Episode 19 X-Ray

Good evening. The football fans risking it all for tickets to

Swansea's big game. Clamping down on the conmen

hounding Shirley and her neighbours. And Donna's rotten experience with

Hello and welcome to the programme. Now if you are one of the million

people in Wales who own a smartphone like this, keep watching.

We will show you how to make sure fraudsters do not get their hands

on your personal details. But first, here at the Liberty Stadium in

Swansea, the club shop has been a very busy place in the last few

weeks, with fans stocking up on scarves and shirts before Sunday's

cup final at Wembley. But for some, getting hold of tickets for a sell-

out game like this is much harder. There is nothing like a big match

day. Well, only if you have got a ticket for this Sunday's game. This

is the hottest ticket in town. And these fans are determined to get

their hands on one to see Swansea play Bradford in the Capital One

Cup final at Wembley. Tell me how precious that ticket is to you?

is worth its weight in gold. I have been waiting for this for 47 years.

To miss that would be... Well, I wouldn't sell it for the world.

For the Cup final the official and legal place for fans to get tickets

is from Swansea or Bradford Football Clubs. The problem is,

there just are not enough to go around.

But some desperate fans are prepared to take big risks to see

their heroes in action. Despite being a Swans supporter for 20

years, Kevin Hughes from Llandrindod Wells has had no luck

getting a ticket. I used to go down there with my dad

and we used to go to some of the away games as well and that is

where the interest began. But with Swansea's allocation for

Sunday all sold out, Kevin is one of many posting online appeals to

buy tickets from other fans on the black market. So what are the

rules? Well, unlike concerts or other sports tickets, football is a

whole different ball game. It is illegal to re-sell match tickets or

make them available to others without the organisers' permission.

And if you are caught, you face a �5,000 fine and a ban from future

matches. The law was put in place so clubs

could keep track of who was sitting where and keep rival supporters

apart in the wake of the Hillsborough disaster. Leigh Dineen,

vice chairman of Swansea City, says it is crucial for clubs to have

control of match days. It is all to do with firstly the

health and safety issue and making sure we can monitor where the

tickets are going, because obviously we need to take the names

and addresses of everybody who buys a ticket. Also, we make sure

tickets go to the right people, so that the season ticket holders are

going to get their first chance and from there on that is where our

membership schemes and so on kick But what if you are a fan and do

not qualify for tickets for the big games? That's the situation Kevin

is in. Two years ago he had a bad experience when he tried to buy a

Championship playoff ticket from another fan.

I was supposed to meet the seller with the tickets outside Wembley

and the tickets failed to turn up. We were stuck outside Wembley.

So when the next big game came around, Kevin tried a different

tack - a slick-looking website called Online Ticket Express.

There were a number of sites offering tickets but it came down

to that one appearing to be the most legit and professional site.

He paid more than �200 for two tickets, much more than their face

value. We paid over the odds but it was a

game that we really wanted to get to. Having assured that we had

tickets we then went on and booked accommodation and travel

arrangements. But the day before the match Online

Ticket Express had some devastating news for Kevin - they did not have

any tickets to send him and he would not be going to the game.

After weeks of chasing, he did get a refund but the company had the

cheek to keep a hefty handling fee. So Kevin got some money back but it

seems other customers were not quite so lucky.

We found hundreds of complaints about this Spanish based firm -

from tickets not arriving to being in the wrong section of the ground.

And the Premier League is worried too. They gave us a list of

unauthorised sites that they are urging fans to avoid. Not

surprisingly, Online Ticket Express is on there. We searched all the

sites on the Premier League's warning list, and five were

advertising tickets for the Swansea Bradford final. But any fans

tempted to buy tickets from them will need very deep pockets.

So how do these websites work? Most claim to be simply a middle-man.

They put buyers in touch with fans who are looking to sell their

tickets. And the website charges a fee for introducing them.

Any fan in the UK who re-sells their ticket is definitely breaking

the law. But for the websites the law is less clear. And, because

they are based abroad, it is harder to enforce. So if you do decide to

risk buying from an unofficial site, where do you stand if things go

wrong? Online Ticket Express has some very interesting small print.

