting it home, they found

it was so rusty that it failed its next MOT - and the couple were told

it was beyond economic repair. Well, Mr Moore has got back in

touch. He denies he did anything wrong and says the vehicle was

roadworthy when he issued the MOT. But the good news is, he has agreed

to refund the couple the full �3,500 they paid for the van.

We got our money back, which is great, so we can pay the debt and

have something left over. We could not have hoped for a better result.

Fantastic news! So if you think you have had a raw deal, get in touch.

The phone number is 03703 334 334. Or if you would rather e-mail, you

can get us on [email protected]. Do not forget to include a daytime

phone number, so we can get back to you.

Or you can tweet - @bbcxray. Still to come, the holiday which could

have ended in disaster. And the cancellation of her late mother's

for my contract. Two weeks ago, we asked for your

help in tracking down a man called Tom Connors, who was trading under

the name Bellway Paving. He had quoted Terry and Anne Lewis from

Pontarddulais �700 to do up their drive, but two hours into the job,

he sent them down to the bank. He said they needed a plastic membrane,

costing �2,100. Very sad. I am afraid that is

heavy-duty dampproof gauge. It is worth about �50-�70 a roll.

Since then, we have had lots of calls from you about driveway

companies. Rhod has been to meet people on one street who decided to

Welcome to the friendly street, where everyone looks out for each

other. We have been living here a long time. The neighbours to look

after each other, very much soul. If that we have lived here for

nearly 40 years. Keith as up Alzheimer's, so the neighbours

lookout for them. I am back and forth, trying to help my sister-in-

law. The pair wanted some work done on their driveway, so what was good

timing when a company called Classic Driveways turned up.

was thinking that someone was here to help us. That is how it started.

Joyce agreed to the Court of �520 from Classic Driveways to replace

some paving and drainage. It was a lot of money. She was concerned

untroubled that she had made the right decision. There were cars

turned up and started work, taking up part of the driveway. But the

sooner had some bad news for choice. Yes, she also needed a protective

membrane to go with the new driveway. She had a feeling. She

was not happy. I at this point, the alarm bells started ringing. The

company said they were a way to get the Materials and she took the

opportunity to tell a neighbour. She to old as that they had asked

her that she would need the Hall of the driveway taken up and the

membrane put down. It seemed an awful lot of money for what they

were doing. So, she got on the phone and gave Classic Driveways a

piece of her mind. The then said, we are a reputable company. It did

not feel right. So I said, 0, told off on the work. But they were in

for a shock. The neighbours turned out in force to greet them. Because

they saw us all here, the scurried off. If we had not been there, that

might not have been the case. we thought that Classic Driveways

might have something any comment with our all friends Bellway Paving.

Look at the contracts given by the two companies. The look pretty

similar, don't they? And another has been attracting attention in

the area. It also has the same fake registration number and are both

run by eight Tom Connors. There are a lot of different groups are

It is very more important to help picture there and to stop this from

happening. It could have been anyone. We and now extremely weary.

These people are causing so much worry for so many people. We know

that investigators from Trading Standards are trying to track them

down. But we did manage to get though to Classic Driveways boss

James Quigley on the phone. He said he had offered a fair price for the

work at Keith and Joyce's house and never suggested pulling up the

whole driveway. He says the job's left him �150 out of pocket and he

wants HIS money back. And he says he's never heard of those other

companies even though they use almost identical paperwork. So

Classic Driveways say they have done nothing wrong but there have

been many instances of major problems with doorstep selling of

this type of product. Iwan Rhys Roberts is from Age Cymru. Is this

kind of story familiar to you? hear of this kind of thing

happening all the time. This is something called elder abuse. There

are some 39,000 people suffering elder abuse across Wales and it is

something that does need urgent action. Is enough being done? What

do you want to see happen? We want to see new rules introduced that

would force authorities to investigate any allegations of

abuse they hear about and to work more closely together and to share

information they have to ensure that if there is abuse happening

then prosecutions can happen. what would be your advice?

three quotes don't do anything off pat. Plan any building work you are

going to have done. Get the names of reputable builders and get three

quotes. And we saw a wonderful example of people coming together

to protect an elderly member of their community, didn't we? It is

very important that we all show community spirit and watch out for

each other. Excellent advice. Next, Putting everything in order after

the death of a loved one is a stressing -- distressing job. A

problem with the Orange mobile make things worse. I thought I had

cancelled the phone contract. When it turns out they were still taking

money for monthly repayments. on the case. Samanta's mother died

after a short battle with cancer in April this year. Samantha knew her

mother had a phone contract which needed cancelling. She went to the

Orange shop to stop it, also see -- she thought. How are you? I here

you are having a tough time. This is you on your wedding day. You

look lovely as does your mother. Were you very close? Definitely for

us that she was my best friend. You had to know her to believe how

badly she was. She enjoyed life. When was she diagnosed? December.

She just went downhill straight away. On April 17th, she passed

away. Six days after her mother died, Samanta took her death

certificate into the phone shop and cancelled the contract. She thought

it would be the end of it. I went in on 23rd April with her death

certificate and phone bill just to cancel it. They took them and

photocopied them and said they would not hear anything else.

did you discover they were still taking money out? It was a couple

of months later that I noticed money coming out. I contacted the

company straight away and they said they were sorry but it would be

refunded into the bank. It never happened. Desperate to sort out the

problem, Sam made call after call to Orange. She sent another death

certificate to the company to prove her mother had passed away. They

were quite apologetic but it was different every time. There would

be no records of the death certificate, phone calls. I was

just banging my head against a brick wall. As the months passed by,

she realised Orange had taken more than �70 from the account. She

decided to return to the store in Cardiff to sorted out once and for

all. I thought I would come away with a weight lifted from my

shoulders but it did not happen like that. There was no empathy at

all for what we have been through. He was just very rude. It has been

months and it still has not been sorted. Let me see what I can do.

