:00:06. > :00:12.Hello and welcome to Inside Out South West. Stories and
:00:12. > :00:15.investigations from where you live. Tonight, hug a hoodie? Well, how
:00:15. > :00:18.about the Cornwall woman who has thrown open her home to ex-
:00:18. > :00:22.offenders and their friends? haven't been arrested once since I
:00:22. > :00:28.have been here and I always get arrested. That is where I would be
:00:28. > :00:37.without her. Prison. But now Julie Stoddern's unofficial
:00:37. > :00:40.refuge is under threat. Part of me just says carry on. Then another
:00:40. > :00:43.part of me obviously says don't carry on because you will lose the
:00:43. > :00:47.things that mean something to you in life.
:00:47. > :00:56.Also, the South West pensioners being scammed out of their savings.
:00:56. > :01:03.They promised me that I had won so many thousands. But they never paid
:01:03. > :01:07.We catch up with the company that bins their desperate letters.
:01:07. > :01:11.You could stop it happening, your company could stop it happening.
:01:11. > :01:17.Have you got nothing to say to these people at all? Surely you owe
:01:17. > :01:27.them something? I am Sam Smith and this is Inside
:01:27. > :01:38.
:01:38. > :01:43.So this is the popular image of Cornwall, boats, harbours, and
:01:43. > :01:47.quaint cottages clinging to the hillside. One woman living in the
:01:47. > :01:51.heart of this county sees a very different reality. Julie Stoddern
:01:51. > :01:59.has opened up her home to troubled young people but it is a move that
:01:59. > :02:02.has landed her in deep water. Anybody want tea and toast?
:02:02. > :02:10.A year ago Julie's four-bedroomed Camborne home was full to bursting
:02:10. > :02:13.with a dozen tenants plus assorted visitors.
:02:13. > :02:23.At the moment we have got Callum, Daniel, Chris, Nathan, Megan, Simon,
:02:23. > :02:23.
:02:23. > :02:27.Dougie, Nathan, and that is only about a quarter. Obviously I have
:02:27. > :02:35.created a little family here now, or should I say a big family?!
:02:35. > :02:41.Daniel with his famous body! I haven't been arrested once since
:02:41. > :02:48.I have been here and I always get arrested. That is basically it.
:02:48. > :02:55.That is basically where I would be without Julie. Prison.
:02:55. > :02:58.This is uncle Simon. Julie supports me in more ways than anyone else
:02:58. > :03:02.has ever done, ever. I get very frustrated about the littlest
:03:02. > :03:04.things because of the problems I have, and if it wasn't for her I
:03:04. > :03:12.would lose the plot. But the council says this is
:03:12. > :03:15.overcrowding, and she has got to cut down. And it means the 12 of us
:03:15. > :03:22.that was actually here in the property have got to now go down to
:03:22. > :03:25.5 including myself. Thank you, Julie, lovely. Very
:03:25. > :03:29.upsetting to think I have put all this hard work and effort and my
:03:29. > :03:39.own money into it, and actually shot myself in the foot as well as
:03:39. > :03:42.
:03:42. > :03:47.everybody else. So now I have got to have the choice of who is going
:03:47. > :03:55.to be staying and who is going which isn't quite so easy. Right,
:03:56. > :03:59.this is Julie's cave! Because of lack of storage because obviously
:04:00. > :04:04.there have been so many of the lads I have been trying to support, I am
:04:04. > :04:11.now sorting this out and bagging the boys' stuff. Where do I start?
:04:11. > :04:15.That is the next thing. I look at it and think, where do I start?
:04:15. > :04:21.Just put them in that bag down there. That can do for Callum.
:04:21. > :04:27.Callum has just come out of prison so he needs some more things.
:04:27. > :04:29.Julie fostered children for many years before taking in young adults.
:04:29. > :04:36.She charges rent, but running around after her tenants has taken
:04:36. > :04:41.a toll on her finances and her car. Can I go to the garage for them to
:04:41. > :04:51.have a check? I need that tender loving care and I need to chat one
:04:51. > :04:58.