Do not expect them to help if you are refused entry or thown out

because someone else's name is on your ticket or if your tickets get

lost in the post. Even if you do get a ticket, you could find

yourself in the middle of the other team's fans - a serious safety risk.

Their answer to that? Just don't wear your team's colours. It may

sound ridiculous but Leigh Dineen from Swansea City is horrified.

Please do not go onto these websites and buy a ticket. You are

not guaranteed that the ticket you are getting will actually get you

into the ground or actually get you into the part of the ground where

you are going to feel safe. But many fans feel they have no

option but to buy tickets this way. They shouldn't be doing it, but

then there's people there selling them so desperate fans will pay to

see their team win. Others told us they want clubs to

do more to help fans re-sell tickets without breaking the law.

We put that to Leigh Dineen. I think they've got a point and it

is something that perhaps we should be looking it. Certainly even on a

day-to-day match when someone's got a season ticket and they cannot

make the game and they would like to sell the season ticket on. It is

something we can look at. But it will not come in time for

Sunday's final. And by then, some fans could well be left counting

the cost. So what do those unofficial

websites have to say? We contacted Online Ticket Express and the four

other websites advertising tickets for the Cup final but none of them

wanted to talk to us. And if you are a football fan who

has had a bad experience with a ticket website, we would love to

hear from you. You can call or Still to come - fighting back

against doorstep rogues in the Rhondda.

And the �1,600 shed which leaked as soon as it rained.

Next, Lucy is in Denbighshire, meeting an iPhone owner who is

getting nowhere with Apple. It is one of the most recognised

and envied logos in the world - an apple with a bite taken out of it.

And Apple's iPhone has become the must-have mobile for many.

Millions of people love using their iPhone. You can check emails on the

go, access your bank accounts, even do the weekly shop online. But one

X-Ray viewer has had a rotten experience with Apple. Donna Marie

Jones from Denbigh had owned her iPhone 4S for less than a year when

it stopped working. But she was confident her �500 phone would be

covered by her warranty. Apple told Donna to make the 50-mile trip to

their store here in Liverpool, so they could check out her phone. But

their verdict was hard to swallow. The guy came over, one of these

technicians, took my phone away for two seconds, came back and said it

was water-damaged. He put it back together and he said although it

was in warranty, because it was water-damaged I'd have to pay to

have a new phone. What did you think when they said it was water-

damaged? Disgusted at first. I know for a

fact it has not been in water. The Apple store insisted Donna's

warranty was void. But they gave her another option - to buy a

reconditioned phone for �139, which would be just as good as a new one.

So Donna gave back her first Apple iPhone and bought a second,

refurbished one. But far from being like new, it was more like a half-

eaten apple. It wouldn't work, wouldn't come on, wouldn't activate,

nothing, wouldn't pick up Wifi. So yet again more phone calls to Apple.

And then you had a real shock? When I went to put in my email

address, someone else's email address was on there.

And as she looked through the phone, she couldn't believe her eyes when

she found the previous owner's bank details and his password.

I probably could have got into his bank accounts, made transfers,

things like that. I could have his emails, have his contacts. It had

photos on and stuff as well. Obviously, everything he had backed

up to his phone was still there. So in the wrong hands, it could

have been very serious? Yes, definitely, but Apple weren't

particularly that bothered. They said it couldn't have happened and

it hasn't happened. I don't think they believed me at first.

Donna contacted the previous owner of her phone to tell him what she'd

found. He was going mad. He took the phone

into Liverpool two days before they handed me back the same phone.

Apple say that when they service a phone all data is erased. But Donna

insists the phone she bought from the Liverpool store was full of

personal information. And she is now panicking that someone else

could could get their hands on her details.

Who's to guarantee that my phone that I brought in wasn't handed to

someone? I've got things on there I would not like anyone else to look

Donna wiped the previous owner's details from the phone she had

bought but it was still faulty. After yet more calls to Apple,

Donna says they agreed to replace it with a brand new one.

