Episode 1 X-Ray

You're watching X-Ray. On tonight's programme: Is there a time bomb in

your kitchen? Why thousands of Welsh homes could be at risk from a

fire like this. We investigate the sky high charges for passengers who

change details on their plane tickets. And justice at last for

the families whose holidays were ruined by this serial scammer.

Hello and welcome to a brand new series of X-Ray. We'll be out and

about across Wales this summer, whatever the weather! This week

we're in Port Talbot. And I'm just up the road in Briton Ferry -

behind me here, Mid and West Wales Fire service are hard at work!

Today is just a training exercise, but these crews have also been

tackling some very worrying real- life fires - which X-Ray viewers

really need to know about. Rachel's got the story.

It's March 15th and in Llanfyllin it's Zoe Gittins 16th birthday.

But just days later, this was all that remained after a fire which

devastated the family home. Inside their house, the damage is

so severe the family won't be able to move back in for weeks. But this

wasn't just a freak accident - the fault that caused this fire could

be a ticking time bomb in up to half a million homes. The day of

the fire had begun like any other in the Gittins house. It was the

usual chaos of right girls, bags, come on, let's go, we've got to go

to school, I've got to get to work. We had our breakfast, mum put all

our bowls in the dishwasher. Almost forgot to put it on. No, let's put

it on while we are out. We can come back and we can empty it so that's

what I did. After school, mum Ruth dropped the girls home before

returning to work. But straight away Zoe knew something was wrong.

I went to the door and it was dark and black and I wasn't really sure

why. So I opened the door carefully and you just got hit with this

horrible smell of smoke and stuff. Zoe had left about four messages on

my phone cos I was driving back to work. I just sat down back at my

desk and picked my phone up and actually thought what does she want,

what's she forgotten? She probably wants me to get something for tea

on the way home. And rang and she just blurted out, mum you've got to

come home, the dishwasher's exploded and the dogs have died,

and it was when she said the dogs had died my knees just went, I just

it was all very I just went, oh my Phoebe was panicking that I

shouldn't go in the house, please don't go in the house mum, please

don't go in the house. And Zoe was in pieces, obviously devastated cos

she'd been in and she'd seen Tilly, the Jack Russell, and she knew then

that they'd both died. They felt like a brother and sister to me.

It's quite upsetting to see. I didn't see Doogle the Lab because

it was so dark in there because you couldn't see him but the little

Jack Russell was just lying, she looked like she was asleep. This

was the cause of the fire - the family's Bosch dishwasher. The

problem was an electrical fault in the control panel which caught

alight, burning surrounding cupboards and coating everything in

a thick, black soot. So this is what's left of your kitchen. Gosh,

how does it feel coming in here now? Horrible, horrible. I just

loved being in my kitchen but this isn't my kitchen, it's a burnt out,

horrible, smelly, dirty room in a house somewhere, it's not my

kitchen at all. But this wasn't a one-off. Ruth's dishwasher was in

fact one of 632,000 that Bosch had recalled two years earlier because

of the risk they could catch fire. What did the fireman tell you about

the recall there? He said had I not seen the news. And I had absolutely

no idea and that was John's reaction was well, why haven't we

heard? This is a potential time bomb that has been sat in the

kitchen and we didn't know known anything about it. Bosch told us

they wrote to Ruth in August 2011 but she insists she never received

the letter. The blaze in Ruth's home was one of 269 incidents

linked to the faulty Bosch dishwashers. These images are some

of seven fires in Dorset where concerned firefighters say they

fear someone will die. It's a real worry that the message just isn't

getting through to many of the people who need to hear it. So why

are we being put at risk by a recall system that clearly isn't

working? One big problem is that most of us buying electricals don't

register them, so manufacturers struggle to find us when there's a

problem. The average success rate is less than 20% - shockingly low

compared to cars where buyers must register their details and recalls

are 90% successful. Campaigners argue the law needs to be tougher

too. Currently there's no timeframe for manufacturers in terms of when

they have to issue recall notices. It comes down to them deciding that

a product's unsafe and at the moment the penalties just aren't

harsh enough. It's only a �5,000 penalty for manufacturers if they

delay issuing warnings or don't take appropriate action and that's

what we need to see tightened. there can be worrying

inconsistencies when it comes to recalling potentially dangerous

products. We've discovered that one of the biggest names in electricals

has decided not to recall one of its dishwashers even though it's

got exactly the same fault as the Bosch machines.

