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Nicola and Stewart Fox-Mabe from Ystrad Mynach dreamed of an outside space where they could have a log cabin and some sitting areas to entertain family and friends. Last year, they hired Matthew Robins who runs MJR Landscaping and Building Services transform their overgrown garden.

Work began in April and they paid Matthew 拢1500 for materials upfront. They say progress seemed slow, but the couple kept making payments when requested.

In May, Stewart was diagnosed with cancer and it became more important than ever to get the garden finished, so they could enjoy it. But by the end of June, despite having paid Matthew Robins more than 拢9,000, the garden was nowhere near complete. When more excuses followed over the next couple of months, Nicola and Stewart eventually decided to terminate his contract. They asked a surveyor to assess Matthew Robins鈥� work. He condemned it and estimated that they had overpaid him by 拢7000. A court ordered him to repay this money, but to date, he has not.

Jason Kemp and his wife Nicola in Caerphilly also paid Matthew Robins almost 拢4000 for materials, but they had a similarly frustrating experience. In September 2015, around five months after they hired him and with the garden still a mud bath, the Kemps decided to end their contract with him. They are now struggling to find additional money to complete the work.

When we asked Matthew Robins about his unhappy customers, he insisted there was nothing wrong with his work at Stewart and Nicola's house, it just wasn't finished. He said the plans kept changing and he did tell them that he was going on holiday. He also said that until Stewart's cancer was diagnosed, there was no urgency to finish the job. And whilst he does admit he owes the couple money, he hasn鈥檛 said how much 鈥� although he claims it is less than the 拢7,000 that he was ordered to pay by the courts.

In Jason's case he said the weather caused delays and he was going to finish the job but they fell out over payments. He said money was spent on materials and skips. Matthew reckons he owes Jason one and a half thousand pounds, which he's promised to pay back in instalments.

At this time of year, many of us are looking to give our gardens a makeover. We asked garden and treecare expert James Pinder for his top tips on transforming your outside space

James says:

路听听听听听听听听 Have a clear idea of the work your want to be done. Get recommendations and at least 3 written quotes

路听听听听听听听听 Check out your contractor鈥檚 credentials. Employing someone with the wrong tools and training could lead to costly mistakes being made.

路听听听听听听听听 Make sure the contractor is insured to carry out the specific job he鈥檚 doing for you.听听听听听

路听听听听听听听听 Don鈥檛 allow anything to be planted that you won鈥檛 be able to maintain yourself.

路听听听听听听听听 Say NO to door knockers who offer to do odd jobs.

These days many of us post our CVs on job hunting websites, hoping they鈥檒l catch the eye of potential employers.听 But increasingly, our details are being used by fake companies, offering fake jobs, for an upfront fee that鈥檚 all too real. 23 year old Tia Hart from Caerphilly is one of many victims across the UK to have fallen foul of this type of recruitment scam.听

Last autumn Tia uploaded her CV onto a number of job hunting websites.听 Out of the blue she received an e-mail from an advertising firm called Quackers Outdoor Marketing, which also went by the name of Webquackers.听 They said they were opening a new office in Cardiff and had a vacancy for a receptionist.

鈥淚t was 拢9.50 an hour and you could have 30 days off a year,鈥� explains Tia.听 鈥淚t was really good hours, location.听 Everything seemed perfect.鈥� The company told Tia they needed to fill the position quickly, so instead of a face-to-face interview it was all done over the phone.听听 Three days later she received an e-mail telling her the job was hers.听 There was just one more thing she needed to do.

鈥淭hey told me that I needed a background security check because I might be dealing with people鈥檚 accounts,鈥� says Tia.听 鈥淪o they sent me a link to a company that would do this for me.听 They asked for my address, my national insurance number and my passport details.听 They charged me 拢99.99..鈥�

Quackers Outdoor Marketing had asked Tia to use a company called Ideal 1 to do the security check.听 But after she鈥檇 paid them, it all went quiet. 鈥淚 tried phoning Quackers and it just kept ringing and ringing,鈥� explains Tia.听 鈥淭he next day I tried phoning the number again but still couldn鈥檛 get through.听 Within a week or two the number had been disconnected.鈥�

Tia was devastated when she realised she was the victim of a scam, which went far beyond Quackers Outdoor Marketing.听听 X-Ray鈥檚 investigation has revealed a much bigger picture, with at least 10 phoney companies running the same racket: job offers for bogus positions that require an upfront fee to be paid for background security checks.听

Keith Rosser is the chair of SAFERjobs, an organisation that works with the police to crack down on recruitment fraud.听 He has been tracking this scam for months and says this type of con is on the rise.听

