Episode 20 X-Ray

Have you been ripped off? Conned? Or just short changed? We're here to

fight for your rights. Spotting the latest scams - and

making sure you make the most of your money. I am chasing them, they

promised to come back, no one comes back to me. Very frustrating.

Exposing the rogues, confronting the conmen - we're here to help you

fight back. Tonight: After the havoc of the

storms, the rogue traders who prey on desperate householders, conning

them into parting with their cash. I feel absolutely terrible about it.

My dad has lost hard earned savings. They made a fool of us.

Hanging on for a telephone. Even in an emergency the phone companies can

take months to connect you. We've told them countless of times that

there is a severely disabled person here that needs to have a landline -

needs to have a panic alarm. And the new shopping craze sweeping

in from America which could save you a fortune. What are your standout

bargains? Well, all of these were free, the potatoes, the porridge,

the baby food, they were all free. Completely free? Completely free.

But first, we have been through some terrible weather. It's been a

struggle for many people - but it seems cowboy builders have been

going out of their way to make things worse. Rachel's been meeting

their victims. It's been a winter unlike any other

in recent memory. Wales has been battered by storms

and torrential rain. Across the country, communities have

been ravaged, with toppled trees, flattened fences and roofs ripped

apart, but the chaos is a money making opportunity for one group of

people. Doorstep conmen. They're preying on

elderly and vulnerable people, offering to carry out repairs - even

if they aren't actually needed. That's what happened to one family

in Cardiff. Kevin Ash and his parents Audrey and Laurance, who are

in their 80s, got an unexpected knock at the door - from a man who

appeared to be a builder. He said I'm a roofing contractor and as I

have been walking past I see your chimney pot is swaying, and it's

just about ready to fall and he said that could easily go through your

roof, or your neighbour's roof or hit somebody walking past and it

would kill them. He said we'll stabilise it for you and it'll cost

you ?420. It was the first the family knew about a problem with the

chimney - but the price seemed reasonable. I was in the process of

getting over from a seizure and I wasn't firing on all cylinders, my

mother and father were ill and I was worried about the damage that that

could do to people walking past. Minutes later, Kevin was shocked to

see workmen had already put up ladders. One of them was up on the

roof. What exactly were they doing up there? There was a guy up there,

by the chimney pot, he was resting on the actual chimney stack, and

this other guy with the clipboard said, "We'll show you what the

problem is," and he picked up the second pot chimney pot from the

left; picked it up, and then put it back down again. So literally picked

it up? Picked it up, yeah, I don't know whether they'd loosened it or

whatever happened beforehand. How did he propose to fix it? What did

he say he would do? First of all he said was going to concrete it to

make sure it was stable. Then he came in and said we need to

get rods down them, he said we got two but we got to get two others we

haven't got in stock. He said if we buy them you're looking at about a

grand a piece. ?1,000 apiece? ?1,000 apiece, yeah. Within just a few

minutes the roofer had put the price up from ?420 to a massive two

thousand pounds. -- ?2000. But he was more than happy to take

Laurance's birthday, Christmas and pension money as a down payment. We

had the money, the 420-odd pound, and my dad got the extra ?400 to

make it up to the ?850 and he snatched it off him. He said that'll

do for now, have you got any more money in the house? The men had

already cleaned them out - but they weren't satisfied. The man told

Kevin and Audrey to go by taxi to the bank to get more. But the bank

was shut - and the family returned to a nasty surprise. We had to come

back empty-handed so I said he'll have to wait until tomorrow, and

when Kevin and I got back he wasn't there at all. The roofer was gone -

and so was their ?850. In hindsight I know it was stupid and I feel

absolutely terrible about it that my dad has lost hard-earned savings and

they made a fool of us. I mean, they probably looked at us and said

there's 800 pounds waiting for me to take, and I just hope he doesn't do

it to somebody else. How can he do it to someone, because we we're

pensioners? Even Kevin is on a pension because he can't work, and I

mean money is tight anyway you know, but I thought well he must be out

having a nice time on our money tonight. That's really is a shocking

story. One that is only all too familiar in the aftermath of storms

across Wales. Sarah Smith is from Cardiff trading standards. Sarah,

what can you tell us about these people? Well, they turned up in the

Grangetown area of the city. Do we have a description of these men? The

police are looking for a white male, late 30s, early 40s. Medium build,

with an Irish or possibly West Country accent. If people have any

affirmation, what should they do? We should urge people to contact the

police and put that information forward. Lots of people across Wales

have suffered storm damage. What can we do to avoid falling into this

trap? There are a number of things people can do, the number one point

we would say is politely say no and close the door to any unexpected

callers that may be offering goods are carrying out services for them.

