:00:00. > :00:07.Hello, and welcome to Inside Out North West with me, Dianne Oxberry.
:00:08. > :00:10.Tonight, we investigate how elderly and vulnerable people are being
:00:11. > :00:14.conned out of their life savings by postal scams.
:00:15. > :00:16.Look at this, this is the volume of mail
:00:17. > :00:20.one person received in just six months.
:00:21. > :00:23.As England calls for more powers after the Scottish
:00:24. > :00:26.referendum, we ask how we can rebalance inequality between the
:00:27. > :00:34.Spending on public transport in London amounts to ?5,000 per head.
:00:35. > :00:41.And the families who've been celebrating
:00:42. > :00:53.I have always heard about Southport,
:00:54. > :01:00.I'm absolutely staggered at the numbers.
:01:01. > :01:02.They've been described as the invisible criminals, and
:01:03. > :01:06.every year they con thousands of elderly and vulnerable people here
:01:07. > :01:10.in the North West out of their life savings by offering large prizes
:01:11. > :01:17.Those involved hide behind postal scams very cleverly
:01:18. > :01:20.disguised as competitions or investment schemes and they usually
:01:21. > :01:27.As I've been finding out, the only guarantee for those who fall for
:01:28. > :01:37.This is fraud and it's done in such a sneaky manner, you know,
:01:38. > :01:50.Scams can take on many different forms, ranging
:01:51. > :01:55.from telephone and e-mail deception to mail order and postal fraud.
:01:56. > :01:58.I think most of us are familiar with that begging
:01:59. > :02:01.e-mail from overseas promising you your share in a large fortune in
:02:02. > :02:07.Well, ones like that are pretty obvious but they're not all that
:02:08. > :02:10.easy to spot, and the scammers are very good at getting people
:02:11. > :02:16.David Kenny has been the victim of scammers for five years.
:02:17. > :02:21.He lost more than ?36,000 on an investment scam in 2009.
:02:22. > :02:25.In an attempt to recoup his losses, he responded to a different scam
:02:26. > :02:38.You get a catalogue you can buy things out of.
:02:39. > :02:42.You have got to buy something out of it and you go into a competition
:02:43. > :02:48.There are lots and lots of letters here - winning documentation,
:02:49. > :02:52.your status as winner is confirmed, confirmation of a prize win...
:02:53. > :02:54.How much have you managed to win over the years?
:02:55. > :03:07.According to Citizens Advice, the number of fraud offences
:03:08. > :03:10.reported in England and Wales increased by 25% last year.
:03:11. > :03:14.Over 200,000 cases were reported by the victims of scams to
:03:15. > :03:21.But this number is thought to be just the tip of the iceberg.
:03:22. > :03:24.It's believed only 5% of victims admit to being caught out
:03:25. > :03:31.Citizens Advice has calculated that up to 4,000,000 people could be
:03:32. > :03:34.scammed every year, with many either too embarrassed or
:03:35. > :03:40.Now, if you're in any doubt as to how prolific these mail
:03:41. > :03:47.This is the volume of mail one person received in just six months.
:03:48. > :03:53.Bags and bags and bags, stuffed full of envelopes.
:03:54. > :04:03.By the time Jessica died in 2007, her life had been taken over
:04:04. > :04:10.During the space of five years, she received 30,000 letters
:04:11. > :04:14.promising her large prizes if she sent back claim orders with
:04:15. > :04:21.Her family estimate she lost more than ?50,000 to the scams.
:04:22. > :04:24.Five years before she died, she received a letter that told her
:04:25. > :04:27.she won a competition and all she had to do to claim
:04:28. > :04:32.My mother did this and as a result her name got put
:04:33. > :04:36.on what's called a suckers list and circulated to criminals worldwide.
:04:37. > :04:39.So literally she was bombarded with scam mail
:04:40. > :04:45.It went from maybe two or three letters a day to, probably, I saw
:04:46. > :04:53.The house started to fill up, the shed was full, the drawers...
