Episode 13 X-Ray

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

If you've been ripped off...

Or that deal turns out to be dodgy...

We'll battle it out on your behalf.

No, no, no, excuse me, don't manhandle me.

You never checked those vehicles when you sold them.

We're here to fight your corner.

Tonight - speeding, scratches, and mud!

We're out with police, tackling the airport parking firms which couldn't

care less!

These were people's prized possessions

and they were caked in mud.

It really was chaos.

The outdoor enthusiasts left high and dry by one Welsh company.

It's not only rude and unprofessional,

but it's just disgusting.

And it's a mean, green destructive machine!

I'm a prisoner, and I've been a prisoner for four years.

Now Robin's court victory could bring hope to others plagued by

Japanese knotweed!

First tonight, as many of us start planning our summer getaways,

Omar's been finding out how to avoid being taken for a ride by

airport parking firms.

In a few months' time, many of us will be loading up the car and

jetting off somewhere sunny.

Bring it on! And if you don't want the hassle of parking,

you can pay a company to take your keys and park your car for you,

not far from the airport.

"Meet and greet" parking is soaring at UK airports,

but so are the number of complaints.

Last May, Lyn Bigmore from Cardiff left his brand-new car with

a company called WCP Bristol Airport Parking.

He flew to the Canaries for two weeks of sun, salads and cerveza.

But when he got his car back,

he spotted some footage on his dash cam which horrified him!

I'm seeing this vehicle of mine being driven and it's doing, like,

76mph, something like that.

And they've overtaken three vehicles, in the hatched area,

for God's sake.

How did it feel seeing that?

I was livid, I was, honestly.

Don't forget, Omar,

this had 400 miles on the clock when I left it with him.

Dreadful driving for a professional driver, as well.

But this road movie had another twist.

What he is actually doing is picking his mate up.

He's actually running a taxi service with your car.

Well, exactly, yeah. Makes my blood boil even further.

I'm lost for words.

This is really weird.

Lyn loves his car - it cost him a whopping 32 grand -

so he really feels like he's been taken for a ride.

I felt violated, to be honest.

It was a dreadful situation and one which is clearly happening

as a custom and practice across the country - must be.

Lyn's not wrong.

All over the UK,

travellers are being driven round the bend by "meet and greet" firms.

And at Gatwick - one of the biggest airports -

cops are determined to put the brakes on this bad behaviour.

Sergeant Darren Taylor leads a team of officers

based at Gatwick Police Station.

Come through to the office. This is a growing issue, more

and more people want to have the luxury of "meet and greet",

but this is not just Gatwick, this is nationwide.

More and more scammers are getting wind of this and trying to get on

the bandwagon and make money out of it.

I'm heading off with Darren and

Community Support Officer Tracy Smythe

to some of the areas around the airport

which have been plagued by parking problems.

You seem so passionate about this. It's almost like this is personal.

To me, yeah, it is personal, at the end of the day, because what

you're doing is ripping people off - end of.

It needs to stop because all it's doing is giving

other companies, good companies, a bad name.

So, these people that are scamming are undercutting them,

because they're not paying their insurance,

they're not paying their tax,

their VAT, and they're getting away with it.

So, is it personal?

Yes, it's personal to me and my team.

This street in Copthorne looks quiet today but, a few months ago,

Darren and Tracy were called out to deal with a very different scene.

There was lots and lots of vehicles and they were parked so close

together, they were, like bumper-to-bumper, so...

Cos they want to maximise the space?

Yes. They want to get as many cars as they can

into the residential road, and this is where I thought,

"This is an unapproved 'meet and greet' company."

One of the cars belonged to

holiday-maker Kathryn Bevis from Caerleon.

She thought she was handing it over to a company who'd take care of it.

This gentleman walked over, no uniform at all, no ID.

He just took the keys,

took his mobile phone out, took a few photographs.

We were just anxious to get to the terminal at that point and thought,

"OK, perhaps he's just the guy parking it,

"and it'll be fine because it'll be in a secure car park."

After a lazy week in Lanzarote, the family picked up their car.

But the next morning,

Kathryn noticed a new feature on her trusty Golf.

When I went to the car, I thought, "That's strange,

"I can't remember scratches along the driver's door."

It definitely looked like it'd been keyed.

