大象传媒

A third of Welsh families own a dog and a growing number of owners now take their pooches to be pampered at a dog grooming salon. There are three thousand grooming businesses in the UK, but it's an unregulated industry. Salons are not inspected and groomers aren't required to have any qualifications.

The Cutz for Mutz salon in Llanelli calls itself 'the most successful dog grooming academy in the UK' and charges students up to 拢3600 to train there. Last year, owner Mandy Miller won an award for new business of the year.

However, some customers aren't impressed. Clive Davies's dog Fat Boy went to Cutz 4 Mutz last September. He told X-Ray, "My daughter took him there on a student training day and it was free. He ended up being shaven and cut under the leg." Clive says that the salon didn't mention the cut when the dog was collected but when his daughter spotted it she phoned to complain. "The salon said it was because the dog wouldn't stay still and they forgot to mention it," Clive said.

Salon owner Mandy Miller says she has no record of the complaint and says Fat Boy was shaved because his fur was badly matted - something Clive denies.

Caroline Rees's Yorkshire Terrier Fizzy also visited Cutz 4 Mutz. Caroline explained, "Mandy Miller the owner said we've had a bit of an accident, we've nicked Fizzy's leg". After taking Fizzy home, Caroline says she noticed that the dog was uncomfortable. "She kept licking her leg," she explained. "And underneath it was like a hole had been gouged out of her leg. I took her down to the vet and she needed three stitches in her leg. I went back to the salon and asked if she was going to pay the vet's bill but she said no."

Mandy Miller claims Fizzy's coat was in a terrible state when she arrived at Cutz 4 Mutz and insists the dog wasn't cut but had a burst abscess. Caroline disputes this and there's no mention of an abscess on the vets record.

So how common are accidents in the dog grooming industry? Karen Wright runs a salon in Cardiff and explained, "Dogs move, they fidget, we use big sharp scissors, we use clippers, all these things have a potential to harm in theory."

As Cutz 4 Mutz is a training academy, some of the grooming is carried out by students. Karen Wright believes it is especially important for trainees to be well-supervised. "It's everything really," she said. "There is no such thing as anything being the trainees' fault, ultimately until they are qualified and you deem they are ready, the salon owner is always responsible for them."

In the last year, sixty one students have paid more than 拢150,000 to train at the Cutz 4 Mutz academy in Llanelli, some funded by the Welsh government. Trainees are told that the courses lead to a "recognised qualification". However, Lantra Awards, which accredits the courses, insist that's not true and they've told the salon to remove the claim from their website.

Mandy Miller also insists trainees are "constantly supervised" - but not all her customers are convinced. Mark Bull took his dog Arthur, a Bichon Frise, to the salon in January this year on a student training day. At first he thought everything was fine. "He had nice green bows in his fur and looked pretty, we were happy", he explained. But the following morning Mark had a shock.

"Arthur was wincing, whimpering and shaking his head", he told X-Ray. "I was horrified when I saw two bands with green bows were tied around his ears, instead of in the fur. I tried to cut the bows off but he was going for me, he was in pain, howling. I took him back to the salon and the manageress cut the bows out and said he'd be all right."

However, within a couple of days Arthur's ears swelled up and began to turn black. The vet then had to amputate three quarters of one ear. Mark says he complained to Cutz 4 Mutz and says the salon owner Mandy Miller asked him to keep quiet about the incident, which he wasn't prepared to do. He posted comments on Facebook and was then shocked by what happened next.

"The police have visited twice, saying I was threatening", said Mark. "I've had solicitor's letters too. I feel really angry and aggrieved that I put trust in having my dog groomed and he's had his ear amputated, it should never have happened."

Cutz 4 Mutz told us that they do not accept blame for Arthur's injury and say he should have been taken to the vets sooner. They insist that the student who groomed Arthur didn't tie bows around his ears and that someone else must have done it after the dog left the salon - something Arthur's owner Mark denies.

Salon owner Mandy Miller also points out that she has hundreds of happy customers and makes every effort to follow health and safety standards. She also put X-Ray in touch with former students who said they were well-supervised during their training courses.

Meanwhile Lantra, the awarding body which approves the training courses at Cutz 4 Mutz, has temporarily suspended its links with Cutz for Mutz. They plan to carry out their own investigation and will visit the salon in April.

N.B. Cutz 4 Mutz in Llanelli is not connected with any other salon of the same name.

听

When Karen Young from Cardiff saw an offer for free face cream when browsing on the internet she thought it was too good to miss, especially as she only needed to pay the postage. She said: 鈥淭his advert popped up on the right hand side so I just clicked on it. It was for Revitaderm miracle wonder cream and it was a trial pack for 拢2.95 so I ordered it.鈥�

All she needed to do was fill in a few details - including her credit card number. She thought it was low risk and that not receiving products would be the worst case scenario. But it wasn't just one payment. In less than two months a company called Revitaderm took eight payments from Karen鈥檚 card totalling 拢417. The company, also known as Perfect Radiance, has been in the headlines recently with the Guardian claiming they had around 1,000 complaints about them. The Advertising Standards Authority have upheld complaints about their marketing techniques.

But after dozens of phone calls Karen did manage to get her money back.

