Episode 7 X-Ray

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

No money, no job. Why Andre is leading an invisible life.

Coral - the betting chain refusing to pay out on Nigel and Rob's big

win? And is this fraudster up to his old

tricks? Hello, we are back.

And we are ready to fight your battles.

First, we all complain about the tax man, but one family from Neath

has more reason than most to feel unhappy with the way HM Revenue and

Customs have treated them. Lucy has been investigating.

Can you remember what you were up to when you turned 20?

Oh, I can't remember that far back. Courting. Drinking, dancing as we

do. Sounds like fun to me! Most of us would agree that it is a

pretty special time having fun, growing up and finding your way in

the world. But one young man has had a dark

cloud hanging over him that has deprived of all those experiences.

Andre Gysler was born 20 years ago in Neath. He has happy memories of

the first 15 years growing up with his mum Helena Peters and his

little brother Tarryn. But since then something has been missing in

then something has been missing in Andre's life - something so vital

that it put his life on hold for years.

All his friends were coming back and forth, and saying they had

their national insurance numbers so I thought, "Well, where's Andre's?"

So when you first discovered that he didn't have his national

insurance number, were you worried? Not at all. I phoned HMRC, the

national insurance helpline. They said there was an issue with it and

they were going to send a form out. That form came. We were asked as

well at that time to provide a birth certificate.

Helena and Andre sent the forms back and waited for the national

insurance number to arrive. This little card may not look very

exciting. But without this all- important number it is almost

impossible to have a normal life. Most people get sent their number

from HMRC just before their 16th birthday. It is how the Government

keeps track of you in the social security system. Without your NI

number employers will not take you on. You can't claim benefits And

when you retire you will not be able to claim your pension. In fact

it is so important that without one Andre has watched his future

disappear bit by bit. He had hoped to become an electrician but he had

to leave college because he could not get financial support. And when

he tried to get an apprenticeship or find work, no-one would take him

on because he wasn't part of the system.

Can't sign on, can't work cos I have no NI number. I managed to get

through my first year of the electrics course, but I couldn't

keep up with the finance on the second. So I had to drop out of

college. The past five years have taken

their toll on Andre's health. Severely depressed to the point

where he has been self harming and attempted to cut his own wrists and

taken pills. It must be devastating for you to

see him like that? Andre and Helena have been trying

to sort this out for years. They have contacted HM Revenue and

Customs again and again, enlisting the help of their local MP and AM.

It has been going on since 2007, so that is five years.

How do you feel about the way that they have been dealing with it in

that time? They haven't been dealing with it

and frustration doesn't come close. It does not come close. It Is like

knocking your head against a brick wall and every time that wall gets

And it is not just Andre's life that has been affected by this

missing number. Financially, I am keeping three

people instead of keeping myself and my younger son which means my

younger son has had to go without. Emotionally devastating for my son

because, obviously, as a man of 20 he wants some social life which he

can't really have, which means I've got to provide money. Which again,

for him, is degrading to have to ask for that money.

So why has Andre been left waiting for so long to get his national

insurance number? Well, it could all stem back to this his birth

Andre was born in 1992, but a paternity dispute meant that a year

later his birth was re-registered with some new details. Helena says

she has been told that the information on Andre's certificate

doesn't match with her child But HMRC haven't just stuck to one

excuse for the delay. Helena says she has also been told it could

have been caused by a spelling mistake in Andre's name. At one

stage they even claimed it was because Andre came from Poland

despite him being born in Neath to It is a terrible situation and it

has left Andre feeling like life is just passing him by.

I've got no life. All I do is sit around the house and look after the

dog, basically. Cos I can't do what a normal person my age would do, I

can't go out, I can't enjoy myself. A person can only take so much

This summer Helena and Andre decided enough was enough, they

filed judicial review papers in Cardiff.

When we asked HMRC why, after years of waiting, Andre still hasn't been

issued with a national insurance number they seemed to have run out

of excuses. They said they are sorry for the problems Andre's had

and the inconvenience it has caused. But they couldn't comment on his

case because of tax-payer confidentiality.

To say a man's life for 5 years is Shocking.

But there is now some good news. Since we got in touch with them,

HMRC have now issued Andre with a National Insurance number.

At last. The family are determined that they will still go through

with the Judicial Review process, but at least now they can begin to

make plans for Andre's future. It is not going to be easy for them,

but we wish him all the best. feels like I have something to do

now. Yes, get a job. Exactly. And still to come tonight:

How low-energy light bulbs are making Mary ill.

And why won't Coral betting come clean on their rules?

Before that though, Rachel has an update on a rogue we featured

Flamboyant businessman Harby Panesar from the Vale of Glamorgan.

