:00:11. > :00:17.Have you been ripped off or short-changed? We're here to fight
:00:18. > :00:22.for your rights. Spotting the latest scams and making sure you make the
:00:23. > :00:25.most of your money. I went there trusting them, supporting a local
:00:26. > :00:31.business, and it's come back to bite me. Exposing the rogues and
:00:32. > :00:43.confronting the conman. We are here to help you fight back.
:00:44. > :00:51.The Disney holiday with no fairy tale ending - why did this family's
:00:52. > :00:54.trip to Florida get cancelled? Both my husband and myself on
:00:55. > :00:57.numerous occasions broke down into tears - we were just so horrified
:00:58. > :01:01.with what was going on. Top tips on how to avoid buying an
:01:02. > :01:05.old banger when you're looking for a used car.
:01:06. > :01:08.And mobile phone thefts - secret filming with the police highlights
:01:09. > :01:14.the risks we're taking with our phones.
:01:15. > :01:22.Holidays, mobile phones and second hand cars. All amongst the top ten
:01:23. > :01:26.areas for consumer problems, and we're tackling them all for you
:01:27. > :01:29.tonight. First, a family who got in touch with X-ray after their Disney
:01:30. > :01:31.holiday of a lifetime turned into a nightmare that's left them seriously
:01:32. > :01:41.out of pocket. Once upon a time, there lived a
:01:42. > :01:44.family named Crowley. There was Sophie Crowley and her husband
:01:45. > :01:55.Damian and their two beautiful children, Oliver and Dylan. They
:01:56. > :02:02.dreamt of escaping the hustle and bustle the stresses and strains of
:02:03. > :02:05.everyday life. My youngest was born a month premature, I then had to
:02:06. > :02:08.have an emergency appendicitis out, my father-in-law was taken into
:02:09. > :02:12.hospital and then my baby needed an operation to have his tonsils taken
:02:13. > :02:16.out as an emergency, so it's been a bit of a manic couple of years.
:02:17. > :02:19.So one fine day, Sophie booked a fairy tale holiday with British
:02:20. > :02:24.Airways. It was to be two weeks of sunshine in Orlando with the whole
:02:25. > :02:27.Disney experience. It was a complete and utter dream
:02:28. > :02:31.holiday, something that Ollie could really look forward to, going to see
:02:32. > :02:34.Mickey Mouse in Disney, going on an aeroplane. We booked a private
:02:35. > :02:37.villa, private swimming pool, just a really nice relaxing holiday but to
:02:38. > :02:47.go and see all the characters as well.
:02:48. > :02:50.But first the family had to part with some gold! They paid their
:02:51. > :02:54.first payment to British Airways holidays in January and then five
:02:55. > :02:57.other instalments in June. Over ?3,000. They were now just weeks
:02:58. > :03:04.away from their long-awaited magical holiday.
:03:05. > :03:07.But all was not well. An email arrived from British Airways
:03:08. > :03:14.holidays saying the family owed many more gold coins.
:03:15. > :03:17.I was really shocked; I was like. "OK, let me send you a bank
:03:18. > :03:20.statement." They then said they hadn't received two of the payments,
:03:21. > :03:26.one for ?500 and one for ?600. The whole Disney experience was now
:03:27. > :03:30.in jeopardy. The problem seemed to be with her payments. Each separate
:03:31. > :03:33.instalment had left the Crowley's account. But then it went missing.
:03:34. > :03:36.Somewhere between their bank, Sainsburys, and British Airways' two
:03:37. > :03:43.banks - Barclays and Deutsche Bank, the money got lost.
:03:44. > :03:46.To be honest, I think both my husband and myself on numerous
:03:47. > :03:49.occasions just broke down in tears. We were just so horrified with
:03:50. > :03:52.everything that was going on. Sophie sent a letter to British
:03:53. > :03:58.Airways from her bank confirming the payments had been made. But BA still
:03:59. > :04:05.said the money hadn't been paid - time to call in a wise professor.
:04:06. > :04:09.The consumer here has got the evidence to show that the money left
:04:10. > :04:13.her bank account. But equally BA are saying that the money has not
:04:14. > :04:16.arrived in their bank account, and so it's gone missing in the middle
:04:17. > :04:19.somewhere, and she has no authority whatever to investigate what's going
:04:20. > :04:23.on between the two banks concerned to try to track down where the money
:04:24. > :04:31.is. She's completely reliant on them.
