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Archives for March 2009

Two Left Feet - stopped trading

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Zoe Behagg - web producer | 20:30 UK time, Monday, 30 March 2009

Comments (17)

A few weeks ago, we investigated a company called Two Left Feet. Watchdog first looked at the company two years ago. Since then things hadn't improved. Over the last few months the programme has received complaints almost every day, all telling similar stories about late or non-existent deliveries, a lack of customer service and difficulty in getting money back when orders were cancelled.

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Dramatic new twist in sofas saga

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Rob Unsworth - editor | 18:43 UK time, Monday, 30 March 2009

Comments (17)

Over 500 people who suffered injuries from their Land of Leather sofas may not receive compensation, the High Court was told on Friday 27 March 2009.

It's the latest twist in a story Watchdog has been following since February 2008: the sofas that left thousands of people with horrific injuries.

Watchdog was the first to identify the cause of the problems - a sachet of a highly sensitising chemical called DMF that is placed in the sofas by the manufacturers to prevent mould growth.

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Tough times for Tiscali customers

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Zoe Behagg - web producer | 17:24 UK time, Monday, 30 March 2009

Comments (87)

The papers say Tiscali is a company teetering on the edge, crippled with debt and fighting for its life. It's an Italian business with 3 million customers in the UK. It offers the full package; phone, broadband and digital TV, at some of the cheapest rates around. But these are tough times for Tiscali - they owe half a billion euros. So, while they try and sort themselves out, have they forgotten their biggest asset of all, their customers?

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Text question and answer companies

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Joe Mather - series producer | 17:01 UK time, Monday, 30 March 2009

Comments (21)

Text-based question and answer services are the latest way to look clever. For about £1 you can text a question and a few minutes later receive an answer. But we've heard that some of the answers sent by some of the biggest question and answer services are wrong.

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On the programme - Monday 30 March

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Zoe Behagg - web producer | 17:20 UK time, Thursday, 26 March 2009

Comments (2)

Your comments
It has been a busy week moderating your responses this week.

I think the way Nicky Campbell handled the live interview with Dr Garry Felgate from the Energy Retail Association on last Monday's programme was spot on. However, lots of you think differently.

Comment 10, Crawleypanzer says: "Why did the Watchdog presenter allow the energy 'suit' to get off so lightly? He said nothing outside of his brief, indeed his appearance on the show was an insult to ALL energy users."

Comment 14, sleepingmiller wrote: " I have a complaint about the way Nicky Campbell questioned (or didn't question) the representative from the energy companies. There were no forceful questions as to why the prices had not fallen in line with the fall in prices to the energy companies."

Comment 23, hothoundz, thinks: "Very disappointed with the lack of pressure Nicky Campbell puts on representatives such as in this report. It would be a good opportunity to really grill them and get them to admit they don't give a damn."

Watch the live interview report and see what you think. And come back to the website on Monday when we'll have more on energy prices.

There weren't many comments on the story about the aggressive techniques used by one company offering help for men with sensitive health problems.

However, the messages are non-stop on the report about Microsoft Xbox 360 - scratched discs. This seems to be a widespread problem for many of you, indeed. Big thanks to those of you sending in solutions to avoid the problem.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2009/03/xbox_360.html

Comment 9, frazzleadz, wrote: "I used to have this happen all the time when I had my Xbox lying down as you showed on TV. But since I stood it up on end, I have had no more problems in over a year and a half. Hope this helps some people."

Comment 34, suepress, offers a very detailed account of how she was able to get a replacement game for her son, including the following tips: "My advice is to stick to your guns and if the retailer still refuses to accept liability, write to head office and, as a last resort, consider pursuing your claim on the small claims track at the local county court."

Comment 54, dilo247 says: "I have got the solution! This happened to me once with my game. I took the game back to the shop I bought it from. They gave me the same excuse but offered to clean the disc for no cost in one of their advanced disc cleaning machine, this got the game working again, this is the best solution for now."