He ran Motorcar Elite, selling car warranties through garages across

Wales. He wasn't afraid to flaunt his

wealth, spending a reported �20,000 on his daughter's televised

birthday party. But for his customers, it was a

different story. When Beverley and Adrian Reynolds from Cwmcarn tried

to claim on their �700 policy, they discovered it wasn't valid. And

they weren't alone, hundreds of worthless warranties had been sold

across the UK. We caught up with Harby back in February.

Have you nothing to say? At this point, no will stop you will answer

questions at that time? Not right now it is not the right time.

It wasn't just his customers he was conning. Back in 2008 he ran a

different company called Motorcare Warranties. One of his insurance

backers sued for more than �2 million. The judge banned him from

taking any money out of the firm but Harby ignored that.

In March, Harby Panesar was found in contempt of court for breaching

that ban. He should have gone to prison for 9

months, but he appealed the sentence claiming that putting him

behind bars would have a devastating effect on his family.

At the appeal the judges ruled that suspending Panesar's sentence for

two years would be enough to satisfy the public interest and so

Andrew Rafferty from Hirwaun was left �800 pounds out of pocket

after buying a Motorcare Warranty. He is not satisfied.

Obviously you feel let down by the British justice system, what do you

have to do to actually go to jail? For us people, we're hundreds of

pounds out of pocket. Harby's car warranty business may

have closed down in Wales, but X- Ray has discovered that he had set

his sights on a much bigger market. We found him listed as the Managing

Member of a Florida-based car warranty company Auto Care

Guarantees. Sounds familiar, The company is registered to

Harby's wife Caroline. The Panasar's have told us they did

set up a business, but they've now abandoned it. But according to the

Florida State Department the business is still active.

Very annoyed to think that he could go out now and start another

business off. Not only being let off a jail sentence, but going and

starting another business, doing exactly the same over in America.

Obviously somebody needs to do something about it.

We will be keeping an eye on that situation. Remember if there is

situation. Remember if there is anything you would like us to look

into, then get in touch. The phone into, then get in touch. The phone

lines are open or you can send us an e-mail. It would be great if you

could leave us a daytime phone number so that we can contact you

straightaway, and remember you can straightaway, and remember you can

follow us on twitter too! Now, since September, traditional

light bulbs like these are no longer being manufactured. Many of

the larger stores are no longer stocking them, but you can still

buy them in smaller shops, and stalls like this one in Cardiff

market. How keen are people here? Most people. As a blind elderly,

some of the young people as well because there are brighter at an

energy-saving once. -- energy- saving ones.

So which do shoppers here in Cardiff market prefer?

Don't like the light from the low- energy bulbs. You can't see to read.

They're fantastic because the last and the do not take up much energy.

They brighten up later. You wait around half an hour for a full

brilliance. Do you use them at home? Yes. A

heady you find them? They're all right.

For some people they can cause serious problems though.

The incandescent bulb has served us well for more than 100 years,

lighting every room of our homes. Sadly, the granddad of the lighting

world is definitely showing his age. These new boys use up to 80% less

electricity to do the same job and last up to ten times longer.

They are meaner and leaner on the money front too. Switch all your

older style bulbs to low energy ones and you could save up to �55 a

year. So going green on lighting is good

news for the environment AND our pockets. But there are some people

reluctant to switch - and it's about more than nostalgia.

Around 30 to 40,000 people in the UK who have light-sensitive

conditions could be affected by the light emitted from low-energy bulbs,

the main problem is with this one, the compact fluorescent lamp.

Mary Hannah, from Treffgarne, near Haverfordwest has the auto-immune

Well, I'm affected by the low energy bulbs very badly. They make

me rashy and achy all over and throbbing and just feeling

exhausted. Over half of lupus sufferers are

light sensitive. After being diagnosed in 2007, Mary quickly

realised new low energy bulbs in her home were triggering her

symptoms. I decided I'd have to change all

the bulbs and it made a huge difference. I felt much better. It

was a safe place that I could be where I could recover from feeling

achy and having palpatations and all the bad symptoms.

Mary's sensitive to sunlight, too, so can no longer help husband Tom

on the farm. He says seeing her suffer's been tough on the whole

family. You see her welling up, almost

crying, and you reliase then how much of a struggle it is. If you

ask someone to turn off a light they look at you as if you're mad

or trying to be awkward but you're just trying to make life a little

bit more bearable. And Mary's not alone. People with

other complaints, from skin conditions to migraine, have

reported feeling unwell after being near low energy bulbs. Several

charities have highlighted the issue and some want the UK

government to review the ban on manufacture so that old bulbs are

available to those affected. With traditional light bulbs

getting more difficult to find, Mary's got a back-up plan to ensure

she's always has them in her own home.

