Episode 8 X-Ray


Episode 8

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Transcript


LineFromTo

And? In every corner of Wales.

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And? In every corner of Wales.

Reinvestigate. Scams and rip-offs.

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Bad service and dodgy deals. If you

have been conned out of your hard

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earned cash. We are here. On your

side. Fighting for your rights.

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Fighting for you. This is X-Ray.

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On the programme tonight: Joel is

fighting his parking charge, but why

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are more of us ending up in a legal

battle?

I am prepared to go and sit

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in court all day to argue my case.

Could those old toys and games

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stashed in your attic be worth a

fortune?

This is a rear Lego set

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worth £1500.

And staying safe on the

roads. I am finding out how not to

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drive on the roads this winter.

Hello and welcome to the programme.

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With changes to the driving test

coming into force at the start of

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December, I'm here at Anglesey

circuit to find out what that means

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for learners. First, we get lots of

complaints about parking charges.

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And we've tackled a few of them in

the past. And now it seems parking

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companies are going to greater

lengths than

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ever to make sure you pay. Rachel

has been investigating.

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Parking tickets. Always annoying and

expensive. And sometimes difficult

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to appeal against. But more and more

of us could have our financial

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future is ruined just because we

decide to fight the parking

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companies and end up in court. Joel

is preparing for just such a battle.

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Last Christmas, he was ill for

several weeks.

We had to call the

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doctor out. He told me to go and get

an x-ray because he thought I had

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bronchitis.

In early January, Joe

went for his x-ray. And Barry

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Hospital, parking for patient is

free. Joe followed the instructions

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on the parking signs. When he

registered at reception, things were

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not straightforward.

A man came past

and said it was playing up, so I did

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it twice.

Believed he had registered

for the free parking, Joe had his

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x-ray and went home. At just over a

week later, he was shocked to

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receive a letter demanding £70. Joe

knew he had not stayed too long, so

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began to suspect that something went

wrong when he tried to register his

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car.

Malfunction if you like, a

mishap. Faulty equipment, I don't

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know what it was. There was no

receipt, I cannot prove that part,

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although I know I did it.

Joe

appealed against the charge, but

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parking I turned down the appeal.

Confused by the system, he replied

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to them. The cast the case on a debt

collection company who began sending

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letters.

To me, it was threatening.

Pay up or else. And the else being I

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could finish up in court, it could

damage my credit rating, I would

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have to pay their fees, costs and

still pay the fine. Which has now

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gone up and retired, I'm prepared to

go and sit in court all day if

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necessary to go and argue my case.

It seems more and more people are

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now ending up in court. When they

refused to pay parking charges or

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try to argue their case. With the

risk of damaging their credit

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rating. That is because two years

ago, Parking Eye won a legal battle

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in the court against a chip shop

owner. She argued the charges run in

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fear after he overstayed in one of

the car parks. Until that point,

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some drivers thought it might have

been safe to ignore warnings from

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private parking firms. But since

then, there has been a big increase

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in the number of people ending up in

court. Two years ago, there were

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just 127 cases across Wales' County

Courts. So far this year, there has

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been 593 cases. In Cardiff, 40 cases

in 2015 has gone up to 145 this

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year. And in Swansea, numbers have

soared from three to 204 so far this

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year. It seems almost certain, with

all parking cases going to court,

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more drivers will find themselves on

the wrong end of a court judgment.

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Which is expensive to appeal and can

severely damage your credit rating.

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Emma fears for her financial future.

Because when she went to a new dance

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class last March, she accidentally

parked in the wrong place.

I noticed

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there was a sign on the front of the

shops saying parking and rear. It

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was very dark. So I just pulled my

car, reversed it into a space and as

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we walked out, we still didn't see

any signs. I went to the dance

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class. I came back, got in my car

and drove off.

The first Emma heard

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of the parking company was three

months later. She received a letter

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from their solicitors, threatening

court action unless she paid £160. I

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phoned them. I said, I didn't

receive a ticket and I've had no

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correspondence about this ticket. I

was shocked. Earlier this month,

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Emma went to court. At the case was

adjourned. She is now planning to

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fight her parking charge all the way

at the next hearing. I thought no,

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I'm not paying out. It's not fear.

And not paying that amount of money

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when I haven't done anything wrong.

As for Joe, he's waiting to hear

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what will happen next. But he won't

give in without a fight.

