Archives for June 2011

Mike Jones from Cwmbran

A finance company run by ex-bankrupts has gone bust leaving more than 1,000 people out of pocket.

Administrators are picking over the bones of Apex DCM but experts say the company’s victims are unlikely to get their money back.

Mike Jones from Cwmbran is one of the company’s victims. He got badly into debt and ended up owing nearly £39,000.

Nottingham based Apex DCM seemed to have the answer. They would handle all correspondence with his creditors and handle repayments. For £450 a month the company promised he would be debt free in six years.

But last December he spoke to the company and found out he still owed around £34,000. Despite making payments totalling £34,000, Apex DCM paid off just £4,000 of his debts.

Mike was devastated by the news: “An abyss just opens up underneath you and you just wants to suck you in. You look into you and ask how you could allow yourself to be scammed for £30,000.”

The company was started by former bankrupt John Baird in 2002. His company secretary Sentley Wilson was a solicitor at the time, but has since been struck off for misappropriating clients money. He’s was also declared bankrupt – but continued to be involved with Apex DCM.

The pair were also directors of a number of other small companies – all of which are now defunct or have proposals to strike them off the register of companies.

These companies owe Apex DCM around £1.3m. John Baird also personally owed the company more than £400,000 when he died in 2009.

X Ray asked forensic accountant Geoff Mesher of Grant Thornton to look at the administrators report into the company.

He told us: “These loans may have been made entirely legitimately and with the best intentions  to help other companies. At the other end of the spectrum it could be that these payments were, deliberately made to defraud creditors of Apex DCM and move that money out to benefit ultimately someone else.”

He said it was unlikely that creditors like Mike would get any money back from the company.

John Baird died in October 2009.  We wrote to Sentley Wilson asking him what he’d done with the money Apex DCM had received from Mike and other customers, but he hasn’t responded.

Mike has now been forced to declare himself bankrupt.

He told X Ray: “I could have gone bankrupt seven years ago and could be be out and be putting my life back together again. But there was a pride in me in paying back what I borrowed.

“We're back on near breadline again. Any father would want to do the best for their children and I can't. “

Apex DCM is an extreme case, but regulators are concerned about standards in the debt management industry. The Office of Fair Trading carried out a review of the industry last year and gave warnings to 129 companies. 

So what should you do if you’re struggling with serious debt?  It’s important to remember that there is no need to use a debt management company as a number of reputable organisations will help for free. There’s a list of these companies below:

Citizens Advice, National Debtline and the Consumer Credit Counselling Service.
 
Details of where to access help locally is also available from Consumer Direct.

Sharon Hale and Linda Cook from Cardiff

Companies offering a makeover followed by photographs taken in a professional studio, is a growing trend – you can walk away with some nicely airbrushed photographs looking like a super model.

But when X-Ray viewers, Sharon Hale, Linda Cook and Sarah Hughes tried their hand at posing for the camera with New ID Studios in Cardiff last year, they came away more angry than attractive.

Sharon, who is partially sighted, told us she was sold her package after a representative cold called at her front door, “I couldn’t see what it said on the brochure. And she read all through the brochure and I said: what’s the catch? And she said there was no catch!”

She handed over £50 for a day of pampering and photograph for two, but when she booked in for her and her friend Linda - New ID wanted another £50 as a refundable deposit in case they didn’t turn up.

Linda also told us, “Included in the package was supposed to be a glass of bubbly - well they couldn’t even give us a cup of coffee because they didn’t have any milk there.

“[There was] supposed to be a head massage, well that turned out to be a conditioner that they put on our head, then full facial was, for Sharon baby wipes and for me nothing.

“But that aside, they did cut our hair and it was excellent.

After four hours the weather had turned bad and the ladies wanted to leave, but they were told they couldn’t have the £50 reimbursed, unless they went ahead with the photo shoot.

So they spent the next hour posing, after which they were shown into another room where they were expecting to pick up their free photographs. But Linda said she was told there’s no such thing as a free photograph.

Linda told us, “A beauty experience, whether a haircut or make up should be a pleasurable experience not something where you go inside a building and you feel like a prisoner that can’t get out.”

They refused to hand over any more money but ended up paying £45 for a CD with a photo of each of them on. New ID took the payment from their deposit.

For Sarah Hughes from Port Talbot, though, it was a different story.