They said they'd have to charge �29.99 for delivery. I wasn't happy

after everything with the �29.99. So this lady went off and came back

later and said they'd waiver that, however they would take bank

details in case anything went wrong. Donna returned her second Apple

iPhone and Apple gave her a third one. Everything seemed fine until

she tried to pay for the weekly shop.

My card got declined in the supermarket which was really

embarrassing. I thought I'd not long been paid.

So Donna called her bank and was furious to learn that, without

warning, Apple had put a holding fee of �450 on her account.

Because of that my direct debits and standing orders were bouncing.

Did you incur charges because of that?

Yes, I did - �50. I was fuming. After yet more phone calls, Apple

put the �450 back in Donna's account. But phone number three

wasn't all it seemed either. Donna says she had been promised a

new phone but Apple had sent her another second-hand model. By now,

her faith in Apple had crumbled. It's put me out of pocket, it's

made me feel stressed. For such a big a company, their customer

service is really rubbish. We asked Apple about Donna's

problems, but they wouldn't comment on her case. But they have now sent

her had a brand new iPhone and given her back the �139 she paid

for her refurbished phone. So that's good news.

And if you're worried about mobile phone security, keep watching,

because later we'll show you how to stop your details falling into the

wrong hands. One problem we hear a lot about on

X-Ray is unwanted cold callers, who visit streets like these, trying to

make a quick buck by selling dodgy driveways or shoddy buidling work.

And in some parts of Rhondda Cynon Taff, things have got so bad,

they've launched a new scheme to scare away the scammers.

This Llantrisant estate is a hotspot for doorstep crime. From

rogue repairmen to dodgy double glazing salesmen, many elderly

residents have been repeatedly conned into handing over their cash.

80-year-old Shirley is one of their victims. She has Alzheimer's and

her daughter Rhian knows just how vulnerable that makes her.

She'll let anybody over the doorstep. Some gardeners turned up,

offered to do some work in the front garden, charged her �350, I

think it was. When she didn't have cash or a cheque book at home, they

drove her to bank. The whole situation makes me feel pretty

anxious, becuase I can make my mum as safe and comfortable as possible

in her own home, but I've got no control over who knocks on the door

and who she invites over the doorstep.

I'm Sergeant Ceri Williams from the neighbourhood policing team.

But a change is on its way. Today, it is police who are knocking on

doors, telling residents about a new scheme to tackle the problem.

This area is one of three in Rhondda Cynon Taff that has been

identified as vulnerable in respect of rogue traders and cold callers.

We have put a scheme in place in partnership with Rhondda Cynon Taff

Trading Standards, whereby the residents put a window sticker in

either their window or door and this will then give message that

they don't want any cold callers. From March 1st, any traders who

ignore those signs are breaking the law and police and trading

standards can send rapid response teams to stop them. It can't come

soon enough for Rhian and her mum Shirley.

I'm sure a couple of the unscrupulous ones will still try

their luck but it's going to be a no cold calling zone over a large

area. I think neighbours will all be aware. She's going to be safer

because there will be less people Now this street in Porth is also

part of the cold calling control zone - in fact you might recognise

it, we were here just a few months ago, when a rogue driveway company

was causing problems. Tim Pocknell is from Rhondda Cynon Taff Trading

Standards is with me - hi Tim. This is obviously a big problem around

here. Are people being repeatedly targeted here? Yes unfortunately,

we find they are. It seems to be a pattern of organised crime from

these rogue traders. They will come to someone's house, rip them off,

and then sell their information onto someone else, which we call a

"sucker list". So if you're on the sucker list, you've been targeted

before, they're coming back to get more money off you. Have you caught

people doing it? Yes we have. We've caught people in Cardiff, actually

on their way to buy a list for information of people on a sucker

list. We've also had problems with people posting as BBC Watchdog.

