:00:06. > :00:13.You're watching X-Ray. On tonight's programme: It was sold as a safe
:00:13. > :00:19.pony. So why did teenager Katie end up in hospital? Helen paid hundreds
:00:19. > :00:29.to a debt management firm, but debt collectors still came calling.
:00:29. > :00:41.
:00:41. > :00:46.would you pay five pence on a Hello. This week we're on the
:00:46. > :00:49.streets of Swansea, tackling a very sticky subject - chewing gum.
:00:49. > :00:54.first, the Burchell family from Ebbw Vale wanted a safe pony for
:00:54. > :00:59.their daughter. But that is definitely not what they were sold.
:00:59. > :01:05.It's the stuff girls' dreams are made of. A pony of your very own to
:01:05. > :01:09.love and care for. But it's a big commitment for any parent. Not only
:01:09. > :01:16.will they cost thousands of pounds a year, but you want to be certain
:01:16. > :01:19.that the pony your child is sitting on is safe to ride. When Ruth
:01:19. > :01:24.Burchell decided to buy a pony for her 14-year old daughter Katie, she
:01:24. > :01:29.thought she'd know more than most. She and her husband, Dai, train
:01:29. > :01:33.racehorses at their yard in Ebbw Vale. Well, I've always been
:01:33. > :01:37.brought up with them since I was a little girl. I used to ride in
:01:37. > :01:44.shows from the age of five. Then we moved on to the racehorses and you
:01:44. > :01:48.just learn things, you know. daughter Katie is less confident
:01:48. > :01:53.around horses. She was badly bullied at school and Ruth hoped
:01:53. > :01:57.that buying her a pony would help her get over her ordeal. So what
:01:58. > :02:02.kind of pony were you looking for, for Katie? Well, it didn't matter
:02:02. > :02:06.what colour it was or how old it was. It just had to be bomb-proof
:02:06. > :02:08.and quiet. And by bomb-proof, I mean you could put your
:02:08. > :02:14.grandchildren on it or your grandmother and it would look after
:02:14. > :02:19.them just the same. Ruth knew just the man to help her in her search.
:02:19. > :02:23.Jockey Byron Moorcroft, who was also a horse dealer. He was a
:02:23. > :02:31.friend. He'd ridden winners on our racehorses and he'd been here lots
:02:31. > :02:34.of times over the years. He was more like my brother than anything.
:02:34. > :02:39.He knew exactly what situation I was in with my riding so we thought
:02:39. > :02:45.he was quite an obvious person to go to. It wasn't long before Byron
:02:45. > :02:48.found a pony which sounded perfect. He texted me back that he had a
:02:48. > :02:55.very quiet club pony that had been pony clubbing and used for fun
:02:55. > :02:59.rides. I thought, this sounds the one. And you made it clear who the
:02:59. > :03:03.pony was for? Yes, because he asked who the pony was for. I was there
:03:03. > :03:06.when she had the text and every time she had one I was like,
:03:06. > :03:10."You've got to ask more, you've got to find out about this one. It
:03:10. > :03:19.sounds fab". This is Libby. Ruth paid Byron Moorcroft �900 for her
:03:19. > :03:25.and Katie was thrilled. Libby looks harmless enough. But she's not. As
:03:25. > :03:31.Katie found out the first time she rode her. Mum gave me a leg up and
:03:31. > :03:38.as soon as I touched her back, she just went mad. It was just like a
:03:38. > :03:47.rodeo pony on the telly. She just wouldn't give up really. There was
:03:47. > :03:52.no let up in her bucking. There was nothing I could do to help her.