:04:58. > :05:03.Plugs points. Distributor cap. More money that you haven't got. Back
:05:03. > :05:09.home Julie has got to decide who stays and who goes. Daniel Penrose
:05:09. > :05:16.may have no choice. He is up in court today for burglary. I always
:05:16. > :05:26.go to prison for stupid things. Criminal damage. Fall out with
:05:26. > :05:28.
:05:28. > :05:35.someone. Daniel was homeless and on a police tag when Julie took him in
:05:35. > :05:39.a year ago. He had been in and out of prison ago since his teens.
:05:39. > :05:49.was advised not to have him here because he was such a bad lad and I
:05:49. > :05:51.
:05:51. > :05:55.just thought I would take him in and give him a go. He is one of the
:05:55. > :05:59.best ones and I am glad I did take him in. Danielle is Daniel's
:05:59. > :06:02.girlfriend and is also living at Julie's. I want to stay out of
:06:02. > :06:12.prison, I have something to stay out of prison for, more self-
:06:12. > :06:14.
:06:14. > :06:17.respect. That is what it boils down to, self-respect. Nervous? Tenant
:06:18. > :06:27.Nathan Lodge-Matthews is also due in court today. He is hoping for
:06:28. > :06:32.
:06:32. > :06:41.He is charged with breaching bail conditions and could also be jailed.
:06:41. > :06:44.I have got to go? Yes. Main worry is for obviously Dan, but Nathan as
:06:44. > :06:54.well because Nathan is not sure whether he will be sent down today
:06:54. > :07:04.
:07:04. > :07:07.Daniel is bailed. But Nathan is sent to jail. He has got to do
:07:07. > :07:12.three months in prison, then the next three months he is released
:07:12. > :07:15.out on licence under condition he has got a place to go. Which makes
:07:15. > :07:18.it again very difficult for myself, because obviously I have been told
:07:18. > :07:21.to cut down the numbers, and I might not even the able to take him
:07:21. > :07:31.back under the circumstances the council and everybody has put me in,
:07:31. > :07:38.
:07:38. > :07:44.so, I don't know what is going to Back in Camborne Julie has got an
:07:44. > :07:53.eye on the meter. That is OK for a moment. Thank goodness. OK for a
:07:53. > :08:02.minute. For about another day. then what? Panic. Get some money on
:08:02. > :08:12.the key. Or else we will be in Although she has lost one tenant to
:08:12. > :08:29.
:08:29. > :08:33.prison Julie can't resist taking in David will be allowed to stay as
:08:33. > :08:42.long as he keeps out of trouble. One of Julie's longest standing
:08:42. > :08:46.lodgers is Simon. He says being here has changed his life.
:08:46. > :08:49.I used to do a lot of amphetamine, MDMA, pills, I used to smoke weed
:08:49. > :08:52.on a daily basis, at one point I was even injecting amphetamine and
:08:52. > :09:01.allsorts, doing a lot of really nasty things to fund my habits like
:09:01. > :09:04.mugging people. I would never do any burglaries on houses or stuff,
:09:04. > :09:08.but I was always hitting warehouses and shops and DIY centres, and even
:09:08. > :09:18.lorry yards, I would drain their fuel and sell it to people, and
:09:18. > :09:18.
:09:18. > :09:21.take catalytic converters, allsorts. Anything and everything.
:09:21. > :09:25.But for Julie living with unpredictable tenant has its risks.
:09:25. > :09:29.One night a knife was pulled on her. One of the lads basically tried to
:09:29. > :09:31.take me hostage, and telling the others I am looking after her and
:09:31. > :09:41.of course obviously which triggered the other lads off to become
:09:41. > :09:46.
:09:46. > :09:50.frightened for myself, obviously, and for themselves. Did you fear
:09:50. > :09:59.for your safety? Of course you do. Your safety, anybody else's safety
:09:59. > :10:05.in the property, your family is in your thoughts and everything.
