Episode 12 X-Ray

The programme that fights for your rights.

If you have been scammed or Dell at a raw deal, we are on your side,

exposing the truth and tracking down the ropes. We will not take no for

an answer. But not all their

customers are impressed. Overall, it is just

a complete nightmare. The holiday booking sites

which don't always deliver You think you're going to be getting

a level of service which is actually going to support you,

rather than cause more issues. And why is a property company

charging the earth for land First tonight, Rachel's been

speaking to unhappy customers of one of Wales's best-known car

dealerships, based right You couldn't really

escape the advertising. It looked like a good

company to go for. They're based at this huge

complex at Neath Abbey, with a part exchange

outlet at Merthyr. And they certainly

have a reputation. There are lots of happy

customers on the website, Some of them are from

independent review sites. Take a look at these,

from sites like Trustpilot. 87% of customers gave

them four or five stars. Can this really be the company

we investigated three years ago? Back then, customers complained

to us about their expensive extended He turned around and said

that the warranty is the best thing It covers absolutely

everything on the car apart We went undercover to see

what they would tell us. The only thing it doesn't cover

is tyres and that kind of stuff. There will lots of exclusions

in the small print, seized calipers, internal or external oil seals,

cracked and blocked heads, window regulator cables,

water ingress, exhaust system, rubber hoses, failures caused

by the build-up of carbon deposits, The company said that

if we actually bought a car, we'd have been given the details

by compliance manager. And now, it would seem

the customers love them. But we've been hearing from a few

that aren't so keen. Darren Dorricott from Pontypool

bought his Peugeot hatchback from the company's

Merthyr branch last June. I could hear a knocking

from the passenger side of the front wheel which didn't sound right,

so it started ringing alarm bells The car had passed an MOT the day

before he bought it. But Darren was worried,

so he had it retested less An MOT report, it was an actual

failure of the MOT. As the car stands, it

would not pass an MOT. Trade Centre Wales say

that the fault occurred They fixed it and other faults

highlighted by the second MOT. But just weeks later,

warning lights started coming up on the dashboard and he had

problems starting the car. The company eventually agreed to pay

for an independent Peugeot garage They sent the report

to Trade Centre Wales. I phoned them up and they said

we have had the report back from the Peugeot garage

and it contains two items which we are going to

get repaired for you. In fact, the Peugeot garage had

found three more items needing urgent attention which Darren says

Trade Centre Wales didn't mention. So I said, OK, so what

about the heat shield? And they said, no, that wasn't

picked up as an issue. And I full well know it was,

because it was in black and white The car had failed an MOT just

weeks after he bought it. Now he says he was being misled

about the repairs it needed. Although they fixed the problems,

Darren wasn't impressed. Overall, a complete nightmare

of customer service and I would I wouldn't recommend my worst enemy

to go and buy a car from them. When Allan Smith from Crickhowell

needed a new runaround, He thought Trade Centre Wales

would have the car for him. I thought it sounded OK,

so I headed down there. But just weeks later,

he said an independent garage told him the car had

serious rust problems. He took the car back

to Trade Centre Wales, but they said there was only surface

corrosion, so Alan turned They arranged for somebody to come

and do an independent inspection. And that report found that the rust

on the fuel tank was so bad, there was an immediate

risk of fuel leak. They gave Alan his money

back and compensation Trade Centre Wales had picked

a fight with the wrong guy. I made a Facebook page and group

called Nightmare With Trade Centre I had quite a lot of traffic, quite

a few people with horror stories. But Trade Centre Wales

were not happy. Eventually I got a letter

from the company's legal department, which was a solicitor down

in Cardiff, that was threatening to take me to court

if I didn't issue an apology. Because they are a big company

and I am just a small, poor man. I felt they were trying to bully me

into taking down my Facebook page. Six months on, and Allan's page

is still up. And he hasn't forgotten how he feels

he was treated. It's the worst customer service

I've ever experienced. Well, some very unhappy

customers there. So, what are Trade

Centre Wales saying? Well, they paint a very

different picture. They tell us they have high

standards of after-care service and have thousands of happy

customers every year. In January alone, they say they sold

1,200 second-hand cars, so they are bound to

have a few problems. Which is understandable,

but some people seem very upset They do, the people we have spoken

to say they have to keep taking their cars back again

and again to get them and they also say they found the after-sales staff

very difficult to deal with. They say of the six cases we told

them about, they got the faults fixed quickly and treat those

customers with respect and sympathy. Well, if you remember,

he believes he wasn't put fully in the picture about faults

that were identified Now Trade Centre Wales, again,

deny this and say they think he failed to mention one

of the matters was actually Well, it's an interesting one this,

because Trade Centre Wales did fail to spot that severe corrosion

on the fuel tank. But otherwise, the Independent

report said the car So they are saying they are

satisfied with the level Allan, though, clearly is not,

which is why he set up Now the company say they were acting

perfectly properly in asking him to take down that which they

considered untrue and defamatory. And later in the programme,

Rhod will have the lowdown on what to look out for when you're

shopping a second-hand car. And remember, if there's anything

you'd like us to look into, The number to call is 03703 334334,

or you can e-mail [email protected]. Still to come tonight:

