:00:00. > :00:00.You're watching X-Ray, the programme that fights
:00:00. > :00:22.If you have been slammed for Delta raw deal we are on your side,
:00:23. > :00:23.exposing the truth and tracking down the rogues, and we will not take no
:00:24. > :00:31.for an answer. new mum Debbie paid thousands
:00:32. > :00:37.for a family car. But it spent most of the last year
:00:38. > :00:43.in the garage which sold it to her. Now I just hate them.
:00:44. > :00:47.I do. I don't understand how
:00:48. > :00:52.they can do it to people. Have you thought of renting
:00:53. > :00:54.your home to visitors? Rhod's been finding out whether it's
:00:55. > :00:57.easy money or more trouble I'm so chuffed you've
:00:58. > :01:04.booked this place. And Rachel's been on a very
:01:05. > :01:10.glamorous assignment. We have done so many of these,
:01:11. > :01:14.but we have never had to wait She's trying to flush out this
:01:15. > :01:19.caravan con man who sold his customers' vans
:01:20. > :01:23.and pocketed the profits. All that money, and your customers
:01:24. > :01:31.only got back a fifth First tonight, Rachel's been
:01:32. > :01:38.investigating a Cardiff garage that's quick to sell customers cars
:01:39. > :01:43.riddled with problems, but takes a lot longer
:01:44. > :01:52.to put things right. It's an iconic car famed
:01:53. > :01:55.for its reliability. It even has its own film character -
:01:56. > :01:59.Herbie, the VW Beetle that keeps Easy to see, then, why one garage
:02:00. > :02:08.in Cardiff would adopt a car just Classic looks and dependable
:02:09. > :02:17.motoring - what's not to like? There's a VW Beetle plastered
:02:18. > :02:20.across the wesbite of C Automotive in Cardiff, along with its Facebook
:02:21. > :02:26.page. No problem with that,
:02:27. > :02:28.except some of the real cars they sell seem to leave rather
:02:29. > :02:34.a lot to be desired. As I put my foot down
:02:35. > :02:37.on the accelerator, it just stopped. The engine management
:02:38. > :02:39.light came on again, It sounded like I was in
:02:40. > :02:43.a helicopter, it was Over the last nine months,
:02:44. > :02:49.a stream of unhappy customers have complained to X-Ray about the poor
:02:50. > :02:52.service they say they've received A year ago, Debbie Lloyd,
:02:53. > :03:02.who lives near Blackwood, splashed out almost
:03:03. > :03:06.?4,000 on this BMW. She was desperate for a bigger,
:03:07. > :03:09.family car, following the birth Diesel car.
:03:10. > :03:16.Five-door because of the baby. Everything was fine
:03:17. > :03:20.until the following day. It was starting and stopping on us,
:03:21. > :03:23.an engine management light would come on,
:03:24. > :03:26.we'd pull over. The car went into limp mode
:03:27. > :03:29.and wouldn't start again. But Debbie was in for a shock
:03:30. > :03:34.when she went to fill the lady in the kiosk said,
:03:35. > :03:40."The fuel's gushing out When we looked out,
:03:41. > :03:44.there was a massive puddle underneath the car,
:03:45. > :03:47.and you could blatantly see it. But just a few weeks later,
:03:48. > :03:53.the warning lights came on again. Debbie took the car back
:03:54. > :03:56.to the garage, who promised But when she collected it,
:03:57. > :04:03.it still had problems. Not even a mile up the road,
:04:04. > :04:06.and the engine management light came on again, and it went into limp mode
:04:07. > :04:10.again on the roundabout. Scary, so we managed
:04:11. > :04:14.to get back to the garage. The owner told me that he wouldn't
:04:15. > :04:27.offer me a refund. If I wanted a refund I'd have
:04:28. > :04:33.to take him to court. When Bryn St Clair from Cwmbran
:04:34. > :04:35.visited C last November, he saw a very different
:04:36. > :04:37.side to Jason John. Bryn was impressed by his sales
:04:38. > :04:42.patter, and paid just under ?3,000 He said we were very lucky,
:04:43. > :04:52.that his mate wanted the car, and we could have it
:04:53. > :04:55.if we had it today. I took it out and had
:04:56. > :04:57.a little test drive in it. So was this new car
:04:58. > :05:03.a model of reliability? I come to approach a car,
:05:04. > :05:10.put my indicator on, as soon as I approach the car
:05:11. > :05:13.and put my foot down to give me a bit more speed,
:05:14. > :05:16.it just stopped. The car just stopped dead,
:05:17. > :05:19.and I'm very lucky that there's no other vehicles behind me because it
:05:20. > :05:25.would have been a terrible accident. The car stopped, I turned
