:00:02. > :00:05.In the next half an hour: Cheap at half the price - we hear from the
:00:05. > :00:15.northern homeowners who say the promise of a dream quick sale
:00:15. > :00:16.
:00:16. > :00:22.turned into a very long nightmare. They were just saying, it is worth
:00:22. > :00:25.nothing. They made me feel like I was worthless. We head off on a
:00:25. > :00:30.date with a serial mistress from Richmond who claims wives only have
:00:30. > :00:35.themselves to blame when their husbands stray. A lot of women will
:00:35. > :00:38.settle into being at the wife and forget they used to be a woman.
:00:38. > :00:41.we stray off the beaten track with a Northumberland farmer, as she
:00:41. > :00:49.heads off to cross the Indian continent in a rickshaw called
:00:49. > :00:59.Bertha. If you decide to do something, you can do it. Stories
:00:59. > :01:07.
:01:07. > :01:11.from the heart of the North East & In a recession, selling your home
:01:11. > :01:16.is tough - in fact, the market in the North has been in the doldrums
:01:16. > :01:20.for years. So what could be better than a company promising to buy
:01:20. > :01:23.your home quickly? Turns out, if you're desperate to sell you could
:01:23. > :01:33.be a sitting target for someone to make shaky promises and big bucks,
:01:33. > :01:35.
:01:35. > :01:37.These are tough times for the North's estate agents. But the
:01:37. > :01:40.slump in house prices has created new opportunities for property
:01:40. > :01:50.firms to make a quick buck from desperate homeowners wanting to
:01:50. > :01:54.
:01:54. > :01:59.sell. But we've discovered that Gateway Homes and a sister company
:01:59. > :02:04.are delivering long delays and swingeing last minute price cuts.
:02:04. > :02:10.feel violated, used, abused, cheated. It made not only myself,
:02:10. > :02:13.but my whole family, including my grandmother, ill. This sounds like
:02:13. > :02:17.an abuse. That is a very good reason to have more regulation and
:02:17. > :02:21.I think they should. Tonight we're going show the secrets they don't
:02:21. > :02:23.want you to see. I'll be shining a light into the workings of one of
:02:23. > :02:29.the North's biggest house-buying companies, and show you just how
:02:29. > :02:35.they manage to make money out of vulnerable and desperate homeowners.
:02:35. > :02:40.Times are good for Nick Statman. He's director of Gateway Homes UK
:02:40. > :02:47.and eight other property companies. On one of his websites he boasts he
:02:47. > :02:50.owns almost 200 properties. He's also a keen amateur boxer. From his
:02:50. > :02:57.headquarters in Leeds he runs a network of agents who bring in the
:02:57. > :03:00.customers. Malcolm Haywood wanted to sell his house quickly. What
:03:00. > :03:06.attracted me to Gateway Homes was that they offered a service that
:03:06. > :03:09.was going to be quick. Gateway agreed a price of �120,000. But
:03:09. > :03:17.just before the deal was done, Gateway knocked 30% off the price.
:03:17. > :03:21.He refused to sell. I was very angry - very angry indeed. I
:03:21. > :03:25.thought this would be a quick method of doing a deal. Gateway
:03:25. > :03:30.Homes leave a very nasty taste in the mouth. Every time I open the
:03:30. > :03:33.paper and see their ad it really makes my blood boil. He's not the
:03:33. > :03:35.only one. Pat Hardy from Broughton on Teesside signed the same
:03:35. > :03:44.contract with one of Nick Statman's other companies, Tom Craven
:03:44. > :03:49.Property. The day before the removal men were due to arrive, I
:03:49. > :03:51.got a phone call - and this gentleman said, "We have a problem,
:03:51. > :03:57.Mrs Hardy". I had agreed to sell the property at �75,000 - they
:03:57. > :04:00.offered �40,000. I said no and put the phone down. Yes, you heard
:04:00. > :04:03.right - Tom Craven had slashed its offer almost in half. The next day
:04:03. > :04:13.the price was upped to �50,000, but the deal still collapsed, leaving
:04:13. > :04:14.
:04:14. > :04:19.Pat high and dry. They made me feel like I was worthless. What we had
:04:19. > :04:25.worked years for to put into the property, they were saying it was
:04:25. > :04:28.worth nothing. Pat found another buyer - and sold for �75,000. And
:04:28. > :04:38.we've unearthed many other stories just like Pat's. Aggressive price
:04:38. > :04:40.