:04:54. > :04:56.She was hiding it underneath the bed, wherever she could put it
:04:57. > :05:04.Towards the end, as it were, for my mum, there was one time
:05:05. > :05:07.I went into the house and she was washing a clairvoyant's
:05:08. > :05:13.When I asked her what she was doing, she said she was removing a curse,
:05:14. > :05:18.She was too scared to go upstairs, they'd told her there was
:05:19. > :05:22.The whole thing was a nightmare, but you've got to remember,
:05:23. > :05:28.After her death, Marilyn set up the Think Jessica charity
:05:29. > :05:31.in her mother's name to warn others about scams and to campaign for
:05:32. > :05:37.The houses that we go to, the victims we get alerted to, we
:05:38. > :05:46.can go in houses and literally you can't get through the door because
:05:47. > :05:51.One person we spoke to didn't want to be identified because of the grip
:05:52. > :05:55.She's sending money away to criminals.
:05:56. > :05:57.Mum won't see that, Mum doesn't understand that.
:05:58. > :06:00.She says, "This is not happening to me, these are my friends."
:06:01. > :06:03.She sends them birthday cards, she sends them thank you cards.
:06:04. > :06:06.What's she thanking them for, because she is not receiving
:06:07. > :06:16.They'll send her a letter and they'll say, "We want to send
:06:17. > :06:19.you some good fortune, and if you purchase this talisman for ?30, I
:06:20. > :06:22.can almost - almost - guarantee all the wealth in the world for you."
:06:23. > :06:26.So my mum will send a thank you card thinking, "They'll think this woman
:06:27. > :06:29.is so sweet, she sends a thank you card, let's give her some money."
:06:30. > :06:32.And now we're 20 years down the line.
:06:33. > :06:35.Can you estimate how much money your mum has spent?
:06:36. > :06:38.A full cheque-book, maybe, per month.
:06:39. > :06:41.I would estimate maybe more than ?350,000.
:06:42. > :06:45.Good grief. She can't have that money to burn.
:06:46. > :06:52.I asked her to surrender her cheque-book and I said, "It's very
:06:53. > :06:56.hard for me to do this, Mum, but it's the cheque-book or me."
:06:57. > :06:59.She said, "What sort of question is that?"
:07:00. > :07:04.What a threat to have to make to your mum.
:07:05. > :07:11.According to Think Jessica, more than ?10 billion per year is going
:07:12. > :07:15.to international scammers, much of it from the hands of vulnerable
:07:16. > :07:21.What about the mail delivery companies themselves?
:07:22. > :07:25.What responsibility do you think they have in this?
:07:26. > :07:28.There's been a lot of money made handling and delivering this
:07:29. > :07:31.stuff and I think it's definitely going to be payback time now.
:07:32. > :07:40.Take more action to make sure that these people are protected.
:07:41. > :07:43.So why can't mail delivery companies do this?
:07:44. > :07:46.Why can't they intercept scam mail and stop it from being delivered
:07:47. > :07:52.I put this question to the Royal Mail.
:07:53. > :07:55.We have to hold the view that our customers,
:07:56. > :07:58.if they are living an independent life, they are essentially able to
:07:59. > :08:03.There is only so far we can go, but certainly we've always put
:08:04. > :08:06.people in contact with agencies such as Trading Standards who could take
:08:07. > :08:12.More recently we've developed systems so we actively identify
:08:13. > :08:16.people who may be being exploited and we bring those people to
:08:17. > :08:22.I understand what you're saying, but it seems very frustrating
:08:23. > :08:25.when I have had in my hands bags and bags and bags
:08:26. > :08:28.of mail that families have been storing in sheds because they can't
:08:29. > :08:35.And this mail is franked and labelled and so obvious - you're
:08:36. > :08:40.No-one's the guaranteed winner of anything.
:08:41. > :08:45.But that's so obvious, someone is delivering through the door
:08:46. > :08:50.You're talking about other organisations
:08:51. > :08:55.The postman and the postwoman is the person who walks up
:08:56. > :08:58.the drive and puts it through the door, and it's so transparent.
:08:59. > :09:00.It's not so transparent, that's the whole point.
:09:01. > :09:03.It is, though, Tony. A lot of it is.
:09:04. > :09:06.Let me be absolutely clear with you, it really isn't so transparent.
