Episode 14 X-Ray

You're watching X-Ray, the programme that fights

If you have been scammed or dealt a raw deal, we are on your side.

Exposing the truth and tracking down the rogues and we won't take no for

an answer. Tonight - one family get some

shocking news about their new car. My advice to you is that

you don't even think about using this

vehicle on the road. now you're telling us you can't

believe how long you're I want something safe,

and I need it now, not in November. He's just chucked a bucket

of water over us... That was the last time

we confronted a dodgy diet pill salesman - now Rachel

is on the trail of another one. First, the garage that likes

to tell its customers they've made But Rachel's been hearing

from viewers who are wishing they'd Second-hand car dealers don't

have a great reputation - they're happy to take your cash,

but can be a lot less helpful if something goes wrong

with your vehicle afterwards. That's certainly been the experience

of these two busy young families who contacted X-Ray

about the same garage. Last June the Edwards from Bridgend

decided to upgrade the family car. It was the first time

I got to choose a car, I saw the Empire Cars advertisement

and I just went for it. Empire Cars operates from two

forecourts in Llantwit Fardre They say they pride themselves

on their customer service, and promises their cars

undergo strict checks. But it seems Neil's Mondeo may have

slipped through the net. I noticed the battery light

was showing and there was black smoke coming out of the back

of the car, and this is within 48 Empire Cars told him they'd fitted

a new alternator, but on the way home from the garage warning

lights started appearing. I drove it back home. What was

showing up was a warning on the glow plug lights.

The car was very sluggish, basically couldn't go

The car is now a permanent fixture on the drive,

with no sign that Empire Cars are willing to fix it.

Sean Wilkin and Michelle Inch from St Athan are another family

Especially as they run two businesses - Michelle

has her own equine supply firm and Sean is a painter/decorator.

With two small children and work on the increase,

Last October, they found a Jeep for sale - also from Empire Cars.

They liked the Jeep so much they booked a test drive.

Did you pick up anything on the test drive?

It didn't seem to work, pulled back up into the garage,

and as I pulled the handbrake up we rolled backwards.

Don't worry about it, we will get that fixed.

He was going to put a brand new MOT on, brand new service.

After handing over nearly ?4,000, Sean collected the Jeep

We decided to go for a drive through the country,

nice flashy new car, and come up to a hill to stop,

like a junction, put the handbrake on, car started rolling back.

Pull it up even further, it kept going, pull it up as far

If anyone had been behind us, we would have had our first

And the faulty handbrake was just the tip of the iceberg.

It just seemed on a daily basis things were going wrong.

The turbo had gone and the car was overheating all the time.

The Jeep went back to Empire Cars, but they strongly denied

there was anything wrong with the turbo or coolant system.

They did say, though, that they'd fixed the handbrake.

Well, Sean's going to show me how good a job they did.

So we are on a hill now and...

If I pull the handbrake up, and that is like as

Is there something coming the other way?

There seems to be a bit of a pattern here -

both cars developed faults within 48 hours -

fixed them properly. to the garage, they still haven't

I would love to show you a photo, but funnily enough

So what we have got here is the near side front shock

We've got front brake discs here excessively worn,

and there are excessive oil leaks on this engine.

And if all that wasn't enough, something catches Gareth's eye

We have the nearside rear suspension bush kept in place by a host

That's part of your suspension system, and if that comes adrift,

it's a capability of the wheel shooting off, and it's

My advice to you is that you don't even think about using this vehicle

You have been driving around in this car as a family, particularly

It is just horrendous to think that somebody...

They have spent ?4,000 on a potential death-trap.

This is the worst possible news for Michelle and Sean.

They have been driving around with their family in that car.

It seems to me that Empire Cars have got a lot to answer for.

I am going to see if I can track down the owner.

I have his number, but I am not going to ring him now.

Not very helpful then, and no sign of Craig Thomas

It says on his website that his is the smart choice

Well, we've had a bit of a result here.

The elusive owner, Craig Thomas, got back in touch with us

after we went looking for him - and he accepts that the work

He blames a poor mechanic, who has since been dismissed.

He's now agreed to refund Sean and Michelle the full cost

As for the Edwards family and their Mondeo -

well he says they're happy to repair the car and ensure

And if his garage can't do that, he says they'll offer them

And if you've got a business you want us to investigate,

get in touch, the number to call is 03703 334 334,

Taking a trip to the top of the garden - why it's the only

way for this couple to stay in touch with the rest of their family.

Now I've come to the fire training centre at Briton Ferry near Neath,

where firefighters get hands-on experience.

New recruits here are learning how to deal with kitchen fires

and many of the real-life fires they'll deal with are linked

to faulty appliances and we've had a big response to the tumble dryer

scare that we featured on last week's programme that's affecting

Across the country dryers are being turned off in droves

thanks to a fault which has caused fires like these and sent homes

The brands affected are Hotpoint, Indesit and Creda, which are all

And, if your dryer is on their list of problem machines,

then you're entitled to a free inspection and repair.