:03:52. > :03:56.Katie needed hospital treatment for her injured arm. But it took much
:03:57. > :04:00.longer to mend her shattered confidence. It took me a few months
:04:00. > :04:04.to get back on and I found it really hard just going near any
:04:04. > :04:07.horses. Realising Libby wasn't the bomb-proof pony she'd been promised,
:04:07. > :04:17.Ruth contacted Byron and once again it seemed she could count on her
:04:17. > :04:22.old friend. He agreed to replace her. He even sent her a photo of
:04:22. > :04:26.the pony that he would change it for. A little chestnut pony called
:04:26. > :04:29.Candy. He was going to come and get it. Then we had more snow, then he
:04:29. > :04:35.was having trouble with his lorry. Three weeks later, he was still
:04:35. > :04:41.going to come and get it. Byron then texted Katie, trying to
:04:41. > :04:44.persuade her to get back on the dangerous pony. He was saying how
:04:44. > :04:48.his cousin had been riding it, how it had done show jumping
:04:48. > :04:56.competitions and how it had won. When I told him that I just
:04:56. > :05:00.couldn't do it, he just wouldn't take no as an answer really.
:05:00. > :05:03.may not realise it, but when you buy a horse from a dealer you're
:05:03. > :05:07.protected by the Sale of Goods Act and your rights are the same as
:05:07. > :05:11.when you buy something in a shop. Ruth demanded her money back from
:05:11. > :05:16.Byron because the pony wasn't fit for purpose. But Byron insisted
:05:16. > :05:21.there was nothing wrong with Libby. Desperate to sort the problem out,
:05:22. > :05:24.she even got some expert advice. Two independent experts agreed that
:05:24. > :05:33.Libby was so nervous, she'd be dangerous and completely unsuitable
:05:33. > :05:36.for a novice rider like Katie. Left with a dangerous pony and �900 out
:05:36. > :05:45.of pocket, Ruth felt like she had no other option but to take her old
:05:45. > :05:49.friend to the county court. The judge agreed with Ruth. He ordered
:05:49. > :05:54.Byron Moorcroft to pay her more than �1,000. But almost nine months
:05:54. > :05:57.after buying Libby, Ruth hasn't seen a penny. And shockingly, it
:05:57. > :06:05.seems Byron's still at it, selling horses through a Facebook page
:06:05. > :06:08.called Bridgend Equine. It hasn't only hurt me physically but it's
:06:08. > :06:16.hurt my mum and my dad and I don't think we'll ever trust anyone the
:06:16. > :06:22.same where a horse is concerned. They've been battling for nine
:06:22. > :06:24.months to sort this out, but at last, there is some news. After we
:06:24. > :06:27.contacted Byron Moorcroft, he has finally apologised to the Burchell
:06:27. > :06:33.family. He's also collected the pony from them, and paid them back.
:06:33. > :06:36.About time too! Now, if you were watching last week, you'll remember
:06:36. > :06:39.the heartbreaking story of the Killen family from Swansea, who'd
:06:39. > :06:47.been ripped off by one of the most heartless scammers we've come
:06:47. > :06:50.across. Serena and Andy Killen have five children. Money is tight and
:06:50. > :06:55.that means they've never had a family holiday. They looked on
:06:55. > :07:01.Gumtree and found a bargain caravan break for �210. But the ad was a
:07:01. > :07:04.fake and this woman, Jessica Scutt, stole their money. Now, since last
:07:04. > :07:08.week's programme, we've heard from three more victims who say Jessica
:07:08. > :07:11.Scutt ripped them off too. We've put them in touch with the police,
:07:11. > :07:16.who are already investigating. But it's not all doom and gloom. Serena
:07:16. > :07:19.is here now. Well, it seems our amazingly kind viewers really felt
:07:19. > :07:21.for you and they've sent us loads of e-mails, offering you eight
:07:21. > :07:30.different free caravan holidays at various locations like Porthcawl,
:07:30. > :07:38.Kidwelly, Barry, Tenby and Caernarfon. It's so heart-warming
:07:38. > :07:41.to know people are thinking of others, trying to help. I want to
:07:41. > :07:44.thank people for their generosity and kindness. We even had an e-mail
:07:44. > :07:47.from a viewer in Germany and from people offering some spending money
:07:47. > :07:50.too! I just can't believe it, I really can't. Hopefully, we might
:07:50. > :07:53.be able to give the children the holiday they deserve. Well,
:07:53. > :07:57.wherever you decide to go as a family, have a fantastic time.
