:00:14. > :00:18.This is the show that fights for your rights.
:00:19. > :00:26.If you've been ripped off... Or that deal turns out to be dodgy... We
:00:27. > :00:30.will battle it out on your behalf. Excuse me! Don't manhandle me! You
:00:31. > :00:32.never checked those vehicles when you sold them! We are here to fight
:00:33. > :00:44.your corner. The customers who wanted
:00:45. > :00:49.a reliable motor, but their garage gave
:00:50. > :00:51.them the run-around. They took my money for that
:00:52. > :00:54.warranty and didn't put that It's a common headache
:00:55. > :00:59.on the high street. We find out why one size
:01:00. > :01:02.really doesn't fit all. These are the worst jeans I've ever
:01:03. > :01:05.had the misfortune to try on. And Omar's in beautiful Bethesda,
:01:06. > :01:12.where the rain, and the river, Are you sure this isn't just a very
:01:13. > :01:24.loud washing machine? First tonight, Rachel's been meeting
:01:25. > :01:30.some very angry customers of a car garage which just can't
:01:31. > :01:36.seem to stay in one place. Buying a second-hand car can be
:01:37. > :01:40.a daunting experience. You need to choose a dealer
:01:41. > :01:43.you trust, find the right car in the right condition,
:01:44. > :01:45.and make sure it comes But even if you think you've done
:01:46. > :01:52.all the right checks, you can still get caught out and end
:01:53. > :01:56.up buying a dodgy car from a garage that just won't want to know
:01:57. > :02:00.when things go wrong. Chrissie Weaver, from Port Talbot,
:02:01. > :02:04.needed a car so that she and her dog Caspar could get around to see
:02:05. > :02:11.the people they help. He's a little therapy dog and my
:02:12. > :02:16.clients really love to see him. I support vulnerable
:02:17. > :02:18.adults in their own home, so basically I'll actually go
:02:19. > :02:21.and live with them, normally for either one
:02:22. > :02:24.or two weeks at a time. Last July, she thought she'd found
:02:25. > :02:29.the perfect car to get to work. This Peugeot, for sale
:02:30. > :02:31.at the Birchgrove Motor Company It came with what she thought
:02:32. > :02:39.was a six-month RAC warranty. When the car was delivered,
:02:40. > :02:48.the tyres were bald and the wiper blade wasn't clearing the screen,
:02:49. > :02:50.so they needed to be replaced, And there was this sort of noise
:02:51. > :02:58.coming from the front of the car. The noise turned out
:02:59. > :02:59.to be the brakes. And getting the garage to put right
:03:00. > :03:07.the faults on her dream car started It started overheating in traffic
:03:08. > :03:16.and then I ended up with the engine Over the next five months, her car
:03:17. > :03:23.was in and out of the garage, until eventually Chrissie
:03:24. > :03:26.demanded a refund. But Birchgrove Motors
:03:27. > :03:31.had other ideas. I had a phone call when
:03:32. > :03:34.I was at work to say, "I'm outside your house
:03:35. > :03:36.with your car, what shall I'll post them
:03:37. > :03:39.through the letterbox." I checked the car and absolutely
:03:40. > :03:42.nothing had been done. It's left Chrissie and Caspar
:03:43. > :03:48.struggling to get around. I have to catch the train,
:03:49. > :03:50.I have to catch the bus, and it's just literally turned
:03:51. > :03:54.into a nightmare. As for Chrissie's RAC warranty,
:03:55. > :03:58.well, it turns out Birchgrove Motors never registered it,
:03:59. > :04:06.so it's worthless. It's a familiar story to Michael
:04:07. > :04:09.Ryman, who bought his Chrysler from the Birchgrove Motor Company
:04:10. > :04:14.nearly a year ago. He paid ?6,000 plus ?200
:04:15. > :04:17.for a warranty and drove away Within 35 miles, two management
:04:18. > :04:31.lights came on on the dashboard, which rendered the car unable
:04:32. > :04:33.to accelerate and drive normally. It took me three and a half
:04:34. > :04:36.hours to get home at The car had a problem
:04:37. > :04:39.with its turbo-charger. And just like Chrissie,
:04:40. > :04:41.the warranty Michael They took my money for that