They will try and get your money back. Few have been targeted by

rogue traders. It's incredible. What about if people don't live in

one of these cold calling control zones, can they still protect

themselves? Yes they can, simple answer is if anyone comes to your

door to sell goods or services you can tell them to go away, that's

your request to leave if they come back, and they refuse your request

to leave, there's an offence there. You can also use a window sticker

if you put it up. If you haven't got one in a cold calling zone, you

can still make a sticker up which says "Uninvited callers not welcome,

please go". If they don't do so, it's a criminal offence. If they

keep coming back, ring Trading Standards. If you're not sure, not

happy ring the police, there's no problem with that whatsoever.

advice Tim, thanks very much. Next, Lucy's in Haverfordwest,

where a brand new shed has become a very soggy structure!

Too often the humble shed is overlooked - dismissed as nothing

more than the place you shove your shovels at the bottom of the garden.

But to many, the shed is so much more - their oasis of calm, their

busy workshop, their pride and joy. Some even conceal a hidden world

you could never imagine. Like your very own shed cinema, a shed with a

bar perhaps? And if your shed is anything but common or garden, you

might even find yourself in the running for the hotly contested

Shed of the Year. The owners of this garden shed in Haverfordwest

may not have had such grand plans but they did have high hopes for

how it would enhance their lives. So much so, they spent more than

�1,600 on it. Do you need anything else now? Steve and Anne McDonald's

home is their world. Virtually bedbound through ill health, Anne

hoped the shed would give them some space to enjoy the hobbies they

love. For Anne, it's arts and crafts while Steve loves model

engines. We were hoping to put a small model railway in here and to

store Anne's equipment cos as you can see, it's very difficult in the

house. I've got a wheelchair out the front, I've got all her

handling equipment all over the place so it's very difficult to

live in the house as it is. would have hopefully given me a

change of environment from the four walls here. Keen to do things right,

the McDonalds paid hundreds for a concrete base for the shed. I said

to Steve, well look if we're going to spend quite a lot of money for

us on a shed, then it needs to be done properly. Anne spotted an

advert online for a shed with a 10 year guarantee - and asked the

company, Highgate Garden Buildings, to pay her a visit. We explained

what we wanted, why we wanted a very specific type of layout. So a

chap came down and he said, base was one of the best bases he'd ever

seen. And you asked about maintaining the shed? I said we

need something that's low maintenance. He said, you won't

have to do anything with it for at least 10 years. OK, I thought that

sounds pretty good to me. So Anne paid for the shed - and up it went.

It looked wonderful the day they did it, mind you, the weather was

dry. Everything seemed rosy while the sun was shining but then the

wet Welsh autumn arrived. The shed had a soaking and Anne and Steve

were in for a shock. Within three days it started leaking. It was

damp round the bottom and then we noticed every time it rained, there

was rain coming in other places. the rain kept pouring, the problems

just got worse. It was coming in where the windows are, it was

coming in between the slats, soaking the slats, and in the end

it was coming in the roof. Anne complained to Highgate and sent

photos - but wasn't happy with their response. They said the shed

needed guttering, downpipes and a soakaway -all at the McDonald's

expense. So much for those promises of it being low maintenance. And

this was the first time the company had talked about gutterings or

soakaways? Yeah - he saw the base before they put the shed up, there

was no talk about soakaways. None whatsoever. Highgate also said the

couple should have put a waterproof coating on the shed - which they'd

explained when they bought it. But Anne disagrees. If somebody had

said to us you need to do this straight away, we'd have had it

done straight away. You don't spend what somewhere in the region of

�300 - �500 building a base and then �1,600 odd on a shed and then

ruin it by not looking after it. Since reaching a stalemate with the

company, the shed has sat empty in their garden for months. One time

they did leave Anne's spare wheelchair in it, this happened.

You couldn't keep anything in there because anything that went in there

just it was damp in no time. Unimpressed with their waterlogged

wooden hut stuck in their garden, Anne and Steve decided to get an

expert opinion. They asked a chartered surveyor to look at the

shed. He said the problems were down to poor workmanship and the

company's suggestion of guttering wasn't the answer. So how bad is

the problem? Well, it was dry the day we visited so I carried out a

little experiment. Within minutes, the water was coming through. Four

months on, the shed that should've been a special place that Steve and

Anne could escape to, has become a waste of space cluttering up their

garden. We'd got so many plans for it in our heads, what a difference

it was going to make and everything has just gone sour.