:04:32. > :04:34.The fairy tale was fast turning into a nightmare. With no sign of the
:04:35. > :04:39.missing money, British Airways cancelled the holiday.
:04:40. > :04:43.I was horrified, I was heartbroken. I was just more shocked and I don't
:04:44. > :05:12.initially think I took in what was going on. We'd obviously told Ollie
:05:13. > :05:15.so much. We were going to see Mickey, we were going on in the
:05:16. > :05:19.plane and what with everything that was going on with Dylan being in
:05:20. > :05:23.hospital, I didn't have the heart to say to him that we weren't going.
:05:24. > :05:26.The holiday was cancelled just four weeks before they were due to fly.
:05:27. > :05:29.The Crowleys were determined, though, that the children should get
:05:30. > :05:32.to see Mickey Mouse. They borrowed money from their family to travel to
:05:33. > :05:35.Euro Disney. It cost them almost ?3,000.
:05:36. > :05:39.We loved every minute of being over there, but it wasn't a holiday. We
:05:40. > :05:42.tried to cram as much as we could into four days. It wasn't the
:05:43. > :05:45.relaxing few weeks in the sun you'd hoped for?
:05:46. > :05:48.No, not sitting by the pool. We didn't get to do anything but run
:05:49. > :05:51.around the theme parks, which was brilliant for the boys, but it
:05:52. > :05:54.wasn't a holiday. British Airways did refund all the
:05:55. > :05:57.payments they had received from the Crawleys bank. But the ?1,100 is
:05:58. > :06:00.still missing and the family never did get their Florida holiday.
:06:01. > :06:04.It's like a holiday, a dream that will never now happen, it's not
:06:05. > :06:06.something that we can do again, the whole thing has broken us down
:06:07. > :06:09.completely. Well, we've spent many frustrating
:06:10. > :06:12.hours on the phone and emailing the banks, trying to trace Sophie's
:06:13. > :06:15.missing money. British Airways told us that despite their own extensive
:06:16. > :06:18.investigations they have no evidence that it ever reached them. Sophie's
:06:19. > :06:21.own bank is still investigating, but after we spoke to them they've
:06:22. > :06:28.agreed to credit the family's account with the missing money - all
:06:29. > :06:35.?1,100 - while they do more checks. I think that's a result!
:06:36. > :06:39.Still to come - the firm that promises to get you connected, but
:06:40. > :06:44.Tracey and her son didn't get the deal they were expecting. I was
:06:45. > :06:47.horrifed because of the fact that as far as I was concerned, this manager
:06:48. > :06:50.had promised to cancel the contract for me.
:06:51. > :06:53.More on that story in a minute. Now tonight we're looking at nearly
:06:54. > :06:57.everything to do with mobile phones. Later, I'll be checking out the
:06:58. > :07:01.small print on phone insurance. Before that mobile phone thefts.
:07:02. > :07:05.Lucy's been out with the police to see why some of us are soft targets
:07:06. > :07:10.for the thieves. Saturday night in the Gatekeeper pub
:07:11. > :07:16.in Cardiff. But this evening, one sly punter is taking advantage of
:07:17. > :07:19.the relaxed atmosphere. As this woman pops her handbag onto the bar,
:07:20. > :07:24.his hand is straight inside searching for her phone. Mobile
:07:25. > :07:37.phone theft is a problem plaguing the UK. And here's how the thieves
:07:38. > :07:42.work. This man appears to be collecting signatures. But when he
:07:43. > :07:48.takes the clipboard, the phone goes as well. This woman is chatting on
:07:49. > :07:52.the phone, she hasn't seen the cyclist behind her - wow, that was
:07:53. > :07:56.fast! Here in South Wales, more than 2,000 mobiles were stolen in the
:07:57. > :08:00.first half of this year, with over a third of them pinched in central
:08:01. > :08:03.Cardiff. And a lot of it could be avoided if we just took better care
:08:04. > :08:07.of our phones. Everybody is now carrying around mobile phones, and
:08:08. > :08:10.certainly over the last year or so the value of those phones has
:08:11. > :08:13.increased. We've got to ask ourselves really if you've got a
:08:14. > :08:17.?200, ?300, ?500-phone, should we be doing a little bit more to protect
:08:18. > :08:20.it? So we've come back to the Gatekeeper pub and with the help of
:08:21. > :08:24.South Wales Police, we're going to reveal the three biggest mistakes we
:08:25. > :08:27.make. Wearing secret cameras, Inspector Dave Greaves and PC Lia
:08:28. > :08:29.Jones scout the joint for anyone whose phone could become an easy
:08:30. > :08:42.target for thieves. We want to target the females
:08:43. > :08:48.really, especially with the handbag type issues. There's a lady behind
:08:49. > :08:52.us with an open handbag. And it's only a matter of minutes before they
:08:53. > :09:11.prove our first case in point - unattended handbags.
