:00:03. > :00:13.I'm Rhodri Owen. I'm Lucy Owen. You're Watching X-Ray.
:00:13. > :00:16.
:00:16. > :00:20.Tonight - who's ringing you up with This couple wanted a holiday in the
:00:20. > :00:30.sun. They ended up with a timeshare they couldn't get rid of.
:00:30. > :00:44.
:00:44. > :00:48.And we get horse mad Hannah back on Hello. Tonight we are in Port
:00:48. > :00:54.Talbot. Being as it is the last programme of the series, we should
:00:54. > :00:58.send a postcard back to the Office. The Dodhia. Should we send it first
:00:58. > :01:04.or second class. Later in the programme we will be asking about
:01:04. > :01:11.these first and second-class stamps. We will put the Post Office to
:01:11. > :01:17.their paces. First, it is a problem that has been plaguing Wales and it
:01:17. > :01:25.has put a lot of people out of pocket. Rhodri is investigating the
:01:26. > :01:32.cold-calling companies. Mary Lloyd has Alzheimer's and was signed up
:01:32. > :01:37.by five satellite companies. And pensioner Bryant paid out more than
:01:37. > :01:42.�6,000 to a compensation company. The problem started with a colt
:01:42. > :01:47.called. When you pick up the phone, you do not know who is on the other
:01:47. > :01:52.end. Kizzy Ayling got a call from a woman claiming to be from Microsoft.
:01:52. > :01:59.She said there was a virus on her computer. She said she could fix it
:01:59. > :02:03.for me if I allowed access into the computer. The next thing I saw was
:02:03. > :02:08.files downloading. As it was doing it, I tried to stop it, but it
:02:08. > :02:14.would not let me. Then she asked for my bank details. The woman
:02:15. > :02:18.wanted payment for anti-virus software. Kizzy rely she was been
:02:18. > :02:24.scant. I asked for the company telephone number so I could call
:02:24. > :02:29.her back. She hung up the phone. Kizzy have been speaking to a
:02:30. > :02:34.criminal gang who planted a virus on her laptop. She paid �60 to get
:02:34. > :02:39.it removed. She is not the only victim. It's is a huge problem
:02:39. > :02:48.because fraudsters prey on the lack of technical knowledge of the
:02:48. > :02:55.victim. If you get a phone call from someone purporting to be a IT
:02:55. > :03:00.engineer, do not engage with them. Hang up. Kizzy was targeted by it a
:03:00. > :03:03.criminal gang, but most cold callers are licensed and regulated.
:03:03. > :03:13.We have had plenty of horror stories about these companies as
:03:13. > :03:16.
:03:16. > :03:21.well. Gareth Pugh it got a call from a Swansea-based company called
:03:21. > :03:31.Consortium Reclaim. He said he was told that his credit card debt
:03:31. > :03:34.
:03:34. > :03:38.could be wiped out. I paid over �600. I thought they were
:03:38. > :03:44.legitimate. Months went by and he called the company to find out what
:03:44. > :03:51.was going on, but there was no news until February this year. I had a
:03:51. > :04:00.letter from another firm and they were saying they wanted another
:04:00. > :04:07.�150 to take my case further. By then, up I saw red because I
:04:07. > :04:12.realised I was being scanned. adviser Sorcha has helped thousands
:04:12. > :04:17.of people to deal with their debt. What are your thoughts over what
:04:17. > :04:24.has happened cigarette. It is sad, but it is typical of what happens
:04:24. > :04:30.when people are contacted by a claim management firms. He was a
:04:30. > :04:36.Roslea bombarded by a jargon. the debt is unenforceable, baby --
:04:36. > :04:43.the court will not make you pay it, but you are still liable. Your
:04:43. > :04:48.account could go into default and it will affect your credit rating.
:04:48. > :04:54.So wiping out to a debt is not as simple as it sounds. Consortium
:04:54. > :05:00.Reclaim says it has many satisfied customers, but Gallup is not one of
:05:00. > :05:04.them. They eventually be funded his money. Gareth is one of the lucky
:05:04. > :05:09.ones. You have been telling us how companies may also also promises on
:05:09. > :05:15.the phone, but once you have signed up, you cannot prove what they have
:05:15. > :05:20.said. But we caught one firm red- handed when they made a mistake of
:05:20. > :05:25.calling our office. In fact, it was two companies. Elucidate Contractor
:05:25. > :05:33.Services called us and then transferred us to PPI Claimline. We
:05:33. > :05:43.recorded beat conversations and then play them to aware debt expert.