Some Hotpoint dishwashers made between 1999 and 2003 were actually

manufactured by Bosch so have the same fault. But Hotpoint say that

very few machines would still be in use now - so they're not recalling

them. Of course we just don't know whether that's the case. So our

advice would be, you know, in any situation that manufacturers if

they know that there's a problem with one of their products whether

it's an old product or a new product, they issue that notice so

if you do have one of those items that you can stop using it.

challenged the Government about why they're not doing more to improve

the recall system for electrical goods. But they insist that current

laws are working effectively. As for the Gittins family, they've

received a letter of apology from Bosch but still face months of

upheaval while thousands of pounds worth of damage to their home is

repaired. If anybody had said to me that a dishwasher could possibly

cause this much devastation I probably wouldn't have believed it

myself. But it does and it has and I think that's the important

message we really want to get across with all of this is please,

everybody check your dishwasher. really worrying story there. Now

Bosch are taking this very seriously - they've sent 800,000

letters to customers, they've taken out adverts in newspapers and set

up an website telling people how to arrange a free repair. But so far

they've only come across just over a quarter of the affected

dishwashers. The Fire Service here in Mid and West Wales are also

urging people to check their dishwashers. Ryland Williams, this

isn't the first case you've had in this area, is it? No, it's not

Rhodri, we've had three incidents in this area, two in Llandeilo and

one in Llanfylliin. I investigated one in Llandeilo area where the

couple were in bed reading on a Sunday evening and they only became

aware of the incident when the lights tripped. And on

investigating they found flames emitting from the door of the

appliance. It could have been potentially serious. So how can

anybody who's watching find out if their machine is one of the

affected ones? Well if they own a Bosch, Neff or Siemens dishwashers

manufactured between 1999 and 2005 they need to check the serial

number. Now they can find the serial number on the inner edge of

dishwasher door, in the top left- hand corner, it would normally

start with an S. And then check that against those that are

affected, they can check that on the Repair action website which

is.RepairAction.co.uk Excellent advice there, Ryland. Thank you

very much. All the vital information you need is on our

website. Plus there's more information about the Hotpoint

dishwashers we mentioned. And if there's anything you'd like X-Ray

to investigate, do get in touch. You can call us on 03703 334 334 or

email [email protected]. Or why not Still to come: How criminals used

electronic cash to con Lesley and Cheryl out of hundreds of pounds.

And the building firm who'd only fix Thelma's window if she paid for

a new driveway! Next, Lucy's been checking out

which airline has the cheekiest charges if you need to change your

ticket! When it comes to sorting consumer problems they say I'm the

best of the best - a top gun trouble shooter. Of course when it

comes to travelling abroad most of us don't have one of these to get

about. We rely on commercial airlines to get us off the ground.

These days there's a huge choice of airlines at airports in and around

Wales, all keen to target canny consumers looking for a cheap deal

on their flights. But if you ever need to change your booking details

before you travel you could see the cost of your flights rocket.

Ceri Goodwin from Taff's Well had a nasty surprise when she booked

flights from Cardiff to Malaga with Vueling. So tell me about this trip

you're planning because it is a special trip, isn't it? My daughter

and her boyfriend are getting married in Nerja in the Costa Del

Sol in July. Obviously we've needed to book flights for the wedding.

When one guest pulled out Ceri decided to use the ticket for

another guest. But when she contacted Vueling to change the

names their reply took her breath away. The gentleman I got through

to on the phone. I said to him how much is this going to cost and he

said 360 euros. I said sorry, I thought I was just changing the

name on the flight I'm not actually buying another flight he said no,

no that's the cost of changing the flight. Vueling makes some hefty

charges if customers change their booking details -100 euros - around

�85 - for a return journey, plus the difference between the original

ticket cost and the price when the change is made. And as Ceri found

out that can mean the cost of your flight soars to more than double

the original price. It's not fair it's not just, it's just absolute

crazy to charge that amount of money. And it seems Vueling isn't

the only airline cashing in when it comes to changing your ticket.

Plenty of other companies have sky high charges too. Easy Jet and

Flybe have similar fees for changing a return journey - and

make customers pay any difference in ticket prices since they bought

their original flights. Hot on their tails are the firms that

charge a flat fee for a name change and that can be pretty pricey too!

Holiday firm Thomson charges �50 for a name change on a return

flight. Whilst Thomas Cook customers would have to pay �60 to

change the name on a return ticket online and �100 to do it over the

phone. Changing your details with Aer Lingus would cost �80. And

fasten your seat belts for this one, Ryan Air charges �110 to change a

return flight online and �160 if you do it at the airport. So much

for a low cost flight! But some airlines won't allow

passengers to change their booking details at all, insisting they

cancel their original ticket and buy a new one. These policies may

have some passengers looking for the emergency exits. But marketing

expert Henry Enos says airlines claim these charges are necessary

to stop people abusing the system. Airlines charge these fees to

prevent people from bulk buying tickets, this is what they say but

they're charging wildly different rates between airlines. What's

interesting is that not only will they charge this penalty fee, they

will also charge you on many occasions the difference on the day

you bought it to the day you make the change which could be hundreds

of pounds. Now that doesn't seem quite right. And what if you need

to change the booking details because of an honest mistake - like

a spelling error? Well, some airlines do treat that differently

and will make changes for free. But with others there's a need for

speed with just a short window to put things right before they hit

you with another charge. But that's not much help when most people

don't spot a mistake until they receive their tickets - days or

even weeks later! But there could be some good news on the horizon.