:09:07. > :09:09.It's interesting when you bring a legal perspective to view on this,
:09:10. > :09:12.the items that are not considered to be fraudulent and therefore which
:09:13. > :09:16.we are duty bound and legally bound to deliver, and the differentiation
:09:17. > :09:21.between those and the items which are clearly exploiting customers...
:09:22. > :09:24.Hello, National Trading Standards scam line.
:09:25. > :09:27.Today, the Royal Mail and Trading Standards have announced
:09:28. > :09:30.details of a joint initiative aimed at targeting scam mail and helping
:09:31. > :09:36.We're working with them to educate their staff
:09:37. > :09:42.We are talking about scam victims, because there are tell-tale signs,
:09:43. > :09:45.like the amount of post a scam victim might receive.
:09:46. > :09:48.We are asking for postal workers to look out for those signs and report
:09:49. > :09:53.But Marilyn Baldwin believes that many victims will be reluctant to
:09:54. > :09:56.cooperate with Trading Standards because they've been brainwashed
:09:57. > :10:00.by the scammers, a condition the charity has called
:10:01. > :10:06.What would be the ideal perfect solution that
:10:07. > :10:13.The solution would be that if victims are recognised as having
:10:14. > :10:16.this Jessica's Scam Syndrome, once recognised, these people then should
:10:17. > :10:20.be protected, not just left, for them to decide whether or not this
:10:21. > :10:25.sort of criminal activity can take place in the UK.
:10:26. > :10:29.Tracing those responsible is extremely difficult.
:10:30. > :10:33.Many of the companies involved are based overseas and most use PO Box
:10:34. > :10:39.One of the most prolific is a French company called AMA.
:10:40. > :10:44.In 2011, the Office of Fair Trading to joint action with their Belgian
:10:45. > :10:47.counterparts to obtain a court order stopping them
:10:48. > :10:51.from sending illegal mailings under the name Vital Beauty.
:10:52. > :10:55.They've since changed their name to Vital Nature.
:10:56. > :10:58.And Vital Nature is one of the companies that has enticed David
:10:59. > :11:05.Over the last two years, David has purchased large amounts
:11:06. > :11:08.of health and beauty products from them in order to secure the
:11:09. > :11:12.substantial cash prizes that he has won on three separate occasions.
:11:13. > :11:15.We asked them what has happened to David's prize-winnings.
:11:16. > :11:35.Just before broadcast, they told us this:
:11:36. > :11:38.But not, it would seem, to David Kenny.
:11:39. > :11:43.Letters like this one informing him that he is the grand winner
:11:44. > :11:50.of ?228,230 - really not worth the paper they're printed on.
:11:51. > :11:54.Vital Nature says it was so concerned David Kenny was buying
:11:55. > :11:58.too much in 2012, it briefly suspended his account and, at that
:11:59. > :12:04.The family dispute this and he has since received more
:12:05. > :12:11.letters from Vital Nature declaring him a grand winner.
:12:12. > :12:14.We are trying to get to the bottom of what goes
:12:15. > :12:18.We got a statement from one saying that their materials
:12:19. > :12:21.are promotional in nature, there is no obligation to buy.
:12:22. > :12:23.How do you feel about something like that?
:12:24. > :12:28.That's how clever they are and that's how they know they can
:12:29. > :12:32.hook people and that's how they cover themselves, in my opinion.
:12:33. > :12:35.Do you think that statement's misleading?
:12:36. > :12:37.Yeah, I think it is a misleading statement because it's
:12:38. > :12:45.Dad's not buying them because he wants smelly bits in his house,
:12:46. > :12:50.he is buying them because he thinks he may be in with a chance to win.
:12:51. > :12:59.He's a victim, he's not a criminal, he hasn't done anything wrong.
:13:00. > :13:03.Well, it's been said it will take the creation of a Northern mega city
:13:04. > :13:08.stretching from Liverpool to Newcastle to re-balance
:13:09. > :13:22.And bring jobs and prosperity to the North of England. Despite the no
:13:23. > :13:26.vote, Scotland will get devolved powers and many feel it is time for
:13:27. > :13:29.the government to stop talking and act to ensure the North of England
:13:30. > :13:37.does not fall further behind as London continues to boom. London,
:13:38. > :13:40.it's not just the capital of UK plc, it's a global hub that sucks in the
:13:41. > :13:45.brightest and best from all over the world as well as the nation. Has it
:13:46. > :13:54.become too big and powerful, leaving the North no chance of catching up?