:05:43. > :05:49.
:05:49. > :05:59.Other researcher was then put through to a supervisor, who
:05:59. > :06:19.
:06:19. > :06:22.coached him on what to say to PPI It seems they are putting words
:06:22. > :06:32.into his mouth, telling him misleading things to say because he
:06:32. > :06:41.
:06:41. > :06:45.You would not get that in that time frame. It would take a long time
:06:45. > :06:50.for even a letter to get through. He it is fair to say that scenario
:06:51. > :07:00.is unrealistic? Yes. When aware researcher was transferred to PPI
:07:00. > :07:10.Claimline, he did not say what he was told to say, so they hung up.
:07:10. > :07:20.
:07:20. > :07:24.That is terrible. He is almost been told off for not saying the right
:07:24. > :07:27.thing. It is really shocking. sent those recordings to the
:07:27. > :07:33.Ministry of Justice who have the power to take away their licences.
:07:33. > :07:37.They have launched an investigation and we will keep you posted.
:07:37. > :07:41.Cold-calling is a worry to so many people, but at least the Ministry
:07:41. > :07:46.of Justice is investigating that last case. And we have been doing
:07:46. > :07:51.some investigating of the companies that they are aware of this.
:07:51. > :07:58.Claimline say that their staff did nothing wrong and they blamed the
:07:58. > :08:06.marketing firm Elucidate Contractor Services, or ECS for the calls.
:08:06. > :08:13.They say there was Miss conduct and they have dismissed stop. By up as
:08:13. > :08:23.-- but that does not explain why we received another call from ECS.
:08:23. > :08:23.
:08:23. > :08:29.They use the same methods as they did in May. ECS has denied that
:08:29. > :08:33.last call came from them. So it is not set to pick up the phone yet?
:08:34. > :08:40.It isn't. The best way to deal with cold callers is to just hang up.
:08:40. > :08:45.you do get caught out by then, do get in contact with us. The thing
:08:45. > :08:55.you have been getting in touch with us this week about is how flood
:08:55. > :09:03.
:09:03. > :09:13.victims could face a huge rise in One man had his premium rise by
:09:13. > :09:17.
:09:17. > :09:24.�7,000. Do it set his insurance was an extra �800 a year because he was
:09:24. > :09:30.apparently in a flood area. -- Derek said. Now, how many times do
:09:30. > :09:34.you have to clean up a rented house before you move out? It seen some
:09:34. > :09:40.landlords are never satisfied. Renting a house used to be a bit of
:09:40. > :09:44.a lottery. You could hand over a huge deposit to a landlord with no
:09:44. > :09:51.guarantee of whether or not you would get it back. But five years
:09:51. > :09:53.ago most private tenants got new rights. Money is kept safe in
:09:53. > :09:57.deposit protection schemes. Independent adjudicators decide
:09:57. > :10:05.whether anything gets taken away for damage or cleaning when you
:10:05. > :10:10.move out. So Angharad and Rachel should not have had any problems
:10:10. > :10:14.when they moved out of their students flak. The problem is, they
:10:14. > :10:18.didn't pay a deposit at all. What did you think when you saw the
:10:18. > :10:27.house? We thought it was great because student houses are usually
:10:27. > :10:30.grubby. We thought we were lucky. The home furnishings and paintings
:10:30. > :10:40.look brilliant. The a got a house through letting agent Campbell
:10:40. > :10:45.Property. We have to pay �220 for the set-up fee and that no deposit
:10:45. > :10:50.was needed. So when you came to leave the property then, what was
:10:50. > :10:57.the procedure? Well, they told us we could have professional cleaners
:10:57. > :11:01.or have them direct. With them, it was an extra few hundred pounds, so
:11:01. > :11:06.we thought we would get our own. They said if we provided it
:11:06. > :11:15.receives and it was done to a good standard, it would be fine. So how
:11:15. > :11:20.did the house look after you had it professionally cleaned? It was fine.