In Newport pensioner Georgina Gibbons - who signed with a different companies Pure Life and HCGUltraLean- hasn't been so lucky. Georgina said: 鈥淚 was on Facebook and I sawn this advert stating that you could lose weight on a trial, 拢5.95 I thought right it's worth a try. I looked further and it had no obligations you know so I thought I'll try it, it's worth a try.鈥�

Like Karen, Georgina handover over her bank details and while she received one bottle of capsules and one bottle of drops, the company emptied her bank account. She said: 鈥淭hey took 拢143.76 out and that was everything that we had, as we're on a pension credit and there was only like 拢16 left in the bank. That was supposed to last us from Saturday to Saturday, it made me really, really ill. Taking money like that they don't care who you are do they?鈥�

These trials turn out to be a subscription service and when you give them your bank details you're听 actually signing up to something that's called continuous payment authority. It's a common, and legitimate, form of regular payments set up between you and a business. But the power all lies with the company so it's like handing over your purse to a complete stranger and trusting them with the contents. These are often confused with direct debits, but do not offer the same guarantee if the amount or date of the payment changes.

The power all lies with the company, in most cases, regular payments can be cancelled by telling the company taking the payments. However, you do have the right to cancel them directly with your bank or card issuer by telling it that you have stopped permission for the payments. Your bank or card issuer must then stop them 鈥� it has no right to insist that you agree this first with the company taking the payments.

And it鈥檚 not just the issue of the continuous payment authority, both Karen and Georgina gave their details over to the companies because the adverts appeared on websites they trusted 鈥� they didn鈥檛 realise the way internet advertising works. Internet security expert Richard Cox explains: 鈥淲ell on Facebook the adverts are quite frequently targeted as they are on other social media, by what you鈥檙e actually viewed in the past and what you've actually indicated that you liked. It forms a profile of you so that advert could be said to be targeted at you.听This is the same with some search engines like Google.鈥�

And when you click on these adverts you can often be taken to a specific section that the company wants you to see. Richard said: 鈥� You're taken to the advertisers website but not necessarily to the same page on that website that you would be taken to if you just typed the site' name into your computer. This is a problem, a big problem, because what you see won't necessarily be the same as what an investigator would see if they go back to that site after you think you're been scammed."

According to Richard the use of words like 鈥渇ree trials鈥� all make up an aggressive style of marketing.
He said: 鈥淭hey are setting up an environment where there is a mistake they want you to make and most people will make it.鈥�

And when it comes to tracking down these companies, it's not easy. We've been investigating the website Georgina used.听 The website only lists a PO Box in Scotland. But with a bit of digging we've found that banking is based in Malta, the website owner is in Germany, and if the customer service line in the Philippines is to be believed the actual company is based in Utah, America.

For Georgina it's been a costly lesson. The company are refusing to answer her emails and her bank has told her there is no chance of getting the money back via chargeback. We鈥檝e tried to contact all the companies involved but they have not responded to our letters and emails, and it seems Karen and Georgina are not alone in falling for these offers. These types of trials are a multi-billion dollar industry.
Just last week the authorities in America ordered one man to repay six hundred and fifty MILLION dollars to customers who'd lost out in cases like these.

Staying Safe Online
How can you avoid the costs that might be hiding in free trials?
*Research the company online. Before you sign up/purchase investigate the company, see what others are saying about these trials or their service.
*Don鈥檛 necessarily believe what is on the advert 鈥� Images, quotes, customer reviews and even locations might not be true.
*Find the terms and conditions for the offer. That includes offers online, on TV, in the newspaper, or on the radio. They might be hidden on the page and if you can't find them or can't understand exactly what you're agreeing to, don't sign up.
*Look for who's behind the offer. Just because you're buying something online from one company doesn't mean the offer or pop-up isn't from someone else.
*Watch out for pre-checked boxes. If you sign up for a free trial online, look for already-checked tick boxes. That box might give the company the green light to continue the offer past the free trial or sign you up for more products 鈥� only this time you have to pay.听听听听听听
*Mark your calendar. Your free trial probably has a time limit. Once it passes without you telling the company to cancel your "order," you may be on the hook for more products.
*Look for info on how you can cancel future shipments or services. If you don't want them, do you have to pay? Do you have a limited time to respond?
*Look for address and phone numbers 鈥� Where would you go if something went wrong?
*Read your credit and debit card statements. That way you'll know right away if you're being charged for something you didn't order.
*Think before entering your credit/debit card 鈥� If someone is offering something for 鈥渇ree鈥� or a 鈥渢rial鈥� and you need to enter you details for postage and packaging think twice. They might be signing you up to something more long-term.
*Cancel with your bank 鈥� You have the right to cancel a recurring payment with your bank. They have no right to insist you cancel with the company first.

.

听

Barclay Samson thought buying a new-build house in Newport would mean low maintenance, until waste water started leaking from his toilet. Barclay and his wife Claire bought their three bedroom townhouse from Bellway Homes in 2006 . But they say that, they rarely used the bathroom on the middle floor until recently.When they did, they say听 the toilet started to leak.

鈥淲e had sewage water all over the bathroom floor so a bit of a panic,鈥� said Barclay.鈥淭owels on the floor trying mop that water up and trying to contend with the smell as well.鈥�

Water also got into the space between the kitchen ceiling and the floor. An engineer took a look at the bathroom and found a problem with the pipework.

