:00:07. > :00:11.Welcome to a new series of Inside Out. Fed up with those phone calls,
:00:11. > :00:14.trying to sell you something? We have a shocking story of the sales
:00:15. > :00:21.people who would not take no for an answer.
:00:21. > :00:31.How frequently with a calling you? Constant Lee. -- were they calling
:00:31. > :00:32.
:00:32. > :00:35.We are on a mission in Minsterley in Shropshire as a century-old
:00:35. > :00:38.creamery is sold to the Irish. Can they turn it round and say the
:00:38. > :00:42.village and what will happen to the hundreds of people who have lost
:00:42. > :00:46.their jobs? It was a shock because people say you have got a job at
:00:46. > :00:51.the creamery, you have got a job for life.
:00:51. > :00:59.I and we find out how a Pakistani prince is supporting Birmingham
:00:59. > :01:09.taxi drivers to swap horse power for the real thing. This is Inside
:01:09. > :01:15.
:01:15. > :01:20.I have heard about a group of pushy publishers operating in the
:01:20. > :01:25.Midlands. I am told their telesales team will stop at nothing to get a
:01:25. > :01:33.sale and once they have made one sale, the chances are they will be
:01:33. > :01:43.back for more. And I want to find out just how much they will go to.
:01:43. > :01:47.Our trail starts in Shropshire and 18-year-old Jong has a house in
:01:47. > :01:51.France which he let out. He had advertised before so when a cold
:01:51. > :01:55.call came in selling another at that, he agreed. But instead of
:01:55. > :02:00.bringing in customers, he just got bombarded with calls from other
:02:00. > :02:03.newspapers. Like the central Advertiser and the North Thames
:02:03. > :02:13.press. How frequently whether calling you?
:02:13. > :02:13.
:02:13. > :02:18.Constantly. 6, 7, 8 calls per day. From each of the different
:02:18. > :02:27.publications. It was a very difficult time for me because my
:02:27. > :02:34.wife was very ill. And I find it difficult to deal with these people
:02:34. > :02:44.that kept on phoning all the time. I just wanted to get them off my
:02:44. > :02:44.
:02:44. > :02:48.The persistent calls got so bad, he contacted the police. When I
:02:48. > :02:53.arrived at the address I could see that John was clearly distressed.
:02:53. > :02:57.He had his head in his hands. He had about nine phone calls in half
:02:57. > :03:06.an hour, they were coming from different companies. While we were
:03:06. > :03:10.there, we phoned BT because we dialled 1471 and we found the two
:03:10. > :03:14.numbers. They were then fining him on a mobile from three different
:03:14. > :03:17.numbers. So quite persistent? persistent.
:03:17. > :03:25.But the police could not help John because it was a civil matter, not
:03:25. > :03:28.a criminal one. John's daughter was horrified to discover the various
:03:28. > :03:36.newspapers had charged tens of thousands of pounds to her father's
:03:36. > :03:44.accounts. It was inexplicable to me. A totally inexplicable. And totally
:03:44. > :03:50.horrifying. And it was as if suddenly, the life I thought my
:03:50. > :03:59.parents had and understood, and the world we inhabited, had been turned
:03:59. > :04:08.upside-down. It sounds melodramatic but it was... Awful. Awful. Because
:04:08. > :04:15.he had effectively bankrupted He seemed to have agreed to
:04:15. > :04:19.advertise in newspapers run by a Wyvern Media, sometimes also known
:04:19. > :04:24.as Journal Group Production Company Ltd and JPC Sales of Derby. Things
:04:24. > :04:32.got so bad that in four and 62 days, the Derby-based group took up to
:04:32. > :04:39.six payments each and every day. Totalling more than �10,000. Now, I
:04:39. > :04:44.don't know why I was taken in by all this but it became obvious that
:04:44. > :04:50.there was no responses was forever. You have no responses? No responses
:04:50. > :04:55.at all. So what does the company say about it?
:04:55. > :05:02.Wyvern Media has told us that staff have known way of knowing if their
:05:02. > :05:06.customers are frail or vulnerable and that John freely signed orders
:05:06. > :05:13.he placed -- have no way of knowing. They take appropriate action to
:05:13. > :05:18.when Shaw it does not occur again if things go bad.