:11:20. > :11:29.We were really happy. But a few months later when the girls had a
:11:29. > :11:39.look at their online accounts,, -- accounts, they found money had been
:11:39. > :11:42.
:11:42. > :11:47.taken out of their account. What we been charged for? We were being
:11:47. > :11:51.charged for dust and the windows in dirty. They charge for the outside
:11:51. > :11:58.of the windows. If I thought I was in the wrong, I would give them the
:11:58. > :12:03.money, but I don't feel it is justified. The company invoice also
:12:03. > :12:07.includes cleaning the cooker, microwave and carpets. Now, it is
:12:07. > :12:15.not just the former residents of number 22 Glenroy Street that have
:12:15. > :12:18.had problems with Campbell Property because just across the road...
:12:18. > :12:23.Here at the 31 Glenroy Street, another house full of students have
:12:23. > :12:31.very similar problems with the company after they moved out last
:12:31. > :12:36.summer. Angela and her six friends were offered a supervised cleaning
:12:36. > :12:40.day - a cheaper alternative to a professional clean. We played �11
:12:40. > :12:45.each for someone to come round to basically supervise us while we
:12:45. > :12:50.cleaned. After this supervised effort, or Campbell Property still
:12:50. > :12:54.demanded a professional clean, and even that was not enough. A at the
:12:54. > :13:01.end of August, the start of September, they e-mailed all of us
:13:01. > :13:07.and said hour ended tenancy costs were up on the board outside. I was
:13:07. > :13:11.shocked by the amount. She had been charged more than �170 to repaint
:13:11. > :13:17.her room and �50 for further cleaning. So what sort of things
:13:17. > :13:22.were they charging you for? Little things like dust and light bulbs,
:13:22. > :13:25.which are minimal things. The girls have been caught up in a long-
:13:25. > :13:29.running dispute with Campbell Property. If they have paid a
:13:30. > :13:34.deposit, they would have a legal right to independent adjudication.
:13:34. > :13:39.If the landlord is claiming the cleaning has not been done and it
:13:39. > :13:44.is not left in a satisfactory condition, they are in a difficult
:13:44. > :13:48.situation because they do not have third-party adjudication. So the
:13:48. > :13:54.former tenants who asked for refusing to play could be facing
:13:54. > :13:59.court action. I am still getting e- mails from them. There was one
:13:59. > :14:02.period when they were bringing the house, ringing my mobile, sending
:14:02. > :14:11.threatening e-mails. The last I heard from them, they were
:14:11. > :14:16.threatening me with papers being served at Swindon County Council.
:14:16. > :14:21.Those girls have had a stressful time. Anne Campbell property are
:14:21. > :14:26.not apologising. They say they take great pride in the service they
:14:26. > :14:30.keep their tenants. They say they have investigated these complaints
:14:30. > :14:38.and the students were treated fairly. They say their policies
:14:38. > :14:43.have been approved by the National Landlords Association.
:14:44. > :14:50.Now, first class stamps have gone up, but is it worth it. We asked
:14:50. > :14:55.people outside his post office in Do you buy first class stamps?
:14:55. > :14:58.Second. Why do you buy second? They're cheaper. I don't think
:14:58. > :15:03.there's much difference in the time that they actually arrive. Have you
:15:03. > :15:06.noticed any difference in the speed between first and second class?
:15:07. > :15:13.really, no. I haven't posted anything for ages, I use the
:15:13. > :15:17.computer now. Would you buy first or second? First. Why? Should get
:15:17. > :15:20.there quicker, I would have thought. There are some things you need
:15:20. > :15:24.first class. Why do you think you need first class? Hopefully it gets
:15:24. > :15:34.there quicker. Some mixed views there. But in the interests of
:15:34. > :15:35.
:15:35. > :15:40.saving you money, we have taken a There's been lots of publicity
:15:40. > :15:44.about the rise in the price of stamps recently. Now it costs 60p
:15:44. > :15:47.to post a letter first class. And 50 for second class.