:07:57. > :08:03.Thank you. Still to come tonight: The online vehicle scams with a
:08:03. > :08:07.suspicious Scottish connection. would you pay more for chewing gum
:08:07. > :08:11.if it meant cleaner streets? Remember, if you want our help to
:08:11. > :08:16.sort out a problem, you can give us a call on 03703 334 334.Or send us
:08:17. > :08:21.an e-mail. Make sure you give us a daytime phone number. And if you
:08:21. > :08:23.want to comment on tonight's show, join us on Twitter. Next, Rachel's
:08:23. > :08:32.in Newport, finding out why one woman's debts just aren't going
:08:32. > :08:39.down. It's a visit we'd all dread, but Helen and Les Clilfford were
:08:39. > :08:44.especially shocked to get a knock on their door. I was mad. I thought,
:08:44. > :08:48.why is a debt collector coming to my door when we we're paying them?
:08:48. > :08:54.Helen Clifford has chronic health problems. She and husband Les
:08:54. > :08:58.survive on a very low income. But in recent years, they've been
:08:58. > :09:01.determined to pay off debts they built up a decade ago. 10 years ago,
:09:01. > :09:08.they hoped for a fresh start on this Newport estate, but their
:09:08. > :09:11.efforts to set up home stretched their finances to the limit.
:09:11. > :09:18.Furnishing that home cost more than they expected and before long they
:09:18. > :09:21.were borrowing more to pay back their loans. You've still got your
:09:21. > :09:25.house to run, you've still got to get your electric and you've got
:09:25. > :09:29.your rent to pay and in the end, that's why we didn't have any money.
:09:29. > :09:32.I had to borrow it. Then you're paying that back and you're just in
:09:32. > :09:35.one big circle all the time. With almost �11,000 of debt hanging over
:09:35. > :09:42.them, four years ago, a desperate Helen turned to the Citizens Advice
:09:42. > :09:46.Bureau. They recommended something called a debt management plan. So
:09:46. > :09:50.this is how they usually work. Every month, you make one payment
:09:50. > :09:55.to a management company. They then divide that up and pass it on to
:09:55. > :10:01.whoever you owe money to. Most debt management companies charge a fee
:10:01. > :10:07.but Helen was advised to join a free scheme. Well, it was going
:10:07. > :10:11.really well, you know. Debts was being paid. It was as if I was
:10:11. > :10:14.worry free. No more trouble paying the money and they were paying them.
:10:14. > :10:21.In just three years, the free service helped the Cliffords cut
:10:21. > :10:24.their debts by $7,000. They now owed just �3,600. The Cliffords
:10:24. > :10:28.hoped they were finally on the right track to becoming debt free.
:10:28. > :10:34.But then, out of the blue, came an offer that they thought they just
:10:34. > :10:41.couldn't miss. In August last year, Helen was cold-called by a company
:10:41. > :10:46.called One Debt Solution. They phoned up and then just promised me
:10:46. > :10:49.the world. He said to me he could cut my debts in half. And it just
:10:49. > :10:52.sounded good at the time, you know what I mean? Convinced they'd ease
:10:52. > :10:56.her money worries, Helen admits she signed up without reading the
:10:56. > :11:00.paperwork. Helen started paying the company �100 a month and assumed
:11:00. > :11:07.that, just like on her old plan, all that money was going to paying
:11:07. > :11:10.the debt. I'd say the first two months it was OK, but then we
:11:10. > :11:14.started having letters off the creditors telling us that we
:11:14. > :11:17.weren't paying them. I thought it was just because we'd gone to a
:11:17. > :11:22.different company, and they had to sort out paying them. I didn't
:11:22. > :11:25.think anything of it at first. Debt Solution had also promised
:11:25. > :11:35.regular updates to show how they were sorting out Helen's debts, but
:11:35. > :11:38.she says she heard nothing. The company insists they sent Helen two
:11:38. > :11:41.updates, but she disagrees. never heard nothing off them. They
:11:41. > :11:44.never contacted us with anything. Then in March, six months after
:11:44. > :11:53.signing up with One Debt Solution, the Cliffords got a very unwelcome
:11:53. > :11:55.knock at the door. A debt collector, sent by a store card company, said
:11:55. > :12:04.she was there to recover money because they'd had no payments
:12:04. > :12:09.toward the debt. I was mad. I thought, why is a debt collector
:12:09. > :12:13.coming when we're with debt management people? That's when I
:12:13. > :12:16.went and phoned One Debt Solution to find out what was going on and
:12:16. > :12:21.why there was a debt collector at the door. What was happening? Where
:12:21. > :12:25.was the money then? One Debt Solution admit they had kept all of
:12:25. > :12:30.Helen's cash. They say they were still trying to challenge her debts
:12:30. > :12:36.and they can't stop debt collectors calling. The whole experience has
:12:36. > :12:39.left Helen confused and we had another shock for her. These are
:12:39. > :12:43.your terms and conditions here. I didn't even read them. There are
:12:43. > :12:47.quite a lot of fees here. So did they mention any of that to you?