:13:55. > :14:00.Whitehall feels far removed from cities around the country. Is the
:14:01. > :14:04.stark as the capital accelerates away? Or is there sign of a,
:14:05. > :14:09.creating the jobs we need to stop our brightest and best heading to
:14:10. > :14:14.the already overheated capital? It's morning rush hour and I am joining
:14:15. > :14:17.commuters in Newcastle upon Tyne. I'm about to board a train to make a
:14:18. > :14:20.journey which for many people is a symbol of the yawning gap between
:14:21. > :14:30.the North and London. I've joined Maurice Duffy, CEO of
:14:31. > :14:32.Blackswan, an international business Today, he's off to Manchester
:14:33. > :14:36.to launch a new book. How long does it take?
:14:37. > :14:38.Anything between 2:30, to 2:45. That's if it's on time, of course,
:14:39. > :14:41.and it doesn't get delayed I'm guessing you could get to London
:14:42. > :14:49.in much the same time. I do Newcastle to London twice
:14:50. > :14:52.a week and I can do that in 2:45 to three hours and that's
:14:53. > :14:55.an extra 120 miles longer. So we're chugging along
:14:56. > :15:00.on our trans-Pennine journey. But many feel transport is just
:15:01. > :15:04.symbol of what's holding us back. People
:15:05. > :15:13.across the North were asked whether they agreed that the Government and
:15:14. > :15:15.parliament were responsive to issues Manchester was most positive
:15:16. > :15:20.with 21% agreeing. In Sheffield,
:15:21. > :15:22.that figure dropped to just 7%. Liverpool
:15:23. > :15:24.and Leeds were only marginally more positive at 8% and in Hull
:15:25. > :15:31.and Newcastle the number was 14%. That's how little
:15:32. > :15:35.the North reckons London cares The Centre for Cities is an
:15:36. > :15:41.influential think tank I've come to meet
:15:42. > :15:45.its chief executive to find out how you go about bridging the gap
:15:46. > :16:08.between London and the North. Usually if you have a big capital
:16:09. > :16:13.city like London, the second-tier cities are a certain size. Our
:16:14. > :16:15.second-tier cities are not as big as they should be so we want to see
:16:16. > :16:18.them get bigger. So is enough being done to
:16:19. > :16:20.rebalance England's economy? Around three quarters of people
:16:21. > :16:23.in Leeds and Newcastle believe the location of parliament
:16:24. > :16:26.in Westminster means political decisions are too focussed on London
:16:27. > :16:36.in comparison to the rest of the UK. We would like to see more
:16:37. > :16:39.freedom for cities. And if you're looking
:16:40. > :16:41.for evidence of bias in favour Spending on public transport in
:16:42. > :16:51.London amounts to ?5000 per head. Which leads many Northerners to
:16:52. > :17:02.question the sense of spending tens of billions on HS2 only to
:17:03. > :17:07.get people to London even quicker. Especially when you're stuck
:17:08. > :17:17.on the slow train. The cities want a 15 year transport
:17:18. > :17:42.infrastructure plan with It is great that those cities have
:17:43. > :17:43.come together and that is the sort of northern power hose I was looking
:17:44. > :17:48.for. -- powerhouse. Cynics might say it's easy to back
:17:49. > :17:51.such a plan But the Scottish independence vote
:17:52. > :17:54.has highlighted a disparity that's not
:17:55. > :17:56.just between London and the rest. Yorkshire and the Humber has a
:17:57. > :17:59.population equivalent to Scotland's. Greater Manchester has almost
:18:00. > :18:02.as many as the whole of Wales. And Tyne and Wear is almost
:18:03. > :18:04.as big as Northern Ireland. Yet none of those English regions
:18:05. > :18:07.have anywhere near the same level of Many believe it's
:18:08. > :18:10.about time that changed. Look, this isn't some Northern
:18:11. > :18:13.whingeathon. Few believe the pavements of London
:18:14. > :18:15.are actually paved with gold. That's what's happened here
:18:16. > :18:26.at the Advanced Manufacturing Park on the border between Sheffield
:18:27. > :18:29.and Rotherham. It's attracted 200 businesses,
:18:30. > :18:43.some small and some not so small. It is a real innovative environment.
