Episode 4 X-Ray

I'm Rhodri Owen. I'm Lucy Owen. You're watching X-Ray. Tonight: all

she wanted was a memorial stone for her family. All she got was excuses.

The woman with Alzheimer's who was sold five insurance policies by

cold callers. And this terrible driveway cost �15,000. We are not

the only ones with questions for Hi, tonight we're in Tenby. Used to

come here a lot, didn't you? Sunday school trips. It is nice to

be back. Tonight we're going to be talking about the value of the

pound coin in your pocket and the fact it might not be worth anything

at all. But first, many of us know how hard it is to cope when someone

close to last dies. But it can be a lot harder when you get messed

around with something as important as a memorial stone. Lucy has been

Family has always been important to Jean Assender. She was born in

Llanhilleth near Abertillery had has happy memories of growing up

with parents Betty and Joe Phelps. So, Jean, this is your mum and dad

on their wedding day. They look wonderful there, don't they? How

did they meet? Mum was 17 and she put her age on a year to join the

ATS, so that would have been about 1941. She came home on leave with

her friends from Llanhilleth, where my dad lived, and does they had to

return to the barracks, they were waiting for the bus. Dad said,

"Going back then, are you?" And it sort of went on from there. So, it

was love at first sight? I don't know, I don't know. I'd like to

think so. The newlyweds set up home and it was not long before baby

Joan arrived. Beautiful baby, apparently. Everybody said she

looked like an angel. But unfortunately, the following year

she contracted pneumonia and died from lead. -- from eight. And she

died on Mum and Dad's second wedding anniversary, 18th August.

Yeah, absolutely devastated, they were. Joan was buried at

Christchurch in Aberbeeg. She had a good, loving funeral. The

neighbours made a collection, as they used to in those days, and

bought a memorial pot for the grave. Because in those days, unless you

had an awful lot of money, it was just these earthen graves. So, the

pot was paid for by the neighbours. Betty and Joe carried on as best

they could. And a few years later, Jean and her brothers Terry and

David arrived. But they went on to have many happy years together?

Very, very well matched. Both full of fun. Loved singing, loved

dancing. But you lost your mum in 2002? Well, it was quite unexpected,

unbelievably really. We were all absolutely devastated. She wanted

to be cremated, so she was put in a lovely casket and we interred her

with my sister. And it was last year that you lost your dad? Yes,

it was Lucy. May 10th last year, we lost Dad. They did so much for us,

they lived for us and when they were gone, there was nothing else

we could do. We couldn't just thank them enough for all that they'd

done for us, so we decided that we'd have a really nice memorial

stone for them. Following Joe's death, Jean and her brothers wanted

to give their parents and sister the memorial they deserved. In June

last year, they thought they'd found a firm that would be up to

the job. With a string of shops across South Wales, Cerrig Craft

Memorials seemed like a good choice. It was expensive, they was looking

for 50% deposit, but it was what we wanted. Jean made sure her parents'

love of music was also represented on the stone. Dad loved Spanish

Eyes, so we put the line on there - "This is just adios and not

goodbye". # This is adios and not goodbye.

I just can't do enough for wonderful, wonderful parents and

people. How much was it, Jean? �2,800. Jean was told it would take

12 weeks for the stone to be ordered. But when she contacted

Cerrig Craft in October, she was told that the delivery of the

granite had been delayed. She called the firm back every month,

only to be told it still hadn't arrived. Since October, I've made

about 20 phone calls chasing this order up. They've promised to get

back to me, they don't. And then they said they'd had the kerbs in

and I said, could I have it up by Mother's Day? "Yes," they said. But

it wasn't. Had they been up to the cemetery to start the work? I met

them here to show them where the grave was. They couldn't start the

work because there was roadworks going on outside, which I

understood. Jean was also told that they wouldn't be able to lay the

stone during wet weather. Then in June, just days before Father's Day,

she finally got the call she'd been waiting for. Cerrig Craft rang to

say they were working on the grave. But when Jean visited the cemetery,

A year's now passed since Jean first contacted Cerrig Craft, but

the family are still waiting for the memorial stone they ordered.

And it appears that the firm didn't even complete the right paperwork.

Before installing a memorial stone in a church cemetery, you need to

apply for permission. The church will usually charge a fee for the

application form before either approving or declining the memorial.