Barclay said: 鈥淏asically the leak itself came out the back of the waste pipe, literally just behind the toilet. The plumber came to repair that and that's when it became pretty obvious that there's a problem with the slope of the wastepipe itself. It's got a pretty obvious slope up hill. 鈥淯nless I was taught wrong at school on the laws of physics, that's clearly the wrong direction for water to flow.鈥�

Barclay got in touch with Bellway Homes, who disputed they were at fault. 鈥淭heir view was a bit of a surprise really because they felt that there was no come back on them,鈥� he said. 鈥淢ain reason being that they thought it couldn't be a major issue as it had taken so long to show itself, but as we talked about that bathroom has only really been started to be used over the last few months or so.鈥�

Barclay felt Bellway Homes should repair the pipework. 鈥淚t's pretty clear that there is an issue caused by their original work when the property was built.鈥�

Lucy got on the case for Barclay and found that the Supply of Goods & Services Act covers work done by tradespeople. It means that you should expect that a service is carried out with reasonable care and skill. In Barclay鈥檚 case, Bellway Homes pointed out that the house is six years old and as there hasn't been a leak in the bathroom until February of this year, they disputed any fault. They believe the leak is down to general wear and tear.

However, as a gesture of goodwill, they agreed to repair the bathroom free-of-charge.

If you have a story you'd like X-Ray to investigate, we'd love to hear from you.

Martin Harris

听大象传媒 Wales鈥� X-Ray programme has exposed serious flaws in a social network funded by a Welsh charity, which could put users, including children with learning disabilities, at risk from online predators.

The Special Friends website claims to be 鈥渙ne of the safest sites on the internet鈥�.听 Users with learning disabilities, their families and carers, are invited to sign up and communicate with other members via chatrooms and personal messages.听

X-Ray presenter Rachel Treadaway-Williams was able to register as a member using a fictitious name, date of birth and address.听 Using her alter-ego 鈥� a 14 year old boy called David Jones 鈥� Rachel was able to search a database of more than 5,000 members, narrowing down the criteria to 10-15 year olds in a particular area.听 Some children included photographs of themselves, their full names, schools and clubs they attended - information which could leave them open to approaches from strangers online.

Social network expert Hywel Dance was asked to test the site鈥檚 security by X-Ray.听 As 鈥淐lark Kent鈥�, a teenage boy, he demonstrated problems in the site鈥檚 profanity filter and said there aren鈥檛 any checks that users are who they say they are when they sign up to Special Friends.听 He told X-Ray 鈥淓ven as a 40 year old man I was able to sign up and do searches for kids.听 Even if I'm honest I can do searches for kids.鈥�

X-Ray took its findings to Carol Boys, Chief Executive of The Down's Syndrome Association.听 She said 鈥淚 think it's absolutely terrifying that there doesn't appear to be a proper safeguarding system in place.听 If people can just log on and immediately start talking to people with learning disabilities, there has to be some kind of safeguarding system put in place to make sure that cannot happen.鈥�

Since 2009 the social network has received over 拢50,000 of funding from Welsh charity Follow Your Dreams, based in Talbot Green.听 The charity raises money at roadshows where they say they make children鈥檚 dreams come true.听 The roadshows are run by the charity鈥檚 founder, Martin Harris from Cardiff, who also owns the company behind Special Friends.

The roadshows have also been criticised by other organisations.听 The DSA鈥檚 Carol Boys said 鈥淲e feel really uncomfortable about the idea of people with learning disabilities performing in public and money being collected which is not necessarily going to them - it's going somewhere else.鈥�

Since 2009 Follow your Dreams has paid over 拢160,000 to companies controlled by Martin Harris.听 Dr Paul Dunn wrote the report into AWEMA which led to the Welsh Assembly Government terminating funding to that charity.听 X-Ray asked him to look into Follow Your Dreams鈥� accounts and he said, 鈥淚t does appear that a significant proportion, perhaps a majority, of the money is going through contractual relationships with private organisations which Mr Harris is involved in as well.

What, for me is concerning about this is there are a lot of organisations involved and it's not clear, I think, that most of the money that's being raised is going to the charity for the purposes they set out.鈥�

Originally the charity was called the Greg Silvester Trust, named after a young man with Down鈥檚 Syndrome who Martin Harris claims was his inspiration for setting up the charity.听 Greg and his family told X-Ray they had no idea that the charity had been registered as The Greg Silvester Trust - although Martin Harris insists they knew the facts.听

Follow Your Dreams is currently being investigated by the Charity Commission.听 In a statement they say 鈥淭he Charity Commission opened a regulatory compliance case into the charity Follow Your Dreams (registered charity no.1106379) on 8 March 2011.

Our investigation relates to the charity's overall governance, fundraising policies and procedures and financial management, such as the repeated late submission of its accounts and annual return.鈥澨� According to accounts submitted to the Charity Commission, Follow Your Dreams鈥� income rose from 拢13,831 in 2006 to 拢269,675 in 2011.

Martin Harris told X-Ray he earns 拢15,000 a year running the roadshows which he says thousands of children have benefitted from.听 He said Follow Your Dreams GB Limited which received over 拢100,000 from the charity, was a trading arm which funded awareness raising and the roadshows. He says the roadshows are lucky to break even.听 He's investigating the security issues X-Ray highlighted with the Special Friends website.