:15:48. > :15:53.But we wanted to know if you get value for money when you use the
:15:53. > :15:56.mail. So we have done a little experiment. Over the last few weeks
:15:56. > :16:01.when we have been out and about across Wales. We have been posting
:16:01. > :16:04.letters. One first class. second class. And we have been
:16:04. > :16:11.checking when they get back at the office to see if it's worth using
:16:11. > :16:15.first class post any more. Surprisingly, one second class
:16:15. > :16:25.letter posted in in Wrexham arrived a day earlier than the first class
:16:25. > :16:27.
:16:27. > :16:31.letter which was posted at the same On nine occasions first and second
:16:31. > :16:40.class letters we posted the same time arrived the same day. That's
:16:40. > :16:43.more than half the letters we posted.
:16:43. > :16:52.Five times the second class letters arrived one day later than the
:16:52. > :16:56.first class. Only twice it took at least two
:16:56. > :17:00.days longer for the second class letters to arrive. Are second class
:17:00. > :17:04.stamps the best deal? Probably not really worth paying that extra
:17:04. > :17:06.money for a first class stamp. If you know you are going to be
:17:06. > :17:11.posting something and plan ahead and pay for second class, you are
:17:11. > :17:14.going to get better value for money. Good advice there. We have spoken
:17:14. > :17:19.to Royal Mail and they say that the first class post is performing
:17:19. > :17:22.ahead of targets. The second class post that seems to be providing a
:17:22. > :17:26.particularly fast service at the moment, which is why the letters
:17:26. > :17:31.are arriving at the same time as first class. We have had tweets
:17:32. > :17:37.about this. Lesley Evans says she thinks post is arriving quicker at
:17:37. > :17:42.the moment. Kev the cabby and Tom both tweeted to say they think a
:17:42. > :17:49.stamp is stale good deal. -- still a good deal. Thank you for your
:17:49. > :17:59.comments. Next, Lucy is On The Case. Horse mad Hannah was hopping mad
:17:59. > :18:04.
:18:04. > :18:08.when it took months to fix her new Hi, Lucy, I crashed my car and the
:18:08. > :18:18.repairs took ages. Once they were, they were poor. Please help. I am
:18:18. > :18:18.
:18:19. > :18:24.on the case. Hannah drives a Hyundai but she's
:18:24. > :18:28.been driven around the bend by her insurance company, Aviva. A three-
:18:28. > :18:33.month wait for a new part left her severely out of pocket and when she
:18:33. > :18:36.got the car back the repairs weren't up to much either.
:18:37. > :18:41.Hannah, this is where the accident happened. This junction. Tell me
:18:41. > :18:44.what happened. I was coming across the junction here. I was going to
:18:44. > :18:49.visit my grandmother who lives up the road. As the car came into this
:18:49. > :18:54.junction it got hit by the side and back passenger wheel. Were you
:18:54. > :18:58.hurt? Everyone was OK, it was just the shock of the accident really
:18:58. > :19:07.and how the car just came out from nowhere really. It was a brand new
:19:07. > :19:12.car. Only �5 -- 500 miles on the clock. Was there much damage?
:19:12. > :19:16.of damage, the whole back axel and suspension had gone. Well, it's
:19:16. > :19:21.never nice having a bump but you were insured, were you? Yes, with
:19:21. > :19:23.Aviva. They were very helpful to begin with. And very sympathetic.
:19:23. > :19:28.But obviously when everything started to go wrong, they didn't
:19:28. > :19:32.want to know. I am taking it that the repairs didn't go well? No, it
:19:32. > :19:37.didn't. It took nearly three, four months for it to be fixed and then
:19:37. > :19:42.when it was fixed it wasn't done correctly. How are you coping
:19:42. > :19:45.without your car? It was just a lot of hassle and a lot of relying on
:19:45. > :19:49.people and putting people out of their way really to try and help me.
:19:49. > :19:53.Were you offered a courtesy car? Not from Aviva, because I didn't
:19:53. > :19:57.have it on my policy, I couldn't have a courtesy car. For two months
:19:57. > :20:02.Hannah had to grab lifts to work and pay someone to look after her
:20:02. > :20:10.horse, as she couldn't always get to the stables. Eventually, at the
:20:10. > :20:16.start of June Hyundai agreed to supply a hire car. Aviva insured it
:20:16. > :20:21.for one week but after that she had to pay. Finally the part arrived.