:12:47. > :12:50.nothing. We're talking about a �500 fee. I don't know quite what that
:12:50. > :12:53.is for. Then we've got an administration fee there. 15% of
:12:53. > :12:57.the payments that you make to your creditors has just gone straight
:12:57. > :13:01.away. 25% there if they get any money back for you and then �75
:13:01. > :13:05.documentation fee. I knew nothing at all about that. Nothing. He
:13:05. > :13:09.hadn't explained about paying him money, nothing at all. My debt was
:13:09. > :13:13.never going to get paid with that was it, because if that's all I was
:13:13. > :13:17.going to do every month was to pay �100, it's to pay that. And Helen's
:13:17. > :13:23.not alone. We found other customers online angry at no updates and
:13:23. > :13:26.unpaid creditors taking action against them. Bitterly disappointed,
:13:26. > :13:33.Helen pinned her hopes on getting back the hundreds of pounds she'd
:13:33. > :13:36.paid to One Debt Solution. She phoned to complain and says they
:13:36. > :13:42.promised a refund within a month. But after hearing nothing, she rang
:13:42. > :13:46.back and got a very different response. So I phoned them and said
:13:46. > :13:50.to them, where's the money you owe me? And they said to me that I'm
:13:50. > :13:53.not entitled to none. The Cliffords are now back with their free debt
:13:53. > :13:59.management plan. But they're furious that One Debt Solution
:13:59. > :14:03.still has their money, which could be helping to pay off their debt.
:14:03. > :14:06.If I'd known what they were going to do, I never would have gone with
:14:06. > :14:12.them. I wish I'd kept my head screwed on like it usually is. I
:14:13. > :14:16.wouldn't recommend them to anybody at all. Well, at last, there's some
:14:16. > :14:21.good news for Helen. Since we contacted them, One Debt Solution
:14:21. > :14:25.gave back all her money. More than �500. They deny promising to wipe
:14:25. > :14:28.out half her debts but admit that none of the money she gave them
:14:28. > :14:33.went to paying off what she owed because they were 'challenging' her
:14:33. > :14:43.debts, which takes a long time. Next, Lucy's On The Case.
:14:43. > :14:45.
:14:45. > :14:47.A holiday should live long in the memory. But for Rosemary Cole, the
:14:47. > :14:51.threat of being stranded abroad made a recent trip memorable for
:14:51. > :14:55.all the wrong reasons. I thought my flight had been paid for but when I
:14:55. > :15:04.wanted to come back home I had to pay again. Please help me, Lucy.
:15:04. > :15:09.I'm on the case. Rosemary was looking forward to her trip to
:15:09. > :15:19.Spain in May. But a mix-up with her flights has left her seriously out
:15:19. > :15:21.
:15:21. > :15:28.of pocket. Hi, Lucy. Come on in. Rosemary, I want to hear all about
:15:28. > :15:33.this holiday. You've been having a problem? Do you try and go away?
:15:33. > :15:39.often as possible. I save my pension up for my holidays. My
:15:39. > :15:44.husband pays the bills. Perfect. Back in February, Rosemary booked a
:15:44. > :15:48.ten-day trip to Barcelona through holiday company Travel Republic.