:04:42. > :04:47.warranty and didn't put that And I have absolutely none
:04:48. > :04:51.of the safeguards and reassurance WMS Group told us that Michael's
:04:52. > :04:59.was one of ?7,000 worth of warranties which the garage
:05:00. > :05:04.issued but never paid for. And Michael's had no joy getting
:05:05. > :05:16.a refund on his faulty car either. We've spoken to more
:05:17. > :05:22.than half a dozen angry Leigh Hemms, from Blackwood,
:05:23. > :05:26.bought this BMW there in August. He hasn't had any problems
:05:27. > :05:29.with it but the Ford Fiesta I put a ?700 deposit down
:05:30. > :05:38.on the vehicle on the understanding that they were going to pay
:05:39. > :05:41.the finance off on my But the Birchgrove Motor Company
:05:42. > :05:51.didn't keep their word. I had a letter from Ford Credit
:05:52. > :05:54.saying that the payment on the car had to be paid
:05:55. > :05:58.within the next 14 days. If it wasn't, they were going
:05:59. > :06:01.to come and collect the car and I'd be blacklisted for credit
:06:02. > :06:03.for not paying it. Over the next three months,
:06:04. > :06:06.the garage did make one monthly payment on the Ford Fiesta,
:06:07. > :06:08.but wouldn't clear I was paying for this car
:06:09. > :06:16.that they'd sold me. And I was paying for
:06:17. > :06:19.the Ford Credit as well. So Leigh decided to take
:06:20. > :06:25.matters into his own hands. I thought, "This can't
:06:26. > :06:34.go on any longer." So I sort of went
:06:35. > :06:42.a little bit Welsh Rambo I told him, "If you don't
:06:43. > :06:46.give me my money back today, I'll be standing outside,
:06:47. > :06:48.not on your property, warning customers about
:06:49. > :06:50.the things you're doing." The next day Leigh finally
:06:51. > :06:55.got a cheque to pay off Well, it seems three
:06:56. > :06:59.men are involved - Ebrahim Ege, Asam Khan,
:07:00. > :07:01.and Gavin Mathieu. They used to trade as Edge Cars,
:07:02. > :07:05.with sites in Cardiff and Tonteg. But last year Edge Cars was stripped
:07:06. > :07:07.of its authorisation It also racked up ?11,000
:07:08. > :07:16.in unpaid court judgements. But far from giving up the motor
:07:17. > :07:20.trade, they just changed their name. Overnight, Edge Cars in Tonteg
:07:21. > :07:24.became the Birchgrove And now they've
:07:25. > :07:32.disappeared from here. We wrote to the company
:07:33. > :07:34.but they wouldn't comment We've tracked them down to Newport,
:07:35. > :07:44.where they've opened up again under a new name, and we're
:07:45. > :07:47.going to see if we can get In the last few weeks, they've
:07:48. > :07:52.relaunched as Right Cars Online, claiming to be the right people
:07:53. > :07:54.with the right price We're from BBC Wales'
:07:55. > :08:13.X-Ray programme. This is so frustrating,
:08:14. > :08:21.because we saw someone as we drove past, so we know there's
:08:22. > :08:23.somebody in there. And we know that they were trading
:08:24. > :08:27.from here a couple of days ago - Perhaps they were expecting us
:08:28. > :08:33.to visit and decided not to be here. So it doesn't look like we're
:08:34. > :08:36.going to get any kind However, the company did
:08:37. > :08:48.send us a statement. They don't admit any
:08:49. > :08:54.of the allegations made against them by customers and wouldn't comment
:08:55. > :08:57.on individual cases. As for why they've moved three times
:08:58. > :08:59.in ten months, well, they insist that's for "genuine
:09:00. > :09:03.commercial reasons", and they've changed their name
:09:04. > :09:05.each time, they say, There is some good news
:09:06. > :09:12.for Chrissie Weaver, though. Her credit card company
:09:13. > :09:15.is going to pay more than ?2,500 to get her car fixed,
:09:16. > :09:19.which is fantastic. Now, if you've had a problem
:09:20. > :09:22.with a company and you'd like us to look into it,
:09:23. > :09:36.do get in touch. Still to come tonight,
:09:37. > :09:39.we ask why it's so tricky Next, I've been investigating
:09:40. > :09:53.the costly phone services you may not even realise you've used