:05:18. > :05:24.John had tried writing messages like "please leave us alone, and we
:05:24. > :05:28.cannot afford this". A salesman said no more and we will block
:05:28. > :05:32.unnecessary calls but then got in touch two days later. The company
:05:32. > :05:39.said it would investigate. John is not the only customer who is
:05:39. > :05:43.unhappy with Wyvern Media. Dog breeder Jean would agree to the
:05:43. > :05:49.adverts and its owner like a good deal at �40 per advert. What she
:05:49. > :05:55.had not bargained for was the unauthorised payments. I had two
:05:55. > :06:02.invoices and that was OK but then I started getting invoices with
:06:02. > :06:10."paid" on them that I had not asked for. Six payments from my credit
:06:10. > :06:18.cards but I had not authorised. And they had taken over �500 of my
:06:18. > :06:28.credit card balance. I think it is a total scam. There is no way that
:06:28. > :06:29.
:06:29. > :06:34.should see your money being taken when you have not granted it.
:06:34. > :06:39.Unauthorised payments? Surely a mistake, a one off. Not according
:06:39. > :06:43.to Polly who runs a bespoke travel business. She agreed to one �100
:06:43. > :06:52.advert in the Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire Telegraph. Another
:06:52. > :06:55.Wyvern Media newspaper. They sent me the mock-up. It was appalling,
:06:55. > :06:59.absolutely appalling. That was one of the first alarm bells that rang
:06:59. > :07:08.with me, that something was not right. That it probably was not as
:07:08. > :07:12.good as they had let out that it would go -- that it was going to be.
:07:12. > :07:16.But the company had charged �5,000 to her account.
:07:16. > :07:21.This is the paperwork from your bank. Yes, I have never seen these
:07:21. > :07:30.before. These are the confirmation of appetising orders. It has a
:07:30. > :07:34.receipt will follow her published receipt. And any credit card
:07:34. > :07:37.statements as card players not present. They have racked up
:07:37. > :07:41.overdraft charges, and I had to fall to the company as a result of
:07:41. > :07:44.this huge debt. Wyvern Media says it has never been the
:07:44. > :07:48.organisation's practice to take unauthorised payments from its
:07:48. > :07:52.customers. It says the company now records all sales calls and
:07:53. > :07:56.complaints have dropped to four a month out of several thousand sales.
:07:56. > :08:00.The statement adds that if customers feel money has been taken
:08:00. > :08:04.without proper authorisation, there can be reclaimed through their
:08:04. > :08:09.credit cards. The company director Jonathan
:08:09. > :08:12.Rivers said he would investigate the cases that we have raised. But
:08:12. > :08:16.it is not just an authorised payments and pestering clients
:08:16. > :08:26.until they get a sale. Some customers are unhappy about other
:08:26. > :08:31.
:08:31. > :08:36.I am Jenny so. My name is John. am Sam. We have contacted over 30
:08:36. > :08:41.of their customers and many have a story to tell. One of the tactics
:08:41. > :08:45.sales staff use is to tell people they have won a prize. John runs a
:08:45. > :08:51.specialist motorbike customising company and was told he had won an
:08:51. > :08:56.amazing award. We had this phone call. It said that it would like to
:08:56. > :08:59.congratulate me, that I had won customers of the year award. And
:08:59. > :09:06.then the bombshell came when he rang me up and said you have won
:09:06. > :09:13.this award but we feel that it deserves a front page, a back page
:09:13. > :09:18.and the centre page in our magazine. He said this is very expensive.
:09:18. > :09:25.Normally it would cost you �2,000 to have this but said that they
:09:25. > :09:30.will do it for �1,500. What was the reality? Nothing. He small but of
:09:30. > :09:37.paper in a small frame. The bid you pay for the adverts -- a small bit
:09:37. > :09:42.of paper. We would not pay. He rang me up a lot. He threatened to take
:09:42. > :09:46.me to court and I said, please do so. That is perfect for me, I said.