:15:48. > :15:52.Her flights were with the airline Vueling. What appealed to you about
:15:52. > :15:59.flying with Vueling? First of all, they were advertised as just �39 a
:15:59. > :16:04.flight one way, which was excellent. And they were Cardiff as well, so
:16:04. > :16:12.it was just an hour away. Rosemary was looking forward to her latest
:16:12. > :16:15.adventure. But in April, Travel Republic told her that Vueling had
:16:15. > :16:18.cancelled her return flight on May 19th and she'd now be coming back
:16:18. > :16:23.on the 22nd instead. Rosemary had a great holiday but when she arrived
:16:23. > :16:26.at Barcelona airport to fly home, there was more bad news. I went to
:16:27. > :16:34.the check-in desk and she said you've missed your flight by three
:16:34. > :16:38.days. We had you down to fly back on May 19th. What did you think
:16:38. > :16:43.when they said that to you? I said, I've got it in black and white. The
:16:43. > :16:46.ticket says the 22nd. I'm sorry, she said, you're not on our list
:16:46. > :16:53.and you've missed your flight so either you pay for a return flight
:16:53. > :16:58.or you don't get on the plane. And she turned her back. I felt
:16:58. > :17:03.abandoned. Rosemary forked out �180 for a flight to Cardiff but hasn't
:17:03. > :17:07.any joy getting her money back from Travel Republic or Vueling. They
:17:07. > :17:15.were just passing it back and forth for five months and I still don't
:17:15. > :17:19.know who caused the problem. What would you like me to do? I'd just
:17:19. > :17:26.like you to get my money back for the flight, because I can't do it
:17:26. > :17:29.myself. It's impossible. I'm on the case. Thanks. Right, well, it seems
:17:29. > :17:32.there's been a serious mix-up here. Vueling are blaming a computer
:17:32. > :17:38.glitch. It seems the original flight was cancelled but was later
:17:38. > :17:43.reinstated. The trouble is, no one told Rosemary. She certainly wasn't
:17:43. > :17:48.at fault and shouldn't have had to pay again to get home. And it seems
:17:49. > :17:52.Vueling agrees. They've now offered to refund Rosemary �380. That's the
:17:52. > :17:55.cost of the flight plus �200 compensation. And there's even more
:17:55. > :18:03.good news because Travel Republic have offered Rosemary a �250 hotel
:18:03. > :18:13.voucher for her next booking. Thanks for getting my money back. I
:18:13. > :18:16.think I'll book another holiday now. And that's another case closed. The
:18:16. > :18:20.refunds are certainly mounting up this week! Now, are you a chewing
:18:20. > :18:23.gum chomper? If so, you may have to fork out more for your habit in
:18:23. > :18:28.future to help tackle this. Minty, flavoured or even teeth whitening.
:18:28. > :18:34.Wales is a nation of chewers. We get through 46 million packets of
:18:34. > :18:37.gum every year. Trouble is, lots of it ends up on the floor. But one
:18:37. > :18:43.Assembly member in Wales, Darran Millar, has come up with a cunning
:18:43. > :18:47.plan. He wants gum chewers to pay an extra five pence on every packet
:18:47. > :18:50.of chewing gum in Wales. If it became law, councils would use cash
:18:50. > :18:56.collected by shopkeepers for street cleaning, education and to crack
:18:56. > :18:59.down on gum droppers. But Swansea newsagent Simon Cogger is not
:18:59. > :19:02.convinced I think it's definitely going to be an inconvenience and
:19:02. > :19:05.hopefully a better scheme could be thought of, whether it's charged at
:19:05. > :19:15.source or taxed at source so when we buy product, it would be a lot
:19:15. > :19:16.
:19:16. > :19:23.So, a five pence charge on a packet of gum. How popular is that going
:19:24. > :19:28.to be? If it's going to help stop it, they've done it with carrier
:19:28. > :19:36.bags, yeah. I don't mind paying that because I've done it and I
:19:36. > :19:42.feel bad. Disgusting, should be like Singapore, is it? They don't
:19:42. > :19:48.allow it. It sticks to your shoes, not very nice to look at. Have you
:19:48. > :19:54.ever spat it on floor? Yeah. What do you think of 5p? Good, maybe it
:19:54. > :20:01.will stop me doing it! I don't think you'll be able to stop it,
:20:01. > :20:04.they should fine you on the spot. The person with the tough job of
:20:04. > :20:09.gum busting in this part of Swansea is Andrew Peters. Sorry to
:20:09. > :20:19.interrupt you. So this is the machine. How does it work?