:04:40. > :04:43.drops and long delays. This Trading Standards office has received 40
:04:43. > :04:46.complaints - mostly from the North - which it's yet to investigate.
:04:46. > :04:51.Probably the most common complaint we have had is in relation to the
:04:51. > :04:53.agreed a price for the property, and then right at the last minute
:04:53. > :05:00.the company has substantially reduced the purchase price, and in
:05:00. > :05:03.many cases that has left the vendor in a difficult financial position.
:05:03. > :05:13.I've spoken to a number of people who've told me that Gateway reduced
:05:13. > :05:14.
:05:14. > :05:17.their offer by anything between 16 and more than 50%. And remember
:05:17. > :05:27.those adverts promising up to 80% of market value? Well, we've seen a
:05:27. > :05:30.company document handed to their agents which says: A case of not
:05:30. > :05:33.playing by the book? Maybe you could stomach the price drop for a
:05:33. > :05:38.quick sale, but with Gateway even that is far from guaranteed,
:05:38. > :05:44.despite the advertising. The whole process went really smoothly.
:05:44. > :05:47.took a matter of weeks to complete from start to finish. The gentleman
:05:47. > :05:51.that first came, he led us to believe that everything would be
:05:51. > :05:54.plain sailing and sorted out in a matter of weeks, where in fact it
:05:54. > :06:04.was strung out over a long time. would recommend Gateway Homes to
:06:04. > :06:14.was so worrying for months - month in, month out, every single day.
:06:14. > :06:15.
:06:15. > :06:17."It will be there Monday" - but it wasn't there. I was so worried that
:06:17. > :06:20.we had lost everything. Natalie was selling the house for her
:06:20. > :06:29.grandmother - she'd expected a quick sale, but instead she was
:06:29. > :06:31.forced to wait six months before just one of a number we came across.
:06:31. > :06:35.Remember, these people are vulnerable. They are desperate to
:06:35. > :06:38.sell -they want the money and they want it now, and the longer it goes
:06:38. > :06:41.on, the worse their situation will be. They need the money to pay off
:06:41. > :06:44.creditors, perhaps they have lost their job, perhaps they think they
:06:44. > :06:47.will be repossessed. Perhaps they are facing divorce. They need it
:06:47. > :06:50.now, so the longer it goes on the greater the bargaining position
:06:50. > :06:54.will be in favour for the company and not the individual. So it is
:06:54. > :06:57.almost an incentive to the company to drag it out because the seller
:06:57. > :07:00.will be desperate to accept their much lower offer. So why didn't
:07:00. > :07:05.Natalie just walk away? Like all Gateway's vendors, Natalie had
:07:06. > :07:12.signed a contract lasting 12 months. She believed she had no choice but
:07:12. > :07:15.to sell to Gateway. And this is the contract. There is a helpful
:07:15. > :07:18.warning at the bottom - "This is a binding contract and should only be
:07:19. > :07:22.signed if only if you understand the contents." The point is no one
:07:22. > :07:27.would have signed if they had A contract which last seven, 10 or 14
:07:27. > :07:30.days would seem quite reasonable. contract that ties the homeowner
:07:30. > :07:37.for a year isn't in keeping with the speedy transaction that was
:07:37. > :07:40.offered. It is a really badly drafted document. Whoever wrote it
:07:40. > :07:43.had no intention of being fair between the seller and buyer. There
:07:43. > :07:48.is no balance whatsoever. It is entirely in favour of the buyer. I
:07:48. > :07:51.think it is so badly written that it is probably unenforceable.
:07:51. > :07:55.contract allows Gateway to walk away for any reason it likes -
:07:55. > :07:58.literally any reason. And it doesn't have to stick to the price
:07:58. > :08:05.it quotes at the top. For some, it's time for Government
:08:05. > :08:08.intervention. RICS would like to see regulation in this sector. It
:08:08. > :08:12.would provide a point of reference and a code of conduct for
:08:12. > :08:16.homeowners to refer to. Now, remember that rather flimsy
:08:16. > :08:20.contract - the one that gives all the wriggle room? Well, there's one
:08:20. > :08:25.clause we haven't mentioned yet. It allows Gateway the right to market
:08:25. > :08:30.the property for sale to a third party before it's even bought it.
:08:30. > :08:37.That's exactly what happened to Carol McFarlane. I lost my business.