:09:46. > :09:51.I will come to court and the day with this bill and I will fight it
:09:51. > :09:55.all the way of. So, offering awards? What did Wyvern Media have
:09:55. > :10:03.to say about that allegation? The company says "categorically we do
:10:03. > :10:11.not offer prizes but it agrees but it uses them as a marketing tool to
:10:11. > :10:15.allow companies to promote Awards given with no judge, no jury.
:10:15. > :10:24.Next time you see a certificate for a business of the year, perhaps you
:10:24. > :10:28.should ask them how much they had I need to see if anyone else come
:10:28. > :10:37.back up what our disgruntled advertisers have told us. Who
:10:37. > :10:40.better to ask than people who worked there! -- there?
:10:40. > :10:47.This Student only manage three days with the Greater London Chronicle
:10:47. > :10:53.in Coventry. One of the Wyvern Media papers. He has agreed to meet
:10:53. > :10:57.me. By my first day, one of the members of staff in the office
:10:57. > :11:02.actually said something like this is the biggest legal scam out there
:11:02. > :11:12.today. The and tight point, I was just sat there thinking, is this
:11:12. > :11:13.
:11:13. > :11:17.I found another former employee who wanted to talk about unauthorised
:11:17. > :11:21.payments but keep their identity sealed. Calls started coming in
:11:21. > :11:25.from customers that I knew of claiming that certain payments had
:11:25. > :11:29.been taken out of their back accounts without authorisation. We
:11:29. > :11:34.kept our heads down and did not dare say anything. We knew we would
:11:34. > :11:40.be out of a job there and then. Wyvern Media pointed out one rogue
:11:40. > :11:47.salesmen as the reason for some unauthorised payments. They said
:11:47. > :11:51.that complaints are tiny by comparison. And from complaints
:11:51. > :11:55.about customers who did not receive any response, they said that
:11:55. > :11:59.advertising is very hit and miss. Meanwhile for customers left
:11:59. > :12:02.bruised by the experience of placing an advertisement in the
:12:02. > :12:09.papers, we planned to pass our information on to trading standards
:12:09. > :12:15.officers so they can investigate further. I felt it a huge tragedy
:12:15. > :12:19.that because of some flimsy bits of paper and someone's need to get a
:12:20. > :12:27.commission, they lost a home that they had lived in and loved for 50
:12:27. > :12:32.years. My mother died in February and she died broken-hearted. If you
:12:32. > :12:40.feel you have been unfairly treated, it get in touch with me, on the e-
:12:40. > :12:43.It is not often that to get to rub shoulders with a Pakistani prince
:12:43. > :12:50.but that is exactly what has happened to a group of Birmingham
:12:50. > :12:52.taxi drivers. And all because of their mutual love of horses.
:12:52. > :12:57.Meet Gulbahar and Gulzar Khan. Brothers, veteran cabbies, men
:12:57. > :13:01.quite at home in a hackney carriage. But the Khans aren't your average
:13:01. > :13:04.cab drivers. They're into horsepower of a different kind.
:13:04. > :13:10.Because when they're not on four wheels, they're on four legs and
:13:10. > :13:20.you'd struggle to flag them down. Welcome to the world of the taxi
:13:20. > :13:22.
:13:22. > :13:26.driving tent-peggers, the fastest I get up in the morning and late
:13:26. > :13:36.going to do the horses. Whether it is 8 o'clock, 11 o'clock. The first
:13:36. > :13:39.thing I come up and do is to the horse. It is early morning. And
:13:39. > :13:42.Gulbahar's at the stables near Walsall. He keeps horses here,
:13:42. > :13:48.along with his brother and some of his mates. They all have two things
:13:48. > :13:58.in common: they drive cabs and they do this. Tent-pegging is a famous
:13:58. > :14:03.sport in Pakistan, like show- jumping in this country. It is very
:14:03. > :14:06.famous and the same thing back home in Pakistan, Kashmir, we have got
:14:06. > :14:10.tent-pegging which is very, very famous. It is a sport we enjoy
:14:10. > :14:13.doing. In tent-pegging, riders compete to
:14:13. > :14:19.spear wooden stakes from the ground. It may be big in Pakistan, but not
:14:19. > :14:24.here. But that hasn't always been the case. The British cavalry once
:14:24. > :14:27.used it for training and it was a hit at horse and military shows.