:20:19. > :20:20.
:20:20. > :20:24.blitzer. It blasts steam and turns it into dirty water. Is this a
:20:24. > :20:30.massive problem in Swansea? I think it's a massive problem everywhere,
:20:30. > :20:34.we've been doing it for a year. A million pieces. We did this area
:20:34. > :20:41.ten months ago and we're back here again. So what do you think about
:20:41. > :20:46.the 5p charge, will it deter people? I think it'll be a good
:20:46. > :20:51.start if used for cleaning and education. It'll be an excellent
:20:51. > :20:55.start, yeah. Andrew, thanks very much. I'll let you get back to work.
:20:55. > :21:02.What do you think about a 5p charge on a packet of chewing gum? Sent us
:21:02. > :21:05.a Tweet and let us know. Next - if you're thinking of buying a car or
:21:06. > :21:12.a van online, we've uncovered a scam that you really need to know
:21:12. > :21:19.about. Finding the perfect set of wheels can be tricky, especially
:21:19. > :21:25.when you're looking for something a bit special. Take a campervan like
:21:25. > :21:28.this. They're in demand and they're not cheap. But if you're buying one
:21:28. > :21:34.online, look out because you could end up paying a criminal and
:21:34. > :21:40.Matthew Palmer from Cosheston in Pembrokeshire had always admired
:21:40. > :21:43.his friend Simon's campervan, which he has let me borrow today. But
:21:43. > :21:48.Matthew wants one of his own to travel around Britain with
:21:48. > :21:52.girlfriend Sarah. This is a fantastic van. Sadly, not yours,
:21:52. > :21:56.it's your friend's. But is it one like this you were after? Sarah had
:21:56. > :22:06.her heart set on the older version so being the good partner I am, we
:22:06. > :22:08.
:22:08. > :22:14.went straight for the older one. This just popped up on Autotrader,
:22:14. > :22:23.basically an old 1978 Devon Moonraker in excellent condition.
:22:23. > :22:27.How much was it selling for? �3,400. I had big plans for it. I was going
:22:27. > :22:35.to drive to the beach at sunset and ask Sarah to marry me in the
:22:35. > :22:40.campervan. The advert said the campervan was in South Wales. But
:22:40. > :22:43.when Matthew tried to view it, the story changed. It turned out she
:22:43. > :22:48.was on an army base in Dundee in Scotland, which made it very hard
:22:48. > :22:52.for me to go up and have a look at the van. I suppose I used my heart
:22:53. > :22:55.not my head and we just went for it. The seller sent Matthew a link to
:22:56. > :22:58.Google Checkout, a secure payment site. It looked genuine so he paid
:22:59. > :23:04.the money upfront, not realising that that the payment site and the
:23:04. > :23:09.advert were both fake. Everything seemed fine until the day the van
:23:09. > :23:13.didn't turn up on the doorstep. I pretty much broke down in tears
:23:14. > :23:20.really because Sarah was so upset. Looking back, there were signs that
:23:20. > :23:24.this was a scam. The price was way below its real value. The location
:23:24. > :23:29.was too far away to visit. Scotland seems to be the scammer's favourite.
:23:29. > :23:31.And the photos and description were copied from another online advert.
:23:31. > :23:39.Five miles down the road and just days later, Peter Bradley-Watson
:23:39. > :23:46.was hunting for a campervan, too. In the past two holidays in a
:23:46. > :23:50.campervan, both times we hired so we decided to buy a campervan. We
:23:50. > :24:00.looked on eBay but had a pop up ad from Autotrader for one in South
:24:00. > :24:02.