:09:12. > :09:15.Next up, they head for the bar to demonstrate our second hit - an open
:09:16. > :09:38.bag. Lastly, a prime example of the
:09:39. > :10:18.laidback behaviour we're all guilty of - an exposed phone.
:10:19. > :10:23.Throughout the evening the officers spot dozens of phones that could
:10:24. > :10:27.easily be stolen. It is silly to leave your things out
:10:28. > :10:31.on the table, but I think we all do nowadays because you are constantly
:10:32. > :10:35.on your mobile phone, aren't you, so you don't think about it. When you
:10:36. > :10:37.have ben drinking and you're in the middle of conversation, I think
:10:38. > :10:41.people can be opportunistic and walk passed, and yeah, it did make me
:10:42. > :10:46.more aware, to be honest, I suppose. You can see my bag is open there and
:10:47. > :10:52.although I am next to it it would actually be quite easy I guess for
:10:53. > :10:56.someone to do it. I am always aware that people are always on their
:10:57. > :11:00.phones - it's almost an advert for people to come and steal something.
:11:01. > :11:04.So what are you going to do from now on? Make sure I don't get my phone
:11:05. > :11:08.out all the time and flash it around and stuff and definitely keep my bag
:11:09. > :11:12.zipped up more when I can. So what are the top tips to protect
:11:13. > :11:15.yourself? First and foremost, it's a really obvious thing to say but
:11:16. > :11:19.don't leave your mobile on show, even if you think it's within hand's
:11:20. > :11:22.reach. It's just too easy for the criminals to snatch and run. Don't
:11:23. > :11:26.walk and text - you're so engrossed in what you're doing, you don't see
:11:27. > :11:29.what's about to happen. If you have to use your phone
:11:30. > :11:32.outside, make a call instead and use hands-free, so you can stash your
:11:33. > :11:37.phone away. Hi, you all right?
:11:38. > :11:40.Pop a pin lock on your phone so if someone does steal it, at least they
:11:41. > :11:50.can't get into it. Write down its IMEI - its unique identity number.
:11:51. > :11:55.Find it by typing *#06# into your phone. If your phone is stolen, your
:11:56. > :11:58.operator will use this number to blacklist the phone on a central
:11:59. > :12:02.database so it can't be used on any network. You can also mark it with
:12:03. > :12:05.an ultraviolet pen which helps police to locate you if they find a
:12:06. > :12:13.stolen phone. And consider putting tracking
:12:14. > :12:17.software onto your phone. You can download apps that use GPS to show
:12:18. > :12:21.you where your phone is. If it gets nicked, you can report its location
:12:22. > :12:25.to the police. But at least tonight we can end on a high. Remember that
:12:26. > :12:28.thief from the start of our film? All he could find in his victim's
:12:29. > :12:33.handbag was make-up, so he headed off to find his next target. But the
:12:34. > :12:37.woman at the bar saw what they were up to and alerted the manager and he
:12:38. > :12:40.was caught before he could make his escape. I think the team were
:12:41. > :12:43.spot-on, the door staff especially, they detained the gentleman, they
:12:44. > :12:46.searched him and obviously held him until the police turned up to take
:12:47. > :12:49.him away. 31-year-old Christian Zarafan was arrested last month. He
:12:50. > :12:53.pleaded guilty to attempted theft of a mobile phone and was sentenced to
:12:54. > :12:59.16 weeks in prison. Good going for the Gatekeeper!