:10:05. > :10:11.And Julie's trust in new arrival David proves misplaced. Late one
:10:11. > :10:16.night he takes �800 from her credit cards and does a runner. All this
:10:16. > :10:19.strife has brought Julie into conflict with her own family.
:10:19. > :10:25.I don't know why, I just feel so torn between everything, I really
:10:25. > :10:32.do. Because obviously I made it their home, and it was my son's
:10:32. > :10:42.home. So now he feels it is not his home because obviously they have
:10:42. > :10:43.
:10:43. > :10:51.taken over. This is another lad that writes to me every week, one
:10:51. > :10:59.of many. "I am out soon, 31st of August, is all my stuff there still
:10:59. > :11:02.OK? How are things at home? It will get easier as time goes on. "Part
:11:02. > :11:05.of me just says carry on, and then another part of me obviously says
:11:05. > :11:15.no, don't carry on, because you will lose the things that mean
:11:15. > :11:17.
:11:17. > :11:22.something to you. "I feel so helpless here when I could be there
:11:22. > :11:32.supporting you. Missing you like mad, love you, Nathan". You think
:11:32. > :12:11.
:12:11. > :12:17.Yes, torn between the two. Very difficult.
:12:17. > :12:20.Julie is on her way to Bodmin. Two of her lodgers are ready to move
:12:20. > :12:28.out. Daniel and Danielle might be eligible for a supported flat and
:12:28. > :12:31.they are on their way to see it. There are quite a few people.
:12:31. > :12:36.has gone quite well today. Hopefully we should have some good
:12:36. > :12:41.news. Apart from the weather. Hopefully we should have some good
:12:41. > :12:45.news on Tuesday, fingers crossed. It is a few weeks now since David
:12:45. > :12:49.took Julie's money. He handed himself in to the police, got a job,
:12:49. > :12:59.and he is paying Julie back. He said he instantly regretted what he
:12:59. > :13:02.did. About 20 seconds after I got it out the bank. But I couldn't
:13:02. > :13:06.exactly put it back into the cashpoint machine. You could have
:13:06. > :13:11.taken back and given it to her. then she'd have known I robbed her
:13:11. > :13:15.cards anyway. So at that stage you thought you would get away with it.
:13:15. > :13:19.Yeah. I didn't think I would get away with it. To be honest, I
:13:19. > :13:24.didn't really want to get away with it. Julie has allowed him back into
:13:24. > :13:34.the house. He knows it was wrong, but when situations of drug and
:13:34. > :13:38.
:13:38. > :13:41.drink take over, the control seems to disappear.
:13:41. > :13:47.But has Julie been taken advantage of by various lodgers over the
:13:47. > :13:54.years? One of her tenants certainly think so. Stealing things, taking
:13:54. > :13:58.things, pawning things to the pawn shop, allsorts. Getting loans to
:13:58. > :14:04.this address. Loan companies ringing us up 10 times a day for
:14:04. > :14:10.other people who don't live here. Allsorts. Took the Mickey right out
:14:10. > :14:17.of her. And Danielle and Daniel, who
:14:17. > :14:20.finally moved out, have little sympathy for Julie's troubles.
:14:20. > :14:25.If you welcome convicts and offenders into your house you have
:14:25. > :14:31.got to have things in place. would go on about how her things
:14:31. > :14:35.are going missing. Well don't allow convicts into your bloody house.
:14:35. > :14:43.Some say it is a drug den, a squat, somewhere where they could all run
:14:43. > :14:48.to and hide and I am protecting them. One of my friends came round
:14:48. > :14:52.and had a knife pulled on them. Knives are getting pulled out all
:14:52. > :14:59.the time. You don't think the young people who are there being properly
:14:59. > :15:04.protected? No. There should definitely be more things in place.
:15:04. > :15:12.I try to provide a safe environment, obviously. But again you have
:15:12. > :15:22.issues, and the violence. They are coming in drugged up. Then them
:15:22. > :15:26.
:15:26. > :15:29.losing control and having to deal But things are quiet for now.
