Your Money, Their Tricks (2013) s01e01 Episode Script
Going Out
1 Money is tight.
Every pound is precious but wherever you turn, big companies are determined to squeeze you even more with their tricks.
It's disgusting.
I really do think it is disgusting.
It is about making as much money as possible.
But this is the series that is determined to stop them.
My goodness! Each week we go undercover to expose their tactics.
If you don't give them a chance to think and change their mind.
.
.
yeah.
We talk to the whistleblowers.
We do everything to convince you to buy a lot of things you don't need to buy.
We feel like we rip people off.
and reveal how you can fight back.
Would you like to know what, in total, you manage to save? £1,293.
Wow! Yes.
Whether we are going on holiday, buying a car, furnishing our homes, or enjoying time off, there can be shocking underhand ploys to avoid.
Want to know what they are? Then this is the programme for you.
We are talking about your money, their tricks.
Tonight - tampering with the games at one of Britain's biggest theme parks.
How staff control your chances of winning and losing.
I was really shocked and I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing or what I was being asked to do.
X-rated sales tactics.
LOVEFiLM - you won't like how they sign up their customers.
So it is not just tricky but it is actually illegal? Yes, there is the potential for a criminal prosecution in cases like that.
And fed up with paying over the odds? Whether it is a trip to Cineworld Can I take this popcorn in with me? or a one direction gig at the O2, how you can swerve those dreaded mark-ups.
Ha-ha-ha! I foiled that trick.
So what are you doing this weekend? Meeting up with friends? Going to a concert, the theatre, or a visit to the seaside more your thing? Free time - we all love it.
If only we could agree on how to use it.
Oh, I am so excited! I am checking out the Justin Bieber concert.
It is over at the 02.
just being near him makes me happy! Aren't you a bit old for that? Whatever.
Nothing can beat a day out with the family really, can it? Lots of rides and drinks and ice creams, things like that? I was going to buy the three of us tickets to go to the pictures, but if you are all doing something else I will.
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just go by myself.
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Baby, baby, oh! Baby, baby, baby, no Not my idea of fun either to be honest.
This is though.
There are rides that will thrill you and scare you.
And as the school holidays approach, where better for a family day out? Britain's theme parks attract an incredible 6 million of us each year.
But as with any day out, the costs can add up.
Here at Thorpe Park, there is the price of the ticket from £22 up to £43 a person.
Then there is the parking, £5.
If you would like a photo to remember your day, that will be an extra £8, please.
And if you want to avoid the queues, that is up to £5 a ride, or a whopping £70 a person for an unlimited one-day pass.
It can be expensive enough for one but for a family, let's find out.
Today I am joining the Ashleys.
That's Will, and Eloise and their dads, brothers Jason and John.
They all love the rides.
Look! There they go.
Whoa! But as for the tempting extras Thorpe Park is owned by Merlin Entertainments, the biggest theme park operator in Europe.
They also run Alton Towers, the London Eye, Legoland and Madame Tussaud's to name just a few.
Their Thorpe Park attraction brings in around 2 million visitors a year.
Visitors with money in their pockets.
Being careful with your money is tough when temptation is everywhere.
For children that is.
One of the things I have noticed here is how many games there are.
You can win a Sonic the Hedgehog, a furry animal, they are even offering an Xbox here.
Three games for £5.
It is not cheap, is it? The games are managed by HB Leisure Ltd who have what they call a strategic partnership with Merlin Entertainments - to run the games at many of their theme parks.
Games that these kids I am rubbish.
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aren't having much luck with today.
But I found out there could be a reason for that because we have had a tip-off from somebody on the inside.
Yes, meet Charlene.
She worked for HB Leisure at Thorpe Park last year and she is prepared to tell us the real story about what has been going on.
I was working as a games host on the games and I basically had to get people to play the games and then tell them how to play it, and give out prizes when people win.
The games are skill-based.
They are pretty challenging, so you don't expect to win every time, but according to Charlene, the odds are sometimes stacked against you.
Deliberately.
People who had worked there for a few years were showing me what to do with the games to make them harder for people.
People used to get into trouble for giving out too many prizes, not making enough money.
They basically said to do certain things to the games to make the games harder for people.
I was really shocked and I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing or what I was being asked to do.
Serious allegations but are they true? To answer that, we went undercover on the games stalls.
Two of our researchers applied for jobs with HB Leisure and guess what - they got them.
Day one on the job and our first mole, Lucy, meets HB Leisure's general manager at Thorpe Park.
He tells her that to hit her targets, the number of winners on each game should be managed.
I'd been referred to this as controlling the payout.
