Archives for May 2010

Who really enjoys decorating? Especially the paint stench?

So, when Crown brought out their range of 'Breatheasy' paints they hoped to appeal to our noses as well as our eyes. On paper the phrase "virtually odour free" looked like a winner but in practice it might be coming back to haunt them...

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The England World Cup football kit. Flying off the shelves in the countdown to South Africa...

A kids' replica top comes in at £39.99. But why so pricey? After all, an extra-large version of the adult shirt costs only ten pounds more, at £49.99. But remember, VAT is charged on adult clothes, so when you strip out the tax, the big one costs just £2.55 more than the tiny one...

So do the new shirts make you feel over the moon, or do the prices leave you as sick as a parrot? Let us know...

The DVLA holds the details of 43 million drivers in Britain. It taxes them and issues licences.

In April 2009, Watchdog revealed how the DVLA were wrongly amending hundreds of licences that had been sent off for updating. One of these belonged to Jon Jones. When he got it back, he found he was no longer licensed to ride his motorbike. As he'd had his licence for 30 years, this was obviously a mistake. Not according to the DVLA - who insisted he re-take his test. At the time Jon Jones told Watchdog, "I've had to book time off work to do these tests. The cost and the stress levels - I haven't been very nice to live with for the last month or so. It's affected my life, big time."

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Should your sink clog up, your pipes burst or your drain block, you will almost certainly need to get a plumber or drainage expert out in a hurry, but who would you call? The phone books are full of plumbers promising a rapid response to such problems, but choosing the wrong one could be costly.

We received complaints about one such firm, JPL Plumbing Ltd, and decided to investigate. There are several businesses sharing a similar name so let's be clear - the firm we investigated is called JPL Plumbing Ltd, their company number is 05946294, their registered address is 156 BLACKFRIARS ROAD, SOUTHWARK, LONDON, SE1 8EN and the company's director is from Dorset. They also call themselves JPL Drains, Southampton Plumbers and Bournemouth Plumbers.

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When the Volcano erupted in Iceland, many travellers - stranded abroad or missing out on holidays of a life time - realised their travel insurance policies were useless.

They heard excuse after excuse from their insurance companies. For some insurers, volcano explosions weren't on the list of natural disasters they covered. For others, the fact it was a government decision to close the airspace meant that it was excused too. So how do you choose the right insurance?

One couple left asking that question are Tom and Rosanna Sutherland. They booked a family holiday in Turkey costing almost £1,400. They also took out a policy with Elect Travel - part of White Horse Insurance.

They opted to for the Essential package, which as far as Tom was concerned, gave them all the cover they needed for their trip. Apparently, he was wrong.

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Nappies are a key part of a new parent's life. Watchdog reporter and mum of twins Alice Beer, says her little ones went through a 2,200 nappies a year when they were growing up. Ask any mum or dad and they'll testify, once you find your favourite brand, you tend to stick to it. But what happens when your chosen brand lets you down?

Pampers are the UK's leading brand of nappies, trusted and used by thousands of parents. But Watchdog's recently received dozens of complaints about Pampers' range of Active Fit nappies. Keen to get to the bottom of the problem we arranged to meet some of the concerned parents who'd got in touch with the programme.

Sue Lamb and husband Shaz tried many brands of nappy before settling on Pampers Active Fit. They were perfectly happy with them until they bought two bumper boxes in March and realised something was quite different...

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Do you know how to read a map? Or how to use a mobile phone? Or wash your hands? If not, West Sussex County Council is here to help. Over the last year they have produced films on these subjects - paid for with their residents' council tax - to show you how to do all of these things.

But Watchdog found that some residents of Chichester, the home of West Sussex County Council, were less than impressed:

"I'd rather they fix the paving stones etc,' said one, "than tell us how to wash our hands."

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Tesco has apologised to a customer for claiming that one of its own-brand slimming products had more than a third fewer calories than it actually contained.

Watchdog discovered that the supermarket wrongly labelled its strawberry-flavoured 'Ultra Slim' powdered shakes as having 135 calories per serving - when the correct number was actually 205.

By drinking the recommended two shakes per day, customers who bought it were consuming an extra 140 calories - equivalent to a can of Coca Cola.

Across the week it added up to 980 calories - the same as two McDonald's 'Big Macs', or six pieces of deep-fried chicken from KFC.

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Mobile phones have been around for nearly two generations. It is hard to think of anyone who doesn't have one, but just in case they do still confuse you, West Sussex County Council decided to lend a helping hand. They produced a video called 'How to use a mobile phone'. Carefully going through how to make a call, send a text and save your favourite numbers, they put it up on the web last year.

Video author/title: West Sussex Council, 'How To Use a Mobile Phone'.

They say that they ran 23 courses last year for 160 people wanting to learn how to use a basic mobile phone, and the film was made in order to promote the courses and ensure it reached more people.

But local residents who spoke to Watchdog questioned whether it really was an effective use of public money.

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This week the Rogue Traders team are back checking up on an old friend, Buckinghamshire-based electrician Derek Wilson.

