Episode 7 X-Ray

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

Tonight - the families duped into paying for fake piano exams.

Exposing the truth and tracking down the rogues, and we will not

But will not the teacher who tricked her pupils

Why have you let so many children down?

The online scooter company with a string of celebrity customers -

but Daniel says his experience has been shocking.

When I had it serviced there was a live wire touching my metal frame.

And the Swansea shop owner jailed for selling not so legal highs.

He was told how people ended up in hospital.

First tonight, Rachel's been investigating a music teacher

from right here in Swansea who's conned dozens of young students.

When your child learns a musical instrument like the piano,

you hope they're being taught by someone that they can look up to

And if that teacher decides to test their skills through examinations it

can be a proud moment for children and their parents.

But what if you discovered that your kids had failed to make

the grade because their tests had turned out to be fake?

That's what's happened to pupils of a Swansea music teacher, Nadine May.

Back in 2011, she started teaching Keith Hopcyn's son Marcus.

And at first she seemed to hit the right note with the family.

And I thought she was a very competent teacher.

And he liked his teacher and everything went well.

In March last year, Keith paid Nadine May ?50 to enter

Prior to his Grade 2 examination, she told us that Marcus was very

nervous but it wasn't a problem, she would make a recording

of his performance and send it on to the examination board.

We heard a week later that he'd passed and we were very pleased.

But Marcus's certificate never arrived.

My wife continually asked Mrs May for the certificate and there were

Despite the missing certificate, a year later, Nadine encouraged

Once again she recorded his performance and said she'd send

But when the certificate didn't arrive again,

Keith's wife called the exam board to find out what was going on.

The examination board informed her there had been no examinations,

Keith had handed over ?100 for the fake tests and felt Nadine

And the news had a devastating effect on his son Marcus.

We realised we had to tell him he had neither had Grade 2 or Grade 3.

We've spoken to another of Nadine's pupils who - like Marcus -

thought she'd passed an exam with the Associated Board

But they told us their exams would always be carried

out by an official examiner and they do not accept recordings.

And the scale of Nadine's deception goes back further still.

In 2010, this music school was rocked by

a scandal, when more than 40 pupils paid examination fees to Nadine May

Beverley Morgan is head of the Brynhyfryd Music Studios in Swansea,

And when Beverley fell ill, Nadine stepped in.

She was excellent when I was taken ill.

She actually sort of helped to run the business.

I trusted her implicitly, yes, she was a cousin,

a distant cousin and I never had any reason to distrust her.

Pupils handed over up to ?75 each to Nadine, who said she'd be entering

them for examinations with the London College of Music.

But when the big day arrived, Nadine called the students to say

The reason - the examiner had fallen off the train.

I believed her because she gave me the name

of the actual examiner who had fallen off a train in Cardiff, so I

Nadine phoned the parents to say the examination was postponed.

But on the second exam date, disaster struck again.

This time, Nadine claimed the examiner had broken down

These examiners seem incredibly unlucky.

The second time it was cancelled, I was really suspicious,

apart from the story that the examiner supposedly has broken down

on the motorway, usually examiners will travel down the night before.

Parent Beverley Whitehead had taken her 13-year-old daughter out

We were there for hours and hours just waiting

She was walking around like she was on the phone all the time and just

telling us, "Oh, he's on his way, he's wating for a tow truck.

In the end, she called the London College of Music for an explanation.

They didn't have any idea what we were talking about.

They said that no exam had been booked.

The parents confronted Nadine about the bogus exam bookings, and even

She said the London College of Music were telling lies,

or one of their cleaners had stolen the money that she'd sent to them.

And she really expected you to believe that?

Yes, she really expected everybody to believe that.

After the school reported the incident to the police,

The London College of Music was furious and offered free exams

For the head of Brynhyfryd Teaching Studios Beverley

Morgan, re-building the reputation of her music school has been tough.

It was very stressful, and extremely stressful for those

She is wrecking people's lives, and she must be stopped.

Sounds like Nadine May is a bit of a player!

All she's said in response to the allegations we've

She's got some very difficult questions to answer.

I think it's time we paid Nadine May a visit.

We've spotted Nadine in her car but she's not in a talkative mood.

An hour later she returned to the house, but when she saw us,

Nadine May, why do you let so many children down?

Why have you taken money for exams that you then didn't arrange?

These children placed their trust in you.

Don't you think they deserve an explanation?

So, Nadine May clearly doesn't want to face the music,

but unlike her students she will be getting a certificate.

Because she is outstanding at arranging fake exams.

And remember, if you've been let down or you're

fed up with poor service, we want to know about it. You can call us or

Still to come on tonight's programme:

This man made a fortune selling legal highs to children.

But when his shop was raided, many packets turned out to contain

These products are not legal, are not safe and the effects that

these products can have on them and on their families is

Next, I've been to Caerphilly, where the owner of a brand new scooter

There are more than a million of them on the road.

And there are plenty of companies out there looking to

Bikes like this may seem like the perfect - and relatively

But we've been looking into scooter company where what you see...