:20:21. > :20:27.Until the car arrived back with me, and I saw the works weren't done
:20:27. > :20:30.and it was just shocking. There was mud in the paintwork or bits of
:20:31. > :20:36.dirt. One of the panels hadn't been fitted correctly and it was rubbing
:20:36. > :20:40.up against the rear light. Aviva agreed to fix the problems but more
:20:40. > :20:45.delays for Hannah. What would you like me to do? I would like to you
:20:45. > :20:50.get my car fixed so the standard that it should be fixed. I am on
:20:50. > :20:53.the case. Now, I know it can seem like a lot of hassle but it's a
:20:53. > :20:57.really good idea to read the small print on your insurance policy to
:20:57. > :21:02.check whether extras like hire cars are included. If you really depend
:21:02. > :21:07.on a car, then hiring and insuring a replacement can be very expensive.
:21:07. > :21:11.In this case, Aviva was entirely responsible for the repairs to
:21:11. > :21:15.Hannah's car and for the quality of the workmanship. When we got in
:21:15. > :21:18.touch they apologised but said the delays were out of their control.
:21:18. > :21:25.However, they have now arranged for the repairs to be put right and
:21:25. > :21:29.they've given Hannah �300 in compensation. Hi, Lucy. The car
:21:29. > :21:35.looks great and the cheque is on the way to me. Thank you very much.
:21:35. > :21:38.That's another case closed! Great to hear that Hannah's back on
:21:38. > :21:44.the road and has cash taorbgs. Great news. That's not the only
:21:44. > :21:54.result we have had this week. Do you remember the investigation into
:21:54. > :21:55.
:21:55. > :21:59.Harvey's said head oils were to blame for the leather peeling on
:21:59. > :22:04.Graham Walter's sofa. An expert blamed the quality of the leather
:22:04. > :22:08.saying it hadn't been properly sealed. Maybe they should supply
:22:08. > :22:18.one of these with their sofas, any ideas what this is? I have a
:22:18. > :22:21.feeling you are going to tell me. It's a nana Doyly, it helps prevent
:22:21. > :22:24.hair oils getting on to head rests. Harvey's have come up with a better
:22:24. > :22:29.solution, they're planning to fix Graham's sofa.
:22:29. > :22:33.That's really great news. There's more, do you remember John and
:22:33. > :22:39.Jenny Day, they were unhappy with their sofa. Well, they're going now
:22:39. > :22:43.get a full refund of more than �2,500. Absolutely brilliant.
:22:43. > :22:48.Next, Rachel's been to meet one couple who couldn't get rid of a
:22:48. > :22:51.time share they signed up to on holiday.
:22:51. > :23:00.The British summer is enough to make anyone leave the country.
:23:00. > :23:04.Paul and Ruth Griffey love their holidays. They've been to Vietnam
:23:04. > :23:08.and Cambodia. And, at the end of last year, they
:23:08. > :23:14.booked another holiday after having a rough few months.
:23:14. > :23:18.Back in June I got made redundant from Bosch when they closed the
:23:18. > :23:23.plant here and it takes a few months to find another job, so I
:23:23. > :23:26.just heard I have another job, and it was obviously good news, so we
:23:26. > :23:31.decided to go before we start working again, let's go away, a
:23:31. > :23:35.little holiday and see what we can get. The couple went to Malta and
:23:35. > :23:39.were taking a relaxing stroll when they were persuaded to go to a
:23:39. > :23:43.timeshare presentation in a nearby hotel. I wasn't too worried about
:23:43. > :23:48.going, yeah, we will go and have a look and see what the hotel was
:23:48. > :23:53.like. They were taken to a luxury poolside room by a woman called
:23:53. > :23:57.Julie and given free drinks. They were very nice people in the
:23:57. > :24:02.beginning. They made an effort to find out about our family and our
:24:02. > :24:06.life. They made us feel that we could trust them. I think it's very
:24:06. > :24:10.clever that they break down your fears. The one thing they told us,
:24:11. > :24:16.it was very different from a normal sort of timeshare holiday and she
:24:16. > :24:22.explained this in some detail. It almost sounded too good to be true.
