Episode 18 X-Ray

You're watching X-Ray, the programme that fights for your rights.

If you've been scammed,

or dealt a raw deal,

we're on your side,

exposing the truth and tracking down the rogues.

And we won't take no for an answer.

On tonight's programme, how muddy does your garden grow?

The new estate with a rather unusual water feature.

You couldn't walk on it cos you would sink. It was just so boggy.

They tell you you can shop with confidence,

so why can't Harvey's deliver what they promise?

It's in the warehouse, but they can't find it.

I've got so many of these with the excuses, time and time again.

And two Rhods for the price of one.

It's back to school, for a lesson in choosing the right mobile deal.

-Rhodri! Wake up!

-Ohhh...

First tonight, I've been to a new housing estate near Pontardawe,

where dozens of families say they've been left high but not very dry.

Spring has sprung. Flowers are starting to bloom

and our gardens are suddenly bursting with life.

Time to mow the lawn, tend your plants

and generally make sure your garden is looking its best.

Hannah and Mike Williams would love to be able to do just that.

Four years ago,

they bought their first family home from Barratt Homes in Godre'r Graig,

but after just six months, things started to go wrong.

My garden is just a tip.

You've bought the house, you've given them the money

and now that's it.

The estate was completed in 2012,

and described as "a pocket of tranquillity,

"with rolling hills and cosy homes.

"Parc Afon Tawe offers everyday living at its best."

But for Hannah and Mike,

it seems their everyday living does not include the garden.

I always wanted the house with a big garden.

In the show home, the grass looked perfect.

It was nicely turfed, and I thought, hopefully, that will be OUR house.

I always remember walking down the street, actually getting

butterflies in my stomach cos it was just

the beginning of a journey for us really.

Hannah and Mike quickly put down a deposit on their house and moved in.

But the garden didn't live up to their expectations.

It was when the weather started getting wet,

you couldn't walk on it cos you would sink. It was just so boggy.

There was standing water over the top of the grass.

It was saturated.

The couple contacted Barratt,

and nearly a year after they'd moved in,

the company tried to put the garden right.

-Mud!

-Mud.

-Mud!

They've relayed all the turf,

we thought, wow, great, lovely grass area.

We went out, got some decking, we got a load of plants,

we spent a lot of money.

But as soon as the weather got wetter again, the problems returned.

That winter came,

and everything died cos everything became waterlogged.

We've got no grass left, we've got plants left.

We've had to pull up all the decking, all the wood.

New homes get a ten-year warranty

from the National House Building Council, the NHBC.

Hannah and Mike decided the next step was to complain to THEM.

They did an inspection and a report on our garden

and said it wasn't up to the building regulations. Unfortunately,

we still don't know WHAT they're going to do to the garden,

we're in the dark.

It's been going on for about four years now,

and I thought it would have been resolved.

To be honest, when you buy a house and you're spending all this money,

you would expect to get what you paid for.

'Hm. A pair of wellies would have been a good idea.'

Oh, my goodness!

It's actually really soggy and kind of spongy.

-It's worse than I thought it was.

-It's heartbreaking.

They want to be outside all the time, and unfortunately if it's

been wet the day before, they can't even go out in the garden.

I can't even stand still.

I'm sinking in the mud as I speak to you.

A flood assessment in 2005

stated this area was a significant flood risk.

Before these homes could be built, the land had to be raised

and a comprehensive drainage system put in place.

But it seems something just isn't working,

because Mike and Hannah

are one 27 cases of waterlogged gardens

across the estate. And the problem isn't just with Barratt Homes.

Just down the road,

Diane Powys bought her home from Taylor Wimpey in January 2013.

So here's the garden.

It's a lovely size, but, oh, my goodness, I can see the mud.

After 12 years of army life,

Diane was looking forward to having a home to call her own.

It's heartbreaking cos the kids should be able to come out here

and play and enjoy themselves.

Have you been in contact with Taylor Wimpey about the garden?

Yes. I was given the impression they weren't responsible

for the garden cos it was the land that was already there.

When you're speaking to the locals around here, they're

saying that there used to be a boat that sailed on a pond on this area.