Two days later, the cause of the mystery scratches was revealed,

in a letter from none other than Sergeant Darren Taylor.

They explained that the car had been found in a street,

that the residents had complained to the police because of the number of

cars, and some of them had been blocking driveways,

and when they investigated,

the majority of them were open and they were damaged.

I just couldn't believe the cheek of it,

to take your car and absolutely just abandon it, basically.

We actually found that some of the vehicles had been damaged,

where they'd scratched the paintwork, and of course,

this is not going to penalise this company -

this is going to penalise the people that own these vehicles.

So, not only are they getting a shoddy service,

where their vehicles have been left in a residential street when they

should be in a secure compound,

but then they're coming back to find their vehicles are damaged as well.

The company responsible was tracked down and the cars were removed.

But the problem isn't just confined to the streets.

If you look at this field and the hedge line,

the field across from there

was used to park thousands of cars - customers' cars -

that were meant to be in a secure compound.

When I turned up and I saw the state of play,

the amount of mud on these vehicles, it was totally disgusting.

These were people's prized possessions,

and they were caked in mud.

You couldn't even actually distinguish what some vehicles were,

the mud was that thick, let alone what the registration was.

And we're not just talking your average cars.

There was a Bentley worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

And not only were the cars damaged, caked in mud,

but the keys were strewn around everywhere.

I mean, it really was chaos.

Back at Gatwick,

airport bosses are urging passengers to ditch the dodgy parking firms and

only use ones on their approved list.

What we would say to the rogue operators,

who don't care about the wellbeing of the passenger's car, is,

you know, you are not welcome at Gatwick,

and we don't want you to operate here.

What we'd equally say to anyone travelling from the airport is,

please, you know, we do urge you to look on the airport website,

make an informed choice about where you park.

And it's worth looking out for this Park Mark symbol, too.

It means a firm's been checked out and is up to scratch.

So, what can we all do to completely knock out

these dodgy "meet and greet" companies?

Quite simple - let's not book through them.

If we can all work together and promote that as much as possible,

we can eradicate the scammers.

Yeah, some really good advice there.

And remember, before you leave your car with a parking firm,

it's always worth taking a few photos of it, inside and out -

and take a picture of the mileage, too, just in case there's a dispute!

Now, the firm which dumped Kathryn's car in a side street has gone bust.

So, unfortunately, no money back for her.

But Lyn, whose car was driven at speed and used as a taxi,

has received an apology from WCP Bristol Airport Parking,

and he's had half of his money back.

The company says it's also taken disciplinary action against the

members of staff involved.

Now, if there's anything you'd like us to look in to,

please, do get in touch.

The number to call is...

You can e-mail us. Or send us a tweet.

Still to come tonight -

they claim to be a network you can depend on,

but this loyal Vodafone customer doesn't agree.

The only thing I can depend on with Vodafone is,

that they are going to send me a text,

and they are going to cut me off.

Next, I've been getting to the root of a problem that's causing misery

for homeowners here in Maesteg and right across Wales.

When Robin Waistell first set eyes on this house in Maesteg

five years ago, he had a good feeling about it.

The people are absolutely marvellous, everybody talks to you.

The hills, the valleys, lovely.

I looked out the window, saw the railway line.

I said, "Oh, that's good, I'll be able to tell the grandchildren I got

"me own private railway line."

Robin decided it was the perfect place to start

a new chapter of his life.

Well, unfortunately, in 2010, my wife passed away...

and I went back to Spain, where we lived.

Beautiful home...

And after a few months, I realised I didn't want to be there on

my own. So I decided to sell up and move back to the UK.

But by the time Robin moved in, in May, an alien invader

had sprung up on the railway embankment behind his house.

I looked out the window

and I thought, "What's the hell's that growing?"

After that, it seemed to speed up.

HE CHUCKLES

The beautiful views I had, I couldn't see through it.

It was just a mass of green.

Robin's house was surrounded by Japanese knotweed -

a plant once cultivated by the Victorians,

who thought it looked pretty.

But its roots can be three metres deep,

it spreads quickly and it can grow through walls and burst into houses.

Getting rid of this invasive species

is keeping weed control experts very busy.

It may look dead at the moment,

but within weeks it'll be a different story.

If you look closely,

little red shoots starting to emerge.