Sue Sugarman has worked for Follow Your Dreams since 2009.听 Last year she took over as Chief Executive of the charity. She told X-Ray 鈥淲e sponsor Special Friends because it's a wonderful site鈥�.听 When confronted with the evidence that bogus users could access the network of users, including vulnerable children, Ms Sugarman said she would investigate the problems.

Rachel Treadaway-Williams asked, 鈥淲ill you question now whether Follow Your Dreams continues to fund this site?鈥� Ms Sugarman replied 鈥淥f course I will.鈥澨� She told the programme she couldn鈥檛 discuss how the charity had been run in the past but said it is now being run 鈥渁s it should be鈥� and most of the charity鈥檚 money is spent on making dreams come true.

Following the interview, X-Ray was informed that Special Friends have carried out a thorough investigation.听 They say it has been up to their users to protect their privacy - but they are looking to change that.听 Once security is improved, Sue Sugarman hopes Follow Your Dreams will continue funding the site.

听

听

听A family鈥檚 winter break at a holiday camp in Somerset turned into a nightmare after fire broke out in a neighbouring chalet.

Yvonne and Paul Davies, from Gilfach Goch, said they lost thousands of pounds worth of their belongings in the fire at Pontins in Brean Sands.

Paul said, 鈥淲e'd gone to bed early because we were going to be travelling home the next day. We were woken by fire.

鈥淚 could hear screaming from kids next door 鈥楪et out there's a fire鈥�. I was in a state of shock really. The flames were 10-15 foot above chalet.鈥�

Six fire teams rushed to the fire but the chalets were razed to the ground. Their 86-year-old grandfather Raymond, staying in one of the chalets, was treated for smoke inhalation and four others were taken to hospital.

鈥淚 still think about it constantly, the smell, can still smell that smell, if we hadn't have got out then, we wouldn't have got out of there.听 I could have lost my whole family - my husband's family was there. It could have been a whole generation of people gone,鈥� says Yvonne.

In all, Yvonne had booked three chalets at Pontins for all of the families.

Husband Paul and baby Mason, sister-in-law Angela, fiancee Kevin and their sons,听 parents in law Vicky and Brian and the head of the family, Raymond, were all at the site.

Christmas presents, smart clothes as well as sentimental items, including an eternity ring given to Yvonne by her grandmother, were lost in the fire.

However, when she contacted the company they told her the fire wasn鈥檛 their fault and so they weren鈥檛 liable for anything lost.

X-Ray asked travel lawyer Mark Harvey whether there was anything, Yvonne and her family could do to get the value of their goods back from Pontins.

He said: 鈥淚n order to make a successful claim the Davies鈥� would have to prove that the fire was the fault of Pontins. But when something happens that is beyond the control of a company, for instance if one of the other guests did something that causes a problem, then Pontins are unlikely to be held responsible for that, even though you might say morally they should do so.鈥�

X-Ray has been in touch with Pontins and they say they hadn鈥檛 received the letter that Yvonne sent them.听 They now say they will consider making a goodwill gesture to the Davies family.

Reg and Louise Lacey

听

Pensioners Reg and Louise Lacey, from Hengoed, rely on their family for many things 鈥� and not least, for their help in preparing home-cooked food.

Meals, specially prepared and placed in the couple鈥檚 freezer by relatives, are a lifeline especially because Louise is diabetic and has low blood pressure.

Reg said: 鈥淪he (Louise) gets giddy and she'll fall over.听 So very rarely we leave the house.鈥�

When the Lacey鈥檚 freezer unexpectedly broke down after 18 months, they lost lots of much-needed food.

Reg said, 鈥淭hat's the only way I can get by. Regular frozen meals keeping Louise going you know.
鈥淚 went down one morning for a frozen meal and found the meals that were there were not frozen anymore and they had gone quite soft and obviously the food inside was of no use.鈥�

Reg got in touch with Comet, who supplied the freezer, and the company told him they could come out and repair it for 拢125.

He said the first engineer came along and the freezer was working briefly but the following morning it was back square one.

Reg told X-Ray that the freezer kept breaking down and the couple lost more food. Three months later Comet said it couldn't be fixed and they agreed to refund half the repair costs.

Reg said: 鈥淲ell, we thought that was very poor recompense for all that we had experienced.听 Eighteen months is nothing for a freezer, surely.听 A working freezer would be the answer, surely?鈥�

Lucy got on the Case and found out the couple have a right to expect their freezer to last more than 18 months.

Comet said because the couple didn鈥檛 take out the warranty they won鈥檛 replace the freezer but they have apologised and given Reg and Louise 拢250, which covers the cost of the repair and leaves them with 拢190 to buy a new freezer.

Reg said: 鈥淚 want to thank you for all that you have done on our behalf.听 Louise and I are forever grateful and Louise and I can go out and buy a new freezer.鈥�

听

听

Lucy looks at her laptop outside the Millennium Stadium

Tickets for Wales鈥� Grand Slam match against France are on sale for 拢1,000, X-Ray has found.
Internet reselling sites 鈥� where fans and touts can resell tickets for any price they like 鈥� are full of tickets for Wales closing Six Nations game in Cardiff on March 17.

Viagogo, one of the biggest sites, has had tickets for 拢599, 拢899 and 拢999. Other big resellers like

Seatwave are also advertising tickets for over 拢600.

