Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

Episode 12

Since the horsemeat scandal food fraud is under the spotlight. Rachel Treadaway-Williams finds out if those kebabs and pizzas are really what they seem.

Since the horsemeat scandal, we're all keen to know exactly what we're eating. With food fraud under the spotlight, X-Ray joins an operation targeting takeaways. Rachel Treadaway-Williams finds out if those kebabs and pizzas are really what they seem. Eighty year old Jim Jones from Llanelli dreamed of owning a train set since he was a little boy. But when the state of the art computer-controlled set arrived, he found it impossible to set up. Lucy finds out what went wrong. Rhodri puts websites that offer parcel courier services to the test. Will he fare better than Katie O'Rourke from Llandudno whose computer was left outside in the snow by one company?

30 minutes

Last on

Mon 11 Nov 2013 19:30

Fury as viewers lose money to green company

Fury as viewers lose money to green company

A group of X-Ray viewers have vented their anger at a collapsed company which promised free boilers and insulation 鈥 but left customers hundreds of pounds out of pocket.

X-Ray has received more than 80 complaints about the failed Eco Green Deal Solutions 鈥 which charged most customers 拢249 and promised new boilers or other energy saving help.

When it collapsed another company, Diversity Network Ltd, offered refunds to some customers 鈥 but few received any money.

Now Rachel has brought some of our angry viewers to Cardiff Bay where they showed their feelings about both companies.

Pat Lewis said: 鈥淚've been really upset from the beginning. We've had no comeback from them or no feedback from them and I'm just angry.

"I'm pleased this has happened today because we had to do something.鈥

Ali Farman said: 鈥淚've got children to feed. They took 拢249 and I want an answer for my 拢249.鈥

Diversity Network Ltd claim to be completely independent of the collapsed marketing firm and say they were acting in a gesture of goodwill when they paid refunds to some customers.

But an X-Ray investigation has uncovered some close ties between the two firms:

鈥⑻齀nformation from deleted websites show the companies not only shared the same office space, but even shared the same phone number.

鈥⑻齌he Eco Green Deal Solutions website was registered by Diversity Network鈥檚 owner and director Shelley Roberts.

鈥⑻鼳 contractor who worked for Eco Green Deal Solutions said that when he couldn鈥檛 get hold of the boss of that company, he would ring Ms Roberts.听

We have also discovered that many of the managers of these companies - including Ms Roberts, her partner and senior manager Nick Pritchard, and the director of Eco Green Deal Solutions Kris Patel - all worked together at another notorious environmental company 鈥 Becoming Green.听

X-Ray has had more than 100 complaints about different incarnations of Becoming Green and featured the company twice this year.

Diversity Network told us in a statement issued through their lawyers that neither they nor their director Shelley Roberts had any control over the day-to-day running of Eco Green Deal Solutions 鈥 and only had a contractual business relationship with them. They say Shelley Roberts has never worked for Eco Green Deal Solutions and only registered its domain name as a favour. They say that a number of companies used that same phone number, and that the fact they shared an address did not mean they were connected.

Diversity Network say they have never had an obligation to pay customers of another company. They will only now work for customers that were properly referred to them before Eco Green Deal Solutions ceased trading.听 They will provide advice to customers of the failed firm.


Both Eco Green Deal Solutions and Becoming Green blame funding delays beyond their control for the problems their customers have had.

鈥⑻鼸co Green Deal Solution Ltd has now gone into administration. People who are owed money by the company can contact the administrators, F A Simms and Partners, on 0808 256 1558 or on their .

What's in your takeaway?

What's in your takeaway?

It鈥檚 almost a year since the horsemeat scandal hit the headlines.

Public confidence in meat products sold at some supermarkets plummeted after tests revealed that beef didn鈥檛 always mean beef.

So, what about the food sold at your local takeaway?

X-Ray joined a team of Trading Standards investigators from Torfaen as they tested what was on the menu at four local takeaways.

It was all part of a Food Standards Agency blitz to weed out the restaurants mis-describing food.

Officer Christine Smith said: 鈥淚t's very important because the public pay and expect to receive what they actually ask for, therefore if they are not receiving what they ask for they are being deceived and that is totally not acceptable.鈥

First up was the New Inn Fish Bar in Pontypool and, after inspecting the kitchen, Christine found a problem. The label on the meat used to make lamb doner kebabs showed it also contained chicken 鈥 but the menu didn鈥檛 make this clear.

鈥淲hat we're going to do is put it in for analysis and when it comes back we can check to see if there's any other species apart from chicken and lamb,鈥 said Christine.