Why would they build houses here, if that was the case?

Right. On to the next.

And the list of complaints from both Taylor Wimpey

and Barratt Homes residents

goes on,

and on

and on.

It's really disappointing. We've got a nice house. We love the area.

We can't use the garden.

We expected to have a garden we could use,

but we've just ended up with trying our best to try and get it to drain.

I've actually had a visit from the NHBC,

and they said there was no problem.

They couldn't witness any evidence of waterlogging.

What did you think when they said that?

I asked him did he want to borrow my glasses?

All of these families tell us their gardens are boggy

and full of clay.

And nobody that we spoke to was warned

that their gardens could be waterlogged

before they bought their properties.

Even Taylor Wimpey's glossy show home with gorgeous gardens

hasn't escaped the boggy blues.

Look what it became.

Hardly a showstopper.

We asked local surveyor Roger Roberts to look at the gardens.

He thinks he may found the cause of Diane's flooding.

I seem to be hitting rubble, which is conducive with

either bricks or stones, within a very short distance.

I feel very frustrated.

When I did go to Taylor Wimpey, they just basically,

under my view, fobbed me off.

I wouldn't consider this an acceptable garden.

It's just a bog.

Next, Roger inspects Hannah and Mike's garden.

I've operated as a surveyor in this area for 45 years.

Were you made aware that this area previously to the development

had been a floodplain area?

If we were made aware, we would never have bought a house here.

I would not consider this garden to be acceptable for a family home.

And family is what this is all about.

Unless the garden's drainage is sorted out, Hannah

and Mike believe this will continue to have a huge impact on them.

And you feel guilty for keeping the kids indoors.

It's just like being in a prison.

So, what do Barratt Homes

and Taylor Wimpey have to say about this muddy mess?

Well, both companies say that they installed drainage for the houses

and their driveways, but planning rules

didn't require them to put in separate drainage for the gardens.

Now, Barratt Homes, who built Hannah and Mike's house,

believe that they HAVE fulfilled

their responsibilities to homeowners,

but say they are willing to listen again to customers' concerns.

And Taylor Wimpey, who built Diane's house,

blame the problems on unusually wet weather conditions.

They agree that some of the gardens may require further drainage,

and say they're eager to put things right as soon as possible.

Let's hope so.

Now, if there's anything you would like us to look into,

please do get in touch. The number to call is:

You can email:

Or send us a tweet:

Still to come, do you know

whether you're getting a good deal on your mobile phone contract?

I pay... What is it I pay?

1,000 minutes, unlimited texts and 2GB data.

And do you feel like you use that every month? Do you keep across it?

No.

Now, a couple of weeks ago

we told you about the Cardiff car dealership

that kept one woman's broken-down car for eight months,

then apparently sold it, before giving her a refund.

Now, C&N Automotive Trade insisted that

they had lots of satisfied customers,

but since we broadcast our report,

more unhappy ones have been in touch with us.

This is C&N in Cardiff,

the garage with a trusty VW Beetle as its logo.

No problem with that, except some of the real cars they sell

seem to leave rather a lot to be desired.

The customers who we featured two weeks ago

found that the cars they bought there

went wrong almost straightaway.

It was starting and stopping on us -

an engine management light would come on. We'd pull over...

Debbie Lloyd bought this BMW there last February.

Two months later, it went back for the third time for repairs.

That was the last time she drove it.

In December, in the middle of a legal battle,

C&N apparently sold it.

They hadn't given me a refund,

but yet they were now selling the car.

Debbie finally got her money back a few weeks ago,

after a court found in her favour.

C&N's owner, Jason John,

told X-Ray he was sorry for the way her complaint was handled.

Since that first piece,

a dozen other unhappy C&N customers have contacted us.

People like Martin Cameron from Betws and Jay Owen from Rhoose.

Both say they want refunds on cars that they say are faulty,

and have been back at C&N for well over six months.

Barry Stapleton from Aberdare is another one who contacted us.

He says he lost faith in C&N

after they took two months to put right an engine fault

on the car he bought from them.