We have been in touch with the company who have apologised to

Samantha for the upset and inconvenience caused. They say they

fully appreciate she has not been given the service sheet should

expect. They say they can confirm the account has now been closed and

they will pay back the money they talk by mistake. Orange also say

they are carrying out a thorough investigation into the actions of

the staff involved. Thank you. All the hard work paid off. There was a

cheque and lovely flowers in the post this morning. That is another

case closed. Good work. Remember, however big or small your problem,

Lucy's here to help. 03703 444 334. Now, Christmas is coming and it's

nearly time to start writing those Christmas cards. But here in the

festively named hamlet of Jingle Street they've got a problem. The

post box disappeared two years ago and it's not the only one. More

than a hundred have gone from towns and villages across Wales over the

last ten years. Well, Peter Yeomans has been fighting to get it back.

Peter it used to be here didn't it? What happened to it? The postman

told me he came to collect letters one-day but he found that the post

box was a bit loose. He threw it in the van and drove away with it.

Everybody says they miss the post box. Not only was the day land mark,

but it has one of the last services we have in the parish. But to

confuse matters, Sheila Thomas has an antique post box for her own

mail. It's been a bit of a nightmare for you hasn't it? I keep

getting other people's post in my box. What at the Post Office

telling you? They did not say they want or would not replace it. They

could not see a problem because they thought we could use a postbox

which is one mile away. Post Office told us they will put the post box

back there. Good news. Now, if you book a holiday with one of

Britain's leading travel firms, you'd expect your accommodation to

be safe. But Lucy's been to meet a family who say their holiday almost

It is every family's worst nightmare. Jodie priest as more

reason than most to be afraid of fire. We lost a friend in a house

fire. I do feel much safer with smoke alarms at home. When it came

to booking a holiday abroad, she went to to make sure her family

were in the best possible hands. She chose a well-known brand she

thought she could rely on. They are Britain's second biggest travel

company. We had been with them a few times on holidays with just

myself and by has done. We have also been with the children as well.

We felt very comfortable booking with them. The family paid almost

�2,300 for a couple of weeks in the third. The apartments looked great

and they could not wait to go. Six days into the holiday, after a day

on the beach, she put the children to bed as usual. The room was very

warm up. I put the fan on. I spent about half-an-hour ago -- also

tidying up around the apartment. I could smell the burning tight smile.

I searched around the apartment and the last room I checked was the

bedroom with the children were sleeping. She was horrified when

she opened the door. I put the light on and the room was filled

with white smoke. I panicked. I got the children out of the room. I

grab them both and brought them out. My son was coughing. I put them on

the balcony so that they could get fresh air. The smoke was coming

from the van which had overheated. I told the fan out of the wall

socket. I have lost a lot of sleep considering what could have

happened. When she complained to the rep, she says he told her that

all the properties have smoke detectors. But this was not true.

There was a fire alarm that had to be acted mannerly. Smoke alarms can

play an important role in fire safety but they are not required by

law in Spain. What does the company tell potential customers? We went

on to the website and asked their advisers a simple question. Are

there smoke detectors in the properties you advertise? Their

reply was clear. All hotels and apartments have smoke alarms in

every room. But this was not true in the Granada apartments. Jodie

spoke to a manager. What was the rep's reaction when it was

confirmed there were no smoke alarms in the apartment. He was

amazed and apologetic. He said it was no longer safe for as to say --

stay there. He told us to pack up and be in touch for alternative

accommodation. He made it clear they would not allow you to stay

there. At I felt reassured that he was on our side and that he knew

customer-service was paramount. And customer safety was paramount.

There was still a week of the holiday left. They put their faith

in Thomas Cook to make the rest of their holiday memorable for the

right reasons. Things look brighter when they found another hotel. But

the family's excitement did not last long. The rep phoned me back

and said the last room had been taken. We had a phone call from the

company saying they would have flights back on the following day

because there was no more accommodation. That was the end of

the holiday. I was devastated. I did not want to read it -- or

return home. The children were upset as well. How did you feel

about having to come home early? Crying. I like it there. Instead of

a relaxing fortnight in the sun, the family had a six-day holiday

from hell. Surely the company would want to make it up to them? She

says the rep assured her they would get her money back. But the office

back home said they would not pay her a penny. When we contacted the

company they denied the rep off that her a refund. They say it was

her decision to cut short their holiday, something she denies.

cannot believe how dismissive they are over something which I see as

very serious. It was our children's lives. What a nightmare. Now, we've

been in touch with Thomas Cook and they now say that their properties

don't have to have smoke alarms! They say the hotel's fire alarm

system meets industry guidelines, so they're still sending guests

there. They deny that their rep ever told the Preece family that it

wasn't safe to stay there. But there is some good news, After we

after we got in touch, Thomas Cook has agreed to give the family �590

compensation. And that's all we've got time for this week. But if

you've got anything you want us to investigate, give us a call. 03703

334 334. Or you can email us: [email protected]. Don't forget to

leave us contact numbers so we can Next week, Hair straighteners like