Those are the canes already starting to emerge.

And that'll be next year's growth.

And it is that root area, isn't it, Rob, that's the real danger zone?

-That's right, that's how the plant spreads.

-So how do you treat it?

The obvious and cheapest

and most effective method is to treat it with herbicide.

You spray the leaves or you can inject into the stem.

Very effective, but just takes several years to take effect.

But it's important to take it all out,

otherwise the plant's going to regenerate.

In Maesteg, Robin has repeatedly asked Network Rail,

which owns the embankment, to get rid of the Japanese knotweed.

And although they've treated the site several times,

the plant is still going strong.

Tell me about the impact it's had on you, Robin,

and your plans for the future.

I had the house on the market

and I was getting loads of people come round have a look,

saying how much they loved it.

Then when I showed them the knotweed,

they didn't want to get involved with Japanese knotweed,

because it's un-mortgageable.

Anyone who has Japanese knotweed

within seven metres of their property

could well struggle to get a mortgage, unless they have

a specialist treatment plan in place.

Robin's neighbour, Steve Williams,

has also had problems selling his home.

Steve, you grew up in Maesteg, didn't you?

Have you always been aware of Japanese knotweed around?

Yeah, basically we used to play in it when we were kids, like, and make

dens and all sorts of stuff like.

-It's all over the place round here, to tell you the truth.

-So how has

Japanese knotweed impacted on the house?

It stops light,

smells a bit, some times of the year, as well.

And it's been, when it's in full growth,

it's basically tapping on my daughter's bedroom,

keeping her awake at night and all sorts of stuff.

What happened when you tried to contact Network Rail about it?

Basically, they just palmed me off - they just don't want to know.

They're hoping, basically, because they're such a big company,

they look at it and say,

"Well, we're big enough, we don't have to worry about you."

But Steve and Robin weren't prepared to let it go.

And now they've certainly got Network Rail's attention.

I decided to take the next step - legal action.

I'm unable to sell,

I'm just unable to move on in my life, to the next chapter.

I'm a prisoner, and I've been a prisoner for four years.

And earlier this month, in a landmark case,

the pair won their battle against the company.

At Cardiff County Court,

Network Rail were ordered to pay each of them more than £4,000 to

remove the knotweed, and £10,000

because the value of their homes had dropped.

I know there's lots and lots of people in Maesteg

and throughout Britain

who's basically going through the same thing, and at least now

it's not going to be such an uphill battle for them lot.

Who'd have thought a plant could cause so many problems?

Well, Rodger Burnett, the lawyer who represented Robin from Maesteg,

that you saw in that report, is with me.

Rodger, is this case going to open the floodgates now?

I've spoken to hundreds of people

who are literally at their wits' end,

banging their head against a brick wall.

They've tried to get people Network Rail,

other big landowners, to take responsibility for Japanese knotweed

that's on their land, that's stopping them selling their property

or preventing them from buying a property.

Hopefully, with this judgment, these people

will be able to take on these big landowners and be able to sell their

-property.

-But even if you can find who the landowner is,

clearly it's often very difficult to get them to take action.

-What should people do?

-It can be incredibly difficult.

If you don't have any joy contacting these people yourself,

then your only option is to seek legal assistance.

Is it very expensive to treat, is that what the issue is?

It can, it can range from a few thousand pounds

to £30,000, £40,000 to get

the knotweed treated and excavated.

When they developed the Olympic Park site in London,

there was knotweed there and it cost

£3.4 million to have it completely removed.

What's your advice to people who may be selling their property

and suspect they have Japanese knotweed?

Do you have to declare it?

Yes, you should.

There's a property information form

that sellers should complete when selling their property.

And on there, there is very specific question about Japanese knotweed.

If you don't, then you can be faced with

significant legal action from an unsuspecting buyer.

Because it can have implications for mortgages, can't it?

It can, if the property is affected by Japanese knotweed,

lenders won't lend against the property, unless there's a treatment

programme in place, that treatment programme is carried out by

a competent contractor and the treatment programme is underpinned

-by an insurance-backed guarantee.

-Rodger, thank you.

Thank you.

Time for a news update, and if you like watching funny videos,

watch out for a scam message doing the rounds on social media.

It looks like it's come from a friend,

who asks, "Are you in this video?"