Well, Highgate Garden Buildings insist this is a one-off complaint.

They say there's nothing wrong with the 'craftsmanship' of the shed -

but since we got in touch, they've finally been out to see the

problems for themselves. And as a gesture of goodwill, they now say

they'll fit some guttering and waterproof it, which should help.

We'll be checking if it does! Now, Rachel's been finding out how

easy it is to leave personal details on your mobile.

If you're one of those people who just has to have the latest phone,

chances are you've got loads of old ones you don't know what do with!

But with 50 million unused mobiles stashed in drawers and cupboards,

more and more of us are selling them second hand. On the internet,

the local high street - and through the classifieds. But to make the

real big bucks, you need to sell one of these a smart phone. That

lets you email, use the internet, do your mobile banking and your

social networking on the go. More than a million of us in Wales now

own a smart phone and here in Cardiff they're big fans. It's

amazing, it's the best thing that ever happened to me. I have an

iPhone 5 so I am happy with that, it does everything. I could survive

without it but not for very long. But - and there's always a "but".

Selling your smart phone could land you in more trouble than it's worth.

You see, smart phones can reveal intimate details about your life.

So if you're going to sell your phone, it's crucial you wipe every

single bit of data off it first. But that's not always as easy as it

sounds. Actually selling a second hand phone is not a big problem,

it's the data that's potentially left on that phone. Jason Hart from

eCrime Wales is an ethical hacker. He's got all the gear to get into

your smart phone. The only problem, criminal hackers can get it too.

There's plenty of applications you can download from the internet

freely available which can harvest that information from a phone. So

we've got special assignment for Jason. OK Jason this is your

mission should you choose to accept it! Now I admit these aren't all my

phones, they belong to the X-Ray team. They've wiped them as if they

were going to sell them. I want to know what's on there. I am very

happy to accept your challenge and probably we'll find some content.

Brilliant, I'll leave you to it. Whilst Jason's busy, let's see how

savvy we are about deleting data from our smart phones. I would

probably make sure it was put back to normal factory settings before

selling it on I mean if I had deleted everything that belonged to

me I don't think it would even matter I assume that if you take

the sim card out it isn't connected anymore so I would sell it onto a

company that recycles it I probably wouldn't have any concern about

that. So they're not too worried - but should they be? Time to see

what Jason's found. So how did you get on? Yeah, absolutely

fascinating, the first three phones we picked up we've managed to find

a substantial amount of data in summary from the three phones

enough data to potentially compromise each of the three

individual's online accounts. those three phones, this Blackberry

was particularly shocking, Jason quickly found enough information to

hack our researcher, Karen's, Twitter account and lots of photos.

Very useful for any identity thief. There is a folder highlighting

their 22nd birthday, from the photos we can determine when the

photo was taken, from that we can work out their date of birth. This

second Blackberry also proved revealing. 26-year-old Carys had

left behind photos, videos and her entire contacts list. Pretty

shocking isn't it? Yes, it is very scary. The data was stored to a

data card so they thought they had deleted the content but in fact all

of the data was still there. lastly, on this iPhone, Jason

accessed owner Colin's Facebook account and could even have spent

his money on a shopping website. amazes me the number of times where

people actually use their mobile phones to store details of their

online accounts so the username, the actual website name itself and

the password! So what's Jason's advice for anyone looking to sell

their phone? They need to delete the information appropriately and

understand where the data is being stored on the phone. And by

following some simple rules, you can stop your details getting into

the wrong hands. Don't save passwords or pin numbers on your

Delete all the data on your handset by restoring factory settings. Take

out and destroy your sim card. And remove additional storage devices

The message I would get across is, would you physically go around with

post it notes and write your personal information your username

and password and stick them around in public places, just be very

sensitive to what you are storing. Some very useful tips there - and

there's more information on our website. And that's it for this