:05:26. > :05:28.the ignition off and then on, Bryn took the car straight
:05:29. > :05:30.back to C He says they told him
:05:31. > :05:33.it was a problem with the diesel particulate filter,
:05:34. > :05:36.but assured him they'd fixed it. Next day, my wife went to work
:05:37. > :05:39.again, and it happened again, and then I said, "We've
:05:40. > :05:42.got to take this back, Once again, he drove carefully back
:05:43. > :05:52.to C, and they promised to sort out the problem,
:05:53. > :05:55.but he's still waiting. Every time I phoned them
:05:56. > :06:01.they'd have an excuse - the injectors hadn't come back,
:06:02. > :06:03.they're still waiting for parts - but when I went to the garage,
:06:04. > :06:07.I'd seen the car in the corner with four or five cars behind it -
:06:08. > :06:10.hadn't been touched. They've got my car,
:06:11. > :06:14.they've got my money. Two months on, and Bryn's car
:06:15. > :06:16.is apparently still here at C When we spoke to him,
:06:17. > :06:24.it hadn't been fixed, and he hadn't
:06:25. > :06:30.received a refund either. Aditi Bharwaj also experienced
:06:31. > :06:36.C's not-so-special take She had problems with the car
:06:37. > :06:42.she bought soon after picking it up. All the dashboard lights were on,
:06:43. > :06:45.and it started giving me a signal And it was a similar story for David
:06:46. > :06:53.Evans. I got to the main road,
:06:54. > :06:59.and to be honest it sounded Got to the house, and I noticed
:07:00. > :07:06.it was leaking a lot of oil The following day, Aditi and David
:07:07. > :07:10.took their cars straight back to the garage and
:07:11. > :07:12.asked for a refund. Both say they had a rough
:07:13. > :07:14.reception from C's owner, I was just wanting to know
:07:15. > :07:18.if there's any procedure that Is there like a refund policy,
:07:19. > :07:21.and he started shouting. I'd gone there rather expecting
:07:22. > :07:23.to have a refund. He got quite in my face
:07:24. > :07:26.and started shouting. Jason John denies being
:07:27. > :07:28.aggressive to either of them. He insists Aditi's car
:07:29. > :07:32.was fit for purpose, and says David knew about the oil
:07:33. > :07:38.leak before buying the car. Both of them have now
:07:39. > :07:40.had their money back, although David had
:07:41. > :07:44.to wait five months. Meanwhile, two months after buying
:07:45. > :07:48.it, Debbie's car was still at C Last April, she gave them one
:07:49. > :07:51.more chance to fix it. But as the weeks rolled by,
:07:52. > :07:56.the excuses mounted up. They kept on telling us
:07:57. > :08:00.it'll be ready tomorrow. It's with this garage
:08:01. > :08:04.and that garage. By now, all Debbie wanted
:08:05. > :08:11.was a refund, and when that didn't In court, it was agreed that
:08:12. > :08:18.Debbie's car would be independently inspected to see what
:08:19. > :08:23.was wrong with it. But before that could happen,
:08:24. > :08:25.she received a rather surprising My friend called me to say,
:08:26. > :08:31."Have you had the car back?" "Why's it in Cowbridge
:08:32. > :08:38.on the High Street?" Debbie discovered her BMW had broken
:08:39. > :08:41.down in Cowbridge while being tested Her friend filmed it
:08:42. > :08:50.being towed away that evening. I was under the impression that
:08:51. > :08:55.until the court case was over, they weren't going to be driving
:08:56. > :08:58.that vehicle anywhere. I just had a feeling
:08:59. > :09:01.they were going to be selling it, I looked on my phone,
:09:02. > :09:04.and saw it up on their website. It's so soul-destroying when I'd
:09:05. > :09:11.paid the money for it, they hadn't given me a refund,
:09:12. > :09:15.but yet they were now They promised to pay Debbie back
:09:16. > :09:23.most of her money as part of an out-of-court settlement,
:09:24. > :09:26.but never did. Last month - a year
:09:27. > :09:30.after she bought her car, and ten months after she was last
:09:31. > :09:34.able to drive it, Debbie finally got a court judgement against C
:09:35. > :09:41.for more than ?4,000. I honestly am not
:09:42. > :09:44.expecting them to pay! Being without a car has had a big
:09:45. > :09:54.impact on Debbie's life. She feels C have spoiled her
:09:55. > :09:56.enjoyment of her precious With my maternity leave I couldn't
:09:57. > :10:04.do things I wanted to do, that friends who had babies the same
:10:05. > :10:08.time as me were going out and doing. I've had every emotion
:10:09. > :10:12.possible, I think. Now I just hate them.