Jean had paid Cerrig Craft �157 for the cemetery fees. But the church

say they've never received any fees for Jean's family memorial. Do you

feel that it's hard for you to grieve properly because of this

missing stone? Oh, definitely. You can't move on, not with this

hanging over your head. And I want something for my parents because

they deserve it. To stand out. And somewhere that we can come to, to

chat and talk to them and just think they're at peace. Just

something to commemorate long, hard, happy lives. And it's not been

given to us. It's not been given to That is such a sad story.

It's shocking how Jean's been messed around. Yes, but there is

some good news. After we finished filming, Jean visited the cemetery

and found that the gravestone has finally been put in. And she's sent

us a picture of it. That's great news. We've spoken to Cerrig Craft,

who have admitted that Jean didn't receive the normal service they

like to provide, and they've apologised for the delay. They say

they've had family difficulties and problems with suppliers. They say

they've now paid the cemetery fees and given Jean a �400 discount on

her final bill. Now, if you've got anything you want us to investigate,

our lines are open until 8.30. Give us a call. 03703 334 334. Or you

can send us an e-mail - [email protected]. Don't forget to put

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Or if you prefer, you can tweet us - we're @bbcxray.

Next - the companies who ring up vulnerable people and sell them

things they don't need. Rhodri's Day after day, on the house phone

or the mobile, we're plagued by people ringing up, trying sell us

stuff we just don't need. But for some people, it's more than just an

inconvenience. Mary Lloyd from Cardiff has been diagnosed with

early onset Alzeimer's. Her daughter Jane has discovered she's

been been cold-called by insurance salesmen. I come across all these

satellite insurances - several different companies, basically for

the same thing. You know, to insure the box and the aerials and stuff.

How many policies has she taken out in total? Well, five. And that's

five, all for the same cover? I reckon she's probably lost at

least �400, maybe �500. I just don't understand how people can

ring vulnerable people up and just ask them for bank details over the

phone. And I know it's not just my mother and that other people have

been caught in this situation. tried to cancel the policies as

they came up for renewal. But one policy, with a company called

SatAssured, wasn't proving easy to get rid of. The second one,

SatAssured, I e-mailed them, didn't get any response. So I e-mailed

them again, still didn't get a response. So I phoned them up the

next day, they said they couldn't cancel the policy till the 30th

April, and couldn't send a letter out till it had expired. They said

there was no problem in cancelling it. But the next day, Jane was in

for a big shock. In spite of her e- mails and phone call requesting

that the policy be cancelled, someone from SatAssured phoned up

her mother again and signed her up for a five-year contract, costing

�200. I came home to my mother's a few days later to find a five-year

rolling contract. Phoned them up the next day and said, "Listen, all

I want to do is cancel my mother's policy. She's got a few problems

with her memory at the moment." two days later, Jane checked her

mother's bank account, only to see that the first instalment of the

five-year contract had been taken by SatAssured. Basically, he said

if I wanted to cancel it, then it was another �40, so I didn't have

no choice. She ended up paying �80 for nothing, when all I wanted to

do was cancel the policy. And how do you feel about the way these

companies have acted? She's a pensioner, and I don't want my

mother wasting her money on satellite insurances she don't need.

The most shocking part of this story is that none of these

companies should have ever phoned Jane's mother in the first place,

because she was on the Telephone Preference Service. Once you've

signed up to the service, it's against the law for companies to

cold-call you. 17.5 million people in the UK have already signed up,

that's roughly 60% of all UK landlines. So why do people who

have signed up still get these calls? Just because you'e on the

list, it doesn't mean that companies don't have your number.

But it's their responsibility to make sure they check whether the

numbers they ring are signed up to the Telephone Preference Service or

not. And there's lots of different ways of doing that. In this call

centre in Cardiff, they send off the list of numbers they'e going to

call to be screened. We buy the data with all TPS telephone numbers

taken out, and then our IT department load it to these agents

to start the calling. So we take a reponsibility to make sure the data

doesn't come into this room at all with a TPS registered number on it.