:15:30. > :15:32.Julie's dad is helping to make her house more secure. Simon is also
:15:32. > :15:35.pitching in and staying out of trouble. Excellent. He's coming on
:15:35. > :15:38.a treat. Very good, aren't you, Simon? Yeah, I'm enjoying it as
:15:39. > :15:45.well. He's the sort of lad, you show him once and he's straight
:15:45. > :15:52.into it. I don't know. I find this sort of stuff really relaxing. I
:15:52. > :15:58.don't know. Just doing something anyway and then accomplishing
:15:58. > :16:08.something myself. Seeing how nice it looks afterwards. It's amazing.
:16:08. > :16:14.
:16:14. > :16:17.I'm slowly getting back to the state where I'm on an even level.
:16:17. > :16:21.And that's all due to living here and Julie supporting me and not
:16:21. > :16:29.giving up on me if you know what I mean. Julie supports me in more
:16:29. > :16:31.ways than anyone else has ever done ever. Just like little things. I
:16:31. > :16:35.get very frustrated about the littlest things because of the
:16:35. > :16:41.problems I've got. If it wasn't for her being there for me, I'd just
:16:41. > :16:43.lose the plot, I think. She means so much to me. She brought me in
:16:43. > :16:50.off the streets. I haven't committed no crime since living
:16:50. > :16:54.here. I'm 100% better compared to what I used to be. If I was to lose
:16:54. > :16:58.her now, I think I'd go straight back down.
:16:58. > :17:06.Those who care for Julie worry she's still taking on too much.
:17:06. > :17:12.does her best, let's put it that way. Let's just say some people
:17:12. > :17:20.don't want to be helped. Yeah. There's only a certain few she's
:17:20. > :17:25.tried to help that really want to be helped. Like Simon. Six months
:17:25. > :17:35.after the council's ultimatum, Julie's down to four lodgers. But
:17:35. > :17:40.
:17:40. > :17:42.not for much longer. Nathan Lodge And he is going home with Julie.
:17:42. > :17:44.These lads are not just my responsibility. They're everybody's
:17:44. > :17:54.responsibility. I'm saving these lads. There's probably thousands
:17:54. > :18:06.
:18:06. > :18:10.They promise prizes that never materialise and throw away letters
:18:10. > :18:19.asking for help. John Cutthill goes undercover to expose the company
:18:19. > :18:23.deceiving elderly and vulnerable This is John Turner. He lives in
:18:23. > :18:29.Barnstaple in North Devon. He's spent thousands of pounds chasing a
:18:29. > :18:37.prize which doesn't exist. They've promised me that I have won
:18:37. > :18:45.thousands. But they never pay me. They say deliberately, oh yes,
:18:45. > :18:49.you've won it. But they never pay out. He's bought products from a
:18:49. > :18:58.mail order company which promised a big cash prize. His son thinks over
:18:58. > :19:05.the last six years he's spent tens of thousands of pounds. He's
:19:05. > :19:10.probably been spending sort of �5,000 a year. Taking that on a
:19:10. > :19:13.six-year basis, he's probably spent about �30,000 in the last six years.
:19:13. > :19:16.Rosemary Berry, a midwife from Uffculme near Cullompton, has also
:19:16. > :19:23.received letters telling her she's won more money than she could ever
:19:23. > :19:27.dream of. "You are indeed a designated cheque winner. You
:19:28. > :19:32.really are the one and only person concerned. The correct reply from
:19:32. > :19:35.you in time is essential to be able to receive your guaranteed cheque.
:19:35. > :19:42.Please note that the head office has formally requested that I send
:19:42. > :19:52.you the prize that you have indeed Two more pages all saying pretty
:19:52. > :20:01.
:20:01. > :20:07.Joan Watkins lives in a council flat on a pension. For the past six
:20:07. > :20:11.months, she's also spent hundreds of pounds chasing a cash prize.