She is so sensitive to any UV light, she needs to wear head-to-toe

protection in order to show me where she keeps her precious

collection of old-style bulbs. Well, all together, I think I've

probably got about 500. Every time they say 100 w are being banned and

then 60s, I panic and buy a load before they run out. They are

getting more expensive and harder to get so it is a worry.

It just seems so unfair. Mary needs them and to be denied them just

seems cruel. So why do some low energy bulbs

affect people like Mary? Experts have looked into several

possibilities but the most significant is something consultant

medical physicist Dr Chris Edwards can explain.

These two lamps emit light in entirely different ways. The

incandescnet lamp uses a glowing filament to generate its light. The

compact flourescent tube uses ultra violet light which then excites the

white phospher. That means that some of that Ultra Violet light can

escape and cause problems to people who have sensitive skin. I've

analysed the output of these lamps and the UV output from this bare

compact flourescent tube is five times that of the incandescent tube.

As more and more homes and public buildings switch over to low energy

bulbs, Mary's daily life is becoming more limited.

This is a church I come to in our village and they've been very good

and put in the old-fashioned bulbs for me. Which means it's a safe

place I can come and just enjoy the service and not be badly affected.

How do you deal with life socially and going out to places?

I have a little bag of bulbs that I take with me to friends' houses and

to family so I can sort all their lights out so that I'm safe in

their houses. The UK Government insists low

energy bulbs aren't dangerous to the public and says there are

alternatives that light sensitive people can use. Compact

flourescents with an extra cover reduce UV while super-efficient

LEDs emit virtually no ultra violet lights. But Mary feels neither work

for her. The prospect of running out of old bulbs is a big worry.

It'll be very lonely because I'll just be trapped here and life

wouldn't hardly be worth living if you can't get out and go see people.

I'd be a prisoner in my own home. Well, what are your thoughts? Are

you stockpiling bulbs? Or are you all in favour of low energy ones?

And did you know that these contain mercury, so it's really important

that they're recycled safely. We've put some more about that on our

wesite, so have a look if you need to know where to take them.

Next, Lucy's on the case. Richard Hicks is a lecturer in

plumbing, so when he splashed out hundreds on a new bathroom suite,

he expected it to be built to last. Our shower tray's cracked. It moves

under foot. Better Bathrooms won't reimburse us with the full cost of

replacement. Lucy, can you please help us?

I'm on the case The Hicks family spent �1,700 on a

new suite from Better Bathrooms. Better Bathrooms? Not from what

I've heard. Hi, Richard, how are you? Nice to

see you. Hi, Lucy,

Richard, let's see what we can do about this shower of yours. Let's

go and take a look at this shower. Guessing your bathroom read on was

a very important part of preparing your retirement. Yes. Why did you

want to go with better bathrooms? It was affordable. Let's take a

look at the Shah. I'll follow you up. This is the bathroom. Now, the

bathroom is looking lovely. Let's take a look at this crack. I can

see it straight away already. Yeah, yeah, it's quite obvious

It is. Is it getting worse? Yes, it is.

And what's the problem with the sponginess of the shower tray?

What you'll find, you can't see it very much now, but once you put

warm water on, that will lift up quite considerably.

So, the hot water's been running and what is the.. Oh, gosh! I can

see a really big difference, actually. That's gone very springy

now, hasn't it? Yeah. Quite a big area.

It's unnerving. If you're taking a shower you can see it move. It

could possibly cause an injury. Richard knows a thing or two about

bathrooms because of his job. He knew the problem wasn't caused by

anything he'd done in fitting it. Richard, with your job, you're a

lecturer in plumbing. How does it make you feel when you see work

like this and a product like this? I'm very disappointed. It's not a

fault in the installation, it's a fault in manufacture, that's quite

apparent. Better Bathrooms agreed there was a

problem and told Richard they would replace the shower tray. They asked

him to get a quote but when Richard told them that because the bathroom

was quite small, the work was harder to do and would cost �375,

Better Bathrooms started to haggle. They got back to me to say they

were only prepared to pay �175. Unhappy with that, I gave them a

sort of account of what needed to be done, the appliances to be

removed so that the shower tray could be replaced. They've upped

their offer to �250 but it was still �125 short of the full amount

of �375 and I'm very concerned that I'm expected to meet that cost.

So, Richard, what would you like me to do?

I would really like you to recover the full coast of �375.