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Well, we've spoken to the parking

firms involved. Parking Eye told us

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Joe did not enter his registration

number correctly and did not provide

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any relevant information within the

time available. But they've just

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reviewed his case again and say they

have cancelled Joe's charge as a

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gesture of goodwill. As for Emma,

Link parking Sadie cannot comment

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was the case is ongoing but the

correct notices were sent to at the

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time. And the British parking

Association which represents many of

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these private parking companies say

the best way to avoid court action

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is to use and appeals process. Still

to come, a bed with storage that is

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meant to be easy to close. I can't

do it! Before that, last autumn and

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winter, more than 2300 people were

killed or injured on the roads

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across Wales. It's a shocking

figure. So, with the weather turning

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a little bit colder over the past

few weeks, what can we all do to

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stay safe on the roads this winter?

Malcolm Hamilton is a former race

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driver and teaches students at

Anglesey circuit. What are your top

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tips for winter driving?

Preparation, good tyres were good

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tread, working windscreen wipers and

lights, and snow chains for people

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in rural areas.

This car looks

high-tech. What does it do?

Creates

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conditions which develop skid. 95 of

-- 95% of all accidents involve a

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skid, so this training is useful.

Can you teach anyone to handle a car

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in a skid situation?

I believe I

can.

Brace yourself, Malcolm. We are

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in for a bumpy ride. At first, it

all seems straightforward. I know at

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any minute the car could go into a

skid. And going backwards! I was not

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expecting that at all. You were just

chatting to me. You didn't do

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anything. You didn't react in any

way other than screen. Next time,

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you will start to assess the warning

signals and start to react before it

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happens. I am shaking. My legs are

like jelly.

What you should have

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done is looked ahead, planned ahead

and avoid the whole thing. Find the

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right speed for the corner and don't

get in the mess. Having got in the

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mess, we should have tried to

rectify the situation by coming off

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the accelerator, pressing the clutch

and looking and steering you want

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the car to go.

Practice makes

perfect. That have another go.

Go at

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the speed that you think is OK. Red

I hit the brake! By the third goal I

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remembered to come off the brake but

my clutch control still needs some

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work. Fourth attempt and the

steering is getting better.

And by

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the last attempt, success. I

remembered all three rules.

Perfect.

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Perfect demonstration of skid

control.

That was amazing. I feel so

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much more confident. But we can

avoid getting into that situation,

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can't we?

That's right. The way to

do that is to plan ahead. Look at

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the shape of the corner, the road

surface, adjust be before the corner

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and not in the middle of it. Get the

speed down the correct level, get in

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the car right gear and the highest

gear possible is the best way to

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handle a slippery surface. Drives

smoothly through the corner and

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hopefully you should stay safe.

And

knowing what to do really can save

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lives.

You demonstrated the

difference between the first and

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last skid. That could be the

difference between life and death.

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Thank you. Let's find out what Omar

has been up to.

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More and more people are discovering

they have hidden gems gathering dust

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in their very home. And with

Christmas approaching, you could

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well be sitting on a lot of spare

cash. To me, this is a comic book

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shop, but to some people this is an

investment house because all comic

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books like this, retro video games

and even Lego sets can sometimes

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turn out to be a better investment

than gold or even some shares. And

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I'm not joking. Do you remember this

portly Italian gentleman? Or even

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this speedy hedgehog? Well, retro

gaming is back in a big way. And if

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you held onto those consoles and

even the rear games, your bank

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balance could soon be a lot

healthier. I've come to this event

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in Cardiff, were passionate gamers

meet up a few times a month to play

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classic games that were around even

before I was born. And this is how

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it all started! A clunky keyboard

with a tape recorder connected to

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stick figures on a television. But

it is all collectable. And the rear

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game stadium events recently sold

for over $40,000. Chris runs arcade

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vault and is a passionate gamer, as

I'm currently finding out full --

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out.

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In the UK the older computers were

good so if you have a spectrum for a

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BBC Micro...

The BBC used to make

computers?

The condition of the box

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is sometimes more important to

collectors than the condition of the

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hard work because a lot of people,

visually that's what they want to

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do. A lot of people don't keep the

boxes. We have the Atari behind us,

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that could be worth quite a bit of

money if it's boxed and the games

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are boxed.

Now there's just one

thing to do before I leave. Come on,

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Geoffrey!

Sorry I knock you off. I

wasn't ready.

I was born ready! We

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all know Lego is popular with kids

and some adults and some of these

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sets have shot up in value, which is

shocking for me because about a

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decade ago, the Danish company that

owns Lego was almost bankrupt, but

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today experts say the price of Lego

has increased more quickly than the

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price of gold. You can sell Lego

pieces by the kilo and there are

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even people online selling specific

body parts of the mini figures. Andy

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Morris from Cardiff is a Lego

fanatic and artist. For me Lego is

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one of the toys I've played with the

air seems like a whole other

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universe.