:14:27. > :14:35.So the Khan brothers are ordinary blokes with an extraordinary
:14:35. > :14:42.pasttime. But the trouble is, they still need to clock up those fares.
:14:42. > :14:50.And that leave little time for practice. We don't get that much
:14:50. > :15:00.time because we have families and kids and you have to work. And
:15:00. > :15:00.
:15:00. > :15:03.whatever happens, I always tried to do my seven hours. But they'll need
:15:03. > :15:06.all the practice they can get. A big competition's coming up, at
:15:06. > :15:13.Frampton on Severn in Gloucestershire. And they'll be up
:15:13. > :15:17.against expert riders, some from the British military. We are not
:15:17. > :15:23.brilliant, extra ordinary but we have confidence. We are good enough
:15:23. > :15:33.to beat them. Every year, it is between two or three points in the
:15:33. > :15:35.
:15:35. > :15:43.last two years. Hopefully this year It is like getting off a horse!
:15:43. > :15:46.Always steeper than you expect. Thank you very much.
:15:46. > :15:49.The competition will be the team's last event of the year. But first,
:15:49. > :15:52.they have an exhibition to ride. And joining them is their mentor
:15:52. > :16:02.who turns out to be from Pakistani nobility. He's a prince, like
:16:02. > :16:03.
:16:03. > :16:08.Prince Harry. He is of a similar position in Punjab. Everybody knows
:16:08. > :16:11.him, even if they do not see his face, they know his name. He is
:16:11. > :16:14.behind everything we are doing, the backbone.
:16:14. > :16:23.Prince Malik Ata Muhammad Khan has been tent-pegging for years back in
:16:23. > :16:30.Pakistan, and he certainly takes it seriously. I scored 24 marks so I'm
:16:30. > :16:33.in the competition. Of course I will win the competition. I am sure
:16:33. > :16:36.of it. The prince recruited the Khans to
:16:36. > :16:43.ride at a competition some years back. And they've stayed in touch
:16:44. > :16:48.ever since. For him, it's all about keeping the sport going. We advise
:16:48. > :16:58.them, bring good horses for them, do whatever we can. The sport has
:16:58. > :16:58.
:16:58. > :17:04.to be kept alive. You cannot keep it alive is -- if there is no pond
:17:04. > :17:06.behind it. Do you think you will get it? I bet you.
:17:06. > :17:09.From playing alongside a prince to the routine of weekly practice.
:17:09. > :17:19.It's days before the Frampton competition and I've come to see
:17:19. > :17:21.
:17:21. > :17:26.how they're getting on and perhaps That was brilliant. A couple of new
:17:26. > :17:31.water that had done very well. Two waters, they are very nice for the
:17:31. > :17:41.sport. Looking ahead to Sunday, a good practice for then? Very good,
:17:41. > :17:42.
:17:42. > :17:45.we'll be ready on Sunday, yes. on! Like a piece of cake.
:17:45. > :17:51.Now, I've always fancied myself as a decent horseman. Well, I've done
:17:51. > :17:56.a bit of pony trekking in my time. He is doing fine, he is sitting
:17:56. > :18:04.there. But the brothers won't let me anywhere near those sharp spears
:18:04. > :18:09.without first seeing me at the reins. What are the chances of
:18:09. > :18:17.letting me have a go in the field? Not quite! The if you more lessons
:18:17. > :18:22.but not yet. -- a few more lessons. Is there anything I can do?
:18:22. > :18:25.I may not be ready to compete quite yet but the cabbies certainly are.
:18:25. > :18:35.The big day's arrived and they're raring to go. All except Gulbahar.
:18:35. > :18:36.
:18:36. > :18:39.He's hurt his arm, and won't be riding but he's still confident.
:18:39. > :18:46.am happy, my colleague is riding, but there is riding so I am
:18:46. > :18:49.confident. We are going to absolutely thrashed them.