:10:13. > :10:17.I do. I don't understand how they can do
:10:18. > :10:21.it to people and think they can get C have now given Debbie
:10:22. > :10:32.more than ?4,000 back - And Bryn has also
:10:33. > :10:38.had his money back - almost ?3,000,
:10:39. > :10:44.plus ?150 in shopping vouchers. Owner Jason John has
:10:45. > :10:47.apologised to both of them. In Debbie's case he says he fully
:10:48. > :10:50.appreciates the impact not having a car had had on her,
:10:51. > :10:54.but says he was let down by another garage he'd contracted
:10:55. > :10:56.to fix her car. Mr John, though, denies ever been
:10:57. > :10:59.aggressive towards customers He says C sells 1,500 cars every
:11:00. > :11:08.year which are thoroughly inspected before being sold, and any
:11:09. > :11:14.complaints are dealt If you have a story you'd
:11:15. > :11:19.like us to investigate, do get in touch - call
:11:20. > :11:22.us on 03703 334 334, or you can email xray@bbc.co.uk -
:11:23. > :11:32.or send us a tweet. Still to come - five years ago,
:11:33. > :11:35.these customers trusted John Gould to sell their caravans,
:11:36. > :11:40.but he never paid them a penny. You've already admitted that
:11:41. > :11:45.you were dishonest. Yes, you have to talk
:11:46. > :11:49.to the insolvency service. You've admitted that
:11:50. > :11:51.you were dishonest. Now, if you're lucky enough to live
:11:52. > :11:58.in a beautiful place like here in Colwyn Bay,
:11:59. > :12:00.you may have thought about renting out a room in your
:12:01. > :12:03.house to visitors. More and more people are doing it,
:12:04. > :12:06.but Rhod's been finding out if it's I'm so chuffed you've
:12:07. > :12:16.booked this place. Have you ever thought
:12:17. > :12:25.of renting out your home? Or just a room in your house
:12:26. > :12:30.to make some extra cash? TV room, perfect for a little relax,
:12:31. > :12:34.nice little log burner there. Well, online platforms like these
:12:35. > :12:43.make it really easy. You simply create a profile,
:12:44. > :12:46.advertise the property you want to rent out,
:12:47. > :12:49.and the sites connect you with paying guests looking
:12:50. > :12:52.for a place to stay. Most sites make their money
:12:53. > :12:54.by taking a percentage Millions of people all over
:12:55. > :13:02.the world are using these sites - whether that's people
:13:03. > :13:04.like you who are looking for accommodation, or people
:13:05. > :13:10.like myself who are looking to host. Llinos Metcalfe from Wenvoe
:13:11. > :13:15.in the Vale of Glamorgan has been This is the main room
:13:16. > :13:20.we have to rent. Two single beds and
:13:21. > :13:23.an en-suite bathroom. She's had all kinds
:13:24. > :13:26.of people to stay - from tourists to students
:13:27. > :13:29.to sports fans. The other room that we have
:13:30. > :13:31.available for families or larger When Llinos travelled with work,
:13:32. > :13:37.she regularly booked short stays But now she's the host,
:13:38. > :13:41.and has had dozens of guests by a middle-aged couple who came
:13:42. > :13:52.to stay, and they told us it was to stay in this room,
:13:53. > :13:55.so this where he stays. He seems housetrained,
:13:56. > :13:58.but what about her guests? They trust me to honour
:13:59. > :14:03.their booking and to provide what I've said I would provide
:14:04. > :14:05.and I trust them Llinos hasn't had any
:14:06. > :14:16.real problems as a host, but there are some horror
:14:17. > :14:17.stories out there. Some unsuspecting hosts have even
:14:18. > :14:22.come home to find a party I'm sure we won't have
:14:23. > :14:27.problems though. You asked if I was insured
:14:28. > :14:34.to rent out this place. In most circumstances,
:14:35. > :14:40.your home insurance won't cover paying guests who stay