The European Commission wants to bring in new laws allowing

passengers to correct spelling mistakes free of charge up to 48

hours before departure. It's hoped this could be in place by 2015.

Until then, you'll have to brace yourself for extra costs for any

changes you need to make. So be very careful when booking those

flights. Good advice! Now as we heard there,

Ceri Goodwin wasn't happy about forking out �360 to transfer her

Vueling plane ticket to another passenger. But because she'd so

many seats for her daughter's wedding guests, Vueling has agreed

not to charge her this time. Fantastic news.

Now have you ever heard of electronic money, or e-cash? Well,

it's the new way to pay - but as Rhod's been finding out, you should

be very careful who you send it to. Now buying something, used to be

straightforward. - thanks very much. You hand over your money. You see

who you were paying and you'd get proof of purchase. And you knew who

to complain to if things went wrong. But times change, from the local

shop to buying from the other side of the planet - and as technology

progressed, cards became King. But not everyone has access to debit or

credit cards - and do you really want to send your bank details out

into the world? Now there's an alternative to these. The new way

to spend is electronic cash, also known as e-money. Businesses, banks

and even search engines have set up new ways for you to transfer money

without even leaving your seat. One of the leading companies offering

this service is Ukash. It's completely legitimate and their

unique selling point is the ease of use, with no need to reveal any

personal information or bank details. Ukash is a safe way to pay

online, perfect if you don't want to pay with your credit or debit

card, or if you don't have one. Sounds simple enough. But this is

completely new to me. How does it work? Let's find out. Well, you

just need to find your nearest shop with a PayPoint or Payzone sign.

You hand over your money, up to �200. And you get a voucher with

19-digit code. Right this unique code here is now e-money and if you

pass it on to someone else. They can turn it into cash. Wow, that

was quick. Ukash says it is designed for customers to pay

businesses online. But where there's new technology, there are

always people looking to exploit it. People really don't understand the

internet in general, they don't understand about electronic

signatures how electronic transactions work, so they are to

some extent trusting other and sometimes that trust maybe, well a

little enthusiastic. It's inevitable that criminals will turn

to any new technique that people don't fully understand to try and

get the best out of it from their standpoint. If you pay by card you

have some protection. But using e- money is a bit like handing your

cash to a stranger in the street Once they've got your handed over

the code, it's virtually untraceable. Cardiff couple Sheryl

and Leslie Cossins learnt this to their cost after they received a

call about their PPI Claim from a man calling himself Robert Smith.

He actually said he was from the actual claim people who we were

going to be dealing with over the next eight weeks, and so I took it

on good par that he was a genuine guy from that company. He said a

payout of �2,500 was waiting for them - they just had to pay an

admin fee of �250 that day, using a Ukash voucher. Sheryl and Leslie

didn't know what to do - but Robert Smith knew where they lived and

helpfully directed them to their nearest Ukash outlet. On the actual

voucher was a number, we had to come back to the house then,

rephone him back up give him that number, then the money was taken.

After following these instructions, they expected their payout to

arrive that day. But instead they had another call from Robert Smith.

Mr Cossins you haven't paid enough money could you please go back up

and get me more money for your �2,500. So how much did he get

altogether off you? All together, all told was �470. That's a lot of

money and did you have that money sitting around to hand over and to

gamble, to lose? No, no I didn't this money that I paid out was for

my 60th birthday party. But Robert Smith hadn't finished with them yet.

When he rang back for a third time the couple became suspicious and

called their PPI company. They said well I am very sorry to tell you

but you have been scammed. And how did you feel afterwards when you

realised he wasn't genuine. Gutted that we fell for it really. And

lucky you didn't give them any more? We didn't have any more to

give. And with plenty more warnings online about e-money scams, cyber

crime experts say we must all be aware of the risks. Never use any

form of electronic transmission to pay money to someone you don't

completely trust. Because if anything goes wrong you may not be

able to do anything about it. electronic money becomes more and

more popular, consumers need to keep one step ahead of the

criminals. If you don't you might as well throw your money down the

drain Now we tried to contact "Robert Smith", but not

surprisingly, he didn't get back to Ukash say they're working with

police to tackle fraud, but by the time the Lesley and Cheryl

contacted them, their money had been spent. Last October X-Ray

viewers were outraged when they heard what had happened to Serena

Killen and her family from Swansea. Earlier that summer they'd set off

for their first ever holiday together as a family. With finding

out our son has learning difficulties at the beginning of

the year, we thought it would be a good idea to book a holiday for the

summer. But with Serena's husband Andy at university and five

children to support money was incredibly tight. We needed

somewhere obviously quite close to home cos we don't have any

transport we were relying on a friend to take us down. So Serena

thought she'd struck gold when she found a caravan near Pendine Sands

that was being advertised on Gumtree for just �210 for a week.

was really excited and I was really happy cos we hadn't been on holiday.