:18:44. > :18:45.Manufacturing is at the 28 year high.
:18:46. > :18:47.Performance Engineering Solutions was started up by Mike Maddock, an
:18:48. > :18:50.ex-Formula 1 racing team engineer and an entrepreneur from the South.
:18:51. > :18:52.He hopes to expand fivefold in the next few years,
:18:53. > :18:57.Today, his design team is working on a new hi tech golf putter
:18:58. > :19:07.and a factory cooling unit as well as gear box for a wheelchair.
:19:08. > :19:16.We are seeing a massive change and in approaches to innovation. There
:19:17. > :19:20.is a brain drain out of the UK and south and we need to stop that.
:19:21. > :19:26.They offer different opportunities and a different lifestyle. London is
:19:27. > :19:32.very busy and very big. I am from one mile down the road so
:19:33. > :19:36.it is great that I can be so close to home and develop my skill set. I
:19:37. > :19:40.like that China and India at one point.
:19:41. > :19:42.Finally, journey's end and time to say
:19:43. > :19:45.farewell to Maurice who'll be back on the same slow train very soon.
:19:46. > :19:48.But it gives me a chance to see an example of how moving out
:19:49. > :19:51.of London can create thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions
:19:52. > :19:55.It was such an opportunity they even moved the most famous street in the
:19:56. > :20:11.What the BBC and ITV have done is helped to bring small and medium
:20:12. > :20:23.enterprises here and create that harbour. -- hub.
:20:24. > :20:26.Media City is a 200 acre site which straddles the canal
:20:27. > :20:30.It's said to be the largest facility of its type in Europe and it came
:20:31. > :20:33.about through a political decision to move jobs away from London.
:20:34. > :20:36.But this is just one small part of the jigsaw and it'll take
:20:37. > :20:39.a lot more political will to move power and money from London to
:20:40. > :20:42.the North and enable our great cities to compete with the capital
:20:43. > :20:45.Scotland might have said no to independence
:20:46. > :20:53.And just south of the border that hasn't gone unnoticed.
:20:54. > :20:56.When the people of Scotland voted last week to remain in the union,
:20:57. > :20:59.they were supported by the loyal Orange Lodge which has
:21:00. > :21:01.a strong presence in England as well as Northern Ireland.
:21:02. > :21:07.Simon O'Brien went to meet them in Liverpool during
:21:08. > :21:19.They've been marching on Merseyside for almost 200 years.
:21:20. > :21:22.Every July 12th, roads are closed as the Orange men
:21:23. > :21:25.and women walk from the lodges in Liverpool to St George's Hall.
:21:26. > :21:30.Ready to board buses for their annual parade in Southport.
:21:31. > :21:34.They are celebrating what they call the Glorious 12th, the anniversary
:21:35. > :21:39.of the Battle of the Boyne, won in 1690 by the Protestant William of
:21:40. > :21:43.Orange, who defeated the Catholic King James II, ensuring the primacy
:21:44. > :21:50.Growing up in Liverpool and to a lesser extent today,
:21:51. > :21:53.the Orange Lodge march was always a very high-profile part of the city
:21:54. > :22:00.I have come to find out more and where better than at the heart
:22:01. > :22:11.of the movement in this area, the Liverpool Provincial Orange Hall?
:22:12. > :22:16.The headquarters is a maze of different rooms, all hosting
:22:17. > :22:20.large meetings and the all-important band practices, making sure they
:22:21. > :22:31.As soon as we walk in, you are immediately drawn to the flags.
:22:32. > :22:35.Billy Owens is the Provincial Grandmaster
:22:36. > :22:44.He has been part of the Orange Lodge since he was a child.
:22:45. > :22:51.Basically, it is every boy's dream, a roomful of flags.
:22:52. > :22:55.But the other thing is that it is quite intimidating as well in some
:22:56. > :23:01.ways to see so many Jacks and William of Orange astride his horse.