:13:00. > :13:03.I'll definitely be keeping a much closer eye on this from now on. Now
:13:04. > :13:07.today marks the beginning of National Consumer Week - and this
:13:08. > :13:10.year we're being urged to be a bit more savvy when it comes to buying
:13:11. > :13:13.second hand cars. Well, Trading Standards Officer Ellis Roberts is
:13:14. > :13:17.with us to explain a little bit more. Ellis, good to see you, so why
:13:18. > :13:20.second hand cars? Second hand cars are consistently the most common
:13:21. > :13:24.type of complaint we receive at Trading Standards year on year, and
:13:25. > :13:27.it's one of the biggest purchases a person will usually make in their
:13:28. > :13:30.lifetime, and so people feel the need to complain and that's why
:13:31. > :13:33.we're highlighting this campaign this year. But here in Bridgend, a
:13:34. > :13:37.town that's famous for making car engines, just how up to speed are
:13:38. > :13:41.people when it comes to the does and don'ts of buying a second hand car?
:13:42. > :13:45.If you were buying a second hand car, you go see it, it looks like
:13:46. > :13:50.what you wanted, what would you be looking out for? What would you be
:13:51. > :14:03.checking? I'd call the AA and ask them to check it over. The interior
:14:04. > :14:06.and the bodywork, that's it. I bought one yesterday from a garage.
:14:07. > :14:09.Low mileage basically, I would say, and that it's been well looked
:14:10. > :14:15.after, and as long as my husband passes it, it's fine by me. Bodywork
:14:16. > :14:18.damage. I'd ask to see the service history if there was one, and just
:14:19. > :14:25.look through that and ensure that everything was A-OK. What did you
:14:26. > :14:29.look for when you went to see it now? How thoroughly did you check
:14:30. > :14:33.it? I didn't to be honest with you. You bought a second hand car
:14:34. > :14:37.yesterday and you haven't check it at all? I looked over it but it was
:14:38. > :14:41.raining when I went down to look. I wouldn't buy a second hand car
:14:42. > :14:44.because my knowledge of cars is just not good enough. Some interesting
:14:45. > :14:47.answers there! One man who does know his way around a car is Independent
:14:48. > :14:50.vehicle inspector, Gareth Rees. Gareth, good to see you, I bet
:14:51. > :14:54.you've seen some shockers in your time? We've seen some horror stories
:14:55. > :14:57.and the message to people, buyer beware. So beware of what - what
:14:58. > :15:01.sort of things should people be looking out for? To the ordinary
:15:02. > :15:05.individual when you look at the car, have a look, see if there are any
:15:06. > :15:08.obvious signs of accident damage. Is there any overspray, paint overspray
:15:09. > :15:12.over the windows. Have a look at the tyres - see if there's any uneven
:15:13. > :15:16.wear. Go to the car - start it up. Let's have a look at the exhaust.
:15:17. > :15:19.See if there's any excessive smoking. Started first time, that's
:15:20. > :15:23.a good sign. That is a good sign, but if there's anything untoward in
:15:24. > :15:26.the engine, the first sign you'll see is the exhaust smoke, billows of
:15:27. > :15:30.smoke coming out. And obviously it's a used car, it's going to have its
:15:31. > :15:34.own history. It's going to have like there, the odd scratch and things.
:15:35. > :15:36.It's not going to be perfect, it's used, isn't it? That's right,
:15:37. > :15:40.cosmetic scratch and we'd expect that because if a car's done sixty,
:15:41. > :15:43.seventy thousand eighty miles then obviously we'd expect some stone
:15:44. > :15:47.chips, we'd expect some marks on the car. I'd be very suspicious if there
:15:48. > :15:50.were none, so obviously that might indicate it's been resprayed or had
:15:51. > :15:56.some work done to it. Also things like electric windows, check they
:15:57. > :16:00.work, that can be costly? Yes, of course, very costly, when we check
:16:01. > :16:03.is it working, is it going up and down, is it doing as they say, are
:16:04. > :16:07.the seats pulling, are they releasing as they should. All very
:16:08. > :16:13.important. Another thing that's expensive is spare keys. Absolutely.
:16:14. > :16:17.A spare key these days has to be chipped for it to be able to start
:16:18. > :16:20.and open the car, so that's a very important point. Ensure that it's
:16:21. > :16:24.got a spare key. Good advice as usual. Thank you very much, and if
:16:25. > :16:27.you want to know more about second hand cars and "National Consumer
:16:28. > :16:31.Week" there's more information on our website. And remember if you've
:16:32. > :16:35.got a story you think we should be looking at if a company has let you
:16:36. > :16:45.down, if you've been caught out by the small print, get in touch.