:08:37. > :08:39.We were in a bad way at the time - it seemed an easy solution. After
:08:39. > :08:43.long delays, a price drop and feeling trapped by her contract,
:08:43. > :08:48.Carol was shocked to find that her house was being advertised for sale
:08:48. > :08:53.on the internet for �50,000 more than she was being offered. I was
:08:53. > :09:00.amazed! It is just terrible. I have lived six months of a nightmare, I
:09:00. > :09:04.have. Unbelievable! Carol did eventually sell her house to
:09:04. > :09:07.Gateway, but it was anything other than quick - nine months of waiting.
:09:07. > :09:10.We wanted to put the concerns we have heard to Gateway Homes. Nick
:09:10. > :09:15.Statman declined our invitation for interview, but did issue a
:09:15. > :09:22.statement. It says Gateway has helped "thousands of satisfied
:09:22. > :09:24.homeowners", and the actual number of complaints is "well below 1%".
:09:24. > :09:27.It says Trading Standards have "never investigated Gateway and
:09:27. > :09:32.have no plans to", and none of the enquires to the watchdog have been
:09:32. > :09:35."formal complaints". Many are simply "pre-shopping enquiries".
:09:35. > :09:38.What about that contract and the advice to its sales agents? Well,
:09:38. > :09:41.Gateway Homes says it offers "full transparency from day one" - and
:09:41. > :09:44.the initial contract is "jargon- free and easy for a customer to
:09:44. > :09:50.understand without the need for legal advice"/ It is separate to a
:09:50. > :09:56."formal sale contract". And then there's those last minute price
:09:56. > :09:58.drops of up to 50%. Well, Gateway says that's because "on occasion a
:09:59. > :10:03.revised offer is necessary" after a valuation from a surveyor, and the
:10:03. > :10:07.customer is "free to walk away". Finally, the delays of up to nine
:10:07. > :10:09.months on the promised Quick Sales: Gateway says that involves just a
:10:09. > :10:11."minority of cases" with" unforeseeable delays during the
:10:11. > :10:19.conveyancing process", and that their service is "greatly
:10:19. > :10:26.appreciated by many customers". So what is the advice to anyone
:10:26. > :10:30.considering selling their house this way? Take independent advice
:10:30. > :10:34.before they get into any discussion to sell a property. The very first
:10:34. > :10:37.thing I would say to them is, are you absolutely sure you have to do
:10:37. > :10:42.this? Have you explored every other avenue? This is a nuclear strategy.
:10:42. > :10:46.Once you have sold the house it is gone. My advice is, please don't
:10:46. > :10:56.get anywhere near Gateway Homes. These companies do not do what it
:10:56. > :11:02.
:11:02. > :11:05.The latest figures show that more than 40% of marriages end in
:11:05. > :11:08.divorce. So you'd think the last thing to keep a couple together
:11:08. > :11:10.would be having an affair. But that's what Karen Marley from North
:11:11. > :11:13.Yorkshire advises, and she practises what she preaches. Karen
:11:13. > :11:21.is a "Serial Mistress" who says she "borrows" married men. Single
:11:21. > :11:26.journalist, Richard Peppiatt, went My wife has lost all interest in
:11:26. > :11:30.sex. I haven't had sex in five years.
:11:30. > :11:34.There, I've said it. I'm married, and looking for a gentleman in a
:11:34. > :11:40.similar position. Affairs. More people appear to be looking online
:11:40. > :11:43.for them. But few admit to having them. Except one woman. Karen
:11:43. > :11:50.Marley has three affairs on the go, all with married men. She says
:11:50. > :12:00.she's doing nothing wrong, and is strengthening failing marriages.
:12:00. > :12:05.
:12:05. > :12:15.I'm about to meet Karen to find out. It's Thursday night. Karen's
:12:15. > :12:17.
:12:17. > :12:22.getting ready to go out. Who's the lucky man? He is single. I don't
:12:22. > :12:32.normally go out with a single man. Married guys have had the rough
:12:32. > :12:36.
:12:36. > :12:40.edges knocked off. I've heard you have been with 100 married men?
:12:40. > :12:47.not at all. Thanks for having a chat with me. Good luck with your
:12:47. > :12:54.date. Karen is in North Yorkshire. Would others consider affairs out
:12:54. > :13:04.their marriages have lost their fears? There are other things far
:13:04. > :13:04.
:13:04. > :13:11.more important. Karen is about to meet her new fellow. Who happens to
:13:11. > :13:21.be, the! -- near! What better way of discovering what makes Karen
:13:21. > :13:23.