She was bought a package for her 30th birthday as a present and took along her mum. She told us they enjoyed their makeovers and the photo shoot.

But afterwards they were also taken into a small room and asked to choose between photos. “We were told that we couldn’t have our three photos that we’d already paid for [or] the complimentary ones, [and] that we would have to do a package if we wanted more photos.

“It was all kind of confusing, throwing all these figures at us. I didn’t quite understand what was going on, you know.”

Tired of saying no, she ended up reluctantly forking out £450 for 14 photographs on a CD, which meant that altogether Sarah paid out £550 for something which should have been a present. And the CD then took six months and a lot of nagging to arrive.

She told us it’s left her feeling bitter, “[I] just feel gutted about the whole situation. What could’ve been a lovely experience has just been a lot of hassle.

“My friends are obviously gutted that they bought this as a birthday present for me as a lovely experience and this has come out of it and all this hassle to follow.”

We asked Consumer Direct for their advice. Jamie Roberts told us, “The key is to remember your rights. Remember you are not under any obligation to say yes. You can say no without feeling rude.

“Sellers sell, it’s their job to try and sell you a product and they will try and get you to say yes. The key is to realise you don’t have to say yes. You don’t have to offer an explanation as to why you are saying no.”

We contacted New ID studios and told them about Sarah, Sharon and Linda’s concerns. In their response they say they are extremely sorry. 

They admit that in the two isolated cases we bought to their attention their customer services policy was not effective. They say they take complaints very seriously and have apologised to these customers and they have been fully refunded.

They explain that their pricing policy is clearly displayed in all studios, and on their website. They frequently run offers and promotions, and as a result, the price someone pays for a package of images will of course change when a promotion launches or expires.

They point out that because of the nature of the business, goods are all personalised to the individual. As with any photographic printing, once the order has been placed and production has begun, it is only of use to the individual who has ordered it and cannot be sold on to anyone else. For that reason, if a customer then cancels an order after it has been placed, they are not entitled to a refund.

If any of our customers are not entirely satisfied with the service they receive, their terms and conditions clearly state a contact number, email and web address for customers to contact.

New ID Studios say they have in excess of 50,000 people experiencing their makeovers every year and unfortunately these are two cases that have not had the same positive experience that they know their guests receive. 

Posting a mobile phone off to be recycled

It’s one of the latest environmentally friendly crazes, but getting cash for your old mobile phone can prove more of a struggle than it’s worth.

More than 200,000 phones in the UK are sent off every month in exchange for money but it’s thought there are still around 68 million handsets lying around our homes, with an average value of £66.

But with more and more companies offering the service, how do you know who to use?

Carlene Carlson from Cardiff chose internet company Fonecraze. She told us, “They offered me £81.50 on website so I thought good price, told me what address to send mobile to, so immediately that’s what I did.”

But a month later they got back to her telling her they would only give her £61 for the handset or charge her £12 if she wanted it back.

She said, “They contacted me saying the £81.50 we're not giving you, we're giving you £61 instead because of a few scratches. I was outraged because I'd said the phone was used.”

She reluctantly accepted their lower offer but is still waiting for her money.

She says it’s left her very frustrated, “They haven't given me anything back, almost like I've been robbed. It's the principle, if someone is going to do something they should do what they say. They have my phone and what do I have in return?”

But Carlene’s not the only one to have contacted X-Ray about this. James Price was a cash strapped student so he contacted Skyphones to get money for his old iPhone 3.

He said, “I found them online, they told me they'd offer £227. It was a little higher than everyone else, good price, so I was very happy.”

But again once the company had the phone they wrote back to him with a lower offer, else it was £12 to get the handset back. 

James told us, “When we sent if off there were no scratches, no marks on the phone so we were bit annoyed but we accepted that offer again - they sent me email saying they were going to transfer money to my bank account just never received it.

“I'm at university at the moment so £200 is a lot of money.”

But when X-Ray started to investigate these two companies we found they had the same London address and telephone number. We contacted them, but we’ve had no response.

We asked Kier McConomy, who runs the comparison site www.sellmymobile.com for his advice.

He offered the following tips:

BE WARY ON PRICE

Kier says, “I think the old saying - if something looks to good to be true, it probably is, is very true here.

“What I would advise, when selling your old mobile is to use a price comparison site. We noticed that on main handsets the difference in price from all the different companies is just a few pounds.