Also, never pay in full until the work is complete and you are fully

satisfied with the work that has been carried out. The other thing to

remember is to beware of anyone who was asking for a large upfront cash

payments, and under no circumstances go with someone to the bank to have

money withdrawn. Thanks Sarah, great advice. And if you think you might

be able to help with that case you can find all the details on our

website - along with that advice. Still to come: Find out how clipping

coupons could save you a fortune. Companies are giving you this free

money, take it. If someone is giving you a fiver for no reason at all,

you take it. Now, EE claim to be the country's

fastest mobile phone company. But when one man found himself the

victim of a scam, they weren't exactly quick out of the blocks.

Rhodri's been to Merthyr to find out more.

Thank you very much. It's great to get a surprise parcel, but what if

it's not for you? That's what happened to Terry

Collins from Merthyr. He received a state-of-the-art mobile phone which

he knew nothing about. It had to be a mistake. I was surprised when I

opened it up to see a mobile phone which I hadn't ordered. I do possess

a mobile phone, but mine's a cheap pay as you go not a contract phone.

The phone was from EE, short for Everything Everywhere. It's one of

our biggest mobile phone companies. Hey, it's me, here to talk about

no-brainers. They run sophisticated ad campaigns fronted by Hollywood

A-lister Kevin Bacon. The ads try to persuade us that their deals are so

good - it's obvious you'd want one. No-brainer. Terry knew the flashy

smartphone wasn't for him. So it was no surprise when, a few minutes

later, he got a call saying there had been a mistake and a courier

would call for it shortly. When Parcelforce turned-up, Terry signed

to show he'd returned the phone. He kept a copy of the receipt and

didn't think any more about it. But it's a scam. Thieves used Terry's

address to order the phone; they were the ones who called him and

they organised the courier so they could get their hands on their ill

gotten gains! The crooks now had the expensive high tech phone - which

they could sell on. They had used Terry's Identity to pull off the

scam. By giving his details when they took out the contract, the

scammers knew they would fly through the company's credit checks. They'd

chosen well. Terry is a retired probation officer with an impeccable

financial history. But the scam was about to cause Terry a major

headache. Within days he got a bill from EE for the mystery mobile.

So what d'you do when you get a bill that isn't yours, for a phone you

haven't got? Well, in the words of EE's front man Mr Bacon. It's a "no

brainer." Terry went straight down to EE's shop to sort it out! They

said they'd look into it then and not to worry about it. I came home

then and I felt a little bit easier, but then the concern was then a

fortnight after that then I received a further bill then. Terry had shown

EE proof that he'd didn't have the phone. So what did the mobile giant

do next? EE decided to send Terry another bill. Each time the bills

got larger and the letters became more threatening. Things were going

from bad to worse. Communication was all one way. I'm chasing them,

they're promising to come back, no-one comes back to me. I couldn't

speak to anyone. Very, very frustrating as well as worrying

time. Terry kept on telling EE about the fraud, he rang customer

services, even wrote to head office. So what did EE do next? In the words

of our hero, it's a no-brainer. No brainer! They called in a debt

collection agency. It was all too much for Terry. We were very, very

concerned and worried to have all these threatening letters about

something we hadn't ordered and didn't possess. After three visits

to the EE shop, a letter to head office, emails to customer services,

phone calls to the debt collectors, what did EE do next? They sent Terry

a bill, of course. And this time it was huge. The last straw was then

two weeks before Christmas I had another bill then for ?945. I mean,

that's not a very nice Christmas present to have. So what did Terry

do next? Well, that really is a no brainer. He called X-Ray, of course,

and four months after all of this started EE have finally stopped

sending those bills. Not bad for Britain's fastest network!

It did take EE is shockingly long time to get the message, but as soon

as we got in touch, they sorted it out straightaway. They have now run

Terry to apologise. And they say they have put a check on the post to

compensate him. Great result there. If you have got a problem we can

help with, give us a cold. 03703 334 334. If you want to write us a good

old fashioned letter, they've got the address! And you can get us on

the email - [email protected]. Remember to include a phone number. And we're

on Twitter @bbcxray. Later we'll be asking why Talk Talk and BT

Openreach failed to provide the landline desperately needed by the

Hart family. We told them countless of times there was a severely

disabled person living here. You can find them everywhere - newspapers,

magazines, the internet. I'm talking about coupons like these. Money off

this, money off that. But do you use them?