:18:49. > :18:58.But they'll need to be at their best. They're up against some top
:18:58. > :19:02.class riders. These are peggers with pedigree. They are all
:19:02. > :19:11.experienced in various disciplines of riding, whether it be Paolo,
:19:11. > :19:14.hunting, showjumping -- Polo. As well as tent-pegging. I think the
:19:14. > :19:19.Gloucestershires are defending their title but we are up against
:19:19. > :19:22.it today. The regular regiment, the RLC, I have a feeling I would put
:19:22. > :19:27.my money on them. His money's on the Royal Logistic
:19:27. > :19:30.Corp, but our taxi drivers hope to upset the odds. The aim of this
:19:30. > :19:40.game is to spear as many wooden pegs as possible. And the cabbies
:19:40. > :19:41.
:19:41. > :19:51.are soon into their stride. brother mist one and the other two
:19:51. > :19:55.
:19:55. > :20:05.It's the final ride of the day and despite spearing four out of six
:20:05. > :20:13.
:20:13. > :20:21.flaming tent pegs, it's not quite We came second and the 17th Lance,
:20:21. > :20:27.they came first. When you bring your Lansdown, it pushes on to one
:20:27. > :20:32.side so you could not get a target in but it has been a safe and the
:20:32. > :20:34.public enjoyed it and that is what is important. And we enjoyed it as
:20:34. > :20:37.well. Runners up again. Back at the
:20:37. > :20:47.stables, it's time for something to eat, drink and smoke, and some
:20:47. > :20:49.
:20:49. > :20:58.post-match analysis. How many points to you miss out by?
:20:58. > :21:05.One. One point? You must be disappointed. We are used to coming
:21:05. > :21:10.second. That has got to her. Yes, it does a bit. I probably was the
:21:10. > :21:20.weakest link to the. The weakest link! Hopefully next year we will
:21:20. > :21:29.have more horses and these guys sitting over there, they can do
:21:29. > :21:36.tent-pegging, every one of them. no pressure! No! The weakest link
:21:36. > :21:40.goes out, the new link comes in. For our final story, I am going to
:21:40. > :21:43.the Shropshire hills to find out just what happens to village life
:21:43. > :21:53.when a major employer pulls the plug on a business that gave
:21:53. > :21:55.generations of local people a job. 480 million years ago during the
:21:55. > :21:58.Ice Age, constant freezing and thawing shattered these rocks to
:21:58. > :22:02.form what is now one of Shropshire's most famous landscapes
:22:02. > :22:04.the Stiperstones ridge. But I'm not here for that walk
:22:04. > :22:07.known as the Stiperstones stomp, I'm heading for the village of
:22:07. > :22:10.Minsterley down there, where the cold winds of multinational
:22:10. > :22:20.takeovers are creating a mini-Ice Age of their own in the chilled
:22:20. > :22:22.
:22:22. > :22:25.Minsterley Creamery has been the major employer here for years, but
:22:25. > :22:29.after a round of job losses this summer, the village learned another
:22:29. > :22:37.350 people were being laid off. Production was largely being moved
:22:37. > :22:43.to Somerset ahead of an Irish Already village life is changing.
:22:43. > :22:46.Once Minsterley had three pubs on a single roundabout. Now The Bridge
:22:46. > :22:56.is boarded up, The Bath is flats, only The Crown And Sceptre remains
:22:56. > :22:59.
:22:59. > :23:03.of what was once a compact pub More enduring is the church, famous
:23:03. > :23:09.for its gardens, commemorating the death of local virgins but it is
:23:09. > :23:13.the slow death of Minsterley Creamery that has become more
:23:13. > :23:18.difficult to watch. How did this become home of a multi-million-
:23:18. > :23:20.pound industry. It all started 100 years ago, when
:23:20. > :23:23.a certain Miss Chin visited her uncle, the local postmaster, and
:23:23. > :23:26.decided that Minsterley was the ideal place to collect milk from
:23:26. > :23:31.local farmers to deliver to the dairy in Birmingham where she
:23:31. > :23:40.worked. That was the beginning of a love affair with Shropshire dairy
:23:40. > :23:48.That saw Miss Chin's idea grow from a small factory employing four
:23:48. > :23:51.people to the major employer it is It might seem strange to start this
:23:51. > :23:56.story at the local nursing home, but in many ways it's the last
:23:56. > :24:00.refuge for creamery workers. A snapshot of just how important the
:24:00. > :24:02.employer has been. A number of residents once worked at the
:24:02. > :24:12.creamery, including Maureen really looked forward to going
:24:12. > :24:14.there every day. It was like a home It's not just residents at the home,
:24:14. > :24:21.staff already made redundant from the creamery include Esther who
:24:22. > :24:26.worked there for 29 years. She's now a nursing home cleaner. My next
:24:26. > :24:31.door neighbour used to work there, Paddy Abby. He got me the job and
:24:31. > :24:40.he said, "I've got you a job at the creamery with your sisters". I said,
:24:40. > :24:48.brilliant. Thank you. I started at 19, now I'm 50. It's five minutes
:24:48. > :24:51.down the road. My brother and my two sisters worked there as well.