Next up was the Perfect BBQ in Croesyceiliog and this time the lamb kebab label showed it contained three other meats - turkey, beef and chicken 鈥 but this wasn鈥檛 made clear on the menu. Christine warned the owner that she could be in trouble.

鈥淭he consumer has to be told what it is they're buying,鈥 she said.

Ham pizzas were also under the spotlight at the Perfect BBQ. Takeaways often don't use real ham - and Christine thought the takeaway might be buying a cheap alternative. She sent the meat away for testing.

The King Chicken restaurant in Cwmbran was up next for inspection, but happily the kebab meat being sold appeared to only contain lamb.

鈥淧rincipally this survey is about lamb and lamb doner being called lamb and obviously this one looks as if it's going to comply,鈥

So it seemed not all the takeaways were breaking the rules.

The Family Kebab House in Cwmbran was last to be visited but once again, there was a problem with the lamb kebab meat.

鈥淎 lamb doner has to be lamb, this one's got veal in it as well so you need to put that on your menu board,鈥 Christine told the owner.

Once again the meat was bagged up and sent away for analysis.

鈥淭he warning is if they don't comply then there is a potential of prosecution and there could be a fine of up to 拢5000 for that prosecution.鈥 Christine warned.

Samples of pizzas and kebabs from across Wales, including the ones that Christine gathered, were then put under the microscope at a lab in Cardiff.

Public Analyst, Alastair Low, told X-Ray: 鈥淲e've looked at samples from eight or nine authorities from south Wales and the results have all been the same - that there is a lot of lamb doner kebabs out there that are not solely lamb.

鈥淥ur findings are that three out of five, 60%, well over half that are mislabelled at the point of sale.鈥

Alastair also had some shocking revelations about the ham used on some pizzas.

鈥淲hat we find is sometimes it's not actual pork鈥 he added.

鈥淪ometimes it's turkey, sometimes you're getting mechanically recovered chicken. It鈥檚 (mechanically recovered chicken) the meat that's come off the bone, either by high pressure jets of water or they scrape it by mechanical means. Within that you've got your sinew, tendons, connective tissue, you just haven't got meat. Under law it cannot be classified as meat.鈥

The results from Christine's spot checks confirmed that three of the four takeaways visited were breaking the law by mis-describing the meat used to make lamb doner kebabs.

Tests also found that the meat used on pizzas at the Perfect BBQ was in fact pork shoulder, and therefore should not be described as ham. Ham can only be meat taken from the hind leg of a pig.

Only kebab meat from the King Chicken takeaway in Cwmbran contained just lamb.

Christine issued warnings to the other three, adding that they must improve standards or face the consequences.

鈥淭here is only so far you can go with giving warnings,鈥 she said.

鈥淥nce you've reached that, then there has to be prosecution at the end of it.鈥

X-Ray wrote to the three takeaways found to be mis-describing food on their menus.

The New Inn Fish Bar in Pontypool said they had changed their menus to make it clear their kebabs contain lamb AND chicken.

Perfect BBQ in Croesyceiliog also said they had changed their menu following Christine鈥檚 visit.听

The Family Kebab House in Cwmbran didn鈥檛 respond to us.

The spot checks are continuing across Wales and the overall results will be published by Trading Standards later this year.听

High-tech train set confuses customer

High-tech train set confuses customer

A model railway enthusiast has been left frustrated after he couldn鈥檛 get his high-tech train set to work.

Jim Jones, 80, from Llanelli, has had a lifelong love of steam trains 鈥 and decided to use his spare time building up a model railway in his home.

鈥淚t鈥檚 always been a dream. I accept I am getting older and I鈥檓 slowing down. I want something now to occupy my mind,鈥 he said.

He spent 拢1300 in converting part of his dining room to accommodate the train set. He then bought a state of the art Hornby digital rail set which is run by computer.

But when he connected the set to his laptop he couldn鈥檛 get it to work.

He spoke to the Hornby helpline, downloaded a manual and even got through to an IT expert at Hornby.

鈥淗e started to get into real computer speak. You know go into this programme, dis-enable this, check your firewall 鈥. I was completely lost,鈥 he said.

X-Ray called in its own expert 鈥 steam railway fan and computer expert Paul Rees, who works for the IT department at Coleg Sig S芒r . He managed to get the system running.

When X-Ray contacted Hornby they said the system is simple to use and say they provide clear step-by-step instructions. Their helpdesk is constantly manned and can provide remote assistance to users. They offered to do this for Mr Jones 鈥 but X-Ray had already solved the problem.

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Lucy Owen
Presenter Rhodri Owen
Reporter Rachel Treadaway-Williams
Series Producer Susie Phillips

Broadcast