:09:54. > :10:02.until your bill arrives. Not so long ago, if you wanted
:10:03. > :10:05.to ring your bank, or a plumber, you'd pick up the phone book
:10:06. > :10:08.or call the operator. These days, most of us search
:10:09. > :10:14.the internet instead. Because you could end up paying
:10:15. > :10:21.a lot more than you bargained for. Lynfa Maeer lives in Upper Church
:10:22. > :10:29.Village near Pontypridd. A few weeks ago, her husband Paul
:10:30. > :10:32.had a letter from the DVLA When he checked the driving licence
:10:33. > :10:43.he had, he'd made an error when he first started driving a long
:10:44. > :10:46.time ago and put his wrong Paul couldn't correct the mistake
:10:47. > :10:51.online so he searched for the DVLA's phone number,
:10:52. > :10:54.rang them up, and sorted I couldn't believe it, I thought
:10:55. > :11:03.somebody else had used our phone. When Lynfa questioned the big bill,
:11:04. > :11:10.her phone company told her she'd ?30 for less than 15 minutes
:11:11. > :11:17.really takes the biscuit! Well, it turns out that the 09
:11:18. > :11:24.number Paul and Lynfa rang doesn't But the website they found it
:11:25. > :11:33.on does look very authentic. It clearly says "DVLA Helpline",
:11:34. > :11:36.and even has other information about road tax payments
:11:37. > :11:43.and drivers licences. But if I read the very small grey
:11:44. > :11:47.writing, I can see it says it's not I found lots more premium rate
:11:48. > :11:58.numbers, starting with 084, 087 and 09, offering similar
:11:59. > :12:03.services, but they can cost They're known as call forwarding
:12:04. > :12:10.services, or Information, And often people don't even realise
:12:11. > :12:17.they've used one until they're Kimberley Lewis, from
:12:18. > :12:25.Merthyr Tydfil, wanted to call Sky She found this website offering
:12:26. > :12:32.a "direct" line to Sky customer services but she ended up paying
:12:33. > :12:41.more than ?28 for the call. As for Lynfa and Paul,
:12:42. > :12:44.it's been an expensive lesson. This is why I got in touch with you,
:12:45. > :12:50.because I didn't want other people Well, ICSS Directory,
:12:51. > :12:58.the company which charged Lynfa almost ?30 for her two calls,
:12:59. > :13:01.insist that their website clearly states their call costs and the fact
:13:02. > :13:04.that they are not affiliated They also say they believe
:13:05. > :13:09.that they comply with the rules laid Now, that regulator -
:13:10. > :13:15.the Phone-paid Services Authority, or PSA - have told us
:13:16. > :13:18.they are "looking into" a number of businesses charging premium rates
:13:19. > :13:21.to connect customers Well, David Hickson from the Fair
:13:22. > :13:29.Telecoms Campaign is with me now. David, what do you make of these
:13:30. > :13:33.call-connection services? The service they're offering isn't
:13:34. > :13:37.really a service at all. If presented with a clear choice
:13:38. > :13:40.between the proper number for the organisation and a premium
:13:41. > :13:44.number, there's no reason at all why somebody would choose this,
:13:45. > :13:48.but because the rules aren't perhaps as tight as they should be, they can
:13:49. > :13:52.claim that they are providing a legitimate service
:13:53. > :13:56.within the terms of the rules. The Phone-paid Services Authority
:13:57. > :14:04.regulates all numbers that begin 087, 09,
:14:05. > :14:06.as well as Directory The 084 range, at the bottom
:14:07. > :14:12.of the range of premium rates, doesn't at the moment fall
:14:13. > :14:15.within the scope of regulation by the Phone-paid Services Authority
:14:16. > :14:22.for this type of service. These Information, Connection
:14:23. > :14:24.and Signposting Services, we believe whatever number it
:14:25. > :14:26.operates on, that David, what's your advice for anyone
:14:27. > :14:31.who may be searching Avoid things that offer
:14:32. > :14:37.telephone numbers in adverts. They're almost certainly,
:14:38. > :14:39.if they're putting up an advert, wanting to try and take some