:14:41. > :14:43.in your house, which could lead If your insurance company finds out
:14:44. > :14:50.you've been a host and you haven't told them, the worst case scenario
:14:51. > :14:53.could be that they cancel your home insurance policy or they could not
:14:54. > :14:56.honour a claim that you make as a direct result of being a host
:14:57. > :15:00.and ultimately then you're going to have to carry the financial
:15:01. > :15:03.burden of any damage that may The largest company, Airbnb,
:15:04. > :15:09.provides a 'Host Guarantee', which they say will reimburse hosts
:15:10. > :15:12.for damage caused by guests. But there are limits and exclusions
:15:13. > :15:15.and Airbnb stress it isn't a replacement for
:15:16. > :15:21.your own insurance. If you're a guest and your host
:15:22. > :15:23.doesn't have proper insurance in place, in particular
:15:24. > :15:25.personal liability cover, it could mean that you're not able
:15:26. > :15:29.to pursue them for any losses that you may encounter by being
:15:30. > :15:34.a guest in their property. Mind the step, I don't
:15:35. > :15:36.want you tripping up. Well, with egg on your face or worse
:15:37. > :15:43.if you don't make sure your home or the room you're renting
:15:44. > :15:50.out is safe and secure. You as a home owner
:15:51. > :15:53.and as the occupier of the property owes anyone who visits you a duty
:15:54. > :15:56.of care to make sure they aren't You just have to make
:15:57. > :16:03.sure your house is reasonably maintained, so roof tiles aren't
:16:04. > :16:07.coming off the roof and floorboards aren't loose and people
:16:08. > :16:10.can fall over. Your garden, if you have a garden,
:16:11. > :16:14.is clear of any mishaps that can happen when people are
:16:15. > :16:18.coming into your property You must also tell your mortgage
:16:19. > :16:24.provider and the taxman what you're up to and before people come
:16:25. > :16:28.to stay you should make Make sure the property is well
:16:29. > :16:33.ventilated and all locks Child proof your home and warn
:16:34. > :16:37.guests of any hazards. And provide emergency numbers
:16:38. > :16:41.and details of the local hospital. Oh, I'm sure a first aid kit
:16:42. > :16:43.wouldn't go amiss either. But what if you're the one looking
:16:44. > :16:51.for a place to stay? Well, make sure you read
:16:52. > :16:54.those reviews carefully. And remember, if the reality doesn't
:16:55. > :16:57.match the glossy pictures, your protection may be limited
:16:58. > :17:02.because your contract's with your host, not
:17:03. > :17:07.the booking site. Llinos, who's been a host
:17:08. > :17:10.and a guest, says overall, As long as they show the respect
:17:11. > :17:17.you feel you deserve and you provide the service they are expecting,
:17:18. > :17:23.there are no problems at all. Right, well, I think
:17:24. > :17:26.that's everything. If there is anything else you need
:17:27. > :17:29.just give me a ring and most And if you live in a tourist hotspot
:17:30. > :17:41.like the North Wales coast, you can understand that it may be
:17:42. > :17:46.tempting to rent out your home. But North Wales Fire
:17:47. > :17:48.and Rescue Service do Bob, how aware do you think
:17:49. > :17:55.homeowners are that they have a responsibility for
:17:56. > :17:58.their guests' safety? Lucy, a lot of homeowners are very
:17:59. > :18:01.aware, but we need to make sure that They have a legal responsibility
:18:02. > :18:05.for any paying guests Should a guest be injured due
:18:06. > :18:09.to fire in their property, there is very real potential
:18:10. > :18:14.for them to be prosecuted. I'd imagine that because it is your
:18:15. > :18:16.home, you may not think you have the same responsibilities
:18:17. > :18:20.as say a hotel or a B though. That's a very good