Each game had a target for takings and once that target had been hit, you could give someone a price and after they had got their price, ideally, you would be expected to make the same amount of money again before you would allow someone else to get a prize.
I had no idea how you could control the number of people who would win or who would lose, but he said there were ways on a number of the games where you could manipulate the odds and that all of the staff knew about them.
Not cheating anyone? We will let you decide.
We are going to show you what we discovered in just a few days of working there.
So if you want to know the tricks, keep watching.
Oh! That is quite hard.
Despite what I told the other two, I am not actually heading to the O2 Arena to see Justin Bieber.
It is just a little ruse so I can investigate a mark-up trick.
A mark-up essentially is the amount of money that a company decides to place on top of the cost that it incurs to produce a specific product.
Then, when we also take away from that mark-up the overhead costs that are general to the business, we are left off with What we know as profit.
Profit.
Certainly not a dirty word in my book.
I don't think they should just charge whatever they think they can get away with.
Which is just what we have heard has been happening at the 02.
You know it, the place that started as a failure and swallowed up £800 million of our money.
Well, these days it is a success.
It is a music venue, home to an 11-screen cinema, exhibition spaces, bars and restaurants galore.
So a shiny new entertainment complex with an interesting trick to take more of your money.
We are going to show you how they do it by fitting three cars with hidden cameras.
I've gaffered it on.
Then parking them at the O2 on the exact same day.
But crucially, each car is going there for a different reason.
OK.
Car number one.
So my first disguise.
Can you guess where I am going? That's right.
The cinema.
Off we go then.
Whoa! Go to the cinema at the 02 and the parking is free.
The only condition is that you have to watch the entire film before they'll validate your ticket.
Can't argue with that.
Now, what if I don't want to go to the 02 to see a film? What if instead So I am off to review some restaurants.
I mean, isn't it obvious? Yep, me and a friend are hungry and we need to park.
Four hours for £7?! Even though it is free if you go to the cinema? Hmm, confusing as well as expensive.
OK.
Time for the third and final visit and the giddy schoolgirl act.
This time.
.
.
l have got Bieber fever.
.
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Baby, baby, baby, oh Get out of my way, I need to see Bieber! Yep, Justin is on and I am going in.
Parking was free when I was going to the cinema and £7 when I was visiting a restaurant.
So what is the damage for concert-goers? Yes it is.
Really! For leaving your vehicle at the same venue for the same length of time.
£28 to park for the arena.
You have to have Bieber fever for that.
The O2 told us it is obliged to minimise car travel and it designs its prices to discourage people from driving to the venue.
It says it reinvests profits into other transport services and says it is the cinema who dictates their free parking.
It adds that rates for the bars and restaurants are in line with other car parks in the area.
Still, I think I have found a way for concert-goers to avoid being stung so badly.
Yes.
It is a month later and Justin is long gone.
But there is another teen pop sensation at the 02 tonight.
In fact, there are five of them.
Harryyou are coming in with me.
Well, I couldn't look more like a One Direction fan if I tried, could I? But those concert tickets cost, you know.
So why should I pay an extra £28 to park? .
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Getcha, getcha, getcha, getcha One way or another .
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Going to find you, going to getcha, getcha.
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Ha-ha-ha! I foiled that trick.
Wahey! I am in! And you can't say I did not give them a chance to be suspicious.
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one way or another.
The O2 has since told us it does brief stewards to ascertain the purpose of a visit, but I was not questioned because I might have been heading to the One have been heading to the One Direction pop-up shop on the site.
It says it is already planning a new system including number plate recognition to ensure customers pay the right fee.
As for me, despite appearances, I really was only visiting the restaurants so I did not cheat the 02 out of any money.
But if YOU are a concert-goer who wants to avoid the £28 charge while sticking to the rules, remember this - book in advance and you will pay £7 less.
Fun days out, eh? Not that much fun when you have been left on your own.
Typical.
Stood up by my mates yet again.
Oh, well.
Get myself a nice bag of popcorn to cheer myself up.
I can't believe it.
One small bag of popcorn from Cineworld, £4.
15! I am not paying that.
Popcorn - it is cheap, it costs little to make, but that does not stop the cinemas putting a whacking great premium on it.
A cinema has popcorn and cinema tickets to sell.
The cinema might decide to lower The cinema might decide to lower the price of the cinema ticket to get as much volume into the cinema as possible and then a percentage of those people will say, "Hey, 'l want to have some popcorn,' or Coke, or something else and, therefore, I can charge a premium for that particular product.
So what does popcorn cost in cinemas today? Take a deep breath.