:14:40. > :14:43.money off you. Also, beware of ones where the phone
:14:44. > :14:46.number appears very clearly amongst the search results,
:14:47. > :14:50.so you can just press it and dial. Take your time, get the right way
:14:51. > :14:54.of contacting the organisation and try and avoid people taking
:14:55. > :14:56.money off you for Good advice, David,
:14:57. > :15:01.thank you very much. And we'll put all that info
:15:02. > :15:04.on our website for you. And from sky-high phone bills
:15:05. > :15:08.to cheaper energy bills - at least that's the hope
:15:09. > :15:19.for one small community in Bethesda! We'd all love to pay a bit less
:15:20. > :15:23.for electricity but there's not much we can do about
:15:24. > :15:25.it. One community here in North Wales is
:15:26. > :15:29.taking things into their own hands. There's a revolution happening
:15:30. > :15:33.in the small town of Bethesda. It's the first place in the UK
:15:34. > :15:38.to trial a new scheme to produce here loads of money
:15:39. > :15:42.green - and could save people The River Ogwen churns up so much
:15:43. > :15:52.energy, especially when it rains, it makes perfect sense to harness
:15:53. > :15:55.it. Well, Bethesda's almost
:15:56. > :15:56.like a perfect storm in terms of the community,
:15:57. > :15:58.the support structures and we've got very steep
:15:59. > :16:01.mountains and lots of rain. So it seemed like the
:16:02. > :16:04.perfect opportunity. A lot of the community energy
:16:05. > :16:07.companies got together and said "We all want this to work. Where's
:16:08. > :16:10.the best place to try it out?" Right, I'm ready to see this
:16:11. > :16:18.impressive hydro power station, which Keith tells me
:16:19. > :16:22.is in that shed. Are you sure this isn't just a very
:16:23. > :16:34.large washing machine?! And this wheel and this water powers
:16:35. > :16:42.goes round and round by water. a quarter to a third
:16:43. > :16:44.of the village's power needs? Basically on the domestic
:16:45. > :16:48.side, the houses, yes. What you've got is, high
:16:49. > :16:50.up above us, about 200 metres up the mountain,
:16:51. > :16:53.the water goes into a pipe. The water comes down
:16:54. > :16:56.here under huge pressure. It goes through the pipe,
:16:57. > :17:00.there's a wheel running in there Then it drops down there and,
:17:01. > :17:07.it turns what is basically a dynamo, it makes electricity,
:17:08. > :17:09.goes out on a cable and that's it. Yeah, but as was once explained to
:17:10. > :17:18.me, doing something simply
:17:19. > :17:19.is very complex. When the hydro is running
:17:20. > :17:22.at capacity, it makes enough cheap electricity to power more
:17:23. > :17:26.than 100 nearby houses. And that brings massive savings
:17:27. > :17:29.to an area The big six energy firms charge
:17:30. > :17:39.around 14 pence per kilowatts hour but when the hydro's running at full
:17:40. > :17:41.speed, people here only
:17:42. > :17:44.pay around seven pence! That's why the appropriately-named
:17:45. > :17:46.Watts family And Donna and her husband
:17:47. > :17:52.Chris were impressed by the bills they received
:17:53. > :17:56.for December and January. For those two months,
:17:57. > :17:58.I saved nearly ?60. So that's by switching my supplier
:17:59. > :18:07.and obviously changing the time that So trying to make
:18:08. > :18:11.a conscious effort. And when do you know
:18:12. > :18:13.the electricity you're using If it's raining obviously we know
:18:14. > :18:24.the hydro's going full speed - And over time you hope it will be
:18:25. > :18:29.less guesswork and more certainty? At the moment, the information's
:18:30. > :18:36.coming through two days later. What are you going
:18:37. > :18:38.to spend the ?400 on? But I wonder what other
:18:39. > :18:44.people in Bethesda make Yeah, anything environmental,
:18:45. > :18:51.environmental stuff, When it rains, they turn
:18:52. > :19:00.the rain into electricity. Can't believe it's coming
:19:01. > :19:07.from Bethesda though. So they've got 109 households now.