But ruby fan Jon Eastwood听 from Porthmadog is particularly angered by another reseller Getmein 鈥� which was听 again selling tickets for over 拢600. The website is owned by Ticketmaster 鈥� the official ticketing agents of the WRU.

Jon can鈥檛 understand why the company is allowed to do this and believes this kind of touting is killing the game for ordinary fans.

鈥淚've loved rugby all my life. It's just one of those things those sporting events that brings the country together,鈥� he said.

鈥淚鈥檝e been online looking for tickets and when you do tend to find these sites they do tend to go for ridiculous kinds of money.听 Some for six or seven hundred pounds a ticket, which is really a lot of money to spend. It's just not fair. It's stopping real fans from going by selling these tickets above market value.鈥�

The WRU ticketing terms and conditions ban the sale of tickets for above face value.听 But unlike football tickets or tickets for the Olympics, it is perfectly legal for touts to make a profit selling on the black market.

The WRU refused to say if they had put pressure on Ticketmaster to pull tickets from the Getmein site but they say they 鈥渕onitors any secondary sales of match tickets on a daily basis鈥�.

听
鈥淲here it is possible to establish the purchaser of the tickets, the WRU will take all available action to ensure the removal of the tickets from sale,鈥� they said in a statement.

鈥淭he includes but is not limited to, sanctions being levied against the registered holder, cancellation of the tickets and the blacklisting of customers to prevent them from any future purchase of international tickets.鈥�

The WRU say they want the touting of rugby tickets to be illegal in the same way as football tickets.

听

Charly Tabash chats to Rachel

This week X-Ray鈥檚 been back on the case of Newport builder Stephen Roberts who left one former army doctor with an expensive and unfinished home renovation.

We first told you about this story in February when doctor Tom Cayless decided to renovate his first home using Newport-based Buildtech Construction 33 Ltd, run by Stephen Roberts.

Tom was quoted 拢22,000 for an 8 week job last April. But 11 months and 拢34,000 later the work still isn't finished.

Tom said, 鈥淚 can't move in in the state that it is in at the moment, the electricity hasn't been completed, the central heating hasn't been completed, there's no bathroom fitted so it's completely uninhabitable at the minute.鈥�

After X-Ray wrote to him, Stephen Roberts hired a quantity surveyor who claimed the finished work would be worth听 拢35,000. Mr Roberts said there were only two weeks left to finish the job. But when we sent chartered surveyor Tim Davies to examine Tom's house he had a different view.

Tim told us, 鈥淚'd say there's about 6-8 weeks to do this properly. I can't see how you could justify 拢34,000 worth of work having being properly completed in the property. My view is that this is more likely to be around the low 拢20,000 sort of mark.鈥�

Tim Davies was shocked by the mess left in the back garden and the standard of work that had been carried out.

鈥淢y main concern is that a lot of work is still outstanding and a lot of work that's been supposedly completed hasn't been done correctly in the right sequence.听 I am very concerned about things like lead pipework being left in, it's readily identifiable. To leave the old lead piping is quite unforgivable.

鈥滷rom what I've seen it doesn't convince me that this has been carried out by experienced building professionals.鈥�

听
It's a worrying picture but Mr Roberts promised in February he was always going to finish Tom's property听.

At the time Stephen Roberts told us that his business had run into difficulties because his previous business partner had taken money from him.

He reassured us verbally he would finish the job and that it should take two weeks, but he later seemed to back track on that promise.

But Dr Cayless is not the only one to be left severely out of pocket after hiring Stephen Roberts. In Cardiff Charly Tabash has had a similar experience.

Mr Tabash wanted to renovate a property in Cardiff into two flats. Stephen Roberts came highly recommended by a builder he鈥檇 used in the past. Thinking he was in safe hands, Charly hired them both last September 鈥� at the same time as Tom was waiting for his renovation to be finished.

Like Tom, Charly saw that Mr Roberts displayed Guild Of Master Craftsmen logos on his official paperwork and vans. They both believed they were genuine but when we got in contact with the Guild they said Stephen Roberts was not a member.

Charly was quoted 拢45,000 for a 10-week renovation and like Tom, he was assured听 the balance was due when the job was complete.

He said, 鈥淲ell they've asked from the start to be paid half in cash, half by cheque but every time I came to write a cheque for them they refused to take it and they would say they want to pay the wages for their builders, so in the end I had to run and get the cash every time, and there was one week in particular where I had to go with them to a building supplying merchant and I had to give them 拢2,000 myself to the supplier."

Six months later Charly had paid around 拢48,000 and despite a string of unfinished jobs he hadn't seen the builders since December.

He said,听 鈥淭he last three months it's been a nightmare cos I want it finished to rent it out and since beginning of December nothing happened on this house.鈥�

Like Tom, Charly is still waiting for the big jobs like plumbing to be finished.听 Stephen Roberts has told him that the builder who introduced them has taken some of the money Charly paid for the work, but that builder told Charly a different story.

Charly said, 鈥淭hey are blaming each other and I am right in the middle and I do not know who to believe now.鈥�

If it sounds familiar that鈥檚 because Tom Cayless was told something similar. Mr Roberts told us that Tom Cayless's renovation had fallen into difficulty because a previous business associate had taken money. He stopped working with him, but didn't call the police.