The creativity within Lego

is unrivalled. The playful nature of

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it.

For a lot of people this is not

just a toy but a serious investment.

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There are people who seriously

invest in Lego, people buy multiple

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sets of Lego, one they keep to play

with and want as an investment and

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once it's gone it is out of

production and the value skyrockets.

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Have you ever set sold something and

then realise you could have got more

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for it?

I sold all my childhood Lego

when I went to university, I thought

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I wouldn't use it any more, but one

of my sets, and airport monorail, I

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sold it for £100 and now it is one

of the most valuable sets, around

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£1500 was the last value I saw.

And

with the huge number of superhero

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movies released in recent years,

super fan Chris Marvel says comic

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books are now increasing in value.

Tell me about the most expensive

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comic in the world.

That is probably

Action Comics Number One. That is a

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combination of good condition,

rarity and the first appearance of

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Superman.

I imagine a lot of people

at home thing, I have comics in the

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attic, what should they do?

Check

online, there will be price guides

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and greeting guides and that should

give you an estimate of what they

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are worth. Local comic shops might

help great it is so it's worth

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getting in touch to see if they can

help.

So there is definitely serious

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money to be made, and there could be

a small fortune hidden in those

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dusty boxes in your attic.

Worth a look in the lot. Next, I've

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been to meet a customer whose

face-saving purchase wasn't as

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relaxing as she thought.

We spent one third of our lives

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asleep and if you are anything like

me, you want your bed to be warm,

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cosy and horizontal. Because nothing

ruins a good night's sleep more than

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a bed that vertically challenged.

Susan Thomas has lived in Cardiff

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for 40 years. In 2016, with children

having left home, Susan wanted to

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downside and get a house that

required less upkeep but downsizing

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had its challenges and to fit all

her possessions into smaller space,

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they had to come up with some

creative storage solutions. Susan

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went to her local bed shop, Cardiff

bed and furniture Centre, and saw a

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half Ottoman bed with lots of

storage.

After we looked at the half

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Ottoman, I then suggested a full

Ottoman and he said yes, good idea,

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and Ottoman has a cavernous amount

of storage. It is perfect.

She

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ordered the bed even though it

wasn't in stock, which meant she

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didn't get to try before buying.

Buying and Ottoman, you think the

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end to our problems, cavernous

storage, wonderful.

But the bed

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turned out to be a bit of a

nightmare, so I'm off to find out

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why it's been giving her sleepless

nights.

Welcome come on in! Here we

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are, welcome to my bedroom. And to

my Ottoman.

So this is the bed, and

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it looks lovely. Show me what the

problem is.

Stand to the side.

So

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its brings up with quite a bit of

force.

It does, that can't be

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normal. I will demonstrate the

shutting of it, so you put your

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elbows on and then just push it. I

cannot do that. Have I go and you

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will see what you think.

Oh, gosh.

It really is. Give it some pressure.

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I thought I was strong but I cannot

move it. I am literally using... Let

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me try it from here.

I cannot do it.

Shall we try together? One, two,

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three.

I still cannot do it. This is

ridiculous!

Keep pushing hard in the

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middle, there we go. And that's it.

That is ridiculous. You need a lie

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down after that.

I recall a few

weeks ago I suddenly thought I need

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to have lights were out of there,

elevated the bed, thought, what am I

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going to do now? No one here. I

actually then decided I would either

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stay up until my husband returned,

after an hour, or I sleep on the

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sofa bed, and I opted for the

latter.

But it is the bed so

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unusual, or do Susan and I just need

to build up our muscles? We have

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come to a different furniture store

to test a whole range of beds. And

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surprise surprise, she has no

problem opening or closing any of

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them.

It was very doable.

Susan

raised the issue with Silent Night

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the day the bed was delivered in

August. The company tried to fix the

0:21:580:22:04

problem but now Susan says they have

hit the snooze button and aren't

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getting back to her. In the last

three months, the shop and company

0:22:080:22:13

have tried to put things right but

nothing has worked. Silent Night

0:22:130:22:20

have recommended that Susan take the

matter to the public service

0:22:200:22:26

ombudsman but that will set her back

more money regardless of the

0:22:260:22:33

problem.

Having spent £900 on a new

bed, I'm reclining on a sofa bed.

0:22:330:22:42

Silent Night Say They Think The Bed

Was Not Faulty, They Say Susan Was

0:22:420:22:48

Sold A Mattress That Was Too Light

For Her Bed And They Have Now Issued

0:22:480:22:55

guidelines to make sure that does

not happen again. They are now

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offering an alternative bed without

storage. It's a few years since I

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took my driving test but from the

4th of December, the practical test

0:23:060:23:11

will change for all new drivers. Tim

Shawcross is here, so why the

0:23:110:23:16

changes?