But clicking on the link could give fraudsters access to your account.

The Royal Mint will be launching the new 12-sided £1 coin

at the end of next month,

so it's a race against time

for businesses to update their coin-operated machines.

And you'll only have until the 15th October to spend your old ones -

better start looking down the back of your sofa!

And if you're thinking of buying a new motor, all cars registered

from the 1st of April will be taxed in a different way.

For the first year, the rate is based on C02 emissions.

After that, it'll depend on the type of fuel you use.

Check the Government's website for details!

Now, if braving the elements in the Welsh countryside is your thing,

then you'll need to buy yourself the right kit.

But Rachel's been meeting customers

of one Carmarthenshire-based company,

which just hasn't delivered.

Outdoors pursuits in Wales are big business.

Pastimes such as surfing,

hiking and mountain biking bring almost £500 million a year

to the Welsh economy.

The market for everything you'll need when venturing out into the

wilds of Wales is also booming.

But one Welsh company seems to have taken the great out of

the great outdoors!

And it's called CNF Outdoors, based in rural Carmarthenshire.

Their website promises to give you exactly what you require for the

ultimate outdoor experience.

It sounded good to Katrina Deacon from Colwyn Bay,

who was looking for an extra-special mountain bike for her son, Teddy.

Back in September, he had got on his bike and hit a moving car.

He was absolutely traumatised by that event,

he ended up going into surgery twice and he was in plaster for a couple

of months. So it was the perfect opportunity to give him a great

Christmas present that would aid his recovery.

Katrina spotted a Muddy Fox mountain bike,

which she thought would be ideal.

The website looked very professional,

this blurb about the service they provide,

and it all just seemed really good, really well-run and

all above board.

She placed the order in November and the website said delivery would be

within five business days.

But two weeks into December, and with Christmas fast approaching,

there was no sign of the bike.

I e-mailed, I called the landline,

I looked up where they were based, and considered driving down there.

Because by now I'm starting to panic.

But absolutely nothing back from them.

In the end, Teddy did get his bike in time from Christmas -

but from another online store, not CNF.

Mum Katrina only got her money back

after complaining to her credit card company.

I'm very, very disappointed towards CNF, obviously.

This particular purchase goes a lot deeper than just buying

a bike for a child on Christmas, which is big enough anyway.

But this was an important part of Teddy's recovery.

And for them to just not reply to me,

it's not only rude and unprofessional,

but it's just disgusting.

Remember CNF's promise,

to give you exactly what you require

for that ultimate outdoor experience?

Well, Katrina's ultimate experience

with CNF was getting left out in the cold.

And she's not the only one.

In December, Michelle Jeffrey from Llantrisant had a run-in with the

company, after ordering a Christmas present for her husband, Ian.

I just knew that I had to buy something to do with the van.

So I chose to buy a thermal privacy screen,

just to keep the van warmer in the cold weather and to keep the heat

out in the summer.

CNF seemed to know their stuff when it came to camping gear.

So Michelle paid £50 and was assured her order was on its way.

But Christmas came and went, and there was no sign of it.

Really disappointed because I knew this was a Christmas present for my

husband and I knew he'd be disappointed.

Michelle phoned and e-mailed CNF without success.

So husband Ian turned online sleuth, to track down the director -

Grant Butler.

I sent a rather sharp and to the point e-mail to this guy...

..and that's when he immediately responded and sent Michelle

a cancellation on the order.

But it was only after complaining to her credit card company that CNF

gave Michelle her money back.

We've spoken to many other unhappy customers too.

Like Duncan Greene in Penrith, who bought a ground sheet for his tent,

which didn't turn up

In Edinburgh, Robin Wallace's sleeping bag didn't arrive either.

And Megan Hine spent over £400 on sleeping bags for an expedition to

Norway, and the goods never even made it to Worcestershire.

She spent months chasing Grant Butler for her money,

and had to threaten legal action to get it back.

It's not fair on people that he can just get away with this.

He shouldn't be trading.

He just should not be trading.

So, what is going on?

Well, CNF are blaming the problems on issues with their suppliers,

particularly around Christmas time.

They say that Teddy's bike order was affected by a change in couriers,

which meant they had to withdraw the bikes from sale.

Now they insist that all refunds have now been processed,

although they don't explain why that has taken so long.