We first met Derek in 2003, when he went by the name of The Electric Man. Derek's speciality was selling brand new fuse-boxes or consumer units to people who didn't need them. To make matters worse, Derek overcharged too.

We filmed Electric Man Derek giving a quote. He then dispatched his son Dan, or as we like to call him, fuse boy, to come and do the work.

So seven years on, Matt and Dan have certainly grown up a bit but has the Electric Man changed his ways?

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The promoters billed it as the concert of 2010. A one-off performance by a musical icon.

So, when tickets went on sale for Julie Andrews at London's O2 Arena the 14,000 seats were gone before you could say Edelweiss.

Fans paid between £50 and £106 each for the show.

And why not? She did once have a great voice. But sadly, that was then - and this is now.

Indignant fans have claimed that she can't sing anymore and that the concert was a waste of money.

Find out what fans of the Mary Poppins star who were there have been saying on BBC News...

And then there's Whitney Houston who seemed to have problems at her recent UK concerts.

One of the promoters of both shows told Watchdog that Whitney's performances were well received and added that everyone's opinion is individual, and naturally some members of the audience would enjoy it more than others.

You can make up your own mind with this clip from BBC News.

So what can you do if you go to a concert and aren't satisfied with the performance?
Sadly not much. Unless you were specifically promised something that wasn't delivered - like a particular song or routine - you can't demand your money back. As for the added costs - the parking, the programmes and the rest. There's no law limiting the prices that can be charged. Enough to make you stay at home?

The promoters also told us they were going ahead with Whitney's next two concerts in Manchester next month.

So, if you're going, you might want to send us a review...

Harveys, the UK's largest furniture specialist, are sponsors of Coronation Street - one of the most popular soaps on television. It is the 50th anniversary of Corrie and viewers are reminded through Harveys sponsorship that they are the place to go if you want to sit down comfortably. In their adverts Harveys claim that they will 'bring your home to life.

For many customers, however, Harveys has done anything but. Watchdog has received more complaints about Harvey's than any other furniture store in the UK - a total of 374 complaints since January 2009.

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The BBC's Watchdog programme has discovered that people who are underweight and underage can buy slimming pills from Boots and Lloyds Pharmacy.

Alli was launched last year in the UK as the first slimming pill which can be bought over the counter without prescription. It is only licensed to be sold to those over 18 with a body mass index (BMI) higher than 28. It helps people trying to lose weight by preventing some of the fat they consume from being absorbed. There are, however, side-effects. Users can experience abdominal cramping and diarrhoea after flatulence.

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In June last year, Sainsburys launched an advertising campaign with the tagline, 'they look the same, they cost the same', which advertised various products where the price was the same in Sainsburys and Tesco.

This year, Sainsburys ran a similar campaign promoting their prices compared to Tesco with the tagline 'no difference in price, big difference in... ' suggesting not only that their prices were the same, but that Sainsburys was offering better quality items as well.

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Trading Standards has won an Enforcement Order against Mr Brian Davies of New Dawn Events, following a string of national complaints about his failure to provide refunds to consumers after music events were cancelled at the last moment.

While this doesn't guarantee refunds for consumers new advice from the Trading Standards Service is to consider seeking redress through the Courts where they are still in dispute with Mr Davies.

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Buying a used car can be daunting, and if a recent investigation by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is anything to go by, you've a right to be wary. Last year, there were 72,000 official complaints to Consumer Direct about issues with second hand cars.

One problem often complained about is clocked cars. A car is "clocked" if someone interferes with the odometer (the mileage reading). It's not illegal to do that, but if you sell the car, and don't tell the new owner that the mileage is inaccurate, it's a serious offence. Cars are often clocked to increase their value and the OFT estimates that car clocking costs consumers £580 million a year.

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How many 'snags' does your new home have?

Watchdog has received complaints about the number of defects that buyers are finding in new build properties. These defects are known in the industry as 'snags' and can be anything from a crack in the wall to a wobbly stair rail or a draughty window.

Watchdog viewer Arun Soni moved into his brand new house in North London more than two years ago. Since then he says he's had hundreds of snags. These ranged from peeling paint on his front door to a leaking garage roof.

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Watchdog has discovered big discrepancies in the way some mobile phone companies treat soldiers who want to suspend their phone contracts before being sent to Afghanistan.

Soldiers can be deployed to Afghanistan for up to six months but are banned from using their own mobile phones there for security reasons. They are allowed to use army satellite phones to call home for up to thirty minutes a week, so many soldiers look to suspend their own mobile contracts to save money.

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Earlier this year British food manufacturers, the big supermarkets and the government signed up to a new labelling system that's supposed to make it easier to see where your food has come from. However, not everyone has signed up to the code, it's only voluntary and it only applies to pork. This means it can still be very difficult for consumers to work out where the food they buy was grown or reared.

Now an investigation by Watchdog has found that even some of our proudest British dishes, sold in UK supermarkets are confused about their national identity.

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