And apologies to those of you whose comments we didn't publish on the Mould growing in flats report. We can only publish claims that were made in the report featured in the TV programme. However, we will certainly be investigating the new horror stories that you sent in. Lots of them made us squirm in the Watchdog office.

Coming up on the programme
On Monday 30 March we'll have a new set of downloadable letters, so that people can send them to the energy companies and demand to know why bills are still so high when the cost of fuel has come down.

We've yet another shocking twist in the saga of those dangerous sofas. Plus, we've set up a clinic to diagnose people's broadband problems.

Q: & BTW HOW ACCUR8 R TXT Q&A SRVICES?
A: NOT VERY...

We put them to the test.

Sexual health firm offers insensitive service

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Zoe Behagg - web producer | 19:29 UK time, Monday, 23 March 2009

Comments (5)

Towards the end of last year, a billboard advertising campaign caused a sensation. The campaign used the slogan 'want longer lasting SEX?' to promote the services of an Australian-based company, Advanced Medical Institute (AMI), that sells treatments for men's sexual health problems.

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Energy prices are still too high

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Rob Unsworth - editor | 18:01 UK time, Monday, 23 March 2009

Comments (49)

Read the Watchdog report below - then print off one of the downloadable letters (at the bottom of this article), which you can send to your energy supplier to complain if you feel energy prices are still too high.

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Microsoft Xbox 360 - scratched discs

When it was launched in 2005, Microsoft boss Bill Gates called it the Ferrari of games consoles. Since then Microsoft has sold 28 million Xbox 360 consoles worldwide, but the console hasn't always had a smooth ride.

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Mould growing in flats

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Joe Mather - series producer | 14:53 UK time, Monday, 23 March 2009

Comments (62)

If you live in one of the UK's 5 million flats, you may pay a management company an annual fee to maintain the communal areas and the exterior of the building.

But the residents of one block of flats in East London don't think they're getting value for money from their management company. That's because of the black mould growing inside nearly a third of the flats in the building.

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On the programme - Monday 23 March

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Zoe Behagg - web producer | 18:31 UK time, Thursday, 19 March 2009

Comments (7)

In the news this week
Unemployment passes 2 million in the UK for the first time since 1997, rental repossessions are on the rise, and mortgage lending continues to slide.

What a bleak week for consumers and homeowners, indeed. But we can bring a bit of good news for anyone struggling to get on the property ladder in the UK - the price of property on the moon is coming down.

Your comments
There are 51,000 mobile phone masts dotted around the UK, yet lots of you have been complaining to us that you don't get a signal. Thanks to all of you who have offered advice this week, after seeing the Watchdog report on Mobile charges but no signals.

Comment 25 - CitizenLaura says: "My 'signal' issue was actually resolved by getting a new SIM card ... and although I'm not saying this will solve everyone's problems, I would highly recommend suggesting the idea to customer services if you do have issues."

Comment 29 - mikek03 suggests: "If your phone can't get a signal and you know someone with a different phone on the same network, put them side by side and check the signal levels. It's not guaranteed but you might be surprised to see the difference in signal levels."

Coming up on the programme
Come back on Monday to find out which gaming console can damage your games discs making them unplayable.

Anita Rani visits people living in a mouldy block of flats in East London where some of the residents dread spending a night in their own home.

A company that offers remedies for male sexual health problems says they offer "private and sympathetic" consultations. We put that claim to the test and find that it doesn't quite stand up.

And why is there such a huge gap between what energy companies pay for their electricity and gas and what they charge us? We'll ask them on Monday in a live studio interview.

Dormant banks accounts follow-up

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Zoe Behagg - web producer | 19:28 UK time, Monday, 16 March 2009

Comments

More viewers have been in touch about the problems they're having once they ask their banks to track down money left forgotten in dormant accounts.

Customers who have provided proof that money is held in their name have told us that their bank would not pay it back because the bank's records had been destroyed. Others have said that even when their bank agreed they were owed money, their local branch refused to pay it out.