Of course, no-one would blame you for drying your clothes

the old fashioned way while you wait for your machine to be given

You'd better hope for sunny weather though, because the

More than five million dryers are affected and Whirlpool say

they're currently repairing around 4,500 machines a day.

This may sound impressive - but there's a big but!

At that rate, it would take more than THREE YEARS to fix them all!

And dozens of you have told us you are furious about the delay.

Karen Guest from Bagillt says she's been trying to arrange an inspection

for 16 weeks, but can't get through to anyone.

Meanwhile, Mark Wickham from Pontypool says he won't put his

family at risk while he waits for a repair, so he's forked out

And they're not the only ones hanging around to get

Susan Parry from Pontygwaith near Pontypridd has told us she has

to wait until November for her inspection.

I did have to cool down a bit before we spoke because I thought,

all this time now, what am I going to use?

But she's found a novel use for her dryer in the meantime.

When my grandchildren come and they want sweets they won't find

them in the cupboard, they will have to go in the tumbler.

Susan is one of many who can't stomach putting washing

in potentially dangerous dryers, even though Whirlpool say

But there's a catch - you must clean the filter

regularly and you can't leave the machines unattended.

Now watching clothes dry isn't my idea of a good time.

And neither is staying home to wait hours on end

Sue Llewellyn's machine is also on the list of dodgy dryers

and she was due to have it inspected at her Bridgend home

But the technician left her high and dry.

Nobody had the decency to telephone to say they weren't coming.

In West Wales, Lisa Roberts from Saundersfoot is travelling back

and forth to the laundrette to dry her clothes.

She was told a technician would take a look her drier this month,

Lisa has now lost all confidence in Hotpoint, and you can understand

why after the nightmare she had with another of their appliances.

About two and a half years ago I put the dishwasher on at lunchtime,

Come back through to get something, thought what is that smell,

It was just absolutely terrifying because if I had put that

on at night and gone to bed we wouldn't be here.

Lisa got a sparkling new kitchen and appliances, including

The tumble dryer that we replaced from the fire is on the recall

Yes, I phoned Hotpoint straightaway and they told me they would fix it

and it would be some time in February.

In spite of Whirlpool's reassurances, many people are too

scared to use their driers until they're repaired.

And one consumer expert says it's not reasonable for them to wait

a repair must be carried out within a reasonable time

and without significant inconvenience to the consumer.

And to expect someone to have to wait months to have something

repaired, that's simply not reasonable, no!

The manufacturers may be crossing their fingers that all this

But with millions of people waiting to have their dryers looked

at there could be a load more problems ahead.

Well, trainee firefighters are still battling hard

here and you can get a real sense of how devastating a kitchen fire

would be and if electrical goods were involved here,

Well, Whirlpool - the parent company of Hotpoint,

Indesit and Creda - say they're recruiting hundreds

But, if you register with them today, they say they'll get

in touch, on average, within ten weeks.

And that's just to give you an idea of an appointment for a visit

Now the company insists their dryers are still safe as long as you follow

Well, with me now is the Head of Community Safety for Mid

and West Wales Fire Service, Karen Jones.

Karen, how big a problem are tumble dryer fires?

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service attended 128

tumble dryer fires just in the last five years and 11 people

were injured in those fires during that time and some of them

were taken to hospital because of smoke inhalation,

so quite a significant problem for us.

So what's your advice, Karen, if people are a bit worried

I think it's important that people look at their manufacturer's

guidance, make sure that they clean out the lint trap where the fluff

gathers after every use really so that the appliance doesn't

We'd also say, don't overload the tumble dryer and make sure

that there aren't any flammable liquids on clothing or items that

you're putting in there such as oils because that heated up again can

cause a problem and don't leave your appliances unattended,

you know, if you go to bed and switch the appliance on,

or leave the house, you won't know if a problem occurs.

Karen, thank you, and we'll put all of that advice

Now just how hard would YOU find it to live without a phone line

I might manage for a few days, but for one couple in Powys it's

Lots of us dream of swapping city living for a quieter life

That's just what Karen and Tim Thompson wanted

when they moved last year from Coventry to Tafolwern near

Coming to the country we wanted to turn the clock back but to live

in the modern world you need a telephone line that's constant

and you have to email and social networks you have to have

all of these things to keep in contact.

And the couple thought they'd done their homework before

We were looking for two years before we found this property

so we were really careful to check in every way we could that this

house would have the appropriate connection.

The couple choose Plusnet as their phone and Internet provider

- they promised to get them connected quickly.

You're the customer and if I'm not mistaken, the customer

But that's not how it's turned out for Karen and Tim.

Their escape to the country is a little too quiet

After four months, Plusnet still haven't got them a working

Just getting hold of them is a challenge in itself.