Small Vue bag in London, a medium one and a large one.
A small Cineworld bag, a medium one and a large one.
And finally, small Odeon bag, a medium one and a large one.
I reckon they must be making a fortune on these snacks.
But when we asked the big three chains to tell us what their mark-up is on popcorn, none of them would.
So let's try and work it out for ourselves.
We bought a small, medium and large bag of popcorn from three different Cineworld, Vue and Odeon cinemas in central London.
We measured the weight of the popcorn in all of them.
Next, we looked for the cheapest bag of popcorn we could find and calculated the average mark-up.
So, which of the cinema chains has the biggest mark-up on its popcorn? And it is CineWorld.
Yes.
I can buy this bag from the supermarket for just 43p per 100g, yet Cineworld's small bag costs 16 times as much.
If this is what they are flocking in the foyer, that would be an eye-watering 1,500 % mark-up.
Amazing! By the way, if you want the best value for money at the cinema, buy a large bag.
The one at Cineworld costs £5.
20 and of all the three chains, it has the smallest mark-up.
Although at £2.
01 per 100g, that is still an impressive 370%.
I would be very surprised if a cinema did not get popcorn at a cheaper price than we can on the high street.
The reason is simple - they buy in bulk.
Then as a cinema, I have a decision to make.
Do I want to keep the high mark-up because I have the low costs, but perhaps have fewer people buying popcorn, or do I want to reduce it because I can now? The costs are lower and generate much more traffic.
That decision, of course, in the end depends on what maximises the profit for me.
The Cinema Exhibitors' Association representing Odeon and Vue told us many cinemas rely on income from food and drinks to remain viable.
The popcorn prices are clearly advertised and people have a choice whether they want to pay it.
So why would I buy this small bag from Cineworld for £4.
15 when I can pay exactly the same for all this popcorn in my big bag and take it in with me? That's if Cineworld will let me, of course.
Hi.
I've got my own popcorn.
OK.
Can I take this popcorn in with me? I've got a ticket to see the film.
Can I take my own popcorn in? Would that be OK? Great.
Can I then? Yeah! I've got it in here somewhere.
I did have a ticket.
Honestly.
Have you lost it? Yeah.
OK.
I did put in my Hang on, I've got it.
No, I haven't.
No, I haven't.
How embarrassing.
What a fool.
Anyway.
Now we know how to beat Cineworld's popcorn mark-up trick, it's time for us to leave before we overstay our welcome.
God! So there we are.
They wouldn't let me take the cameras in with me.
But they made it clear that although they have a policy with hot food - they don't like people taking hot food in - they said it would be all right if I took my own popcorn in rather than the Cineworld popcorn, which is considerably more expensive.
Good stuff.
There's enough in here to feed a whole cinema.
Cineworld has since told us it offers a competitive range of snacks and most customers buy popcorn as part of a combo deal rather than as a single item.
It says it doesn't encourage it but taking in your own cold food and non-alcoholic drink is allowed.
Just as it is at Odeon and Vue.
Earlier, we met an insider who told us how games operated by a company called HB Leisure Ltd at Thorpe Park, one of the UK's largest family attractions, were really run.
People who had worked there for a few years were showing me what to do with the games to make them harder for people.
They said to do certain things to the games to make the games harder for people.
I'm rubbish.
Two of our researchers got jobs at the park to investigate.
Our first mole, Lucy, who worked there last August was told by the games manager that she should control the payout on each of the stalls.
Day one on the job and she is about find out how.
She's sent to work on a game called Mad Milk.
Do you want to have a go? There you go.
So, here are the rules of the game.
Tip over all the bottles with one throw of the ball and you win a prize.
It costs £2 for one ball or £5 for three.
Certainly sounds simple but in reality Oh.
Nearly.
Yes, knocking down three bottles is a challenge.
But listen to this.
Four bottles? Although the display photo shows four, staff do vary the number, as we saw the following day.
Customers are now finding the game harder to win, which is just how HB Leisure's general manager wants it to be.
Not cheating? They're certainly not providing a level playing field for their customers.
They are essentially altering the difficulty of the game for players so they can control the number of winners.
It was made clear to me that the way the company was making enough money was to control the payout.
If you'd had too many winners, you were encouraged to make the games harder and you were told that it was possible to do that.
Really, you were in control of who was likely to win and who wasn't.
HB Leisure have since denied there is anything wrong with the way they operate this game.
They say the standard setting is four bottles and they only alter the game to make it easier.
Next up, a game called Bazookoid.
You have to knock down six stacked cans with the bazooka.
It costs £2 two balls.
it seems straightforward.
But don't look through the viewfinder.