Direct Bikes Limited is an online scooter and motorbike company based

in London, and it claims to be the UK's number one scooter brand.

It boasts a string of celebrity customers including

Direct Bikes doesn't have glossy showrooms like this -

and it says that's the reason it can keep its prices low.

So, it's easy to see why wannabe bikers would be tempted.

It certainly appealed to Daniel Austin from Caerphilly.

He found a scooter on the Direct Bikes website for just under ?900.

So, Daniel, what made you decide that you wanted to get a scooter?

It would be easier for me because I could use it for work.

And how did you come across Direct Bikes?

It was pretty cheap to buy the bike off it.

So, one bike I liked, I fancied, which I bought off them.

You must have been really chuffed were you when it first arrived?

Daniel was reassured by the fact that

the scooter came with a 12 month warranty - but safe to say he wasn't

quite geared up for all the terms and conditions that came with it.

The Buyer acknowledges that all nuts and bolts need to be

Goods need to be regularly serviced at three months, six months,

12 months and every six months subsequently.

But Daniel couldn't get on the road straight away.

After waiting almost two months for the DVLA to register his bike,

he took it for a spin, and that's when things started to go wrong.

Daniel, just talk me through some of the problems you've been having

Driving to work, my back box snapped off.

And my petrol gauge then, which it don't work tidy,

I have to use a dipstick into the petrol tank to have

Every time you fill up, you've got to use a dipstick?

Daniel's bike was still under warranty, so he felt sure

I tried to get hold of them on the phone and couldn't get anywhere.

They told me to e-mail them, so I e-mailed them and they e-mailed me

Direct Bikes told Daniel that they couldn't repair his bike

because he had damaged it - something he denies.

But on closer inspection of the warranty, it appeared many of

Parts that require maintenance are excluded from the warranty.

These parts include brakes, cables, kick starts, fairings, stands,

exhaust, mirrors, drive belts, bulbs, wheels, top boxes and tyres.

But it was when Daniel took his bike for its first service that

When I had it serviced, the mechanic come to me and said that it was a

We asked independent vehicle inspector, Gareth Rees, what he made

of that - and the other problems Daniel's had with his bike.

That's potentially a fire hazard, and again,

the back box that's become loose, it could have caused an accident.

And what about the terms and conditions that are attached to

I mean, there isn't actually much that is covered, is there?

I mean, at the end of the day, Daniel's entitled to the bike being

in satisfactory quality, fit for the purpose and safe.

And as far as I can see, the bike doesn't meet any of those.

Direct Bikes claimed Daniel had breached the terms

of his warranty by not having it serviced twice within six months.

Daniel's bought a new bike he'd expect good service from it and the

catalogue of defects that Daniel's experienced on this you just

Daniel certainly hasn't been impressed with

his scooter or with the service he's received from Direct Bikes.

So we checked out what other people are saying about them

and it seems there's a long line of unhappy customers.

On the Direct Bikes Twitter page, it appears more than three quarters

of tweets sent to the company this year are customer

complaints. I wonder if Katie Price had this much trouble with hers?

Daniel has now paid for some of the defects to be fixed

I feel annoyed about it because I nearly spent nearly ?900 on a bike

Well, Direct Bikes are adamant that they haven't done anything wrong

and insist that any damage to Daniel's scooter has been caused

by him, including the loose wire and the broken back box.

They say he didn't follow the user manual correctly

and failed to service his bike every three months, as required

When Daniel complained, Direct Bikes say he didn't provide

them with the information they asked for, which Daniel denies.

They also say their expert has examined photos

of the bike and disagrees with all of Gareth Rees's comments.

So they won't be paying out towards his repairs.

Now, are you a fan of preparing meals from scratch?

Or do you prefer to take a few shortcuts?

Rhod's been counting the cost of convenience in Rhos on Sea.

Our lives just get busier and busier.

There never seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything done.

And when it comes to eating, it's tempting to grab something

We spend ?2.6 billion a year on microwave meals!

And we're also splashing out on foods which come ready sliced or

But the mark up can be huge, especially on fruit and veg.

This costs the same as a whole watermelon!

OK, I'd have to chop it up myself but I'd get five times more

These sporty students at Coleg Llandrillo in Rhos-on-Sea have

They want to chow down quickly and cheaply!

Meet rugby Players George, Josh and Jacob, and netballers Amy,

So we're pitting the teams against each other, in a challenge

to compare the cost of convenience foods against the time they save us.

Right, is everybody ready for a little bit of cooking now?

Now they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day and

Now girls you can be Team Time Savers,

that means you're in charge of pre-portioned convenience products.

And boys, you are Team Money Savers - you'll

be using the same basic ingredients but you'll have to do it yourself.

The girls are using pre-portioned sachets, which cost 18p each.

And the boys are using the same amount of loose oats,

I found it quite difficult to get the right measurements.

But the boys are having serious problems.

Ok, team money savers, you'll be making scrambled eggs the

And team time savers, you'll be making them the modern way.