But not all companies are so careful to avoid calling people on

the Telephone Preference Service. Based on the feedback we get, it's

a huge problem, and we get an increasing number of e-mails saying

people are being plagued by this problem. He believes some companies

even target people who have signed up to the Telephone Preference

Service. These companies may be more unscrupulous companies. It is

solid gold for them. If you are an unscrupulous company, you have the

ultimate list of a large volume of phone numbers. Jane signed her mum

up to the Telephone Preference Service in 2004 - long before any

of the insurance companies called her. She now worries something like

this could happen again. You don't want your parents to be harassed,

especially as they get older. I don't know whether they're

commission based, or they don't care that they're taking money off

pensioners, you know. All I keep saying now is, "Please keep your

answer machine on," because I'm worried to death that someone's

going to phone her and take advantage again. That must be such

a worry for Jane. It certainly is, and when we asked SatAssured why

they'd called her mum in the first place, they didn't have an answer

for us. But we do have some good news - SatAssured have now agreed

to repay the �80 to Mrs Lloyd. a couple of weeks ago we were in

Llandudno, where there's been loads of controversy over a trial scheme

to allow cyclists to use the prom. Loads of you have been in touch

about the issue. Sally Anne Jones is fed up with cyclists on the

Marina Bay footpath in Swansea. She's had abuse from riders when

she's pointed out the "no cycling" signs. But Geoff Rone from Bury

Port says polite pedestrians and cyclists can easily mix. He also

says more cycling will cut obesity. And we've had an e-mail from John

Barton, who's a disability campaigner in Conwy. He says mixing

cyclists and pedestrians is dangerous for people with sight or

hearing problems, and can confuse guide dogs. Next, Lucy's on the

Retired garage owner Frank Harris and his wife at their all splashed

out on a new television but the sound was terrible. Daughter Mandy

was forced to get in touch. Hello, my parents have got a TV but the

sound is terrible, can you help? am on the case. Frank and Beragh

all got their new �100 television from Tesco. It would have helped if

they could hear it. I said, if they could hear it! Burial plot the

television for their kitchen at so she could watch while she cooked

but it has been nothing but trouble. I was to shopping and I thought, oh,

the price was right and I thought, I'm going to get back today, just

on the spur of the moment. pitches up in the kitchen and what

went wrong? A good and make it out. I thought perhaps it was a faulty

speaker or something like that. Distorted to me and you couldn't

understand. You turned it down and down but it was still there, it

wouldn't go. The couple tried to take the television back to Tesco

but they had lost the receipt and had paid in cash. We just felt a

little bit hurt because they just never tried, they just cast it off.

Over the coming days, everyone in the family had a go at trying to

fix it but nothing was working. They couldn't to get it to sound

right. So their daughter Mandy stepped in to help. I think it was

worried they could deal without. They don't eat any stress at their

time of life. What happened when you went to take the TV back to

Tesco? We explain the situation and that was it, pretty much the door

was closed because there was no receipt and there was no option. I

do except the receipt is important but because it was quite obviously

at Tesco product in a Tesco box, it was a shame they couldn't listen a

bit more. What would you like me to do? If you could explain the

situation to Tesco's and maybe they might listen to you more than us.

am on the case. Without a receipt, Frank and Beragh have a problem on

their hands. The lough says you have a reasonable amount of time to

return faulty goods. You need to be able to prove when you got

something. As the couple paid in cash and they didn't have their the

siege, they couldn't. It is best to pay for expensive, electrical items

on a card because statements can also be used as evidence. After the

road to Tesco they have agreed on a compromise and have sent the couple

a �50 credit note. Hello, we have the gift card and we're off to

Tesco to spend it. That is another case closed.

All of this money you get back for people isn't worth what it used to

be. Some of it isn't worth anything at all. The scoring is with nothing

at all because it is in fact a fake. It is one of a staggering �30

million currently doing the rounds. One way to spot a fake is to rotate

a coin at this will stop on her real coin, the front but on a fake,

it will be off-centre. You can also see the lettering isn't the same

quality. It is easy to spot when you look

closely but can shoppers here in 10 they tell the difference? Have a

look at them, what you think? could not tell you. That one.

There's no writing on the edge. that is actually the real one.

one. You are spot on, good guess a! Cooker that is actually the real

one. Do you think it is difficult to tell? I do, yes. You think that

when his fake? It is really confusing. That one? It looks a bit

bigger. You are right, it is the fake one. Lots of people finding it

difficult to spot the difference. It is not just pound coins you have

to be careful with. Changing your holiday money can be a bit of a

lottery, too. If you are planning a holiday, it makes sense to shop

around for the best rate on your foreign-exchange but shopping for

currency on the High Street is a bit of a postcard lottery. We had

done a survey of rates around Wales. We have found surprising

differences in the rates on offer to customers. At several branches

of the same businesses in Wales. On the day we checked, the Post Office

here was offering 140 euros for �100. The same rate was on offer in

Tenby, Wrexham and Cardiff. But internet to, you would have had

almost 5 euros more. Imagine how many begets you could buy it with

that extra cash! The post of us aren't the only ones giving it

different exchange rates across Wales. At this arcade, you would

get 119 euros for � 100. But on the day be checked, Thomson in Wrexham

were offering a four or euro's fewer. That doesn't seem fair at

all. There are more good deals on offer here intended know. Here you

can get 6 euros more for your pounds at 100 and in Cardiff. At

corporate of travel in Cardiff, there was a good deal on the day be

checked, with customers offered 6 euros more for �100 and those in

Llanelli. It seems it is not just where you are going but where you

live that can affect the cost of your holiday. I always knew

different banks and travel agents offer different rates but you would

think the same company would offer the same rate where ever you live.