“So if you see a site advertising prices much, much higher than these I’d be wary of that.”

LOOK FOR STARS

Here Kier says, “Price comparison sites work hard to ensure the companies they deal with are reputable companies and they tend to give them star ratings so that’s a guide as to the good companies.”

DO YOUR RESEARCH

Kier tells us people should check out the background to any company they want to send their phone to, “Search for the company name on Google and in public forums to see if there is any bad feedback about the company.”

Cael Jones from Wrexham with X-Ray's Lucy Owen

As Chinese lanterns become the must have decoration at parties and weddings across Wales, questions are being raised over their safety, and calls for them to be banned are on the increase.

At a bonfire night party last year three year old Cael Jones from Wrexham was injured when hot oil fell from a lantern onto his face.

He was left with serious burns, which have fortunately healed but the experience has left his mum Emma Foulkes, concerned, “I want the safety regulations to be higher on them, and better instructions of use. Just to make sure everyone is safe using them - and they realise how dangerous they can be.”

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service says it’s had to deal with 11 incidents connected to Chinese lanterns since 2008.

Community Manager for the service, Andy Robb warns, “Once they're released, they're uncontrolled - you set them off, you've no idea where they're going to go. And you've got a flame source there that may travel some miles, which can cause extensive fires - which do tie up a lot of resources of the fire service.”

In the last year Anne Wrench, who farms cattle in Saltney Ferry in Flintshire has found at least 50 burnt out lanterns on her land. And she’s worried that a stray lantern could set fire to one of her fields of crops, costing her thousands of pounds.

She told us, “In these fields we’ve got acres of cereals, wheat and barley and if the lanterns burn out into the field we could just lose the whole lot in a night and that would be an enormous loss to us.”

And Anne’s not the only farmer who’s worried. Last year John Lougher, who has a dairy farm near Port Talbot experienced their dangers first hand. One of his cows, who was carrying a calf at the time, died after getting wire stuck in her stomach when she ate the remains of a lantern that had landed in a field.

John was devastated when both the cow and her calf died - a very painful death, “I noticed her standing by herself not moving. I got the vet to come and have a look at her. The vet said well, it's quite likely to be wire in the gut.

“We hoped the cow would stay alive long enough to calve, the calf was still alive in the cow, but unfortunately about three weeks before calving she died. And so we lost the cow and the calf.”

It was an expensive as well as emotional loss - the cow and the calf she was carrying were worth £2,000.

Farmers Unions are now calling for the lanterns to be banned in the UK to stop this happening again to other animals.

Shelagh Barlow took out a loan with Loansathome4U

A doorstep loans company is offering high interest loans to some of the most vulnerable people in Anglesey.

Loansathome4U’s APR can be as high as 632 per cent.

Citizen’s Advice Bureau on the island says it’s dealing with numerous cases of vulnerable people who have taken out loans from the company and are now struggling to pay them back.

Shelagh Barlow has serious mental problems, but this didn’t stop Loansathome4U offering her a £200 loan at almost 400 per cent APR when she was round at a friend’s house.

She told us: “I was introduced, round the table, and I filled out a form that she gave me, and I signed the agreement there and then, £200 cash.

“They gave me it on the basis I was on benefits, disability, incapacity and mobility, and therefore I was on a certain amount and could afford it as far as they were concerned.”

Without documentary proof of her income or outgoings, Shelagh was given the loan there and then. On the form that was filled out it says she’s a housewife but then it goes on to contradict this – stating that she is also in full time employment and earning £200 a week.

After she took out the loan, agents came on a weekly basis to collect her payments but then they started offering her top up loans and she found herself borrowing another £300, then another £200.

Then her financial situation took a turn for the worse. Her benefits were reviewed and her Disability Living Allowance was almost halved to £37 a week.

Shelagh told us: “It was like a third of my money, paying them off, so a third of my money was gone.” Then she had to go into hospital for six weeks to have a serious operation. She said: “I didn't have an account for direct debit or anything, I only had a basic account, so I couldn't, obviously, I wasn't going to send money.”

Shelagh tells us the company’s agents were phoning her while she was recuperating from her operation and even left a very abusive voicemail on her mobile phone.

She decided to turn to Citizens Advice Bureau for help.

Sally Heywood from CAB told us: “I am really concerned that Loansathome4U are lending to severely vulnerable people, and what I've seen, is the tip of the iceberg.