Fighting for a fair price. The residents who feel

they are being ripped off. I only paid 14,000 for the house

when I bought it! Now, if you're booking a special

holiday, you may well arrange it But what if you don't get

the dream trip you expecting? Last year, one in four

of us booked holidays You can just enter where you want

to go and when you hit search, there are loads of options

to choose from. Whether you go for a week

in the sun, fun on the ski slopes or a stylish city break,

you'd hope your trip would go But if things go wrong and you don't

get the holiday you set your heart One of the biggest travel

sites is booking.com. Planet Earth's number

one accommodation site. Seasoned travellers Pat

and Sue O'Reilly from Llandysul in Ceredigion decided

to give it a whirl. So, how important is it that

you love of the outdoors We go on holiday so that we can go

outside and see different things. We learn what we can photograph,

what we can film and share One of their favourite spots

is Yellowstone National Famous for its lakes, mountains,

grizzly bears and geysers. It's where the centre of the earth

bursts through the surface. They planned to visit again

last summer and Sue booked hotels The couple received booking

confirmations for all their hotels, so they were confident

everything would run smoothly. Then when we got there,

they had no record of the booking. We had nowhere else to go and as far

as we knew, we did Thankfully, the hotel

did have a spare room. The next day, Sue and Pat continued

their journey to Yellowstone. Another 500 mile drive to get

there and we had a whole week's booking in this hotel

for which they had no record. It was worrying, because,

you know, you think, But this time, the hotel was full

and it was a peak holiday season. After many calls, Pat and Sue

found a place to stay, but it was further away, had no

restaurant and cost more money. It makes you wonder what the purpose

of a confirmation is. The experience cast a shadow over

Pat and Sue's special holiday. They've complained

twice to booking.com, Let us see what consumer law expert

Professor Margaret Griffiths makes So, who is responsible here,

Margaret? Well, it does look as if it is

the booking process that has gone wrong, rather than a problem

at the hotel, and because it is in the booking process, then

booking.com are responsible for it. They've had to go to a more

expensive hotel than the one they thought they'd booked,

and that is a financial cost them, so it will be perfectly reasonable

to expect booking.com to refund the price difference,

plus any obvious consequential loss they suffered for having to go

off-site for their meals. Another couple who had bother

with the booking site are newlyweds Paul and Damien

Bridgeman from Barry. I promised Damien I'd take him

to New York when we first met. After planning a hectic wedding,

the honeymoon was going to be some time to relax, chill out and have

some magical time for ourselves. Paul chose to arrange the trip

through booking site Expedia. He made it clear that

because Damien has cerebral palsy, Their booking documents confirmed

this and the couple jetted off to New York confident that

everything was in hand. But when the couple arrived

in New York, the couple feared that it might not just be

the city that never sleeps, The room was not accessible

in any way, shape or form. There was a walk-in shower

but there was no bath chair and Damien's chair tends

to spark in water. The bed was just unsuitable and,

when I was putting Damien to bed, the hoist tipped so he could

have easily been hurt. Expedia hadn't told the hotel

about Damien's needs. You think you're going to be getting

a level of service which is actually going to support you rather

than cause more issues. Paul and Damien hoped

their honeymoon would improve But, yet again, they didn't get

the accessible room they had booked. I expect to get what I ask

for and if the company can't provide Paul and Damien did everything

they should have done. They have checked the booking

confirmation, they made their requirements clear upfront

and you really are left wondering whether in practice you wouldn't

just be better off booking the hotel direct so you have the peace of mind

that the people actually providing the service definitely

know what you need. And, incredibly, when they

complained, Expedia gave Paul So using a booking site may not