听
We鈥檝e been in contact with Mr Roberts and he鈥檚 now been back to Tom and Charly's properties and is promising to finish the work. Previously Tom and Charly had tried unsuccessfully to get him to go back to their properties and finish the work.

He has declined to comment on the standard of work in Dr Tom Cayless鈥� property and the findings of chartered surveyor Tim Daives.

When X-Ray spoke to Mr Roberts he is still blaming the two previous business associates who he says took money from him that had paid to complete the work. However, he has never provided X-Ray of any proof of this.

Rhodri Owen walking a dog

Cherie Morgan, who has walked her dogs on a field in Nantgylo for 30 years, is angered about a recent change in policy at the local authority.

She said, 鈥淚鈥檝e been using this playing field for 30 years since 1979 when I moved to Nantyglo. I鈥檝e always walked my dogs, everyone in the area has walked their dogs.鈥�

Her three year old Jack Russell was being walked by her grandson Kristian in January when he had a bit of a surprise. He was told by two security guards that he was breaking the law.

Cherie said,鈥� My grandson said 鈥榃hat have I done鈥� and they said 鈥榊ou鈥檙e in the dog exclusion zone鈥� and they issued him with a 拢70 fixed penalty notice.

Cherie was unaware that the council had created a dog exclusion zone in the playing fields. It鈥檚 all part of their new Dog Control Orders which apply to several public places in Blaenau Gwent.

She said, 鈥淚 was so annoyed, I didn鈥檛 know I was breaking the law, there's no way this fine will be paid. I will go to any court, prison but I will not pay the fine.鈥�

Blaenau Gwent Council says there was publicity for the new rules in the lead up to the change-over听 but Cherie claims there aren鈥檛 enough signs showing where you can and can鈥檛 walk your dog.听

听X-Ray鈥檚 Rhodri听 Owen went to meet Cherie to check out the signs and asked her to point some out.
She said, 鈥淲ell this is my point, we鈥檝e used the entrance for 30 years, if we don鈥檛 know we鈥檙e breaking the law how can they fine us? If there was a sign here saying, obviously we wouldn鈥檛 use it.鈥�

Cherie isn鈥檛 the only one who was unaware of the changes.听 Dog owner Ken Jones has been walking his pet Choc in the playing fields for years and at the entrance he uses , there are no signs.

He said, 鈥淭wo chappies came across and said the dog was off the lead and in an exclusion zone and they were going to summons me, I said well there鈥檚 no fences here, no signs to say I can't bring the dog here.鈥�
Ken was given a 拢75 fine and said he found the penalty harsh.

鈥淭he fine was hard for me and my wife to have to pay it because we're both pensioners but we were so worried about it to pay it, because if it went to court, we'd have to pay extra, wouldn't we?鈥�

Welsh Assembly Guidelines for Dog Control orders state signs must be placed at regular intervals, on or near land to which the order applies.听 That's not the case at the entrance Cherie and Mr Jones use.

When Rhodri visited one of the playing field entrances, there was a sign 鈥� and in one green area dogs are allowed in 鈥� but another area, marked red, it is a dog-free zone.

But, as Rhodri found, there is confusion as to where the exclusion zone starts and ends 鈥� and dog walkers say if they enter the park through the main gates, they have got to go through the exclusion zone to get to the area where they can walk their dogs.

Blaenau Gwent Council say that although the entrance Cherie Morgan uses is a right of way, it is not an official entrance.

They say there are signs at the official entrances - and they'll look into whether they can make it clearer for dog walkers to understand where they can - and can't go.

Andy Collett and Sarah Williams chat to Rachel

听

Andy Collett and partner Sarah Williams from Abergavenny thought a holiday to Las Vegas would be the trip of a lifetime.

鈥淚t was a dream holiday for us,鈥� Andy told X-Ray presenter Lucy Owen.

鈥淲e've never been to somewhere so far away; it's always been a couple of beach holidays here and there.鈥�
The couple were due to fly in August last year but then, just a few weeks before, Sarah was given some devastating news.

鈥淚'd had an ulcer that wasn't healing so I went to see my GP鈥� she said.

鈥淗e diagnosed me with oral thrush and gave me some antibiotics but it didn't help so I went back a few weeks later where I had a biopsy taken and it was diagnosed as oral cancer.鈥�

The biopsy revealed Sarah had cancer of the tongue. She faced lengthy treatment.

鈥淚t was 10 hours in surgery where they removed about a third of the part of the tongue,鈥� she said.
鈥淭hey replaced it with a graft from my arm and I had to have my lymph glands removed.鈥�

The couple鈥檚 holiday company immediately refunded half of the 拢2,200 break, and advised they should claim the rest from their travel insurance.

Andy got in touch with Columbus Direct - but after months of waiting they rejected the claim.

Sarah told Lucy: 鈥淭hey tried to say that we knew that I had the cancer before we took out the insurance, because I鈥檇 visited my GP, about what we assumed was just an innocent ulcer.鈥�

鈥淎ll we want is the remainder of the money back,鈥� said Andy. 鈥淎nd a conclusion to it all.鈥�

Lucy got on the case for Sarah and Andy and found that the Financial Ombudsman Service can help if you have a problem with your travel insurance company.

They advise that you register a dispute with the company first, giving them eight weeks to look into the problem. If you're still not happy, the Ombudsman will take up your case. Interestingly, last year there was a 27% increase in complaints about travel insurance.