:19:08. > :19:10.Would you like to be part of it? Yeah I think I probably would.
:19:11. > :19:14.I will get around to it eventually. And local energy project Ynni Ogwen
:19:15. > :19:17.believes many more houses could be powered directly by rivers,
:19:18. > :19:19.wind or sun. Are our kids going to be
:19:20. > :19:23.making their own electricity We have intentions to roll
:19:24. > :19:32.this out across Wales. It's actually about using that
:19:33. > :19:38.electricity within communities. So I'm very positive and I'm
:19:39. > :19:40.hoping we can expand this, not just in Wales, but in other
:19:41. > :19:45.parts of Britain and beyond. So I've spent the day in Bethesda,
:19:46. > :19:48.I've met Donna's family and it seems like these people might have
:19:49. > :19:51.achieved the impossible. Saving money and saving
:19:52. > :19:56.the environment If you're interested in finding
:19:57. > :20:08.out more about this - maybe it's something you think
:20:09. > :20:11.could work where you live - we'll put all the details on our
:20:12. > :20:12.website. If you're planning a road
:20:13. > :20:18.trip to France, be aware
:20:19. > :20:22.of new rules to cut pollution. From 31st March, anyone driving
:20:23. > :20:29.in Paris, Lyon or Grenoble will need to display a vehicle emissions
:20:30. > :20:31.sticker on their windscreen. from the French Environment
:20:32. > :20:35.Ministry for ?3.20. Fitness trackers which connect
:20:36. > :20:43.to the internet But cyber-security experts
:20:44. > :20:47.are warning they could be vulnerable to hackers
:20:48. > :20:52.who want your personal details. Their advice is only to download
:20:53. > :20:57.software from websites you trust. And parking meters in Cardiff
:20:58. > :21:00.will be linked up to a new phone app Drivers can use MiPermit
:21:01. > :21:08.to pay for parking - and a text alert will let you know
:21:09. > :21:11.when your time is up. You can even extend your session
:21:12. > :21:19.without returning to your car. Next, Rachel's been hitting
:21:20. > :21:21.the shops, sizing up From six to 26, stores stock
:21:22. > :21:33.virtually every size, so finding fashion that fits should
:21:34. > :21:39.be easy - shouldn't it? It varies from shop
:21:40. > :21:44.to shop, different sizes. They can be different
:21:45. > :21:47.in all the shops that you go in. It's particularly difficult online
:21:48. > :21:49.shopping because we do a lot
:21:50. > :21:52.of that these days, don't we? I think you should be able to go
:21:53. > :21:55.into every shop and be able to pick out the size that you are and it
:21:56. > :22:02.shouldn't really vary between shops. There have been calls
:22:03. > :22:04.to standardise clothing sizes, but it hasn't happened -
:22:05. > :22:07.and it's left us with a problem. With no recognised standard
:22:08. > :22:09.for sizing, what fits in one shop
:22:10. > :22:12.may well not fit in another, which can make clothes
:22:13. > :22:19.shopping a nightmare. Here at the University
:22:20. > :22:21.of South Wales, the designers of tomorrow are
:22:22. > :22:23.learning how clothes are sold Essentially, I think most retailers
:22:24. > :22:33.are doing their own thing per se, there's no sort of regulation of how
:22:34. > :22:36.they're sizing from store to store. I would say consumers are really
:22:37. > :22:38.confused by what's going on, particularly if you're looking
:22:39. > :22:41.to shop quickly and conveniently And Claire thinks some high street
:22:42. > :22:46.stores may be trying
:22:47. > :22:52.to massage shoppers' egos. Some of the brands will put
:22:53. > :22:55.a smaller size onto a label even two sizes larger,
:22:56. > :23:00.with another brand might be so definitely I think there's some
:23:01. > :23:07."vanity sizing" going on. I think it's time to size
:23:08. > :23:12.up the problem with a shopping trip of our own.