All the companies are completely and apologetic. They all say they

bury their rates to reflect local competition. The Post Office told

us that the Office of Fair Trading have looked into the practice and

they are happy. This is not going to change any time soon?

everybody we asked says you get the best exchange deals online. Next,

there are plenty of cowboys out there who will do a shoddy job on

your driveway but when they heard of one couple who were charged

�15,000 for a truly terrible job, we asked Rachel to investigate.

Suburbia, Mean Streets, well-kept gardens and tidy houses.

Unfortunately, this is just the kind of place that unscrupulous

builders love to target. David and Margaret have lived here in Nice

for over 50 years. They are in their eighties now and this winter,

they decided to make some improvements. And you handrail

weather dried is too steep for market. New tarmac on the driveway

and a lick of paint on the fence. Around Christmas last year, a

leaflet from a firm of builders came through the door. It seemed to

offer all the solutions. It was a very professionally presented

leaflet, I thought, and it covered all the various aspects but we

needed. They got in touch and the company quoted them �6000 for the

work. The we paid a deposit of �3000 and although I'm not a money

person, I felt that was fair, knowing how it is difficult in

business to carry on very often. The deal came with a seven-day

cooling-off period but work started straight away so the couple had no

time to rethink. After two days, work men had cleared the old Tarmac

a way but then they went one step further. Where my drive had been

was a big trough in the ground about six inches deep which there

was no way I could drive over. So, virtually I had no drive because

everything had been dug out and dumped on the grass. The standard

of work was rubbish, absolute rubbish. I am afraid that the men

working on the side had no skills at all. There are cowboys, let's

face it. The builders had removed the driveway's foundations as well

as the top layer of tarmac. Then they asked for �8000 to put it

right. David and Margaret felt pressurised to pay it. Frightened,

I was frightened. I felt so stressed about it that actually,

sometimes they went to bed, saying, I hope they don't come tomorrow

because I can't stand another day of this. I felt when they looked at

us and realised that we are all right here, they won't even notice

what we are doing. But we did notice what was happening.

couple paid a total of �14,800 for the poor quality work. Now they

cannot get in touch with anyone at the front. A we have been taken

advantage of and we feel like souls. I was just cross with myself inside

that I had allowed myself to be gulled into it because I was aware

all the time that there was something smelly about this.

have asked a surveyor to look at the work. For a start, the gate is

hanging off its hinges. This supposedly painted this gate?

is embarrassing. What about the handrail? They cannot even get a

length of wood right. It really is very poor. The drive is just

falling apart. Basically what you've got. Ordinarily, that should

not happen. No. The weeds are already coming through.

shouldn't really be seen this after the amount of time that has passed.

Or at all! At all. Weeds should not be coming through a newly laid

tarmac drive. It is just indicative of how bad the work is. What about

the cost they paid? I am shocked and appalled at the cost that has

been made for this work because it is such low-quality. It is

virtually worthless. Is going to last months, if that. Sir David and

Margaret have paid nearly �15,000 for a drive wide which is virtually

worthless. It is time to ask the director of the company a few

questions. This is one of the business addresses we have. It

looks derelict but I will try the door just in case. Doesn't look

like there is any answer there. There is an caravan around the back

but I noticed so I will try that. Nobody there either but there was

another address on the company paperwork. We decided to call

around there. But, we weren't alone. We had told trading standards about

the case. Here they wear a serving a notice to interview him. It has

been an interesting morning because we were just about to knock the

door and then a van turned up from trading standards. They have just

gone inside so it seems we are not the only ones who want to speak to

him today. It looks like something is being

done about that builder. It turned out there were actually trading

standards officers from two different countries at the House.

The second team were investigating a totally separate case. They are

already taking court action against the builder which means we are

legally unable to name him. Here we always like to be able to warn you

about people like this and show their pictures and we do have some

pretty choice pictures of him. As soon as we are legally able to give

you details of the builder and his company, we will. That is all we

have time for this week. If there's anything you want us to investigate,

give us a call on the usual number. Or send an e-mail. Include your