:16:46. > :16:51.Back to mobile phones. Earlier I was out with the police seeing how
:16:52. > :16:55.they're trying to stop phone crime. Well, if you are unlucky enough to
:16:56. > :16:59.have yours stolen, you might well end up claiming on your insurance to
:17:00. > :17:05.replace it - but watch out for the small print!
:17:06. > :17:09.Ten million of us now have mobile phone insurance. But this summer
:17:10. > :17:12.many of the big players received a slap on the wrist from the newly
:17:13. > :17:17.formed consumer watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority. They
:17:18. > :17:20.accused mobile phone insurers of using unclear and unfair terms and
:17:21. > :17:30.conditions Being too slow to handle claims And providing a product that
:17:31. > :17:33.wasn't right for its customers. It took keen golfer Sean Golledge from
:17:34. > :17:39.Cardiff almost three months to get a replacement phone on his insurance.
:17:40. > :17:41.Having looked back on it now I probably wouldn't take out phone
:17:42. > :17:45.insurance again after the whole experience. Sean's iPhone was
:17:46. > :17:51.insured with Protect Your Bubble. The policy cost him ?6.99 a month.
:17:52. > :17:56.But just a matter of days before Christmas he lost it on a night out.
:17:57. > :18:00.I wasn't sure if I had misplaced it or left it on the table where we
:18:01. > :18:04.were sitting or something like that, but the phone wasn't there in my
:18:05. > :18:08.pocket, so it was obviously left in the bar or on the journey from the
:18:09. > :18:11.bar to where I was catching the taxi. He submitted his claim but
:18:12. > :18:15.Protect Your Bubble said his terms and conditions stated he should have
:18:16. > :18:23.registered his lost phone with a website called immobilise.com within
:18:24. > :18:27.48 hours. There wasn't even a clause, the clause they referred to
:18:28. > :18:32.didn't even exist. It was almost as if they plucked something out of the
:18:33. > :18:37.air. Sean wouldn't let it go, but he was racking up time and money. Just
:18:38. > :18:40.constant emails. When they did get back to me sometimes they would ask
:18:41. > :18:44.for the smallest bit of information, which again would take another two
:18:45. > :18:49.weeks, I ended up phoning them as well on premium numbers - so 0844
:18:50. > :18:56.numbers which cost me money. Then after three months of fighting they
:18:57. > :19:00.sent him... A second hand phone. It was farcical, really. Came in just a
:19:01. > :19:03.box, an empty brown box, just the phone, didn't come with any
:19:04. > :19:07.paperwork, didn't come with the PIN to access the SIM card, didn't come
:19:08. > :19:19.with a charger, just a phone and, yeah, it was just ridiculous. So
:19:20. > :19:23.I've come to the library to do some research - better keep the noise
:19:24. > :19:27.down, and definitely no phones. So we thought it would be good to have
:19:28. > :19:29.our own little look through the policy documents of some of
:19:30. > :19:34.Britain's most popular mobile phone insurance providers. Mobile phone
:19:35. > :19:40.insurance can cost anything from a few pounds a month to 50p a day,
:19:41. > :19:48.with excesses of up to ?100! So is it worthwhile? First and foremost
:19:49. > :19:52.out of all the insurers we checked none of them will promise you a
:19:53. > :19:55.brand new phone, not a single one. Sadly in most cases it'll be a
:19:56. > :19:59.refurbished phone. But when it comes to awkward terms and conditions
:20:00. > :20:03.here's our top three. In at number three. Many insurance providers
:20:04. > :20:10.won't cover you if you've put a different sim card into your phone.
:20:11. > :20:14.So if you're using a foreign SIM card because you're abroad, or
:20:15. > :20:17.you've put a work sim card into your phone, you might not be covered. At
:20:18. > :20:21.number two. You better get to that police station fast. A lot of
:20:22. > :20:27.insurance companies only give you 24 hours to report your phone lost or
:20:28. > :20:33.stolen to the police. And finally top of our charts at number one: If
:20:34. > :20:36.you pay monthly for your insurance, many providers will ask you to pay
:20:37. > :20:40.for the rest of the year's policy first. On top of your excess, that
:20:41. > :20:45.could be a pretty hefty bill just to get a replacement phone. And just
:20:46. > :20:49.one last point be careful when it comes to their definition of theft,
:20:50. > :20:55.leave it unattended or out of arm's reach and you could be in trouble.