Well, Rachel's with me now. Clearly there ARE some unhappy customers...

Yes, there are and C&N's owner Jason John

told us at the time of our last film

that one disgruntled and dissatisfied customer

was one too many.

He also said that many of his customers are very happy

with the service that they receive,

and they often return to buy their next car from him.

He also says that any complaints

are dealt with quickly and professionally.

So what did Jason John have to say about these latest customer cases?

Well, we sent the details of the complaints to him.

Now, many of them are claiming that their cars developed faults

not long after buying them

and they found it really difficult to get them fixed by the company.

Now, Jason John is disputing many of their accounts of what happened, and

he says that the cars that he sells are fit for purpose and roadworthy.

And what did he say about Martin Cameron and Jay Owen?

Because they've both told us

that their car has been back at C&N for months.

Well, both the cars are the subject of unresolved county court cases,

so Mr John says that he is unable to comment.

In relation to Barry Stapleton,

who told us that he's waited two months for an engine repair,

Mr John has apologised about the time it's taken.

He says the car had head gasket failure,

and his company put it right at considerable expense.

Rachel, thank you.

Now, do you know if you're getting a good deal

on your mobile phone contract?

Let's ask people in Swansea.

Do you shop around for your contract

to see where you can get the best deal?

I don't really pay mine, my father pays.

I probably am paying too much, but I think I'm probably on one of

the lowest payments a month that I can get anyway.

£21.50, I think, I pay a month.

I pay £45 a month.

That sounds like quite a lot.

Compared to you!

It is. But I have everything.

£11 a month, and it suits ME.

That sounds like quite a good deal though.

Yeah. I'm a student, so I need it cheap.

Part of the bill is for the phone

and the other part is for the contract.

Do you know if there's a lot of interest on that?

I don't. I don't know.

Do you ever sort of shop around for...?

-No.

-No?

-No, I need to. But I don't, cos I'm lazy.

Well, it sounds like we could all do with a bit of help on this.

Good job we sent Rhod back to school to get some answers.

Bore da i chi gyd.

Oh!

Welcome to the X-Ray Academy of Consumer Advice.

Treadaway-Williams, Rachel.

Absent.

Owen, Lucy Jane.

Absent.

Owen, Rhodri.

Owen! Pay attention!

Today, we're going to tackle one of our most complained about issues.

Any guesses, class?

Rhodri.

Erm... Cowboy builders?

Dodgy cars?

No.

It's mobile phones.

Handsets, contracts and networks. The choice is bewildering.

We could all do with a few pointers.

First on the curriculum,

how to pick the right network.

Take a look at this, class.

Mobile coverage across Wales varies greatly.

Elinor Williams is from Ofcom Wales,

the body that regulates the mobile phone industry.

Ofcom launched this mobile coverage checker last year,

and it works by providing consumers

with the most up-to-date information

about the quality and availability of

their mobile phone provider in a particular area.

So, if you look at Fishguard, you've got EE in Fishguard where the

green areas, there is good coverage expected to be,

the amber not so good

and then the red area is where the coverage would be very patchy.

Then if you switch to Vodafone

it's a totally different picture.

But what if you live in a rural area

and only one company can provide you with signal?

The company has basically got you over a barrel there, haven't they?

Well, not exactly because you have four major mobile network operators,

so EE, Vodafone, o2 and Three.

The others, like ASDA, Tesco, Lebara,

they have to use the same network, if you like, as the four major ones.

So you've got Lebara that has to use Vodafone,

Giffgaff has to use O2

and ASDA uses EE.

And, you know, the coverage will be the same as the major

operator, but their pricing structure can be different

so they can charge you, as a customer,

a different price to what the major operators will charge.

Sound advice. On to our next subject, getting the right tariff.

Research from the National Mobile Phone Report

found that nine out of ten of us are on the wrong contract,

not getting a good deal.

And overspending by an average of...

..£160.

So? My mum pays my phone bill anyway.

That's not the point. Watch this.

Class, say hello to Kirsty.

Now, Kirsty Patrick runs a design shop in Cardiff.

Let's see if we can help her save some money on her mobile.