“[Benefits are] awarded because [people] have severe care and mobility needs that have to be provided by another individual so, for me, it is morally wrong to use that money as a criteria to lend to somebody who is by definition, extremely vulnerable.”

Loansathome4U refused to co-operate with the CAB. But after a formal complaint they finally agreed to allow Shelagh to pay back £3 a month.

Shelagh told us how it’s left her feeling: “I wouldn't get into that situation again, no way. I dread to think that it's happening to other people as well, that are in the same situation that I'm in.”

The Office of Fair Trading says companies should do a thorough credit check before giving out a loan as well as seeing documentary evidence of income and expenditure, and people shouldn’t be encouraged to take out loans on top of others.

Its guidelines also state that if a borrower falls behind, the lender shouldn't make undue, excessive or otherwise inappropriate demands when a borrower falls behind. And lenders are expected to treat vulnerable borrowers like Shelagh fairly and appropriately.

X-Ray contacted Loansathome4U who have responded saying they don't "inappropriately encourage" customers to increase or rollover debt to unaffordable levels.

They have told us they comply with the OFT's guidelines and don't target customers on Disability Living Allowance. And they've told us they check potential customers’ income and outgoings and only offer loans to those who can comfortably afford to repay.

They also say they deal direct with Citizen’s Advice and have regular conversations with them.

However they do admit there was a breakdown in the relationship between Shelagh and her debt collector and the language used was unacceptable. Their employee has now been reprimanded and has apologised to Shelagh.

If you get into problems paying back debts you should contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau, or you can write to them here.

Botox is one of the beauty procedures offered on Groupon

Health officials have expressed concerns about recent offers for cut-price Botox and cosmetic surgery featured on the discount deal website Groupon.

The website which offers huge discounts on everything from days out to meals in restaurants has been criticised for also offering cosmetic surgery and procedures linked to a 24-hour deadline.

According to Forbes magazine Groupon is the "fastest growing company ever". It has websites in 47 countries and recent news reports about its plans to go public on the stock market have valued the company at around $30bn. So it's big news.

It uses collective buying power to offer heavily discounted daily deals in cities around the UK. Those interested need to buy within the allotted time frame and, if enough people purchase, the deal will be honoured and the payment will be processed. On its website Groupon boasts it has access to the “largest most desirable target audience”, which includes professional females.

But this way of selling has been deemed unsuitable for cosmetic procedures.

Concerns have been raised that people are being pressured to pay upfront for serious procedures before they have even had a consultation or a cooling-off period.

X-Ray has found adverts for Botox in a South Wales' dentist on offer as low as £45 and also an offer in Liverpool for £5,000 worth of cosmetic surgery including breast augmentation, reduced to £1,999. The deals were offered with a 24 hour deadline.

Sally Taber from the Independent Healthcare Advisory Service, who oversees the register of cosmetic injectable providers, Treatments You Can Trust, told X-Ray she was worried about the discounts offered, and the deadlines.

She said, “It’s not possible to do things for that price in a safe environment by an appropriately qualified surgeon.”

The ‘Good Medical Practice in Cosmetic Surgery’ by the Independent Healthcare Authority (IHAS) states “advertisements must not offer discounts linked to a deadline date for booking appointments or surgery or other date-linked incentives.”

The Healthcare Inspectorate Wales has also told X-Ray that it doesn't condone time-pressured sales and recognises that consumers should have an opportunity for proper reflection before undertaking treatment which could both cause a risk to their health and have a lasting impact on their lives.

There have also been concerns about the wording of some of the recent deals Groupon have offered including one which featured the word “Botox”.

Sally told us, “Groupon are going against what the Advertising Standards Authority says. Groupon are certainly breaking rules around Botox. Botox is a prescription only medicine and the word Botox should not be used in any advertisement.”

X-Ray spoke to Groupon users Rachael, Claire and Emma who told the programme they had all bought a number of deals from the website and agreed it was a clever model.

Emma said, “It's definitely tempting yeah, they will send you sort of three or four deals on an email and there's usually something there that takes your fancy.”

And Rachael who promotes deals through her blog agreed that as an impulse buyer it works for her because it panics her into buying.

She admitted she might consider buying cosmetic procedures discounted from the site if she thought she needed them, however Claire and Emma felt they would be concerned about buying procedures online.