When I took my driving test

you still had to do hand signals.

0:23:160:23:24

Instructors trained to the contents

of the test, so they make the test

0:23:240:23:28

more reflective of think you do when

driving, so it is rare to do a three

0:23:280:23:34

turn, so that is now taken out of

the test, and they expect the

0:23:340:23:39

driving instructor to teach that in

training, so they have put some more

0:23:390:23:44

relevant bits in.

One learner driver

is being put through his paces. What

0:23:440:23:50

new things will they learn?

One is

reversing into a supermarket be,

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that is simulated, and people will

be trained how to do with. Also

0:24:000:24:05

following directions from our

sat-nav, that can be quite

0:24:050:24:09

distracting, do they mean this road

for that road on the left, so they

0:24:090:24:14

will be trained to do it, the

examiner will programme the sat-nav

0:24:140:24:19

and the person will be expected to

follow those instructors while

0:24:190:24:23

checking the mirrors and keeping a

safe position and so on. One

0:24:230:24:28

controversial manoeuvre that people

have questioned is where you have to

0:24:280:24:32

pull off on the right-hand side of

the road pointing against the

0:24:320:24:37

traffic, reverse and then drive out,

but it is something that a lot of us

0:24:370:24:43

do, so it's getting realistic

training into the programme and

0:24:430:24:47

realistic assessment into the test.

And you feel it is a good move?

0:24:470:24:53

Excellent move, it's time we made

the testing and training more

0:24:530:24:57

related to everyday driving.

Now an

update on a story that X-Ray was the

0:24:570:25:03

first to break three years ago. When

Margaret and I were offered solar

0:25:030:25:09

panels by a salesman from a Scottish

company called Helms limited, also

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known as the Green Deal Pegged, they

thought that they were free.

It went

0:25:160:25:24

along the lines that everything with

solar panels, everything that was

0:25:240:25:28

generated would pay for it all.

But

somehow they agreed to pay half of

0:25:280:25:35

the £7,000 cost. They had

inadvertently signed up for a 20

0:25:350:25:40

year alone under the UK Government's

green deal. The repayments went on

0:25:400:25:45

their electricity bill, which went

up.

I was devastated that I had

0:25:450:25:51

taken out a loan without realising

for such a large amount.

Brian

0:25:510:25:57

Godwin lives around the corner and

he also fell for the hard sell.

They

0:25:570:26:03

assured me it wouldn't cost me a

penny, they were right in this

0:26:030:26:07

respect because it cost me £30 a

month extra on my electricity bill.

0:26:070:26:16

Brian's loan, which he says wasn't

properly explained to him, will run

0:26:160:26:20

until he is 98. Since X-ray first

reported the story, Helms has been

0:26:200:26:28

in a lot more trouble. It was fined

£200,000 for making 6 million

0:26:280:26:34

nuisance calls and then went into

liquidation without paying most of

0:26:340:26:39

it. The financial ombudsman service

has investigated 200 complaints. Now

0:26:390:26:47

some of those people are starting to

hear that their loans will be cut or

0:26:470:26:52

even cancelled outright. Margaret

has been told that her loan will be

0:26:520:26:56

cut by two thirds. It's a step in

the right direction but she believes

0:26:560:27:02

everyone should get a full refund.

I've been offered a reduction in the

0:27:020:27:09

loan with no mention of interest so

I don't know if that will be added

0:27:090:27:13

on. I will be responsible for

maintaining the panels for the next

0:27:130:27:18

23 years, but they were mis-sold in

the beginning so they should be

0:27:180:27:23

removed and the credit agreement

cancelled.

Brian is still waiting to

0:27:230:27:28

hear if he will get a similar offer.

The administrator says they are

0:27:280:27:33

currently reviewing Helms cases as

quickly as they can.

0:27:330:27:38

That's a step in the right

direction. That's it for this week.

0:27:380:27:42

It's been quite an experience here

at Anglesey circuit. Next week,

0:27:420:27:48

Brian's dad thought he was helping

his children by taking out in

0:27:480:27:52

teacher to pay for his funeral, but

nine weeks and there has been no

0:27:520:27:56

pay-out.

It wouldn't have been a

nice thing for my parents because

0:27:560:28:01

they thought they were sorting

everything out but they have been

0:28:010:28:04

let down.

And if you need our help,

please get in touch. The lines for

0:28:040:28:12

open, or you can e-mail us. We will

see you next week.

0:28:120:28:19

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