In Andy and Sarah鈥檚 case, Columbus Direct said they refused the claim because they thought the insurance policy had been bought after Sarah was diagnosed with cancer. They blamed a mix up with the dates on her medical notes.

However, they did admit the claim hadn't been handled satisfactorily and that Sarah had suffered unnecessarily as a result.

Columbus Direct vowed to review their procedures and settled the claim in full, sending a cheque for 拢1,180.

And Sarah and Andy have now booked another holiday to Las Vegas.

Ceri Evans chatting to Rachel

They're quick to take your money, but many X-Ray viewers are telling us that claims management companies often don't deliver the punch they promised.

Boxer Joe Calzaghe is the public face of Cwmbran-based 鈥榃e Fight Any Claim鈥� but the man behind the company, Simon Chorlton is also someone X-Ray knows well. He's the boss of 鈥榊es Loans鈥�, another company that's left many viewers out of pocket.听

When 鈥榃e Fight Any Claim鈥� cold-called Ceri Evans from Neath in August 2010 they told her she could claim back more than two thousand pounds of payment protection insurance, or PPI, they said she'd been mis-sold.

Ceri told X-Ray, 鈥淚 didn't think I had PPI as my father was guarantor for the loan, so I didn't need insurance. They made out that in first phone call that they had my records in front of them and that I definitely had this PPI.鈥�

鈥榃e Fight Any Claim鈥� told Ceri that they charged a 30% fee for any successful payout, but she assumed she鈥檇 pay at the end of the process. She agreed to pay 拢245 to start the claim but within days the company demanded the rest of the money.
听
鈥淚 was really upset,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 panicked, because I didn't have that money. I asked if I could cancel and he said no, if I cancelled they'd take me to court for remainder of fees.鈥� In total, Ceri paid 拢700 on her credit card, hoping 鈥榃e Fight Any Claim鈥� had told her the truth, that her bank did owe her more than two thousand pounds.

However Ceri's bank, Halifax, confirmed what she knew all along - there was no PPI on her account. Even then, We Fight Any Claim refused to throw in the towel, saying they'd continue to chase Halifax as banks often don't investigate claims properly.

Eighteen months on, there's still no sign of a payout. Ceri has tried to cancel her claim but was told she鈥檇 owe the company thousands of pounds for the hours they鈥檇 already spent on her case.

Like Ceri, Yvonne Westmacott from Fairbourne in Gwynedd didn't think she had PPI, but the company insisted she did, when they called her out of the blue a year ago. 鈥淗e was very pushy and wouldn't give up鈥�, she explained. 鈥淗e asked what credit cards and what mortgages I鈥檝e got and told me I could possibly get 拢9000 back.鈥� However, she was told she鈥檇 have to pay a huge fee to proceed.

鈥淗e said for the one claim you have to pay 拢659 and for the other claim we want 拢2121鈥�, she said. 鈥淚f we don't get you that money back we'll refund your money straight away.鈥�

Yvonne was persuaded to pay almost 拢2800 but her mortgage and credit card companies soon confirmed there was no PPI on her accounts. Since then, Yvonne's had some of her fees back from We Fight Any Claim, but a year on they still owe her more than 拢2000.

The Ministry of Justice is supposed to act as a referee, checking that claims companies aren't breaching of its code of conduct. But are they doing enough to knock this industry into shape? They say they are now monitoring 鈥榃e Fight Any Claim鈥� closely and have placed restrictions on the company, which is no longer taking upfront fees.

In a recent undercover survey, 鈥榃e Fight Any Claim鈥� told a researcher at Which? that their success rate was 90% compared to 10% if you claimed yourself. James Daley from Which? told X-Ray, 鈥淚t鈥檚 absolutely not true that claims management companies give you any greater chance of success.鈥�.

The consumer organisation wants to see the Ministry of Justice doing more to regulate the industry. 鈥淲e want to see a ban cold calling, a ban on upfront fees,鈥� James Daley explained. 鈥淭here's absolutely no need to pay an upfront fee to a claims management company. We don't think you should use one at all but if you really want to, at least go with one that doesn't charge you a fee till end of process.鈥澨�

鈥榃e Fight Any Claim鈥� told X-Ray they're sorry Ceri and Yvonne aren't happy with their service and they've launched an investigation into their complaints about unacceptable staff behaviour. They also say a member of staff should never have claimed that their success rate was 90% instead of 10% if you claim for yourself.

And there's good news. Due to the long delays, they're going to give both customers full refunds - that's almost 拢700 for Ceri and more than 拢2000 for Yvonne. Both their banks have told us there was never anything to claim anyway. As for Joe Calzaghe, he's not involved in the day to day running of the company and his father, Enzo, says the boxer doesn't want to comment.

Remember, you don't need to use a claims management company to reclaim PPI from your bank or lender. You can do it yourself for free, using a template letter from one of these consumer websites:

听

Aaron Marshall听

听Nine million people were traced for debts last year 鈥� a number that鈥檚 on the rise.

听And with many of us sharing the same name, mistakes can happen. But a year after proving his identity, X-Ray viewer Aaron Marshall was still being chased for debts he鈥檇 never accrued.

听鈥淚've never been in debt, never had a loan鈥�, Aaron told Lucy Owen. 鈥淚'm really careful with money鈥�.