:23:02. > :23:13.The vast majority of people coming here,
:23:14. > :23:26.To find out what the Lodge stands for, I go to the top.
:23:27. > :23:32.Ron Bather is also the Grandmaster of the whole world,
:23:33. > :23:38.representing lodges as far away as Ghana and Canada.
:23:39. > :23:41.It?s to promote Protestantism, the Reformation principles,
:23:42. > :23:47.the monarchy remaining Protestant, civil and religious liberty for all
:23:48. > :23:54.Some people would think we wouldn't include them but we do.
:23:55. > :23:59.We look at the individuals to practice whatever faith they want.
:24:00. > :24:05.We don't agree with the principles of the Roman Catholic Church.
:24:06. > :24:08.Is that necessarily a good thing to stick to those principles?
:24:09. > :24:13.Some people would see that as regressive.
:24:14. > :24:21.I think the fact that we have got a principle, we have got
:24:22. > :24:27.We don't ram it down people's throats.
:24:28. > :24:30.We are one of the last walking organisations.
:24:31. > :24:40.We are not afraid to put our heads above the parapet.
:24:41. > :24:43.This is the typical setup of a Lodge meeting.
:24:44. > :24:46.Only members of the Lodge can attend meetings but I managed to sneak a
:24:47. > :24:51.We have got a crown down there to represent the monarchy and we have a
:24:52. > :24:58.This is a representation of King William who obviously is
:24:59. > :25:10.And also there we have got a symbol that
:25:11. > :25:13.is the five pointed star which is a symbol of the institution.
:25:14. > :25:16.A lot of people would immediately think that means
:25:17. > :25:35.We have got people in membership that come from right
:25:36. > :25:38.across the spectrum, whether it be political beliefs or anything else.
:25:39. > :25:42.As long as they have got faith in the Holy Bible and support the
:25:43. > :25:44.monarchy and democratic government, that is all they need to be really.
:25:45. > :25:47.In recent years, women have been given a more prominent role
:25:48. > :25:50.in the Lodge and hold their own meetings and headquarters.
:25:51. > :25:52.Once upon a time we were just regarded as people who fill
:25:53. > :26:02.It has this kind of secrecy and listening to the band there is
:26:03. > :26:16.I think a lot of people have that, that we are aggressive.
:26:17. > :26:21.But you can see you have been welcomed in and that we are not.
:26:22. > :26:26.We are a Christian organisation and on Sunday we will go to church after
:26:27. > :26:29.our celebration day on Saturday, we all go to church on Sunday.
:26:30. > :26:31.The church is absolutely at the heart of this.
:26:32. > :26:44.In previous years, there have been stand-offs between the marchers
:26:45. > :26:47.and their Catholic neighbours but these days the march at Southport is
:26:48. > :26:53.As the parade disperses by the fairground,
:26:54. > :27:00.You can buy your 12th of July "no surrender" T-shirt.
:27:01. > :27:06.You have that strange mix of the carnival atmosphere and
:27:07. > :27:19.slightly intimidatory connotations of "no surrender" everywhere.
:27:20. > :27:28.I joined the Royal Arch Concertina band for a swift half.
:27:29. > :27:31.I'm starting to learn about it how and it is a fusion
:27:32. > :27:53.Religion is very important but the music is equally important.
:27:54. > :27:55.There's no question that there is an undercurrent here.
:27:56. > :27:59.When I see banners and headbands with "no surrender"
:28:00. > :28:01.written on them and the military paraphernalia, it is provocative.
:28:02. > :28:07.My first Glorious 12th in Southport seems more like a family day out.
:28:08. > :28:13.People are watching the band gowing past and it brings
:28:14. > :28:22.Even though I am completely baffled why the Lodge would march
:28:23. > :28:24.about something that happened hundreds of years ago, it seems that
:28:25. > :29:07.Hello, I'm Sam Naz with your 90-second update.
:29:08. > :29:10.14-year-old Alice Gross went missing three weeks ago.
:29:11. > :29:13.Today, police carried out a finger-tip search of
:29:14. > :29:17.600 officers, from eight forces, are working on the case.
:29:18. > :29:23.It has overestimated its profits by a quarter of a billion pounds.