And consultant plastic reconstructive and aesthetic surgeon Mr Richard Karoo says there’s more to consider before buying upfront.

He told X-Ray that people should not be paying upfront for treatments or procedures before they have had consultation with their professionals.

He added, “The key thing is if you are a professional undertaking these procedures you shouldn’t need to advertise or sell yourself as a discount store with a voucher or a coupon type of system.”

Groupon has a promise that "nothing is more important to us than treating our customers well. If you ever feel like Groupon let you down, give us a call and we'll return your purchase – simple as that."

We contacted Groupon about the issues raised but they said they were not releasing any comments to the press at this time.

Rhodri Owen meets Jane Wakeham

Thrifty home owners in mid-Wales are cashing in on an innovative way to save money when heating their homes.

Llandewi Brefi’s oil syndicate has saved local people more than £25,000 over the last two and a half years.

Organiser Jane Wakeham runs the scheme and says together their bargaining power is immense, “Well I think on the last order that we put in, we managed to save 11 pence a litre, and that brought the saving for the village, just on that one order, up to £4,500 - which is quite outstanding.”

Seventy households have signed up but with 143,000 homes across Wales relying on heating oil, the idea could help so many more. Particularly considering over the last five years the cost of filling a typical tank has risen by over £500.

Jane says it’s really making a difference, “I think the average householder is saving approximately £150 a year, possibly more. Everybody is feeling the pinch at the moment so everybody is benefitting and it’s such a simple thing to do. We have a very, very good negotiator so it's a nice team thing.”

Close to ordering time, Jane puts posters up around the village and drops leaflets through doors to let everyone know. Each household can order as little or as much as they need and everyone gets it for the same price per litre.

Retired teacher Mary Pearce told us she has saved £700 since she joined, “We use a lot of energy for the size of the house that we've got, we need to look for as many ways as possible to save money.”

Farmer Ann Jones says it’s helped her dramatically because of the amount of oil she needs to run her business. But her big orders also help the syndicate to negotiate as low a price as possible.

She told X-Ray, “The syndicate is very important to us on the farm, we have a big farmhouse here that needs heating and three other let properties so on the heating side we do use a considerable amount of kerosene and it's really important that we get it at the best price.”

Just up the road in Tregaron, Postman David John is running another syndicate with almost 100 members.

Last year he ordered a total 110,000 litres for his community. He now asks them for an extra £1 every time he orders which he donates to charity. He waits until he’s received enough requests to reach between 3,000 and 4,000 litres and then he places his order, last time saving 6 pence per litre.

And a quarter of an hour north of Tregaron in Pontrhydfendigaid, Duncan Taylor runs their syndicate. This one was set up with the help of Communities First just six months ago, but already has over 20 members. So far they’ve placed three orders saving up to 10 pence a litre.

If you would like a go at starting an oil syndicate here are Jane Wakeham’s Top Tips for making it work:

Negotiate

Jane says, “Look around your community and find yourself a really good negotiator.” The better the negotiator the better the discount you will be able to achieve. Who’s got the skills in your village to be able to barter with the oil companies?

People Power

Jane told us, “Get as many people on board as you possibly can.” The more people you have in your syndicate the more oil you will want to order and therefore the better bargaining power you will have.

Advertise

Jane advertises their syndicate in the local pub and shops and by posting leaflets through people’s doors. Could you do the same to let as many people know about you as possible and encourage even more to join? Do you have a village magazine or notice boards where you could stick posters? Can it be mentioned in the local paper or at your parish council meetings?

Shop Around

“Don’t get taken in by the big companies, our syndicate has been supplied by a small independent for the last six orders, so big names don’t necessarily mean big savings.” As Jane says, shop around – don’t jump for the first price you’re offered.

Mr and Mrs Powell's house

A childhood friendship has ended in tears after an Ebbw Vale builder left a family home in tatters. 

Beverley and Simon Powell asked X-Ray to investigate after their friend Darren Watkins took £50,000 of their money to revamp their house, including a new garage and loft conversion.

Mrs Powell told the programme, “Because Darren was a longstanding friend, we trusted him and thought that he knew what he was doing…that he would be the right man for the job.”

Detailed plans were drawn up by an architect for three months worth of work, but seven months later the Powells described it as looking like something out of World War 2.