guarantee you a great holiday. And it's definitely worth checking

out those terms and conditions. You need to know exactly

what your rights and remedies And never forget, if it's

worth more than ?100, pay with your credit card

because then if you can't get satisfaction from the company

concerned you can go back to the credit card company and ask

them to intervene on your behalf. So what have the

companies had to say? Well, Booking.com have apologised

to Pat and Sue for the standard They blame a glitch

in their computer system for the hotel rooms not

being booked, so the couple will be Expedia have also apologised

and admit they made errors in Paul They're reviewing their processes

to prevent this happening again and they've now offered them a full

refund for the hotel rooms - ?1,800, and given them

compensation of ?200, so that's a total of ?2,000,

which is a great result. Now, earlier we were hearing

about problems with second hand cars and it's the issue Trading Standards

gets most complaints about. Rhod's been finding out how

to boost your chances of getting Many of us fall head over heels

when we find the car of our dreams. But if you let your heart

rule your head, what you thought was your dream motor could turn

out to be a nightmare. And that's why I've gone

all Frank Butcher on you today. Welcome to the forecourt

of Rhod's runabouts - the used car-dealer

with a difference. I'm not after your money,

I'm dishing out advice on how Lesley Nicholls from Bridgend hasn't

had much luck with cars. She needed one to take granddaughter

Megan to school and splashed out But a few months after buying

it, problems set in. Every time I stopped at a junction,

it was as though the clutch had no I'd get to a red light

and try to pull away I'd have to end up putting

the hazard lights on with people Her garage agreed to swap it

for a Vauxhall Astra and Lesley didn't think to make

any further checks. I could hear this terrible noise

coming from the car as if something Lesley's gears collapsed,

wrecking her gearbox, But things could have

been different. A quick check of the new government

MOT website shows the history And whilst it had an MOT,

it also had lots of advisory notes. A good indicator that trouble's

just around the corner. We've got a brake fault

on the rear brakes. They're both imbalanced

and fluctuating. We have corrosion on the subframe

and we've got a gearbox fault I think what's confusing

is when she got the car it came with a 12 month MOT and she thought

with that she was safe. Yeah, and that's the general

misconception of the public. That because it's got a new MOT,

all's good with the vehicle, When you're buying a car,

it's always wise to take The AA and the RAC offer car

inspections for as little as ?99. But there are plenty of things

you can check yourself too. First up, ask to see

the log book or V5. Here we have the vehicle

identification number. On this particular vehicle,

we have it here on the windscreen and we also have it there

on the underside of the bonnet. Now, if that doesn't

match up to the V5 form, you're in trouble, simply because it

could be a clone vehicle, a stolen vehicle, it could be

a completely different vehicle So if that don't match up,

don't go any further. Another good way to see how well

the car's been cared You see it's a little bit low on oil

and you can also see the oil's So that hasn't been

changed in a long while. If you then go to the oil filler

cap, you can see there's a lot Alarmingly, the coolant seems very

low and that may be indicative of a leak somewhere or, worse,

it could be a head gasket fault. It hasn't been serviced

so that means money, So always check for

a good service history. And another warning sign Gareth

says to look out for? Accident-damaged cars returning

to the market which have First thing you'll notice

is that the paint doesn't match up Someone has re-sprayed this

whole area in gold paint, possibly to cover blue

panels and the rest of it. But you can see all

of the overspray. They haven't done

a very tidy job of it. It's a botch job and obviously

you can see the misalignment And my pencil goes right

in there and that's going That's going to cause

all sorts of problems. It's worth paying for an HPI check,

which can reveal any serious prangs And never part with any

cash until you've done If you do all that, then hopefully

you'll steer clear of car catastrophes and you and your motor