Hello. Hello. Hello. Quick question, do you both use coupons like these

when you go shopping? Quite often, yes. Where do you get them from?

Magazines. Do you save a lot? With you get them from? Newspapers,

magazines, online? Do you use coupons? No. Why not? I can't be

bothered. I use them when I remember them. I cut them out of magazines

and stuff. If I remember they're lying around somewhere, I try to

think about it. Food vouchers are one thing we do use. Does it save

you a lot of money? Loads, definitely. Do you use coupons? No,

not very often. I can't be bothered. Now, if you're one of those people

who never clip a coupon, you might want to have a look at this!

My feet are hurting so bad. Your coupons weigh one pound,two ounces.

That's the value of gold right there, right there, that's my gold.

This is the latest shopping craze storming the American TV networks.

13 cents for your total. These guys get their groceries for almost

nothing. Welcome to the latest craze in extreme sports... It is, Extreme

Couponing. Meet Zoe Phillips. A 25-year-old mum from Blaen Rhondda

who's into extreme couponing in a big way. Bills are going to go up,

money is going down. Companies are giving you this free money, take it.

If someone offered you a fiver for no reason at all you would take it.

It's the same with the coupons. Zoe started couponing after seeing the

American TV show. Her first attempt was a massive success. It was nerve

wracking, going through the till thinking right are they going to

take these, and I came out with three John Freida conditioning

bottles, a DVD, a mug and there were a few other things and it only came

to four pence, so that was quite kinda like, yeah, nice. Zoe hunts

everywhere for coupons. There have always been loads in magazines and

newspapers but now there are many more online. Zoe uses Facebook and

product websites, even mobile phone apps, to track them down. Sometimes

it's incredibly straightforward. Like I've got free pizza coupons

coming because I have just liked their page on Facebook, you know

it's a two second job, it doesn't take long it's easy. By combining

these coupons with special offers you can get massive savings. Time to

Put Zoe's couponing skills to the test. She's off to the shops. Now

would you believe it, none of the supermarkets would let us in to film

Zoe on her Extreme Couponing Challenge. Not worried this new

craze could cost them too much money are they? So that leaves me with an

hour to fill. I think I'll just settle myself down here and see if I

can find some coupons in the paper. Hello, how did it go? I think it

went really well, actually, I think I got some great bargains. Well,

you've got loads of stuff, let's go home and count all this up and see

how much you've saved. Not bad going. Well, Zoe, this looks like a

big shop, so what are your stand-out bargains? Well, all of these were

free, the potatoes, the porridge, the baby food, they were all free.

Completely free? Completely free. And where did you get those coupons?

Facebook or manufacturers pages. That's amazing, anything else that

was a really really good deal? These were reduced to ?1.24 on special

offer so I paid 24 pence with a coupon That's a huge bargain, isn't

it, 24 pence for a box of Shreddies. And these are all branded products

as well, aren't they? Yes, every branded product. OK, anything else?

This was reduced to ?1.34 and I ended up paying 59 pence. So, with a

coupon down to 59 pence, I mean, brilliant savings. So how much

should this entire shop have cost? ?52. And how much did you pay? ?22.

?22, so that's less than half price. Zoe used loads of tricks to get that

massive discount and used dozens of coupons. She saved ?30 on a ?52

shop. So, if you want to get started on extreme couponing, how do you go

about it? I'm meeting a couponing expert who says you can take it to

different levels. Level one is using a coupon, cutting it out of a

newspaper and using it for example, level two is using a coupon when

there's also a discount say money off 241, 342, but when you get to

the really extreme level, level three, it's people using coupon on

top of coupon it's people stacking up on non-perishables that never go

off so you really maximise the savings. What did you make of Zoe's

shop? ?52 worth of products for ?22. I mean, that's a phenomenal saving,

that's virtually half price, isn't it, off a big shop? She wasn't just

using coupons she was using them on items that were already discounted.

Anyone who can save that amount on a supermarket shop is doing very well.

So, give us your top tips. First thing is do not be shy. Coupons have

lost their stigma, go for it. Secondly, let the coupon lead what

you buy if you're not loyal to a particular brand buy the one that's

on offer as long as you buy it anyway there's no point spending

money if you don't need it. Thirdly, go extreme, use multiple coupons,

stack up on items, buy them ten times so you make multiple savings.

