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Episode 2

Welsh consumer magazine. Rachel Treadaway-Williams investigates a company which claims to help people sign up for a government scheme to make homes more energy efficient.

Rachel investigates a South Wales company which claims to help people sign up for the Green Deal, the government scheme to make homes more energy efficient. But some viewers are furious after paying hundreds of pounds for an assessment that never took place.

Lucy meets 30 council workers from Neath who spent six months planning a special Beatles-themed weekend to Liverpool. At the last minute, the hotel chain told them their rooms had been double booked and offered them an alternative trip. But the group were far from impressed with their stay at a shabby hotel 200 miles away.

To what extend should consumers should trust customer ratings online? Rhodri meets two people who read glowing recommendations for builders on the same website, but their experiences were less than five star. X-Ray conducts its own experiment to see how reliable ratings websites for trade professionals really are.

30 minutes

Last on

Mon 20 May 2013 20:30

Dishwasher Fires Update

Dishwasher Fires Update

Viewers have been contacting X-Ray after seeing our report on dishwasher fires last week. We reported how one fire devastated a family鈥檚 home in Llanfyllin, Mid Wales and killed their two dogs.

The blaze, in March this year, was caused by a faulty control panel in the Gittins鈥 Bosch dishwasher. It wasn't a one off - other fires had already led Bosch to recall more than 600,000 dishwashers. The company says it wrote to Mrs Gittins, but she insists she never received a letter.

We also reported that one of the biggest names in electricals, Hotpoint, has decided not to recall one of its dishwashers, even though it's got exactly the same fault as the Bosch machines. Some Hotpoint dishwashers made between 1999 and 2003 were actually made by Bosch so they have the same fault. But Hotpoint say very few would still be in use now, which is why they're not recalling them.

X-Ray received lots of emails and calls from concerned dishwasher owners including Neil Fowler from Risca, near Newport. He owned a Hotpoint dishwasher, made in 2000, but in May 2012 he says it caught fire, leaving his whole house smoke damaged and covered in soot. It meant the family had to move out for six months while the house was renovated. We've passed his case onto Hotpoint who say they'll look into it.

Here鈥檚 that safety advice again:

Bosch want to hear from people who own a Bosch, Neff or Siemens dishwasher made between 1999 and early 2005, and bought in the UK. The affected machines, which are subject to a safety recall are in the batch number range from FD 7901 to FD 8504. Dishwashers outside of this batch number range are unaffected. You can call Bosch鈥檚 repair action line on 0800 023 4881 or visit their website:

Hotpoint say that if you own a DWF3 series dishwasher, made between 1999 and 2003, and have concerns about it you can call their customer service line on 08448 221 313. There is not a product recall in place.

However, there is a recall in place for another Hotpoint dishwasher that has, in a small number of cases, overheated and caught fire. The manufacturer wants to hear from customers who own a FDW20/FDW60/FDW65A dishwasher, made between June 2006 and March 2007. Hotpoint say if the first five digits of the serial number are between S/N 60601 and S/N 70331 then your machine is affected. Again, you should call their customer service line on 08448 221 313.

Green Deal or Raw Deal

The Green Deal began in January 2013, with the aim of helping people make their homes more energy efficient. However, X-Ray has discovered that some customers of one Cardiff company feel they鈥檝e had a raw deal instead.

Becoming Green UK Ltd contacted Lesley Moule from Cardiff in January, when the Green Deal was launched.听 鈥淚 was cold called by someone who said they were doing this scheme for the government and that I basically I could have double glazing done at no cost,鈥 Lesley told X-Ray reporter, Rachel-Treadaway Williams.

The Green Deal is a government-backed scheme that allows you take out a loan to pay for home improvements like solar panels and double glazing. The money you save on your energy bills is then used to repay that loan. You can get the ball rolling by finding an official assessor for free through the Green Deal website ( ).

Becoming Green UK Ltd told Lesley she would have to pay a 鈥榡oining up鈥 fee of 拢299 and that her cheque would not be cashed until a after they鈥檇 arranged for an assessor to visit her home. 鈥淚t made it sound as though you couldn't lose basically,鈥 she added.

But it seems Becoming Green UK Ltd don't always stick to their side of the deal.When an assessor failed to show up, Lesley checked her bank account and discovered Becoming Green UK Ltd had cashed her cheque. 鈥淚 started phoning the company and could never ever get through,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd I was beginning to wonder whether a real company existed.鈥滱nd Lesley鈥檚 not alone.

Gillian and Gwyn Jones from Tonyrefail were visited by a Becoming Green UK Ltd salesman in February. Just like Lesley, the couple were asked to pay up front. 鈥淚f we give him a cheque for 拢164 when the assessor came out if we or he decides that the Green Deal isn't for us, we have the cheque back and we could just rip it up,鈥 said Gillian. But once again the cheque was cashed and there was no sign of an assessor.

Like Lesley, Gillian and Gwyn tried and failed to get in contact with Becoming Green UK Ltd 鈥 so the determined pensioners decided to visit the company鈥檚 Cardiff-office. Their trip did the trick and the firm soon coughed up the money.

But the company records reveal a clue as to why the firm may be reluctant to give customers their money back. We discovered that company director Mr Muhith has more than 拢34,000 worth of unpaid county court judgements against him, plus a whopping 拢61,000 against another company he owns.

Trading standards say they're concerned and are investigating lots of complaints from people who say they've been deceived by the company. When X-Ray got in touch with Mr Muhith, he insisted Becoming Green UK Ltd offer a 'unique and valuable service'. We put our viewers鈥 complaints to him and he blamed financial problems and rogue sales people, who have now been sacked. The firm has now given our viewers all their money back though.

For more information about the Green Deal, and to find a local assessor, visit:

Beatles Trip Troubles

Beatles Trip Troubles

The Beatles taught us about asking for 鈥淗elp!鈥 And three ladies from Neath Port Talbot Council did just that, when Lucy Owen visited them to find out why their 鈥淭icket to Ride鈥 was cancelled.

Social Services Manager Jean Davies is a big Beatles fan. She was due to retire and her colleagues wanted to send her off in style, so planned a special trip to her heroes鈥 home town of Liverpool, for a 鈥楳agical Mystery Tour鈥 of all the Beatles sights. Two of her colleagues took on the challenge and arranged for 30 team members to go along 鈥 booking rooms at the famous Adelphi Hotel six months in advance.

But disaster struck when, just ten days before they were due to leave, the Adelphi cancelled the booking telling them there had been a computer system error and they鈥檇 been double booked. Britannia Hotels Group offered a number of alternative hotels and they eventually decided to abandon their Beatles weekend and settled on The Roundhouse in Bournemouth. But things went from bad to worse when the group arrived. The group told Lucy there was a strong smell of smoke, stains on the walls, dirty net curtains, a bath that had to be cleaned before it could be used, grubby cracked tiles and filthy windows.

X-Ray has investigated the Roundhouse before when two years ago viewer Arwyn Williams complained about his filthy room and grotty stay. And online reviews paint a similar picture.

The team returned to Neath a little dejected to say the least. As one of Jean鈥檚 team told X-Ray, 鈥淚t wasn't the weekend that we wanted to give her - she deserved better than that鈥.

When we contacted Britannia Hotels they told X-Ray they had no other complaints from guests at the Roundhouse in Bournemouth that weekend, but they have now offered Jean a special discounted rate to stay at the Adelphi in Liverpool - or any of their other hotels - in the future.

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Lucy Owen
Presenter Rhodri Owen
Reporter Rachel Treadaway-Williams
Series Producer Joanne Dunscombe

Broadcast