:20:11. > :20:17.years we have been trying to save up for a mortgate but didn't get
:20:17. > :20:22.that far. And I thought the boys could get a car out of it. That's
:20:22. > :20:25.what I done it for really. bought health and beauty products
:20:25. > :20:29.from a mail order company which made her believe if she placed
:20:29. > :20:34.orders with them she would win more than �130,000. I'm careful really
:20:34. > :20:37.because I've only got my pension. And I thought, well, it's a name
:20:37. > :20:41.and they've got an address and they are sending the stuff. So how can
:20:42. > :20:46.it be a scam? She wrote to the address in Hampshire asking when
:20:46. > :20:51.her cheque would arrive. She never received a reply. What she did get
:20:51. > :20:54.was more post requesting more orders and promising prizes. We've
:20:54. > :20:56.uncovered evidence showing while cheques are cashed and orders
:20:56. > :21:04.processed, letters from confused pensioners asking what's happened
:21:04. > :21:08.to their promised prizes are thrown People from all over the country
:21:08. > :21:13.have fallen for this con. And in every case it can be traced back to
:21:13. > :21:22.one address. The UK nerve centre for a huge mail order scam. Emery
:21:23. > :21:26.They're clearly not reading their letters. Time to give them a voice.
:21:26. > :21:30."Dear friends, I enclose my order cheque and forms. Hope you can now
:21:30. > :21:39.read my order cos I'm 90 years old last June, but I'm in a wheelchair
:21:39. > :21:42.and can't walk, have two heart Our loud hailer is going down a
:21:42. > :21:45.storm. Neighbouring businesses come out to listen to letters from
:21:45. > :21:51.confused customers, which is more than can be said for the company
:21:51. > :21:57."I don't see anyone. And pay for some treatment which will help me
:21:57. > :22:00.One employee whose job it was to bin the customers' letters was so
:22:00. > :22:05.appalled at the part the UK business plays in this deception
:22:05. > :22:08.that she went undercover with a camera to show what happens. The
:22:08. > :22:18.mail handling company works for a Frenchman who runs a number of
:22:18. > :22:22.
:22:22. > :22:26.businesses in Europe promising After working there and opening
:22:26. > :22:32.these letters, I'm thinking several people had won. It had me convinced.
:22:32. > :22:42.It can't be that everyone is a winner. The letters people write in
:22:42. > :22:43.
:22:43. > :22:47.People are confused, generally asking about their prize and why
:22:47. > :22:57.they haven't got it yet. People say they need the money and asking
:22:57. > :23:00.about it. I have to throw it away. At Tower Hamlets, Jimmy and Mary's
:23:00. > :23:03.cupboards are all but bare. They've gone into debt because Jimmy was so
:23:03. > :23:12.convinced he'd won a prize, he kept ordering goods to make sure he
:23:12. > :23:17.My partner kept saying to me, "Oh, I know it's true. Everything's
:23:17. > :23:22.going to be all right." And he believed in it. He believed it
:23:22. > :23:30.until I told him. Even my daughters told him he's wasting his money on
:23:30. > :23:36.it. But Jimmy just wouldn't have it. Jimmy thought they were right and
:23:36. > :23:38.we were wrong. Like others, they wrote to the company. And without
:23:38. > :23:45.our whistleblower their letter would have been thrown away with
:23:45. > :23:49.the rest. I do recognise this actually. "To all the managers and
:23:49. > :23:52.staff at Vital Nature, thank you so much for the lovely news I received
:23:52. > :23:57.with my order informing me and my family I had finally won this
:23:57. > :24:01.cheque. This is the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me
:24:01. > :24:04.and my family. This will be life- changing for us. I can't thank you
:24:04. > :24:10.all enough and it's all down to your beautiful company, Vital
:24:10. > :24:13.Nature. Time to go and see some of the people behind this very nasty
:24:14. > :24:17.business. Many of the mail order companies are owned by the same
:24:17. > :24:23.person. A wealthy Frenchman who needs a UK-based postal address in
:24:23. > :24:28.order to operate. That's where Emery comes in. Based in Romsey in
:24:28. > :24:31.Hampshire and owned by Nick and David Gebbett. You might know David
:24:31. > :24:37.if you're a member of the Royal Southampton Yacht Club or the Royal
:24:37. > :24:41.Southern Yacht Club. He's a very keen sailor. He's got a yacht thing
:24:41. > :24:44.over there and lives within spitting distance of this marina.