But it should be eggs-tremely exciting and also very tasty!

The girls pour their carton straight into the pan.

Compared with the boys, the girls are shelling out

The boys aren't great at egg-cracking but

if you can do better, is it really worth paying almost double

It's starting to get a bit firmer in there. No pressure

but it's all cooking out nicely next door, stirring away.

And once again, the girls are quickest.

Bit of shell, bit of black, but that's fine!

Let's see if the boys can catch up in the final round.

The girls pre-portioned pot costs ?1.19 - and within seconds,

And their ingredients cost just 68 pence!

So when it comes to time, the girls are clear winners

And the boys took 15 minutes and 2 seconds to make

Convenience was quicker then - but at what cost?

So the netball players, we can reveal the total cost of your 3

course breakfast using convenience foods was ?4.37! And the Rugby

players, the total cost of your breakfast making it from scratch was

?2.18 - that's practically half the price of what the girls have paid.

And more porridge in the bowl next time.

Instead of the microwave, yeah definitely.

Yeah but it adds up, that's ?14 a week.

So there you have it, when it comes to pre-portioned food,

Now, a few weeks ago we shared our travel tips for football fans hoping

The big draw for tickets is on 12 and to be in with a shout,

you must be a member of the Wales Supporters Club.

Wynne Jones has been in touch to say when he tried to

join earlier this month, he found the supporters club has now closed

Now he is not happy - and is pinning his hope on getting

And it seems that this is only happening in Wales -

in England fans can still join their supporters clubs.

Now the Football Association of Wales told us they have more

than 14,000 loyal members and want to give them priority

Drop us an email to let us know - the address is [email protected]

Next, to a problem that's causing a lot of concern here

With the brightly coloured packaging, they may look harmless

but they are anything but. Just like buying sweets. Simple as that. The

law around legal highs is convex. As soon as one substance is tested and

band, another takes its place. New laws could soon ban the sale

completed. But in Swansea, the authorities are not prepared to

wait. Our investigation is ground-breaking. It is the first

scale investigation to legal highs saying that that product is

dangerous. It is already illegal to sell to under 18 's so when a

16-year-old boy from Swansea ended up in a, after taking a eco-called

Exodus, a major investigation was launched. The police traced the sail

back to this shop. They were already aware of problems with anti-social

behaviour outside the premises as well as reports of people buying

these legal highs. This Swansea trading standards officer helped

lead the investigation. We had family members complaining about

their relatives taking it, we have had complaints from the local school

of it a chilly getting into the school and the school having to take

it off children. Trading Standards and police carried out a series of

raids at premises and by this mild. He went to extraordinary lengths to

keep his stock out of view. This is the inside of the shop behind the

counter you can see there is a hole in the counter which the panel

clipped off and there was stuff hidden in there. When we were at the

house, we were finding large quantities of money hidden in the

beanbags. We also have city cheer of the car and when he opened the boat,

you can see all these boxes, all containing packs of legal highs. It

looks packed, isn't it? All this was found on a street around the corner.

There is no doubt he knew we would be going back there. It is trying to

prevent it from finding out where they are. Drink the last race, 1,500

packets of these products received by Trading Standards. When they were

tested, some of the contents were anything but a call. Investigators

were shocked to discover hundreds of packets contained illegal class B

drugs. Consumers just do not have a clue and I cannot stress enough that

they do not know what is in the product even if they read the

ingredients based on the back, they don't know what is in there. It was

the evidence police and Reading standards needed to prosecute the

mild for drug and product safety offences. Problems with legal highs

are happening all over the country. In March, this 14-year-old took a

legal high but from a shop in Neath. Within ten seconds I collapsed and

it is the floor and started fitting. As soon as I am healed it, it went

through my cheeks, to my ears, to the top of my head and then it shot

down my body to my tools. He suffered a seizure and fell

unconscious. He made a full recovery but 68 deaths have been linked to

legal highs and many more people have been hospitalised. Drugs

charities are concerned by what they feel is a worrying loophole. At

present the substances are sold not for human consumption so therefore

it bypasses the medicines act and just to aid it to get around the

law, that are labelled as a plant food, research chemicals, the list

goes on. Until the law is changed, legal highs will continue to be

sold. But one shop owners this regard for customer safety has

finally caught up with him. He was told how people ended up in

hospital. He continued to sell the product. I think it was greed and he

didn't really care what the result of selling these products where. He

was charged with ten drug offences and 49 consumer offences including

selling unsafe products. He pleaded guilty to all charges and on Friday

he was sentenced to 3.5 years in jail. One of his Swansea stores has

closed down now and the other no longer sells eco-. The authorities

hope it will send out a warning to others involved in this dangerous

trade. here in Swansea. And that's all

we've got time for tonight! Remember, if there's anything you'd

like us to investigate, do get in touch - the number is 03703 334 334,

drop us an email [email protected], Black Friday's just around

the corner - the day when Christmas If you're planning to brave

the crowds, we'll tell you how to