I use it a lot for business, so, use it for Instagram, Facebook

and Twitter, and getting people to know about the shop, really.

How good are you now with keeping an eye on your usage

and that you're getting the best out of the plan you have?

Not brilliant, I wouldn't have thought.

I normally check when the bill comes through to see how much I've used

or if I've gone over, really.

-OK. Let's see if we can save you some money.

-Great.

We put Kirsty's contract details

through an Ofcom-backed analysis website called Bill Monitor.

The secure site analyses your usage,

to try and get the best deal for you.

Now, Kirsty, the plan that you have now allows you,

-gives you an allowance of 1,000 minutes per month, OK?

-Yep.

Which is quite generous

but you're currently averaging around 208 minutes.

You're only using a fifth of what you're allowed,

so there's a lot going to waste there. Had you picked more carefully

the plan that you have on the phone, you could be saving up to £216.

-That's a big difference, isn't it?

-Yeah, yeah. I need to get that changed.

And, if you're willing to be a bit savvy, you can

reduce your usage on pay-as-you-go or contract.

You can use apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger

to make calls and send messages for free, so if you're at home,

at work or in a cafe, log on to the Wi-Fi and save those minutes.

Brilliant, I'll do that, definitely.

Rhodri. Wake up!

Ohhh.

For the final lesson, we're looking at handsets.

Now, if you're paying for your phone as part of your contract,

your network is essentially lending you the money

to pay for the phone, with interest.

In some cases, you are effectively paying an interest rate

of up to 40% APR on the cost of the phone.

And don't feel like you have to go for the latest phone either.

Often there isn't a massive leap

between last year's and this year's model.

So, there you have it, three ways - one, two, three -

that you can save money on your mobile phone.

First of all, look around at all of the networks in your area.

Don't get stuck on one that doesn't provide a good signal for you.

Secondly, we've got "Less."

The less money you spend on minutes

and texts you don't need, the more money you'll have in your pockets.

And, finally we've got "Old."

Old handsets aren't as bad as you think.

There isn't a massive difference between the latest handset

and say, last year's handset. So it's very easy to remember -

Look. Less. Old.

Good advice, sir.

Should definitely look less old.

I think he enjoyed that. Some great tips there, too.

Now, car parking problems are a familiar topic on X-Ray,

but one viewer has had a particularly frustrating battle

with the UK's largest car parking provider.

Vicki Bonacre works at a cafe in the centre of Cardiff.

She pays £100 per month for a season ticket,

so that she can park in the NCP car park nearest her work.

But in October, the car park introduced

new automatic number plate recognition

or ANPR cameras.

Since then, Vicki has received 11 parking charge notices,

totalling £800.

To make matters worse,

she's been told she has to challenge each one individually.

Well, Vicki was having no luck getting through to

NCP on the phone to try and sort this out, so we took up her case.

NCP have now apologised.

They say an admin error

meant the wrong registration number was registered to the season ticket.

They've now cancelled all the fines,

and say they've changed their appeals process to make sure that

mistakes like this are spotted more quickly in the future.

They've also offered Vicki a month's free parking,

which is fantastic news.

Now, here on X-Ray we often tell you about customers

whose deliveries don't go according to plan.

But I've been looking into one company

that really takes the biscuit.

It's sometimes said that relationships can start

when you least expect it.

We've been in touch almost every day.

Vicki Griffiths from Merthyr Tydfil can certainly vouch for that.

It is long-distance, but I feel like he really knows me.

I'm so intrigued. I wonder how it all began.

It all took me by surprise.

I went shopping in Ponty just over a year ago...

Little did she know that the trip to the shops in Pontypridd

would be the start of a long relationship.

Ooh, the plot thickens, I love a bit of mystery.

But this relationship isn't quite what it seems.

In fact, Vicki is already happily married with two children,

and the new man in her life

actually works in customer service

for furniture giant Harveys.

Well, I was not expecting that ending.

Turns out they weren't exchanging love letters after all.

Instead they were writing to each other daily about,

wait for it...

sofas!

'It's your final chance to save in the Harveys up to half-price sale.'