The viewfinder doesn't work at all.
I don't know why it's on the gun.
It's just there for show.
Everyone always looks into it, thinking it will help with the aim but they will totally miss.
Is HB Leisure's general manager aware of this? Our mole Lucy asked why some customers weren't winning.
Some stallholders were also aware of the problem.
I was told that if someone looks through the viewfinder, they won't win because using the viewfinder means you aim too low and you won't fire the ball high enough.
A couple of stallholders even gave instructions to players to compensate.
When you're using the gun.
It's natural to look into the viewfinder before you fire.
That was one of the reasons why people weren't winning.
They were just aiming too low.
HB Leisure told us there are an average of 32 winners on Bazookoid each week.
They say it is a crude piece of equipment and the viewfinder couldn't be mistaken for the precision sights on a rifle.
They told us the missile's trajectory will vary due to various factors so lining up with the sights will not guarantee hitting the target.
Next, Blockbuster.
Here, players have to knock down a set of cubes with the ball.
It costs £2 a throw.
How do they control the number of winners in this? Wax? How does that work then? We know they use wax because the next day another of the stallholders gave us a block of it.
There it is.
Want to see it again? Oh! I see.
Our second mole also witnessed the obvious signs of wax residue on the games surfaces.
I it was the sort of wax that was grippy rather than slippy.
It's the type wax they use on surfboards to create friction so the surfer doesn't fall off.
A sneaky trick? Not according to HB Leisure, who say the wax is used when needed to replenish friction as part of routine maintenance.
However, they acknowledge that the amount of wax isn't clear to customers.
They've now withdrawn the game while they decide whether it can be operated to their standards.
So, three games where paying customers, often children, can be disadvantaged.
And you have to remind yourself that this isn't happening at some cheap travelling funfair.
HB Leisure is operating at Thorpe Park, one of the biggest theme park attractions in the UK.
But, as our first undercover mole found out, visitors could be potential victims of even more sophisticated tricks.
Yes, this is a Rebound.
The aim is to bounce a ball off a board and into a box placed in front of it.
The closer the box is to that board, the harder it is to win.
But moving the box in and out wasn't the only trick being used on this game.
Listen to this stallholder.
On Rebound there are two different balls.
If a customer comes up and asks how to play the game, you show them using a demonstration ball, which has a coin in it, which makes it much heavier so it falls more easily into the box.
They then think it looks easy and decide to play the game.
You then give them a different ball, which is much lighter because it has nothing inside it, so basically you're demonstrating the game with a ball that makes it look easy and makes it easier to play, but then they're having a go with a ball that makes it much harder to win with.
HB Leisure told us the use of coin balls is against company policy.
They say they don't sanction, condone or encourage this practice.
Despite that, we witnessed the trick in action.
We've seen how the odds of customers winning certain games can be manipulated.
Sometimes the tricks are clever.
But there's also a very unsophisticated one.
According to general manager, Abby Bandy, if too many customers are winning just put them off.
HB Leisure have since told us that distracting customers from playing would be inexcusable and a breach of company policy.
Our two moles have now found rules being altered, odds being manipulated and an old-fashioned distraction technique.
If you're planning to play the games, you now know what you could be up against.
But don't worry, it's not all doom and gloom.
Our moles have managed to find the secret to beat the tricks.
And keep watching because we're about to tell you.
First one, I promise.
Go compare, go compare Adverts can be annoying, can't they? Last year, the Advertising Standards Authority received more complaints about this one than any other.
Unfortunately, they couldn't find a reason to ban it.
Try saving this.
Insure your mort Yes! Yes, commercials.
They really can bring out your inner psycho.
Annoying commercials are one thing but misleading adverts are another.
They are the ones that paint a false picture.
They can trick you into parting with your cash.
That is why we really do not want to be had by the ad.
Nearly 4,000 ads are banned every year.
It's the leisure industry that generates more complaints than any other.
So, just how misleading are some of their messages? Welcome, everybody.
I'm going to introduce you to a number of adverts.
The first is a radio ad for the biggest restaurant chain in the UK, Pizza Express.
Have a listen.
'Your order is our start gun.
'Only then do we chop, knead, tear, season, drizzle and bake.
'Whether it's a classic American with extra anchovies or added olives, 'it's only made fresh from the 'it's only made fresh from the moment you order.
Pizza Express.
'We don't start without you.
' Jonathan, right? You hear that advert.
What does it say to you? It says to me that they are putting the customer first by cooking you fresh pizza.
Exactly.
You order your pizza then they start from scratch.
But that is exactly where we are being misled.