:20:56. > :21:01.So if it's simply pinched from your handbag, or grabbed from a table you
:21:02. > :21:05.may not be covered. What's the moral of our story? The same as always.
:21:06. > :21:12.Read again and again that small print before you put your signature
:21:13. > :21:15.to anything. A little bit of good news. Protect
:21:16. > :21:20.Your Bubble have now apologised to Sean and offered him ?150 for the
:21:21. > :21:23.inconvenience. They've admitted the delays in claiming on his policy
:21:24. > :21:27.were unacceptable and say they've since improved their systems. We've
:21:28. > :21:31.already looked at phone theft and insurance - but what can go wrong
:21:32. > :21:35.when you actually buy your new mobile? Rachel went to meet one mum
:21:36. > :21:40.who's had real problems getting her son connected.
:21:41. > :21:43.Just like thousands of teenagers, Tom Daye from Blackwood relies on
:21:44. > :21:49.his mobile phone to keep in touch with his mates. I use my phone for
:21:50. > :21:53.texting, Facebook, Twitter, it's really important to me - I don't
:21:54. > :21:58.know what people used to do before mobile phones. Tom's old phone was
:21:59. > :22:01.struggling to keep up with all his texting, calling and social
:22:02. > :22:08.networking - so in July, mum Tracey set about finding him a new deal.
:22:09. > :22:12.Tom had just finished his GCSEs so it was sort of like a treat. He
:22:13. > :22:15.wanted an iPhone five, like all his friends, so I thought, yeah, he's
:22:16. > :22:19.done his exams, pressure's off, we'll treat him and go and get a new
:22:20. > :22:22.contract for him. Instead of spending hours online, Tracey
:22:23. > :22:28.decided to pop down to her local mobile phone shop here in Blackwood.
:22:29. > :22:32.Surely they could help get them connected. With over 68 shops across
:22:33. > :22:42.the UK, Welsh company Get Connected claim to be the UK's largest
:22:43. > :22:44.independent mobile phone retailer. They even call themselves the
:22:45. > :22:48.'people friendly phone shop.' Tracey felt in safe hands. Walked into Get
:22:49. > :22:52.Connected, staff very friendly, very knowledagble. Told them I was there
:22:53. > :22:57.because my son had finished his GCSEs and i was looking for iPhone
:22:58. > :23:02.five for him. The sales assistant said - I've just put one away for my
:23:03. > :23:06.14-year-old brother. So there was that instant rapport that it was a
:23:07. > :23:12.knowledagble team for me to do buisiness with them. Tracey was
:23:13. > :23:16.impressed when they offered her a two year iPhone contract with EE for
:23:17. > :23:20.?32 a month. And so alarm bells didn't ring when Get Connected asked
:23:21. > :23:23.her to sign an unusual contract. Printed out a document, it was
:23:24. > :23:31.printed black and white, white paper no logos of the company. Signed the
:23:32. > :23:35.section that I had to, asked if I could have a copy or where was the
:23:36. > :23:37.carbonated copy and they said well actually our printer's playing up,
:23:38. > :23:49.photocopier's not working but you will have something in the post.
:23:50. > :23:52.And, perhaps foolishly, I believed them that that wopuld be OK. I
:23:53. > :23:56.trusted them. Tracey thought Tom was well on the way to getting
:23:57. > :23:59.connected. Until she got a shock in the post. Because he'd been signed
:24:00. > :24:06.up with EE as a business customer. And that wasn't the only surprise.
:24:07. > :24:10.Opened the bill and it showed ?43. Now, my agreement was ?32 dead no
:24:11. > :24:15.other add on costs at all. I was so annoyed when I had this. I thought,
:24:16. > :24:19.what have Get Connected done? Tracey set about trying to cancel the
:24:20. > :24:21.contract with EE, but they couldn't help her. It seemed only Get
:24:22. > :24:27.Connected could get her disconnected. They were quite blase
:24:28. > :24:31.about it. It was like - what's your problem, you've got a phone for your
:24:32. > :24:34.son, you've got all the data you want so what that it's ?43 a month.