Carmarthenshire Trading Standards have confirmed they are now

investigating CNF Outdoors.

We'll keep you posted on any developments.

Next up, Vodafone claims it's a network you can depend on.

But for one Swansea family that doesn't ring true,

as Omar's been finding out.

PHONE RINGS

-Hi, Lucy.

-Hi, Omar.

Hey, I've got some really exciting news for you.

-Wow, what is it?

-Well, I was speaking to this friend

the other day, and she said that you can..

BEEPING

..definitely...

-Hello?

-Hello?

Omar?

'Don't you just hate getting cut off?'

It's a feeling Mike Harries and his family from Swansea

know all too well.

As a postman for almost 30 years,

Mike prides himself on delivering a first-class service.

'It's a shame he can't say the same

'about his mobile phone company, though...'

You've had a lot of drama with Vodafone, mate.

-What's been happening?

-Two years ago, 2015, started having texts -

"You haven't paid your bill." Ring them up

and then we'd go through a scenario with them, basically.

"No, you're fine, you have paid your bill."

I say, "OK, fine." Next breath, they threaten to cut me off.

Mike, his wife, Penny, and son, Luke,

have been loyal Vodafone customers for years.

They pay £73 a month for a family plan,

which allows them to share minutes and data.

In my eyes, it's a very simple procedure.

I pay the bill, they supply a service.

As it is now, I pay the bill, they don't supply a service.

This might be a stupid question.

Why don't you just change networks?

Where we live, by here, no other company covers it.

So it's basically Vodafone, or no phone?

I am basically stuck.

Inside, I am absolutely boiling and I just can't do nothing about it.

Mike's not a happy chap.

And plenty of other customers aren't impressed with Vodafone either.

In October, Ofcom fined the company almost £1 million for their

poor handling of complaints.

Getting cut off has had a big impact on the rest of the family, too.

19-year-old personal trainer Luke

is fed up of Vodafone giving him the run around.

-Hi, Luke.

-Hiya, how you doing?

-I'm good, man, how are you?

Good, yeah. Great, thanks.

So, Vodafone, has it being ruining your life a bit?

Yeah, as a personal trainer I've got to text my clients.

And if I don't have Wi-Fi, because I'm out and about or in college,

I can't text them, so I can't arrange dates, times to meet them.

That's the biggest thing for me,

that's the thing that's annoyed me the most.

It's not a big amount of money, but it's still money to me and,

as a student, I don't get much money as it is.

So do you think Vodafone owe you a cheque?

I wouldn't mind one.

HE CHUCKLES

Yeah, I wouldn't say no.

Back at the Harries' home,

Mike shows me what he's been dealing with.

Just looking through this, you can see they've said,

-"You haven't paid your bill."

-Yes.

Then they've said, "You still haven't paid your bill." Then they

say, "You haven't paid your bill, we're going to cut you off!"

"We've cut you off!" And through all of this, you've paid.

Yeah. Every single time.

There's a direct debit set up.

And it just keeps going and going and going and going?

Yeah.

One of them says, "Vodafone is a network you can depend on."

Yeah, that was funny, that one was.

The only thing I can depend on with Vodafone is, that they are

going to send me a text and they are going to cut me off.

That's what they are good at.

You couldn't make it up.

I wonder how this problem would play out in the

world of television?

Imagine you're watching X-Ray.

Just watching your favourite presenter, Omar Hamdi,

doing his final piece to camera and all of a sudden...

BEEPING

Guys?

Right - since we filmed with the Harries family,

they've been cut off yet again.

They just can't understand why, so we asked Vodafone.

They say they're sorry, and blame a system error with their

billing process. They've apologised to the family and say the account is

being "cleansed" as we speak -

and they've offered the family a month's free line rental while they

sort out the problems. So, hopefully, after almost two years,

this will finally be the end of all the hassle.

Well, that is it for this week. Remember,

if there's anything you want us to look into, please do get in touch.

Our contact details are on the screen now.

We are here for you.

Next week...

..we investigate dog theft -

the real-life nightmare facing a growing number of families in Wales.

It's just the not being able tell my kids what's happening.

I don't know if someone's got him and they're looking after him,

or if they're not looking after him.

We'll be back in our usual slot next week, that's 7:30, Monday.

Have a great weekend, bye-bye!