But when they arrived, another family was staying in the caravan.

The holiday was a fack and this woman, Jessica Scutt had ripped

them off. How did the children take it? They were devastated, telling

them we had to go home, it broke my heart to see their little faces.

When we broadcast Serena's story the response from X-Ray viewers was

incredible. We were flooded with offers of free holidays for the

Killen family. And now X-Ray's investigation has helped bring the

woman behind the scam to justice. We passed complaints from other

victims, who'd been conned in the same way by Jessica Scutt to the

police and they arrested her. Last week in Caerphilly Magistrates

court the judge described her actions as some of the most

despicable acts of fraud he'd come across. She was sentenced to eight

months in prison for fraud and ordered her to pay more than �2,500

in compensation to her victims, including Serena's family. Serena

is relieved that the woman who ruined her children's first ever

holiday is now behind bars. I felt a lot happier knowing and hearing

about the fact that there's been some justice but it still doesn't

forgive the actions that she caused on that actual day. Cos they are

still with us, they'll never go. I hope she spends the next few months

thinking about the consequences of her actions really. Let's hope

that's the last we hear of Jessica Scutt!

Next Lucy's in Caerleon, where a home improvement firm has been

cashing in, thanks to some very Nobody's perfect and sometimes

things do go wrong. Oh no! It's Rhod favourite mug. Do you know,

it's very tempting just to sweep this under the carpet but do you

know what I probably should just hold my hands up and tell him. When

it comes to businesses, there are laws in place to make sure they

pick up the pieces for their customers if things do go wrong.

But one house-proud pensioner from Caerleon found herself hundreds of

pounds out of pocket after trusting a company to do just that.

Thelma Burnett's home is full of special memories of her late

husband Roy. It's the very first house we bought, the one and only

we bought together and I love it here and I wouldn't leave here for

anything. So when, in September 2011, she was cold called by a firm

selling double glazing, Thelma decided to give them a go. She paid

MS Home Improvements almost �1,400 for a new front and back door and a

new kitchen and bedroom window. But it wasn't long before Thelma's view

of MS Home Improvements became cloudier. The bedroom window and

it's quite a big window had started to mist up and you could see the

dirt coming in. The seal on the window had broken. The double

glazing had a ten-year warranty, so Thelma tried to call the company.

phoned and phoned. Nobody answered. A whole year went by and Thelma

gave up hope of ever getting her window sorted. Then in autumn last

year she was surprised to get a call from a company called 2020

Energy Solutions. The firm told her they'd taken over from MS Home

Improvements. But they weren't calling to apologise for the faulty

window or non-existent customer service. Oh no, they wanted to talk

about driveways. They phoned up to say they would do my window if I

have my drive covered and I was astonished, I couldn't believe that.

Did you feel under pressure to get the driveway done? I did, I really

wanted the window done because it was a disgrace. Unlike Thelma's

window, the law is crystal clear. Companies must act fairly and can't

pressure their customers into making a purchase. 2020 Energy

Solutions continued on their mission to sell Thelma a new

driveway. After casting their eye over the job, the company claimed

the drive measured 30 square metres and quoted more than �1,000. But

Thelma wasn't convinced. I looked out of the window and I came back

in my head with 24 square metres. So another 2020 employee came back,

this time with a vital piece of equipment that had been missing the

first time around - a tape measure. They agreed that it was much

smaller than the first measurement and the driveway would instead cost

just over �800. Reluctantly, Thelma paid the �276 deposit - then had

second thoughts and tried to cancel. But the company said she was too

late. Thelma was now worse off than ever. She had a faulty window and

had paid hundreds of pounds towards a driveway she never really wanted.

I can't believe they'd treat me like this, Having this done, you

know and I just can't believe it. For months, 2020 Energy Solutions

kept Thelma's deposit but still didn't fix her window - until a few

weeks ago, when they replaced it at last! But that wasn't the end of

the story. Since then they've called again - this time trying to

sell her wall and roof coating for her house. They're still at me.

Yeah it seems like they've got a lot of front to keep coming back

after all the problems that you've had. Yeah, but they'll get no more,

no more. I've really had enough. asked 2020 Energy Solutions why

they would only fix Thelma's window if she agreed to have more work

done! They didn't answer that but they have now given back the �276

deposit she paid for the driveway she never even wanted. And the

company say they have hundreds of satisfied customers And that's it

for this week. Remember, if there's anything you'd

like us to look into, we'd love to Next week - Beatles fan Jean Davies