And what about the small print? Ultimately it's up to the shop staff

so if you try and they say no, well, hey, that's the worst thing that can

happen. It is worth reading in mind that you may not be able to use two

coupons together or use multiple items. If you want to buy ten

deodorants for example by them in different transactions or get

members of your family to buy them for you, can beat the system. Back

in the Rhondda, Zoe's continuing to hone her couponing skills, and her

family are seeing the benefits of all her work. It's lovely to know

that I can give them the best of what they want and save for them at

the same time. Now we all rely on our phones. But for one family,

their landline really is a lifeline. Unfortunately they just couldn't get

their phone company to understand the urgency. Rachel's been to meet

them. The Hart family from Caldicot were like any other close knit

family. Life was like normal, had my wedding, took me down the aisle,

both my parents would go out, have holidays, quite family orientated.

But On Boxing Day 2012, tragedy struck. Dad, Colin, was rushed to

hospital with a ruptured gall bladder and the next year of the

family's life was turned upside down. He was two months in a coma,

he had several heart attacks, had multiple organ failure and what was

that like for all of you? Soul destroying, just not being able to

speak to him...sorry. I remember one time where they said that he

wouldn't last the day and we had to have the Chaplain cold round and had

to read him his last rights. Even the doctors said it's a miracle he's

still alive from the full body septicaemia he had. It's a miracle.

But family life would never be the same again. Colin now needs help

with basic everyday tasks and has been left in a wheelchair. We had to

sell the family home and we had to search for a house where there was a

bedroom downstairs and a lot of room for his electric wheelchair. We had

to sacrifice our family home to get him a place where he can actually

come to and live. The family needed to make sure that help was available

24-hours a day should Colin need it. Central to the plan was a panic

button that he could wear around his neck and of course, they'd always be

on the end of a telephone line. The emergency panic button which would

allow Colin to summon help will ONLY work from a land line, so getting it

connected was vital. We just rang Talk Talk and asked whether it was

able to transfer the contract we had at our Mum's from our family home to

the new property and they said it would be no problem at all, so we

thought that's it then, all done and dusted. That was in September and

the engineer was due a month later. On that occasion, the builders

didn't have the house ready enough because we were having extensions

put on for my dad, so that was fair enough, so they moved it. So an

engineer was scheduled for the sixth November. Then just two days before

they were due to come, Talk Talk changed the date to the 19th

December. This six-week delay was critical to the family. They'd

wanted the panic button insatlled before Colin returned from hospital.

Now, this wouldn't happen. It was the day after my Dad was coming

home, which did concern my mum and me. If we had to leave my dad for

any these and there would not be a landline connected. The date came

and went but still no phone line. The family had no emergency phone

line. We told them countless times that the dizzy severely disabled

person living here that needs to have a landline, needs to have a

panic alarm, cannot be left on his own without one and they obviously

don't seem to listen. An engineer did eventually turn up on January 13

to install this phone socket inside the house but he cannot actually

connect this socket to the exchange. So, still no phone line for these

people. These cables aren't Talk Talk cables, they belong to BT

Openreach who run the phone network. Their delays in providing

services are well known to X-Ray viewers. Last October we highlighted

problems in the village of Tregarth near Bangor, who waited for WEEKS

for BT Openreach to connect them. The Harts arent alone. Back in

Caldicot, it seemed BT Openreach were at least aware of the problem.

The Hart family's builder told them he'd seen an Openreach engineer HERE

at the local exchange box back in December. The engineer told him the

box was full and there was no extra capacity to fit the Harts phone and

broadband. Unfortunately nobody hought to tell the Harts that. This

could easily be solved with a line and it would be finished, done,

everybody could go about their lives in confidence, myself included. Well

we've been in touch with Talk Talk and BT Openreach and both have

apologised for the delays in getting them connected. Talk Talk tell us

they made a mistake and initially sent an engineer to the wrong

address, but they're committed to learning from cases like this. And

BT Openreach said new underground cabling was needed to provide extra

capacity in the network. But they admit that what they call "internal

processing errors" delayed this work. But there is some good news.

After we got involved, the Harts have finally managed to get the the

landline they so desperately needed. That's all we've got time for

tonight. : When this couple won a competition they were thrilled and

even spent hundreds of pounds on flights to their destination. It was

the holiday of a lifetime to the 5-star Spanish fitness camp, so what

went wrong? I do not think it is feared really. We were on cloud line

and then so low you cannot imagine. -- cloud nine. If you have a

consumer problem new needing help with you can give us a call or drop

us a e-mail. It is important to leave us at daytime phone number.

The next week. Goodbye. Hello, I'm Ellie Crisell with your

90 second update. Two women and four