鈥淐ommonly you now have fraudsters who pose as the employer but also then pose as a third party company which the employer passes the jobseeker to for other types of services, whether it鈥檚 insurance, immigration, visa, travel or, in this case, police checks.鈥�

If you鈥檙e a jobseeker and are being referred to a company for a security check, there are ways to authenticate that company. 鈥淧olice checks are only specifically for certain sectors,鈥� explains Keith.听 鈥淧redominantly that means healthcare, education and security.听 So if you鈥檙e not working in one of those three sectors the chances are this is a scam. Police checks in Wales and England are done through the Disclosure and Barring Service, which is the DBS.听 Generally they cost between 拢26 and 拢46.听 So if you鈥檙e being asked for a figure that鈥檚 anywhere near 拢100, the chances are that鈥檚 going to be a scam. Check online on the DBS site, which is part of the Home Office.听 They have lists of companies who are able to carry out police checks so check on there that a company you鈥檙e being passed to can actually carry out police checks in the first place. If you think you鈥檙e dealing with one of these scam companies, then report them immediately to Action Fraud or to the SAFERjobs website.鈥�

听

Although the police are investigating these recruitment scams, there鈥檚 little chance that victims, like Tia, will ever get their money back.听 鈥淚t鈥檚 just not fair,鈥� she says.听 鈥淚 was embarrassed and devastated.听 I couldn鈥檛 believe it had actually happened to me.鈥�

In the past, selling your home was pretty straightforward.听 Your local estate agent would pop round, take all the details and market your property.听 But these days, more and more of us are dusting off the traditional ways of selling our home in a bid to save money.

Most high street estate agents will market your property on the internet, but now there are a growing number of online only estate agents who offer a more hands-off approach to selling your house, for a fraction of the price. There are dozens of companies and many of them offer the same services you鈥檇 expect from a traditional estate agent.听 They鈥檒l value your property, take photos and floorplans and even put up a 鈥榝or sale鈥� sign.听

The big difference is that 测辞耻鈥檒濒 need to do a bit more of the legwork, and that usually means having to carry out the viewings yourself.听 But if that doesn鈥檛 faze you, there are big savings to be made.

Colin and Elaine Combstock from Blaenau Gwent used an online estate agent to sell their home. 鈥淚t was a one-off fee of 拢882,鈥� explains Colin.听 鈥淭he house eventually went for 拢260,000.听 So if we鈥檇 gone through a local estate agent they would have had about 1.5% of that in commission fees, and that would have been 拢4,000.听 So we saved quite a bit.鈥�

The couple were happy to conduct the viewings themselves.听 鈥淲e knew the house better than anyone, we鈥檇 lived in it for 40 years,鈥� says Elaine.听 鈥淲e managed to tell people all the history belonging to the property.听 So it was quite easy in the end.鈥�

Currently, online estate agents only account for about 5% of all house transactions, so it鈥檚 still quite a niche market.听 But it鈥檚 growing in popularity, driven by homeowners who want to save the thousands of pounds in commission normally charged by traditional estate agents.听

So is there a still a place for the middleman?听 Michael Jones, an estate agent of 40 years鈥� experience, certainly thinks so. 鈥淓xpertise and local knowledge are vital components of an estate agent鈥檚 job鈥�, he explains. 鈥淚t can make all the difference in negotiation.听 Local knowledge, in particular, is a very important factor.听 We can get the best price for your home.鈥�

But there is yet another way to sell your home - the DIY approach. You market your own property, sell it privately and make the most of the internet. Carole Brook is one of a growing number of homeowners using free classifieds sites to sell their property.听 She鈥檚 currently listing her house in Swansea on Gumtree.听 The website may not have the same scope as property sites like Zoopla and Rightmove, but for Carole, that鈥檚 not an issue. 鈥淚f people are local, then it鈥檚 the local site that they will look at to see what is available in their local area,鈥� she says.听 鈥淎nd if people are buying from away then, again, they would look specifically at a site for the town and city that they鈥檙e looking for.鈥�

It鈥檚 the second property Carole has marketed herself.听 When it comes to the sale, she鈥檒l use a solicitor to do the legal work, just like any other seller.听 But while the house is on the market, she does pretty much everything else, including the viewings. 鈥淢ost people who want to come and buy a house are genuine and you can soon pick up if someone isn鈥檛,鈥� explains Carole.听 鈥淵ou鈥檙e with them throughout the whole viewing process but if you wanted to, you could have other members of the family present to just make sure that everything goes smoothly.鈥