:24:22. > :24:26.I did start asking questions about this, but everyone Julie seemed to
:24:26. > :24:33.answer. Paul and Ruth liked what they were being told and decided to
:24:33. > :24:38.sign up at the cost of almost �7,000, plus an annual fee of
:24:38. > :24:42.around �300. We went back to the hotel room. We suddenly started to
:24:42. > :24:46.realise that a lot of the things they had told you actually they
:24:46. > :24:52.weren't contained anywhere in writing in the contract. I thought,
:24:52. > :24:57.I don't feel comfortable, this is stupid. We'll cancel. Because one
:24:57. > :25:00.of the things that they also tell su you have 14 days to cancel.
:25:01. > :25:05.and Ruth went back to see jewel throeu cancel the agreement, but it
:25:05. > :25:10.wasn't that easy. They say, well what you are feeling is quite
:25:10. > :25:15.natural. Everybody feels this. Go home, read it over again. Sleep on
:25:15. > :25:19.it a bit more. Spend a bit of time. If you still want to cancel, let us
:25:19. > :25:23.know. But they didn't change their minds and wrote a letter of
:25:23. > :25:28.cancellation. Paul and Ruth left the letter with
:25:28. > :25:32.the receptionist who reassured them that she would pass it on to the
:25:32. > :25:37.right person and the next day they headed home. From here on in, the
:25:37. > :25:42.story gets murky. Because this was a timeshare they just couldn't
:25:42. > :25:46.shake off. Back home, Paul and Ruth followed
:25:46. > :25:50.up the letter with an e-mail to confirm the cancellation. But a few
:25:50. > :25:54.weeks later Paul received a phone call telling him there had been
:25:54. > :25:58.some confusion and they had cancelled incorrectly. Then they
:25:58. > :26:05.started getting demands for the money they owed. And the threat
:26:05. > :26:10.that if they didn't pay the �6650 by the 2nd December, then the debt
:26:10. > :26:15.would be handed to a collection agency. Unsurprisingly, Paul and
:26:15. > :26:19.Ruth paid up. Ever since, they've been trying to
:26:19. > :26:24.get their money back but who exactly should they be speaking to?
:26:24. > :26:28.It was really unclear who works for who, and what all their function
:26:28. > :26:32.was. We have done a bit of digging and
:26:33. > :26:38.this is what we found. Paul and Ruth attended a sales
:26:38. > :26:43.pitch by Hallmark Holidays, a marketing company based in Malta.
:26:43. > :26:48.Then there's First National Trustee Company Limited in the Isle of Man.
:26:48. > :26:54.Their contract is actually with skaf evergreen Travel, it turns out
:26:54. > :26:56.they're based in the British Virgin Islands. And they are a bit of a
:26:56. > :27:00.mystery. Companies based in the British
:27:00. > :27:04.Virgin Islands are notoriously difficult to investigate because
:27:04. > :27:08.they don't have to file accounts or list directors.
:27:08. > :27:15.It turns out that this was the company who had Paul and Ruth's
:27:15. > :27:19.money. Didn't know what to do, didn't know who to turn to. You
:27:19. > :27:22.just just think how can people do that and get away with it?
:27:22. > :27:28.looked like Paul and Ruth were getting nowhere. We contacted all
:27:28. > :27:36.the companies involved and did get a response from Hallmark Holidays.
:27:36. > :27:39.They say their contract is kphraoer to cancel and -- clear to cancel
:27:39. > :27:44.and dispute Paul and Ruth's account of how they went about it.
:27:44. > :27:47.continued to press and we got a result. �6650 has now landed in
:27:47. > :27:53.their account, they have their money back. Fantastic result. What
:27:53. > :27:56.a brilliant way to end this series of X-ray. That means we have won
:27:56. > :28:00.refunds totalling �23,000 over the last six weeks. All of that goes
:28:00. > :28:10.into the pockets of people who have rung us or written to us. If there
:28:10. > :28:12.
:28:12. > :28:16.is anything you want us to contact details so we can get back
:28:16. > :28:21.to you. You can keep up with us and the latest consumers news by
:28:21. > :28:25.following us on Twitter. Frbgt. While we are off air doesn't meaner