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Mobile charges but no signal

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Zoe Behagg - web producer | 18:59 UK time, Monday, 16 March 2009

Comments

We're obsessed with our phones in the UK. With over 74 million handsets, there are more mobiles than people. To make them all work, there are 51,000 mobile phone masts dotted around the UK. Between them, the phone operators tell us they've got Britain covered. But is that really true?

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Goldtrail Holidays

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Rob Unsworth - editor | 18:57 UK time, Monday, 16 March 2009

Comments

Two million of us head to Turkey every summer and, because it's outside the Eurozone, it's tipped to knock Spain off the top spot for bargain holidays. Turkey is the destination where East meets West; with stunning scenery and fabulous beaches.

However, if you go with one Goldtrail Holidays it could be a place where your hotel room may have no curtains but perhaps some bare wires. They may give your baby a wet, stained mattress to sleep on and in the bar, they could serve you drinks from a yoghurt pot.

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Avoid scam festival tickets

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Joe Mather - series producer | 19:22 UK time, Monday, 9 March 2009

Comments

A lot has changed since the days of queuing up for festival and concert tickets. Nowadays all it takes is a click of the mouse and you should be set to see some of your favourite acts.

Whether you're heading for a festival this summer or thrilled at the thought of Michael Jackson's farewell gigs in London, the scramble for tickets starts now.
But not everyone will get what they've paid for, because every year 30,000 people book from a website that's a con.

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Dormant bank accounts discovered in attic

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Zoe Behagg - web producer | 17:53 UK time, Monday, 9 March 2009

Comments

You never know what you might uncover when you have a clear out of the attic. Old holiday snaps, bric-a-brac, forgotten tools. Or maybe even details of bank accounts, in your name, that you knew nothing about.

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VAT cuts creeping back up again

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Rob Unsworth - editor | 16:59 UK time, Monday, 9 March 2009

Comments

In November 2008, Alistair Darling announced that VAT would be cut from 17.5 per cent to 15 per cent in a bid to get us spending again.

By the end of March 2009, that VAT cut should have put an extra £3.8 billion back into our pockets. When the cut came into effect on 1 December 2008, prices were being cut at the till, so £9.99 suddenly became £9.78.

But since the New Year, some viewers have spotted that in stores where prices did come down after the VAT cut; they seem to be creeping back up again.

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Honeymoon ruined by drilling

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Zoe Behagg - web producer | 14:45 UK time, Monday, 9 March 2009

Comments

Ed and Caroline Whiffin emailed Watchdog about their Thomas Cook honeymoon that left a lot to be desired.

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What do you think about the rise in NHS charges?

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Zoe Behagg - web producer | 13:10 UK time, Friday, 6 March 2009

Comments

In the news this week
Prescriptions in England will go up in April from £7.10 to £7.20. This is despite the fact that they are currently free in Wales, and will be free in Northern Ireland by 2010, and in Scotland by 2011.

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Car-napped! Singer's car gets towed away

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Zoe Behagg - web producer | 17:57 UK time, Monday, 2 March 2009

Comments

Singer-songwriter Leo Ihenacho came home to his flat in South London two weeks ago after he'd been away for a week but when he returned he found his car had disappeared. While he'd been away the management company for his apartment block had started using a new clamping firm for the building's car park, and they had towed Leo's car away without him knowing anything about it.

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Two Left Feet - complaints

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Zoe Behagg - web producer | 17:11 UK time, Monday, 2 March 2009

Comments

Two Left Feet, a division of Two Right Feet Ltd, claims to be one the UK's top suppliers for everything to do with babies. But when Watchdog investigated the company back in 2006, we found that those claims weren't justified.

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Sofas - new legislation

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Rob Unsworth - editor | 15:55 UK time, Monday, 2 March 2009

Comments

It's now a year since Watchdog first told the story of the Chinese leather sofas which were causing agonising skin reactions in thousands of people. We were the first to identify the cause; sachets of a highly dangerous chemical, dimethyl fumarate or DMF, put in the sofas in China to stop mould growing.

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