听So when he received a letter through the post from NatWest chasing for payment of an overdue overdraft Aaron was a little surprised - particularly because he had never banked with them, let alone taken out debt with them, 鈥淚 started receiving phone calls from NatWest saying I owe them money and thought nothing of it, you got the wrong person and then I started receiving letters in the post, threatening to take me to court, and I have to pay them back soon, and they just wouldn鈥檛 stop, wouldn't leave me alone.鈥�

And over the next few weeks he received even more letters for unpaid debts including a serious demand and a formal notice that the bank intended to 鈥渇ile a default鈥� and 鈥渢ake action to recover debt鈥�.听

听The problem was this Aaron Marshall had been mistaken for another Aaron Marshall, based 200 miles away in the Doncaster area and the two Aaron鈥檚 also shared a date of birth.

Four years ago one million people were being traced for debt, now that figure鈥檚 risen to nine million and the tracing agencies say sometimes, inevitably, the wrong people can be chased for debts they don't owe.

听Luckily for Aaron, he managed to prove his identity and NatWest promised they would amend their records. But the letters didn鈥檛 stop.

NatWest had passed the incorrect Doncaster addresses onto the various credit rating agencies, and this got Aaron really worried, 鈥淗ere's my credit report, and there's a load of addresses in Doncaster which I have never lived in. I want to get a mortgage later this year and I was really worried that this would really harm my application.鈥�

Every time anyone tries to get a loan or a credit agreement a lender looks at their credit rating and if they鈥檙e linked to a lot of debt or missed payments then they may look like a risky bet and it could prevent them from getting a loan, mortgage or even a mobile phone contract.

Aaron needed NatWest to tell the ratings agencies about their mistake, 鈥淚 have been at the end of my tether. I went to the bank so many times to sort it out. It's been incredibly stressful,鈥� he told X-Ray, 鈥淭his shouldn't be allowed to happen, it could have stopped me getting a mortgage, trashed my life.鈥�

NatWest apologised for the length of time it had taken to 鈥渇ully action his complaint鈥�. They have promised to amend his records and have offered compensation for the trouble. Credit reference agency, Experian has also said sorry and explained, 鈥渄ue to the similarities between your viewer鈥檚 details and someone else鈥檚, a number of lenders created links between them on our database.After Mr Marshall contacted us, we liaised with the lenders concerned and updated his report. Unfortunately, due to human error, we overlooked a duplicate link.

鈥淲e鈥檙e sending Mr Marshall a new report that will confirm that all links have been removed.鈥�

Experian also advises people to regularly check their credit rating through or the other main agencies - and听to ensure there is nothing unusual or unexpected showing. The Credit Services Agency, which represents debt collectors, advises if you receive a letter chasing you for debt which you do not owe, don鈥檛 throw it away.

听Get in touch and provide identity information 鈥� it will help you out in the long run.

Hannah Banks in her Peugeot

Since we got Mike Thane鈥檚 Peugeot fixed a few weeks ago Rhodri Owen鈥檚 been meeting other Peugeot owners who鈥檝e also been feeling very nervous behind the wheel.

Mike from Cardiff complained about his 308 cutting out while he was driving it which he said was dangerous.

And now John Vaughan of Wrexham has told us about his 307 which does the same thing when he鈥檚 on the road.

鈥淲ell, it would just cut out on you and as soon as you stop you turn the key and away you go again,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut if you're in the middle of a traffic queue you never know what's going to happen.

His local garage couldn鈥檛 fix the car so he took it to Peugeot but although they have suggested a remedy, John can鈥檛 afford it so he鈥檚 stuck with a faulty car that cost 拢4,500.

And he鈥檚 not the only one stuck with an expensive car that鈥檚 misbehaving 鈥� Hannah Banks of Cwmbran has a Peugeot 207 with the same problem.

鈥淭he car would all of a sudden come to a complete standstill,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t would lose power completely, no warning, and just die in the middle of where I was driving.

鈥淚t was an absolute nightmare.鈥�

Her local garage couldn鈥檛 fix the car either. Peugeot were able to stop the problem by updating the car鈥檚 computer software but after ten days it came back.

Hannah agreed to test her car on camera in lanes around her home in Cwmbran 鈥� it cut out while we were filming.

Also in the programme, we hear about Bethan Powell from Cardiff and her Peugeot 207 convertible.

It鈥檚 been cutting out too but has just been back to Peugeot for treatment.

Car expert Gareth Rees carried out an inspection on Hannah Banks鈥� car which cut while he was driving it too.

He says that when faults do occur on the car its on-board computer isn鈥檛 recording the actual fault so when it goes for diagnostic testing it鈥檚 not being picked up.

That鈥檚 why local garages haven鈥檛 been able to fix the cars 鈥� because they can鈥檛 find out what鈥檚 causing them to cut-out.

Peugeot say in a statement that there is not a problem common to Mike, John, Hannah and Bethan鈥檚 cars.

They suggest that if these cars鈥� computers haven鈥檛 picked up a problem then perhaps there wasn鈥檛 one or maybe it was outside the scope of the sensors.

It might have been poor maintenance, poor quality fuel or worn components, however, they can鈥檛 say for sure without looking at the cars.

And the company has promised that they鈥檒l carry out a full assessment of all the cars to find out what鈥檚 wrong with them.