:18:21. > :18:22.point you make, Lucy. As an absolute minimum,
:18:23. > :18:25.homeowners should have interlinked smoke detection within the property
:18:26. > :18:29.to give early warning of a fire, They should also make their guests
:18:30. > :18:35.aware of how to leave the property, where their nearest exits are,
:18:36. > :18:37.and any other particular safety measures regarding that property
:18:38. > :18:43.from a fire safety point of view. It sounds like there's
:18:44. > :18:45.a lot to think about. Is there anywhere that people
:18:46. > :18:48.can get advice on this? Airbnb give quite detailed
:18:49. > :18:53.information to owners about how to make themselves as safe
:18:54. > :18:56.as possible and their guests The fire service and Welsh
:18:57. > :19:03.Government have provided a document That's available on the website,
:19:04. > :19:08.and that will guide the owner making their property
:19:09. > :19:10.safe from fire. If they find that document doesn't
:19:11. > :19:13.meet their requirements or they feel their property is more
:19:14. > :19:16.complex, then they can always contact their local Fire Service
:19:17. > :19:19.who will be more than willing to assist them to make
:19:20. > :19:22.their properties safe. And over the next few months,
:19:23. > :19:27.holidaymakers will be flocking to this part of the world
:19:28. > :19:31.and many of them will be staying But Rachel's been meeting some
:19:32. > :19:35.furious viewers whose caravans have simply vanished, thanks
:19:36. > :19:43.to a very brazen businessman. And when that happens,
:19:44. > :19:54.customers can lose money. If you've paid for something
:19:55. > :19:58.like a sofa, and the business collapses before it gets delivered,
:19:59. > :20:01.then there's a good chance But when you take your car
:20:02. > :20:10.to the garage and the garage goes It's your car and you'd
:20:11. > :20:18.expect to get it back. And that's what should have happened
:20:19. > :20:23.to customers of a caravan selling agent based in the Vale
:20:24. > :20:27.of Glamorgan. Caravans are pretty hefty things
:20:28. > :20:39.but I can make them disappear. But it was a serious
:20:40. > :20:52.story about this man. His company, Vale of
:20:53. > :20:58.Glamorgan Caravan Sales Ltd, was based on an industrial
:20:59. > :21:03.estate near Cowbridge. He promised customers
:21:04. > :21:05.from across South Wales One of them was Linda
:21:06. > :21:11.Davies from Cardiff. He was going to have a look at it
:21:12. > :21:15.and see what needed doing. He was going to put them right
:21:16. > :21:20.and put it up for sale. So I had no reservations in leaving
:21:21. > :21:25.the caravan with him. But as time passed, there was no
:21:26. > :21:30.sign of her caravan being sold. He rang my other son
:21:31. > :21:36.and they decided to pay him a visit. When they got down there
:21:37. > :21:38.it was closed up, and there was a liquidators
:21:39. > :21:42.notice on the gate. In the weeks after the business
:21:43. > :21:48.closed, customers were turning up, many of them in tears,
:21:49. > :21:54.trying to find their caravans. Even when they met Gould face
:21:55. > :22:00.to face they go no answers. In fact, somebody there said,
:22:01. > :22:05."Could you please take that smug Chris Callaghan had also trusted
:22:06. > :22:13.John Gould to sell his caravan. All of us were surprised how
:22:14. > :22:16.casual he seemed to be. It just seemed water
:22:17. > :22:19.off a duck's back. I actually looked him
:22:20. > :22:26.in the eye and asked him how Since we ran that story
:22:27. > :22:31.a lot has happened. Victims like Steve Wall
:22:32. > :22:33.from Llantwit Major have waged a long and determined
:22:34. > :22:38.campaign for justice. I've been five years trying to get
:22:39. > :22:42.some help from the police. I've gone to Companies House and got