:24:44. > :24:49.That's when he's not swanning around New Zealand for six months
:24:49. > :24:53.of the year. His son, Nick Gebbett, lives in Norfolk. He's into skiing
:24:53. > :24:58.and also tweeting. His latest tweet is something about taking a cat to
:24:58. > :25:04.the vet. Hope the cat gets better. But nothing about running a company
:25:04. > :25:08.involved in a mass marketing scam. While their customers may be left
:25:08. > :25:13.all at sea, the Gebbetts appear to be riding high on a wave of success.
:25:13. > :25:17.Here's dad David who often pops in for a chat at the company. And
:25:17. > :25:21.here's his son Nick who appears to be in charge. He keeps a much lower
:25:21. > :25:25.profile. It's not the best photo. While they throw away most letters
:25:25. > :25:28.they receive, Nick Gebbett did read the one we sent him. He replied
:25:28. > :25:32.they would only answer our questions with a statement if we
:25:33. > :25:37.used it in full and unedited. Obviously we want to hear their
:25:37. > :25:41.side of the story, but we can't go giving promises like that to anyone.
:25:41. > :25:45.But I still needed to know why they thought it was OK to do the dirty
:25:45. > :25:55.work for a French scammer. And what were the chances of that? I managed
:25:55. > :25:56.
:25:56. > :26:00.to bump into David Gebbett at his Good morning. Mr Gebbett? Yes.
:26:00. > :26:05.Cuthill from BBC Inside Out. Can I just ask why your company continues
:26:05. > :26:08.to cash cheques of vulnerable people? You know what's going on.
:26:08. > :26:12.You know I can't answer any questions. We have sent a statement
:26:12. > :26:15.to you and that's all there is to it. You staff have been asked to
:26:15. > :26:19.shred their letters. That's not good customer service. I can't
:26:19. > :26:22.comment on that. Why don't you tell them what's happening? Why do you
:26:22. > :26:29.continue to have dealings with this company ripping them off? I can't
:26:29. > :26:33.comment on that. Sorry. I have to go. What do you say to these people
:26:33. > :26:41.who have been taken for a ride by this company? Your company could
:26:41. > :26:47.stop it from happening. If we didn't, some other company would do
:26:47. > :26:55.it. But that doesn't make it right. You've got nothing to say to these
:26:55. > :27:00.people at all? Surely you owe them There we go. His reply, no comment
:27:00. > :27:06.but if they didn't do it, someone else would. Does that make it right
:27:06. > :27:10.though? Thank you for the exciting news of a large cheque win. I am
:27:10. > :27:14.really excited. The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau has asked to
:27:14. > :27:18.see our evidence. They say they are keen to take action against any
:27:18. > :27:21.companies that operate to deceive members of the public. My message
:27:21. > :27:27.to companies working as a third party to a criminal enterprise is
:27:27. > :27:30.that, yes, you are on borrowed time. My job in the National Fraud
:27:30. > :27:33.Intelligence Bureau and that of law enforcement is to close in as
:27:33. > :27:39.quickly as we can to stop you operating, to bring you to justice,
:27:39. > :27:42.and to make sure you are seen as part of that criminal conspiracy.
:27:42. > :27:45.And we're closing in on you whether you be in the UK, whether you
:27:45. > :27:51.operate for somebody outside the UK. The National Fraud Intelligence
:27:51. > :27:54.Bureau is bringing that together on behalf of the nation. We are there
:27:54. > :27:59.to make sure that people in UK are less and less susceptible to your
:27:59. > :28:06.criminal methods and criminal means. And our job is to make sure we
:28:06. > :28:11.protect the people of this country. "It is a free draw, and as my
:28:11. > :28:19.number is the winning number, I hope that you mean to pay me. At
:28:19. > :28:28.this moment in time, I'm living on I think our work here is done. I