:13:23. > :13:25.take? Karen claims her affairs allow men to stay in their
:13:25. > :13:32.marriages. But isn't she encouraging infidelity? If it
:13:32. > :13:37.wasn't me, it would be somebody else. Have men fallen for you? If I
:13:37. > :13:44.wanted that, I'd be dating single men. One turned up and said he was
:13:44. > :13:48.leaving his wife. I sent him away. Karen uses a dating site that has
:13:48. > :13:57.hundreds of thousands of married people looking for affairs. Men pay
:13:57. > :14:06.more than a hundred pounds a month to use it. Isn't this pimping?
:14:06. > :14:16.I don't think so. Women are looking for the same thing as men. People
:14:16. > :14:19.
:14:19. > :14:22.tend to find us. Aren't you exploiting marriage woes, and
:14:22. > :14:25.making a bit of money off the back of it? Affairs don't necessarily
:14:25. > :14:35.lead to marital breakdown. 40-60% of people have had some kind of
:14:35. > :14:36.
:14:36. > :14:46.extra-marital dalliance, from a kiss in a bar to a four-year affair.
:14:46. > :14:49.
:14:49. > :14:59.Karen was once married her cell. Why do men not have dinner with her
:14:59. > :15:02.
:15:02. > :15:06.whites? -- waves? They forget to be a woman. Lots of men say to me, she
:15:06. > :15:11.does not wear stockings in the bedroom any more, does not make any
:15:11. > :15:18.effort. How do you tell a wife and that you love that she has let
:15:18. > :15:26.herself go? They must this is not unrealistic when it comes to looks.
:15:26. > :15:36.They will pay the attention that the men is looking for. I spoke to
:15:36. > :15:43.an expert from Relate. It can have such an impact. It takes such a
:15:43. > :15:53.time to rebuild trust. After they can load their problems on to
:15:53. > :15:56.
:15:56. > :16:03.somebody else and get an E, Czaja, -- ego massage, then they will be
:16:03. > :16:11.easier to live with. We just wish they would come in rather than go
:16:11. > :16:21.off and have an affair with someone else. Karen's media appearances
:16:21. > :16:35.
:16:35. > :16:44.caused a storm. I have had death threats. Betfred? -- death for its?
:16:44. > :16:49.What I do, people are very vitriolic about. Women are held as
:16:49. > :16:54.the gatekeepers of sexuality. Men are naturally more likely to seek
:16:54. > :17:04.out lots of partners in their lifetime. Women are naturally - and
:17:04. > :17:09.I say that in inverted commas - will seek one partner. Back at the
:17:09. > :17:12.restaurant, we are on to the pudding. How would you feel if you
:17:12. > :17:21.found out that somebody was cheating on you with a woman like
:17:21. > :17:31.you? I would be mortified. Disappointed that the effort I
:17:31. > :17:32.
:17:32. > :17:41.meet... I would hope he would not be to look elsewhere. -- not need.
:17:41. > :17:51.Is that but hypocritical? To an extent. But what a certain
:17:51. > :17:52.
:17:53. > :18:01.lifestyle you see it and another perspective. Is that not selfish?
:18:01. > :18:11.admit I am selfish. One our website has 62,000 members from the North
:18:11. > :18:14.
:18:14. > :18:23.East alone. They have control about how they portray themselves. It
:18:23. > :18:33.enables women to instigate an affair. The coffee is here. What
:18:33. > :18:34.
:18:34. > :18:44.happens now? Usually the guy pays because he is on an expense account.
:18:44. > :18:45.
:18:45. > :18:54.Is it not a bit like paint or sex? -- paying for. Well he is not going
:18:54. > :19:02.to get at. But men pay for sex all the time. Is that not a cynical
:19:02. > :19:12.view? All men are capable of having an affair. It is just whether or
:19:12. > :19:17.
:19:17. > :19:27.not they go through with it. Back to yours? Of course not. A few more
:19:27. > :19:33.
:19:33. > :19:37.Well that was an interesting night. The morality is not for me to judge.
:19:37. > :19:41.But the Internet certainly enables people to seek out a fails in a way
:19:41. > :19:51.that they could not have done in the past. Right or wrong? I will
:19:51. > :19:56.
:19:56. > :20:03.let you judge. You can add a What would be your dream job and
:20:03. > :20:08.the? Luxury cruise? Trip around the world? For one person from
:20:08. > :20:17.Northumberland it is driving the world's most dangerous roads in a
:20:17. > :20:27.ramshackle rickshaw. No high- temperature as? So fraught?