Harveys like to boast about their prices, but that doesn't

count for much when they can't even get the basics right.

When they delivered,

it was one brown sofa, one cream sofa.

I ordered two cream.

I was not impressed.

Vicki was told it was better to sign for the sofas

and then contact Harveys,

who would soon put the mistake right.

I thought that they would act quite quickly cos they'd made a mistake.

Harveys assigned the case to a customer service team leader.

He was a lovely guy. Really friendly,

full of promises...

And then he wouldn't deliver.

In fact, he gave Vicki excuse...

It's gone to the wrong warehouse.

..after excuse...

It's stuck in a container.

..as to why Harveys couldn't get her order right.

It's in the warehouse, but they can find it.

Vicki exchanged more than 100 e-mails

with Harveys customer services

just to try and get the correct sofas delivered.

And when Harveys DID get round to delivering the new sofas to Vicki,

they were still the wrong colour.

I thought, how can people get things so wrong?

It's not rocket science to order a cream, not a dark brown.

And so, Vicki's relationship with Harveys dragged on and on.

I've spoken to them more than some of my friends this year.

He knew my daughter's birthday, wished happy New Year,

he knew that I was going back on holidays and when.

It was crazy.

Not only have we heard about late deliveries,

you've also told us about concerns

over the condition of Harveys furniture when it arrives.

Lynette Lawrie from Caldicot kitted out her new dining room

in the January sales last year.

She spent £2,000 in Harveys.

But unlike the families in their adverts, Lynette wasn't quite

so keen to show off HER new furniture when it arrived.

The delivery guys basically brought the furniture in

and started to point out all the scratches and dents.

All the furniture was damaged, one way or another.

Lynette reluctantly signed for the damaged furniture.

They said to me straight away, "Keep it, love,

"it's OK - Harveys will know about it, we'll contact Harveys..."

Lynette was to start her own lengthy battle with the company

to get her furniture replaced.

In the end I started to think

oh, gosh, I'm not going to get my furniture, I bet

they don't even sell this any more cos it was going on so long.

And, incredibly, just like Vicki,

it took Harveys over 12 months to put things right.

Never, ever, did I think I would still be waiting for my furniture

over a year - over a year, it's so stressful,

I never want go through anything like that again.

Meanwhile, Vicki was still very much in touch with

the man from Harveys.

But all she was getting was more excuses.

We got...Bank Holidays.

Oh, and here's another one, he was too busy to speak to me today

so he'll get back to me tomorrow on this one.

Sounds like a pretty rocky relationship to me.

But a few weeks ago, Harveys set yet another delivery date for Vicki.

And we were there, too.

Each time Harveys make a delivery, there's an extra

headache for the family.

They've got to remove their window to fit the sofas into their home.

You expect that once,

not time after time, after time.

And every time they were coming out

there was more and more damage being caused.

When the delivery van turned up, it was packed to the roof.

And that brand-new furniture ended up being unpacked on the road.

Perhaps that's a clue

as to why Harveys furniture

can sometimes arrive damaged.

The correct sofas were finally delivered to Vicki that day,

but she's still angry that she had to wait over a year.

I don't believe for a minute they had any interest in the fact

they got something wrong.

And they weren't in a rush to put it right.

Now, at last, Vicki can put her feet up.

And the most important man in her life

is delighted she'll have more time to spend with the family.

Well, we asked Harveys why it took them a year

to deliver the correct goods to these customers,

and why the lorry that we saw was crammed full with so much furniture.

They didn't answer that, but they have apologised to Vicki

and Lynette and say that they've compensated them both.

Harveys say that problems like this are rare, and that they're

investigating the mistakes to improve their customer service.

Good job, too.

Well, that's it for tonight and for this series, but we're back in July

with some X-Ray holiday specials so keep an eye out for those.

And if there's anything you want us to look into, if you've had

any travel troubles or holiday nightmares, please do get in touch.

The number to call is:

The lines are open from 9:30 tomorrow morning.

You can e-mail:

and keep up to date with what we're up to on Twitter.

Thank you for watching. Bye-bye.