They were meant to be getting an upstairs bedroom with an ensuite and a brand new garage to be used as a play area for their children and Mr Watkins started work in September, hoping to have everything finished by Christmas.

Mrs Powell told us: “Darren was very plausible. Oh Yeah, things are going great, he would say, for example, come here next week and you won't recognise the place. November time for me alarms bells started ringing.”

She continued, “There were no clean lines. Substandard work throughout was extensive. So much filler I think he basically put it on with his hands. The shower was held on by gaffer tape. I couldn't believe we'd been left with this awful mess.”

X-Ray asked surveyor Tim Davies to take a look at the work. He told us he’d found a retaining wall in the garage to be badly out of plumb, substandard materials being used, an unsupported area of the upstairs floor and ill fitted windows that wouldn’t close properly.

He said, “This really rates as a very poor job. There are a lot of problems here and a lot of money has been paid for work which is defective or completely unsuitable.”

Other surveyors who looked over the work earlier this year also found a wall which would have failed building regulations and temporary weatherproofing on the roof that had leaked.

The Powells took the decision to sack their former friend in December last year and an expert valuer has estimated his work at £30,000. £20,000 less than the money they have handed him.

Mrs Powell told us it’s left them shocked, angry and upset. She said, “It has caused us a lot of emotional and financial difficulty. Darren has totally abused his friendship which is very hurtful.

“For someone who you think you know extremely well to turn around and do this on your front doorstep is pretty hard to take.”

Mr Watkins has responded to X-Ray’s investigations. He admits he lost control during the job,  but said he didn’t feel he was being treated well. He told us, “I was not given the opportunity from day one to work in a comfortable environment. I was constantly pressured and strained.

“I told Simon and Bev I am going to do everything I can to get them [back into the house] and I was at the time confident that I could do that.

“I never had the opportunity to put anything right that was done not right. I tried to help a friend and basically it just backfired on me.”

The National Federation of Builders has worked with Trading Standards to come up with nine steps on choosing a good builder.

Pee Jaay on his final family holiday

A dream holiday turned into a nightmare for one Bridgend family after they decided to Thomas Cook-it.

The fortnight in Spain was 16 year old Pee Jaay’s last chance to enjoy time with his brother and sister, as he battled terminal cancer.

His mum Helen had hoped for the trip of a lifetime to give them some special memories together. She told X-Ray, “He was doing quite well until the February, then we were told the tumour had come back and he only had months to live”.

So she booked a £2,000 holiday through Going Places with the help of a donation from the charity Latch, who are based at the Children’s Hospital for Wales.

Helen says she specifically told the sales rep at Going Places that Pee Jaay would be using a wheelchair and they needed a holiday to accommodate his special needs. She says the Hotel Calypso in Salou was recommended by Going Places. Helen told us, “[The rep] read through and said yes, disabled, it's not far from the beach. It was lovely she said. So we went for that one”.

Helen says she was told she could fill out the necessary paperwork at a later date, which she did a few weeks before travelling. She says the rep told her, “I could come back and do the form because they needed the dimensions of the wheelchair”.

So the family set off on their holiday full of hopes for a relaxing break.

When they arrived in Spain though, things started to go wrong. First Pee Jaay’s wheelchair had been given to another passenger at the airport, and then the family were put on the third floor of the hotel. The room wasn’t big enough for Pee Jaay to get around in his wheelchair and Helen says the hotel lifts were unreliable…but Helen claims the hotel manager’s response was “it’s not my problem”.

When Helen got home she complained to Going Place’s parent company, Thomas Cook. But it took them two months to send their response. Helen said they sent, “an insulting apology letter which I refused because I wanted another family holiday to remember with my son”. They also told her there was no evidence that she’d made staff members aware of Pee Jaay’s condition.

Helen contacted the company again, repeating her complaint and was eventually offered £150 compensation, which she again rejected.

In April 2011, Pee Jaay passed away.

We asked travel lawyer, Mark Harvey from Hugh James what could be done. He told us Thomas Cook had been mischievous, “It was the travel agent, who is part of the tour operator company, which failed to get [Helen’s requests] into the contract at the beginning as they should have done.

“Secondly the way in which they've dealt with this complaint by being so tardy about it, means I think that this is perfectly fit for ABTA to deal with under their arbitration scheme”.