can enjoy many happy miles together. Next, I've been to a housing estate

near Pontypridd where a property company has left residents

feeling pretty peeved. The Crown Hill Estate

in Llantwit Fardre sprung to life in the 1960s and has always been

a popular choice for families. Angela Thomas and her late husband

Tony raised their children here. We got married in '69 so,

yes, it is very special. Angela's now retired

and her mortgage is paid off. But there's one thing

still troubling her. Like many others on the estate,

she lives in a house that's If you're a leaseholder,

you don't own the land What you have bought is the right

to live there for the number The landowner has recently

changed to a company called Did you think about buying

the freehold one day? Yes, I did think about it,

but with the mortgage to pay I didn't think about applying for it

because it was only ?20 a year. Why would owning the freehold now

be important to you? Well, after my days, Lucy,

I'd like my children to inherit the house, obviously,

and if I don't own the freehold, It can be tricky to secure

a mortgage on a house that's got less than 80 years

left on its lease. Angela's only had 50 years so,

when LPM offered to sell her the freehold, she was

eager to snap it up. The first letter that I had

was to say it was ?2,195. But before she could take up

the offer, LPM wrote again with a new price which

was eight times higher. When I first opened the letter,

I thought it was ?1,500, but when I looked

again it was ?15,996. I can't really believe how

they get to that price. I went for a drive around the estate

with a chartered surveyor who told me how the value

of a freehold is worked out. The value of the house

is one major part of it. Also, of course, is the ground rent

you pay and also the length of the lease because,

as the lease gets towards its end, it becomes more valuable

to the landlord and becomes more expensive for tenants

to acquire their freehold. What do you believe the value

of the freehold of these kinds Really, it's around about ?5,000

would seem to be a more general And that tallies with the figure

given to Ann Hughes by the surveyor she hired to value

her freehold. She wanted to buy it and made LPM

an offer but couldn't They came up with the astonishing

price of ?27,000, so it had gone up Where are they getting

these figures from? How does that make you feel,

having all these wildly varying It makes you feel like you might

be getting ripped off. All over this estate,

furious residents are telling us they just want to buy

their freeholds for a fair price. It's certainly a hot

topic in the local pub. They are playing with

people's lives on this. It's virtually impossible

to get hold of them. I only paid ?14,000

for the house when I bought it. Feelings are running high and people

here don't know where to turn, so I'm off to meet someone I hope

can offer them some advice. It must be quite confusing to get

such a variety in prices It would be worthwhile and helpful

if they could set out for the lessees how they have

reached those figures. But with so many families

in the same position, does Anthony think they'd be better

off working together? I think it goes a long way for one

or two lessees to get together on behalf of their neighbours

to have a discussion with the freeholders about how

they have arrived at the prices If that doesn't succeed,

then you're looking at things that That could mean taking their cases

to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. People here hope it

won't come to that. Whatever happens though,

they're sticking together. We can all get together

and try to right this wrong. We are in a better position

with strength in numbers taking our case back

to the organisation. So, yes, we are going

to go for it now. LPM say they're sorry

for the confusion over the prices, which they blame on computer

problems that still haven't been As for the massive difference

between their figures and the ones given by the surveyors we spoke to,

LPM say there could be a negotiated settlement, but they're not yet

in a position to offer The residents say they're now

seeking legal advice as a group Well, that's all we've

got time for this week, but if you have a story you'd

like us to look into, Next week: He ran away last time

we confronted him and Rob the Builder's been up

to his old tricks again. He said, don't look up,

it's not as bad you think. I looked up, it was

a state of carnage.