I'm on the case. Well, when we got in touch with

Better Bathrooms, incredibly, they were still disputing that the work

would cost �375. They told us claims like this are often

overstated. That seems a bit rich, given that Richard had offered to

get another quote for them and had explained that the size of the

bathroom made it more difficult and expensive to refit the shower tray.

Well, the good news, after we'd contacted them and having reviewed

the case, Better Bathrooms has now agreed to pay up.

Hi, Lucy. The plumber is on his way. We're sure to have a new shower

tray fitted and it's all down to your hard work. Thank you very much.

Job done! Now, Rachel's been looking at the

secretive rules that determine whether your bet on the gee gees is

valid. The beauty and the thrill of horse

racing. Just watching these beautiful creatures even on the

training gallops in Ebbw Vale is incredibly exciting. So it's no

surprise whatsoever that they are at the centre of a huge spectator

But are fans being treated fairly Brothers Rob and Nigel McBurney

don't think so. They come from a racing mad family in Bargoed.

My father. He used to bet all the time and when he used to do a

little flutter and I would have a go and we'd carry on just like that.

So, was it a lot of money? No, just small money - fivers,

twenty pence bets, pound each way accumulator, that type of thing.

Last year, their dad Bob died. A few weeks later, his widow decided

to place a bet on four of his favourite horses. Rob took the

complex �5 stake to the family bookmaker, Coral in Bargoed.

So, how much did you stand to win on this �5 bet?

�68,000. �68,000? On �5?

Yes, because a lot of the horses were high prices.

The key to the bet was 40-1 outsider Bold Ring. It won the

first race. In the following two races, they also had winners. Then

there was just one more to go. We just sat there all quiet looking

at the teletext and it was her horse. She was jumping for joy.

Never seen her like that. Rob headed to Coral to pick up his

mother's winnings - �68,000. Handed the slip in and said, "Could

you tell me what that is?" and the cashier said it is two thousand

something. I said, "No, it is a lot more than that".

But he was told it wasn't. Because he'd placed the big 40-1 bet on the

first race in the accumulator too late and therefore it didn't count.

It was devastating news when they said it was void. It was heart

sinking for me because I put the bet on and I had to go to the house

and break the news. The family had become victims of

Coral's late bets rule. The late bets rule is designed to

stop cheating. Bookies often allow you to put money on a horse after a

race has started but obviously it wouldn't be fair to bet on a

winning horse just as it's about to cross the line.

We've obtained a copy of the race. And 53 seconds after the start when

Robbie placed his bet, Bold Ring is in 8th place, not looking like a

winner at all. Until a turn of When they actually did look into it

after three or four weeks, they got back and said we couldn't find

anything untoward about what you'd done. You were just a little bit

too late. Which I think is a bit harsh lately.

Rob has appealed to the betting arbitration body IBAS. They've

investiagated, but they too say that he broke the late bets rule.

But what exactly are the rules? They seems to vary from bookie to

bookie. Here at Ladbrokes, the terms and

conditions clearly state you can't bet more than 30 seconds after the

start of a race. It's a clear and straightforward system.

But in other betting shops, the rules aren't so clear.

This is the Coral betting shop where the McBuyrney's placed their

bet. And their terms and conditions say something quite different.

It says a that a "no more bets time will be automatically generated by

their electronic EPOS system". But how? There is no clue as to

whether that is three seconds into a race or 53 seconds. They just

don't say how they work it out. I've come to Welshpool to meet one

race-lover who's outraged by this system. Former MP, lawyer and

racehorse owner Delwyn Williams has been helping the McBurneys fight

their case. He's been looking at the late-bets rule.

The Coral's punter doesn't have full knowledge of the contractual

terms he is going to face when he makes a bet.

So how do you think the system should work then?

I think they should clearly state in their rules and in their offices

what the time limits for placing bets are.

He believes Coral should be paying out to the McBurneys.

His father had bet with Corals for most of his life in that betting

shop in Bargoed. Now Coral's say no. We were happy to take your money

during your lifetime but we are not hapy to pay your widow and son what

most people in the public arena would say is owing to them.

Sadly for the McBurney family, Coral are sticking to their guns.

They still say they'll only pay out the �2,000 won on the later races,

rather than the �68,000 the family believe they've won. And they won't

tell us how they work out exactly when they stop taking money on a

race or why they don't stop taking bets once the deadline's passed.

Nigel and Rob are now considering legal action. We'll let you know

how they get on. That's just about it for this week.

Remember, if you've ever fallen foul of a bookies rules...

Or you're struggling to get a company to listen to you...

We're here to help. You can give us a call on 03703 334

334. Or email us.

Next week, the shocking story of a BMW which just wouldn't stop