Helen told us, “I would like some satisfaction for my boy. Because they've just been absolutely hopeless. If there's other families, if they're ever in our situation - because that's what Pee Jaay was like because he'd help others so I know he's making me do this now for him, to help other people”.

Thomas Cook have said they're sorry for Helen's loss and they try to fulfil any requests a customer makes for special assistance. They say Helen’s requests were sent to the hotel and although they don't make guarantees, the team in the resort did try to help the family during their holiday.

Rosanna and Gordon have been using garden furniture in their front room

With today’s tough economic times, it’s not unusual to hear about companies going bust, almost on a daily basis.

But where do you stand if the one you’ve ordered from starts to struggle?

Rosanna and Gordon from Newport experienced just that, after putting down hundreds of pounds as a deposit for a sofa - Easy Living Furniture called in the administrators the very next day.

As Rosanna told us, “I just couldn't believe it. I thought well, no, it can't be right, surely we would have known or they would have known and told me. I was just shell shocked, well, I went numb”.

The sofa she wanted cost £1,491 and she had put down an £890 deposit to secure it, or so she thought.

She called Easy Living Furniture and was told she could have the sofa if she paid the rest of the money right away, but when she got down there the shop was shut.

Instead they called the administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers but that’s where the confusion continued.

They were told there was no way they could get the money back, then they were told they could have the sofa for £1,500, this then became 75 per cent of the cost of the sofa, then they offered it for the cost of the original balance of £600 but it would have to be in cream, not the original brown they wanted. They refused.

But insolvency practitioner Vaughan Jones said Easy Living shouldn’t have taken the money anyway, “Once you know a company is about to enter into insolvency proceedings, then you definitely shouldn't be taking money from customers, or taking fresh goods from any general suppliers either.

“In my eyes, this is absolutely ridiculous, that a company can take people's money, knowing full well they're about to go into administration. You know when a company's going into trouble”.

So what should they have done to protect themselves? Vaughan says, “If they'd paid by credit card the company would be liable to repay them the monies under the Consumer Credit Legislation”.

The Government’s Insolvency Service operates a 24 hour telephone hotline for anyone who has concerns about a company – the number is 0845 601 3546.

Valerie Morris catches up on her favourite programmes

Seventy-three year old Valerie Morris from Abergavenny was recovering from a nasty fall when she received a call from a company trying to renew her Sky Warranty.

Valerie loves watching television, she told X-Ray it’s her only connection to the outside world, “It’s company in my house for me, you don't have anyone to talk to but the TV can bring you all sorts of things”.

When Valerie bought her Sky subscription she bought a warranty to cover all the necessary equipment in case something went wrong. And her warranty was coming up for renewal.

So when she received the phone call, she thought it was from Sky: “It was just to say that I needed to have my next year covered by insurance. They just kept mentioning Sky and there was no other reason for me to think that it wasn't Sky”.

But the phone call wasn’t from Sky. It was from a company called Aurora Logistics, who are based in Swansea. And a couple of weeks later they sent her a letter confirming she had bought a service plan from them. But not recognising the name on the letter, Valerie didn’t think anything of it.

Then she received a second letter asking for £79.99 and so Valerie put a cheque in the post – which was cashed.

Valerie said, “I just thought it was for Sky to cover me for the whole year.” And even though the cheque wasn’t made payable to Sky she still sent the money to them in the hope of renewing her Sky cover.

She admitted she’d been naïve but then a third letter came after her cheque had been cashed. This time the company was threatening to come to her house and collect the money from her. 

She turned to her son for help and he wrote to the company, but they heard nothing back. Both Gareth and Valerie tried repeatedly to call and contact the company, but to no avail.

Eventually they called Sky who said they’d never heard of Aurora Logistics. Valerie found this really upsetting and Gareth told us, “The more it upsets her, the more it upsets me and my wife”.

Paul de la Mare, the Director of Aurora has now apologised and agreed to repay Mrs Morris her money. He also says all his callers are trained to identify themselves as Aurora Logistics.

In their response, Sky has told X-Ray they’re investigating other complaints against Aurora and the company isn't on their approved warranty-suppliers list. 

Steve Bumford from Consumer Direct says people should remember that they have the control, “you have the power, because the people who are calling you they want your money, your details.

"So by assuming control you can do whatever you want. You can put down the phone; you can ask for certain details you know, for example, an account number. Certainly don't give them any details and if they can't confirm those details then you know they're not who they say they are”.