:22:43. > :22:46.all the records off them. I got a solicitor involved as well
:22:47. > :22:49.and tried it that way, It's cost me more than
:22:50. > :22:56.I was going to get back. But there have been official
:22:57. > :22:59.investigations into the company For a start, John Gould has owned up
:23:00. > :23:09.to his shoddy business practices. In a statement to the insolvency
:23:10. > :23:13.service he admitted lying to customers, selling their caravans
:23:14. > :23:23.and keeping the money! But he was banned from being
:23:24. > :23:32.a company director for nine years. But victims like Linda
:23:33. > :23:35.weren't impressed. Until last year, she was still
:23:36. > :23:39.making paying monthly payments That doesn't help us whose
:23:40. > :23:44.caravans he actually took, When Vale of Glamorgan Caravans
:23:45. > :23:51.collapsed, it owed hundreds of thousands of pounds to creditors,
:23:52. > :23:54.including caravan owners But John Gould's financial troubles
:23:55. > :24:04.had been brewing for a long time. He'd known for months
:24:05. > :24:06.that he was going bust And it's unlawful and it meant
:24:07. > :24:16.he could be held personally liable The caravan owners had
:24:17. > :24:27.high hopes that justice With some clever legal manoeuvring,
:24:28. > :24:37.he managed to dodge the bulk of his debts, agreeing
:24:38. > :24:42.to pay his creditors ?100,000. Victims like Linda will now get
:24:43. > :24:50.a fifth of what they are owed. I'm owed ?6,500 and out of that now
:24:51. > :25:05.I will get back about ?1,300. John Gould now has to sell
:25:06. > :25:09.one of his two houses. In my book, in my honest opinion,
:25:10. > :25:18.he has had a slap on the wrist. And I still don't know
:25:19. > :25:20.who he sold my caravan to and I still don't
:25:21. > :25:24.know where it is. It's a frustrating situation
:25:25. > :25:30.for these innocent customers and I want to know how this has
:25:31. > :25:34.been allowed to happen. It seems crazy that people
:25:35. > :25:39.could lose their property like this. The business collapsed
:25:40. > :25:43.and that money became part They have a cast iron case
:25:44. > :25:51.against him, but the problem is with the civil
:25:52. > :25:53.system of enforcement. They have got to pursue
:25:54. > :25:55.the case against him. They have got to take him
:25:56. > :25:57.to court and enforce it. Four years on, he
:25:58. > :26:18.still won't comment. So, I have made an appointment
:26:19. > :26:23.with his new business. We're going to hide
:26:24. > :26:28.in here to wait for him. I've done this many times,
:26:29. > :26:34.but this is the first time I've had You've already admitted
:26:35. > :26:43.being dishonest. Yes, you have to the
:26:44. > :26:49.insolvency service. If the customers are unhappy
:26:50. > :26:53.it is for them to speak All that money and your customers
:26:54. > :27:04.only got back a fifth You knew your company
:27:05. > :27:10.was going under. You still took those
:27:11. > :27:12.people's caravans knowing So John Gould has clearly washed his
:27:13. > :27:19.hands of the whole affair. But his customers have been left
:27:20. > :27:26.paying for his actions. We've spoken to the police who say
:27:27. > :27:30.they have investigated the caravan owners' complaints and passed a file
:27:31. > :27:33.to the Crown Prosecution Service, who decided not to prosecute John
:27:34. > :27:38.Gould. But when we asked them why,
:27:39. > :27:43.they weren't able to tell us. But if there's a story you want us
:27:44. > :27:57.to look into, do give us a call. Next week: Voice recognition
:27:58. > :28:13.is on its way and your bank password Rhod puts the new
:28:14. > :28:20.technology to the test. Dwi lawr yn Llundain yn ffilmio gyda
:28:21. > :28:27.X-Ray heddiw.