:20:27. > :20:31.Temperature? Meet Fiona Lees Millais, a mother-of-two and
:20:31. > :20:38.Northumberland farmer. She is taking part in a charity run
:20:38. > :20:44.organised by a coup called The Adventurists. She will drive a
:20:44. > :20:53.motorised rickshaw 2,500 miles from the south-west to north-east of
:20:53. > :21:01.India. No back-up, no recovery, no spares. She does not pay much
:21:01. > :21:07.attention to my views. On this there is no stopping her.
:21:07. > :21:16.thought it would never actually happen. They will be fine? It will
:21:16. > :21:26.be great! The one that is doing it for a charity who put clean water
:21:26. > :21:35.
:21:35. > :21:40.in Indian villages. -- fee one that is doing it. -- Fiona. We all have
:21:40. > :21:50.to take ourselves out of other comfort zone. It could make a
:21:50. > :21:51.
:21:51. > :21:58.difference for few children living or dying. Cochin, south-west India.
:21:58. > :22:08.The team trying a vehicle called Big Bertha. -- the team are in the
:22:08. > :22:12.
:22:12. > :22:22.vehicle. It is not actually a race. But many of the 69 teams want to be
:22:22. > :22:23.
:22:23. > :22:33.the fastest. Big Bertha is off to a flying start. 2Posh2Push have
:22:33. > :22:35.
:22:35. > :22:45.teamed up with competitors from New Zealand and Australia. But within
:22:45. > :22:45.
:22:45. > :22:54.one a day, Big Bertha runs into trouble. Some impromptu impressions
:22:54. > :23:04.as an -- of an elephant from locals? And elegant with
:23:04. > :23:04.
:23:04. > :23:13.constipation! Traffic entering from the left has right of way. And the
:23:13. > :23:23.right. And the middle! This is a motorway with a tractor going in
:23:23. > :23:23.
:23:23. > :23:33.the wrong direction! It is morning and we're waiting for the mechanic
:23:33. > :23:43.to come. As Dawn goes to collect petrol the other teams have left.
:23:43. > :23:44.
:23:44. > :23:51.Soon they are making progress. morning at about 5:00am I felt sick.
:23:51. > :24:01.I thought, she is flying home any minute now. I have never had highs
:24:01. > :24:05.
:24:05. > :24:11.like it, but the laws - I have never had laws like it. -- lows.
:24:11. > :24:15.But 2Posh2Push still managed to catch up with the other teams. The
:24:15. > :24:25.Adventurists say that the trips set people free from the health and
:24:25. > :24:41.
:24:41. > :24:51.safety culture and raise money for In fact, they are up very lost.
:24:51. > :24:51.
:24:51. > :25:01.ended up, literally, in a cabbage patch. There were frayed tempers.
:25:01. > :25:02.
:25:02. > :25:12.Had lunch, smoked lots of cigarette, went shopping. And there Hotel? At
:25:12. > :25:23.
:25:23. > :25:33.a brothel. It is so hot! Oh good morning! During today's break down,
:25:33. > :25:37.
:25:37. > :25:47.they over to the pushing. -- overdo. I just crashed into the mechanicals
:25:47. > :25:47.
:25:47. > :25:54.what he is not very happy. -- I just crashed into the mechanic.
:25:54. > :26:04.This is our lunch. We're getting a bit of peace from the morning
:26:04. > :26:06.
:26:06. > :26:14.Australians. -- moaning. We had a horrible to rider last night with
:26:14. > :26:21.no lights. Trying to avoid potholes, it was horrible. The whole engine
:26:21. > :26:31.is broken. Determined to fall into as many pieces as possible. Hello,
:26:31. > :26:39.
:26:39. > :26:46.deals. Gibb -- gears. Six hours later they are off again and stuck
:26:46. > :26:56.by the welcome they are receiving on the road. He everybody honks
:26:56. > :27:14.
:27:14. > :27:24.their Hong. -- horn. It is rather I have got some meet here. Finally,
:27:24. > :27:26.
:27:26. > :27:36.they end is in safe. 11, access to go off. -- 11 kilometres to go off.
:27:36. > :27:37.
:27:37. > :27:47.Very exciting. Go right. Yes! only women only team in that run
:27:47. > :27:53.
:27:53. > :27:59.finished fast. It was so exciting. Yet nobody else was there! So what
:27:59. > :28:08.have 2Posh2Push learned about India? Event in the middle of
:28:08. > :28:13.nowhere, if you ask for help, everybody helps. It is amazing.
:28:13. > :28:18.Eventually, they raised �17,500 which will provide clean drinking
:28:18. > :28:28.water and save lives in Indian villages. What have they learned