:23:13. > :23:15.Now that's my kind of research! We've recruited two X-ray viewers
:23:16. > :23:18.to be our "store detectives". First up, mum of three and fashion
:23:19. > :23:20.blogger Rachel Turone Shopping with children
:23:21. > :23:26.in tow is always stressful but when you find you've taken your
:23:27. > :23:28.size into the changing room and then it doesn't fit
:23:29. > :23:31.and then you are having to switch sizes, it can be just
:23:32. > :23:41.really stressful. Next up, Rachel's sister and mum
:23:42. > :23:43.of two, Rhiannon Bowler She once got into a tight
:23:44. > :23:46.spot out shopping. I picked up a 12, sleeves
:23:47. > :23:49.were tighter than they normally were, it was tight around the bust,
:23:50. > :23:53.and I managed to get it on So what we would like you to do
:23:54. > :24:04.is, each buy a pair of these
:24:05. > :24:06.in your size from the six most popular clothes
:24:07. > :24:08.stores on the high street. We've gone for one of
:24:09. > :24:11.the most popular styles, so that is the "mid-rise skinny",
:24:12. > :24:14.then if you can get all your shopping bags together,
:24:15. > :24:15.come back here, try them on and we will judge
:24:16. > :24:25.how well they fit. Well, we've shopped.
:24:26. > :24:28.I'm definitely ready to drop anyway. Shall we get back to the fashion
:24:29. > :24:36.school and see how they look on? The labels all say the same -
:24:37. > :24:45.ten for Rachel, 12 for Rhiannon, I do think they're generous,
:24:46. > :24:52.stretchy, so you know within a day A comfy fit than
:24:53. > :24:56.a skinny skinny fit. they're already roomy.
:24:57. > :25:02.are a very generous cut, Mine are OK around the waist
:25:03. > :25:05.but I find this material here, so I think within an hour
:25:06. > :25:13.they're gonna be huge. These won't even go
:25:14. > :25:27.close to doing up. I can't even get them on.
:25:28. > :25:36.ever had the misfortune to try on. I feel like I can't comment
:25:37. > :25:38.on the waist They're not saggy and they fit
:25:39. > :25:49.like jeans are supposed to fit. I take back everything
:25:50. > :25:52.I've said about Topshop, That's what the sisters
:25:53. > :25:55.think of the fit, Claire measures the circumference
:25:56. > :26:01.of the waistband on each pair. We've actually found quite a big
:26:02. > :26:11.discrepancy between the smallest and the largest size ten and also
:26:12. > :26:15.the size 12s, of six centimetres. You might expect that
:26:16. > :26:19.if you were jumping up a size Even when we are looking at the
:26:20. > :26:24.full circumference of the waistband, that's quite
:26:25. > :26:29.a significant difference. Of course, some fabrics
:26:30. > :26:31.are stretchier than others but our experiment shows
:26:32. > :26:33.that the number on the tag What advice, then, for
:26:34. > :26:39.consumers like us? I would say definitely go into store
:26:40. > :26:42.and don't be worried if perhaps you don't fit into your normal size
:26:43. > :26:45.ten or your normal size 14, because it might not be
:26:46. > :26:48.anything to do, you know, Order a couple of different sizes
:26:49. > :26:53.and, again, try them on in the comfort
:26:54. > :26:58.of your own home and actually experience and see
:26:59. > :27:01.what the garments look like I have been known to put down jeans
:27:02. > :27:05.and walk out if they're not the size I want them to be,
:27:06. > :27:07.so, yeah, I shouldn't take
:27:08. > :27:09.that to heart so much. It's a great thing to have a pair
:27:10. > :27:13.of jeans that are a great fit regardless of the numbers,
:27:14. > :27:15.so I think be open minded would be the best thing to do
:27:16. > :27:18.when shopping for jeans. I'm glad it's not just me
:27:19. > :27:21.who finds this frustrating! We passed on our findings
:27:22. > :27:24.to the six shops we visited. Topshop and New Look
:27:25. > :27:28.declined to comment. the size and fit of their clothes -
:27:29. > :27:35.us they continually review but because the style and fabric
:27:36. > :27:38.varies between garments, the advice is always to try
:27:39. > :27:43.before you buy. but if you need our help
:27:44. > :27:49.with anything, we're here for you. Next week, the residents of a
:27:50. > :27:57.Swansea housing estate being charged
:27:58. > :27:59.to park in their own spaces. And all of this because I've parked
:28:00. > :28:07.where I'm supposed to park