:24:02. > :24:07.Wales, relatively close. Sounding familiar? It was a different van to
:24:07. > :24:12.the one Matthew saw. But the price was almost identical and this one
:24:12. > :24:15.was in Scotland, too. She was in the army and she'd been moved near
:24:15. > :24:22.Dundee, a place called Barry Budden Camp and the campervan was there,
:24:22. > :24:24.too, in Scotland. That's 500 miles away from Pembrokeshire but the
:24:24. > :24:29.helpful seller promised free delivery. Like Matthew, Peter
:24:29. > :24:34.thought the advert and payment site looked genuine. But they weren't
:24:34. > :24:43.and his campervan never arrived. I've been very naive and in places
:24:43. > :24:50.quite stupid but only in retrospect do you see the mistakes. Spelling
:24:50. > :24:53.mistakes and strange grammar. No phone number, just an email address.
:24:53. > :24:59.And scammers often want to be paid through a link they send you so
:24:59. > :25:04.they can pocket the cash. These two cases happened within a week of
:25:04. > :25:07.each other but I want to know how often this is happening. We set out
:25:07. > :25:12.to find the scammers. I've been looking on websites like eBay,
:25:12. > :25:19.Gumtree and Autotrader and I've found loads of campervans for sale.
:25:19. > :25:27.And some are really cheap. Like this one on Gumtree. A rare 1961
:25:27. > :25:29.model for just �4,100. It sounds too good to be true. And sure
:25:29. > :25:34.enough, when you copy the description into a search engine,
:25:34. > :25:39.it takes you to the genuine advert. The photos on this site are the
:25:39. > :25:45.same but the price certainly isn't. This one is almost �18,000, more
:25:45. > :25:48.than four times higher than the one on Gumtree. It's the scammer's
:25:48. > :25:54.classic trick - copying a legitimate advert and offering the
:25:54. > :25:58.same vehicle for a bargain price to lure people in. So I ask to view
:25:58. > :26:02.the cheap van, which is apparently in Cambridge. And I soon get a
:26:02. > :26:07.reply. And surprise, surprise, the seller is telling me she has moved
:26:07. > :26:13.to Scotland! I can still buy the van using something called eBay
:26:13. > :26:21.Buyer Protection. But that's not a payment method and the website
:26:21. > :26:24.address is fake. I think I'll give it a miss. And it's not only
:26:24. > :26:31.campervan criminals who claim to live in Scotland, as Arwyn Isaac
:26:31. > :26:34.from Ceredigion discovered. I work on a caravan park. I do all the
:26:34. > :26:39.maintenance on this park and I've got a bit of spare time in between
:26:39. > :26:48.and I thought I'd buy a mini-digger for a bit of extra income. I
:26:48. > :26:57.spotted one on eBay and I bought it. How much? It was �5,500, sounded
:26:57. > :27:01.good value, good price. The mini- digger was, you've guessed it, in
:27:01. > :27:07.Scotland. Arwyn wanted to pay cash on delivery but the seller said no
:27:07. > :27:10.and sent him a link to pay via eBay. Or so he thought. It was supposed
:27:10. > :27:17.to be delivered on Tuesday but nothing turned up, so I contacted
:27:17. > :27:22.eBay. They said I didn't buy it through them. The website logo and
:27:22. > :27:25.wording were just like the real thing. But Arwyn didn't spot the
:27:26. > :27:30.dodgy address, a mistake which cost him his life savings. How did you
:27:30. > :27:35.feel about being the victim of a scam of this kind? I've heard a lot
:27:35. > :27:39.about it but I never thought I'd be one of them. But I am one of them
:27:39. > :27:44.now. Matthew, Peter and Arwyn all asked their banks to stop the
:27:44. > :27:48.payments. But it was too late. And because they'd paid by bank
:27:48. > :27:55.transfer, they couldn't get their money back. Online criminals are
:27:55. > :27:58.often based abroad. The police say they are pursuing leads in the UK
:27:58. > :28:02.for these cases, but warn there is little chance of recovering the
:28:02. > :28:12.money. So if you're buying online, keep an eye out for scammers and
:28:12. > :28:16.make sure you are always the one in Don't get caught out. That's it for
:28:16. > :28:24.this week. Remember, if you've got a story you want us to investigate,
:28:24. > :28:29.we want to hear from you. Give us a call on 03703 334 334. Or email