Karen and Tim also have poor mobile phone signal.

so to make a call, or use their 3G, they have to trek to the top

After several failed attempts, we finally get hold

Do you know, the line is still not brilliant, is it?

I think it's going to be best if I come and see you...

What I'm struggling to understand is, in this hi-tech world,

how is it SO difficult to get Karen and Tim connected?

Is this where you have to come make your calls?

Karen and Tim may be Plusnet customers but they're actually

at the mercy of a different business to get them online.

BT Openreach are responsible for the cables that bring phone

and broadband services to most homes, and it's their engineers

He wired all the inside of the house, he wired from the house

to the pole and checked that was correct and then

after about two hours, he came back into the house

and said, "What you really need here is a brand new telephone line.

Not the quick connection they were promised -

and the start of a series of engineer visits from Openreach.

Yet none of them installed the new phone line.

We had four engineers all checking each other's work basically

because they didn't really go any further from the first one

If you'd come to me in November and said it would take six months

to do this, I would work with you, that's fine, that's being honest

and straight forward, but to constantly give promises

Having no phone line or Internet is a huge inconvenience to Karen

and Tim, which even saw them miss out on key family announcements

like the birth of their grandson Max.

Everyone else knew about it, everyone else was happy and relieved

and we were over here thinking, "What's happened?

Karen and Tim aren't allowed to complain direct to Openreach

so they've been pleading with Plusnet to speed things up.

But as it stands, they're still left making their phone calls

At least twice I've been in tears trying to explain to people.

You feel so isolated and cut off from everyone.

There's no communication with anyone.

Well, both Plusnet and Openreach have apologised to Karen and Tim.

Openreach say they had to erect two new poles and fit a kilometre

of cable, and that the rain and high winds over the winter

But some really good news - the company say the couple should

finally be connected up by the end of this week.

Now a few weeks ago, we warned you about dodgy diet

But another rogue seller has also been on our radar.

Diet pills - supposedly a short cut for those trying to shed the pounds.

But what's in them and how safe are they?

There's a whole industry online prepared to supply pills

And closer to home - there are also big problems.

and the misleading claims it was making about its products.

On average our customers lose between four to eight

And when we confronted owner Lee Szuchnik, he couldn't wait

Now we're on the trail of another dodgy diet pill seller -

Jeffrey Young is the brains behind JY Nutrition near Risca.

Here he is proudly buffing up his shop window.

The problem is some of his products haven't been so squeaky clean.

In fact, some of them were downright dangerous.

We catch up with him again at Cwmbran magistrates -

he's up in court after a Trading Standards investigation

found some of his diet pills actually contained

We've received a complaint about these.

It was an anonymous complaint from a father whose son had taken

them having purchased them from the shop and had

What concerned about this was the labelling.

Specifically there were no ingredients, so goodness

Trading Standards had these and two other brands seized from the shop

One of the products, Limitloss, contained a controlled class B drug

- Amphetamine, otherwise known as speed!

Now it was only very small traces but of course the effects

of amphetamines on people taking them, increased heart rates,

so anybody with cardiac problems, high blood pressure,

Jeffrey Young claimed he didn't know these tablets contained

But he couldn't quite explain why alongside them he was also selling

The label clearly states that these pills contain Sibutramine -

a weight loss drug that's been banned in the UK since 2010.

That's because it has been linked to heart problems.

12 tubs of the product were found on the shelves of JY Nutrition.

Fiona Parry's daughter Eloise started taking diet pills containing

a different banned substance in her final year at

And she was a student on course to get a first.

But Eloise was battling the eating disorder bulimia and,

without her mum knowing, she'd been buying diet pills

Last April she took eight tablets in one day and ended up in A

The first I knew about it was a phone call from the hospital

And the first thing the doctor said was I'm afraid it's not good news.

As her body overheated her heart stopped and they couldn't start it

again because she literally had burnt it out.

That's what the diet pills had done to her.

Since the loss of her daughter, Fiona's been fighting to clean up

They are not regulated, they are not licensed.

You make the assumption is coming from a nice, clean

The truth is it could be somebody's garage or shed.

The pills sold by Jeffrey Young contained different ingredients

Back at court he got his comeuppance, as he and his company

admitted 26 offences under unfair trading and food regulations.

Jeffrey Young, you've pleaded guilty and have been sentenced.

You were selling diet pills that contained amphetamine.

You don't think that's your responsibility to do that?

I am sorry for the customer who had a reaction to a pill.

But do you accept as a trader you have to know what's

in the things that you're selling?

So Jeffrey Young is telling us that he didn't know

Unfortunately, as a trader, he needs to know.

So Jeffrey Young clearly doesn't feel he's to blame here,

They gave him a 26-week suspended jail sentence and ordered him to do

Remember, if you've got a story you want us to cover,

the number to call is 03703 334 334, you can email [email protected],

without having to pay those High Street estate agents' fees!