:24:51. > :24:57.John is another creamery worker turned cleaner, a man determined to
:24:57. > :25:06.stay in work. He's pessimistic about the future of the 350 workers
:25:06. > :25:12.coming out in the next round of redundancies. It is a hell of a big
:25:12. > :25:19.impact, really. A lot of people on the dole, losing their jobs. I
:25:19. > :25:22.don't know where they will go. People say don't worry, it will be
:25:22. > :25:27.all right and then in the next minute in the office, goodbye. They
:25:27. > :25:33.did that with a lot of people. did you feel at the end of 29 years
:25:34. > :25:39.many have work -- when you have been working for them for years?
:25:39. > :25:42.Really angry, crying. But I am all right now.
:25:42. > :25:45.Last month it was announced that the Irish food company, Greencore,
:25:45. > :25:47.had completed its purchase of Uniq for �113 million. They're sticking
:25:47. > :25:51.with plans to move high-end production to Somerset, leaving
:25:51. > :25:55.just 100 workers turning out chocolate desserts. Many believe
:25:56. > :25:58.ultimately Minsterley could close altogether. Already the village is
:25:58. > :26:02.feeling the pressure, and that's obvious even at the post office
:26:02. > :26:10.where empty shelves show that owner Bruce Bill has had to cut back to
:26:10. > :26:18.core business, laying off workers himself. The majority of my
:26:18. > :26:23.customers are over 40, have got family or connections with what was
:26:23. > :26:27.the Northern Dairies or Uniq as it is now, and it has come into
:26:27. > :26:33.conversations quite a bit. They come in and say, where will we get
:26:33. > :26:39.a job? Even people who live in the village and work for the council
:26:39. > :26:43.all looking over their shoulders. All our businesses will be affected
:26:44. > :26:50.badly, really. Not a lot I can do about it. Just hope that something
:26:50. > :26:55.does crop up but obviously, if people living here in the village
:26:55. > :26:57.work for the factory, if the work goes away, then I assume they will
:26:57. > :27:00.move away from the village. Many of Minsterley's migrant
:27:01. > :27:04.workers, who form about 40 % of the workforce, seem upbeat about moving
:27:04. > :27:13.on and finding other jobs, but for locals with deep roots in the area,
:27:13. > :27:16.there are difficult choices to make. It was a shock because people say
:27:16. > :27:21.you have got a job at the creamery, then you have got a job for life.
:27:21. > :27:25.My grandad worked there. Man and boy doing that churns and
:27:25. > :27:31.everything. Everybody worked at the creamery. What do you think will
:27:31. > :27:38.happen, is your job vulnerable? definitely. I have come to the
:27:38. > :27:42.realisation that I will lose my job. It takes a bit to sink in. I am 52
:27:42. > :27:47.and the work round here is very minimal. You have got the meat
:27:47. > :27:52.factory where I used to work but they are not employing anyone, they
:27:52. > :27:56.only employ a small workforce. There is only farming which is not
:27:56. > :28:04.very good so I have got to travel to go somewhere and then there's
:28:04. > :28:06.the expense of travelling, and the age and experience is you, not much
:28:06. > :28:09.call for the work around Minsterley really.
:28:09. > :28:19.And with last weeks' unemployment figures on the up, it's not just
:28:19. > :28:20.
:28:21. > :28:25.Adrian now anxiously looking for That is it from Inside Out tonight.
:28:25. > :28:30.We will be back next Monday with more stories that matter in the
:28:30. > :28:34.Midlands. On next week's programme, what
:28:34. > :28:40.happens when a twin dies? The Birmingham woman who set up a