:24:35. > :24:38.Tracey complained to Trading Standards and lo and behold, Get
:24:39. > :24:42.Connected finally started to listen. An area manager asked her to return
:24:43. > :24:45.the phone, and they would cancel the deal. Two months passed and Tracey
:24:46. > :24:52.thought her problems were behind her. But then came yet another nasty
:24:53. > :24:56.surprise. Out of the blue, because I'd forgotten about this phone
:24:57. > :24:59.contract as far as I was concerned Get Connected had cancelled it for
:25:00. > :25:02.me, I had a debt collection agency letter come through the door,
:25:03. > :25:07.demanding the money on behalf of EE because no payments had been made. I
:25:08. > :25:10.was horrified, because of the fact that as far as I was concerned, this
:25:11. > :25:14.manager promised to cancel the contract for me, and this hadn't
:25:15. > :25:18.been done. Nearly four months on, Tracey is now at the end of her
:25:19. > :25:26.tether. She just wants Get Connected to cancel that contract and to put a
:25:27. > :25:31.stop on the debt collection letters. She says she'll never deal with them
:25:32. > :25:34.again. I could have gone online and bought this contract for my son but
:25:35. > :25:38.I thought no, support the local busines, I live in Blackwood, why
:25:39. > :25:42.not. I now I technically feel like I've been stiched up. Tracey clearly
:25:43. > :25:46.not happy. Get Connected are insisting she told them she was a
:25:47. > :25:50.business customer - something she totally denies. But since X-Ray got
:25:51. > :25:53.involved - the contract has finally been cancelled - although Get
:25:54. > :25:58.Connected and the network provider, EE, are both blaming each other for
:25:59. > :26:03.the delay. EE say they're now investigating. The good news is that
:26:04. > :26:10.they promise there'll be no more debt collection letters. Well, let's
:26:11. > :26:14.get an expert opinion on all of this. Huw Evans is a law lecturer.
:26:15. > :26:21.Huw, if you buy your mobile from a shop like Get Connected, who do you
:26:22. > :26:25.go back to? You go to Get Connected the shop you bought it from. They
:26:26. > :26:28.are independent providers, they are acting as agents on behalf of the
:26:29. > :26:35.network providers, and they are authorised to enter into contracts
:26:36. > :26:39.on the network providers behalf. And what can you do if the contract
:26:40. > :26:44.turns out to be more expensive than you were told in the shop? There is
:26:45. > :26:53.a breach of contract in that situation because it doesn't reflect
:26:54. > :26:56.the agreement you thought you had. You're entitled to withdraw from the
:26:57. > :27:02.contract and obtain compensation, or rathwer reimbursement, for the money
:27:03. > :27:05.you've paid over. You'll have to hand the phone back, of couse, but
:27:06. > :27:10.you're entitled to withdraw from the contract. We heard a little bit
:27:11. > :27:13.about mobile phone insurance - what can people do to avoid getting a
:27:14. > :27:22.nasty surprise if they need to make claim? Read the small print before
:27:23. > :27:26.you enter into the contract. Assess what your needs are. Does this cover
:27:27. > :27:32.what I want? I going to go abroad, for example? Also, try and do some
:27:33. > :27:38.research about the reputation of the insurer. Some are very reasonable,
:27:39. > :27:41.others are not so reasonable. There will be information out there on the
:27:42. > :27:47.Internet. Look at what is and isn't covered. Theft sounds marvellous in
:27:48. > :27:52.principle, but if you look at policies, you will find there are
:27:53. > :27:55.exclusions, for example, theft from unattended motor vehicles, theft
:27:56. > :27:59.because phones have been left in a public place unattended. That
:28:00. > :28:05.severely restricts the effectiveness of cover. Look at the policy, ask
:28:06. > :28:10.yourself, is this what I want, do I need it? Huw, thank you.
:28:11. > :28:14.That's it for this week. Remember if you have anything you'd like us to
:28:15. > :28:18.investigate get in touch. You can call 03703 334 334 or drop us an
:28:19. > :28:21.email at xray@bbc.co.uk. Next week we're with Trading
:28:22. > :28:27.Standards on the menu at your local takeaway. My colleague asked for
:28:28. > :28:33.lamb, but we have got on here Islam, beef, chicken and turkey, so that's
:28:34. > :29:01.four meats... We'll see you then, same time, same place. Goodbye.
:29:02. > :29:02.Hello, I'm Ellie Crisell with your 90 second update. A terror