Yes, the food is sometimes prepared before orders are placed.
In the busiest restaurants, during preparations for peak periods, dough is sometimes pre-stretched and some fresh ingredients are chopped up beforehand as well.
So, not quite what it says in that particular advert at all.
It's a bit of a pointless advert if they're preaching about something that they're not actually practising.
Pointless, maybe.
Misleading, definitely.
That is why the Advertising Standards Authority banned the ad.
Pizza Express insisted that wasn't intentional.
It said it does make pizzas to order using fresh ingredients but it did admit that, at peak times in its busiest kitchens, these may be chopped shortly beforehand.
Well, the next advert we've got for you is an online ad for the Comedy Club.
These are the testimonials about the club on their website.
The BBC says, 'Definitely the funniest show in London.
' Personally recommended by the London Evening Standard comedy critic.
The Stage rated it 'first rate' and "hilarious".
Would you take their word for it? Lorna? I think when you're glancing through a website, you'll think, 'Oh that's great.
'They've got really positive reviews from all these new sources.
' But, when the Advertising Standards Authority investigated, the Comedy Club failed to provide any documentary evidence to show that those quotations and testimonials were in fact made by those publications or indeed to show that they were in fact even genuine.
It's a key principle of the advertising, regulatory system that if you make a claim in your ad, you've got to be able to prove it.
We all respond to testimonies if we think that some third party has said something is good, we're more likely to give it a go, which is why it is so important that advertisers that include quotes in testimonials and endorsements in their advertising, can prove that they are true.
In this case, they couldn't.
Well, the ASA obviously thought the Comedy Club was having a laugh so, you guessed it, they banned the ad.
As for this audience, they're not amused with certain other ads.
I've got something I want to raise.
Booking fees at a theme park.
Really? What was the company? Drayton Manor Theme Park near Birmingham.
I went with my wife and two grandchildren and booked online and they charged £3.
50 booking fee.
Let's have a look at the advert.
'Under fours free.
Free parking.
'Scary, stomach-churning rollercoaster experiences 'like no other.
'It's a scream at Drayton Manor.
'Crazy summer prices with a rainy-day guarantee.
'The ultimate summer explosion at draytonmanor.
co.
uk.
' What do they say about the booking fee? No mention of the booking fee.
There's no mention, is there? No, none at all.
We had a wonderful day.
I would go again.
But when I got back I wrote to the managing director, complaining about the booking fee.
I asked him how he could justify it.
He ignored my letter.
Drayton Manor wasn't subject to investigation by the ASA.
It has since told us that most of its summer explosion ads stated that they were terms and conditions and terms and customers needed to accept them before booking.
But it has now reduced booking fees.
Future advertising will reflect this.
just as well.
The Advertising Code is clear about booking fees and charges.
If there is a charge that applies to the ticket, you've got to include it in the ticket price.
It's got to be an all-inclusive price.
If there's a booking fee that applies irrespective of the number of tickets, you've got to state that upfront, clearly.
It's no good just saying see terms and conditions.
All we're asking is that the price that you're quoted is the price that you pay.
What happened to you? I am a regular theatergoer.
I'm charged on a weekly basis, hidden booking fees for going to the theatre.
I've made a series of complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority, all of which have been accepted.
He's not making it up.
This ad for the Old Vic Theatre did not mention their compulsory booking fee.
This ad for Charing Cross Theatre was also banned.
So was this ad.
.
.
this ad and this ad.
All these companies had to change their ads to make the booking fees clearer, thanks to Jonathan.
So, a result? Yes.
Which just goes to show, if you think an ad is playing fast and loose with the facts, you don't have to just sit back and watch.
We are prone to responding and placing too much weight to the first price that we see.
Not adjusting enough for extra charges or extra qualifications that we find out about later.
Don't feel alone, if you think that's happened to you.
Don't be scared about drawing it to the attention of the company concerned and letting them know what you think and certainly don't feel intimidated into not complaining to us.
Do you know the one good thing about these tricks that await us when we go out? It gives a Billy-no-mates like me the perfect excuse to close the curtains and curl up on the couch.
Yes! Can't beat an evening in with a good movie.
And there are so many ways to watch them these days.
There are film channels, DVDs direct to your door or you can get them streamed over the internet from companies like this, LOVEFiLM, the subscription movie service owned by Amazon.
All right, done deal! LOVEFiLM has 2 million members and is expanding fast, thanks to its ads and an aggressive campaign to recruit new customers on the streets.
Now, there's nothing wrong with persuading people to sign up to your service, but are they doing it correctly? I was approached by LOVEFiLM who were doing a promotion in the town centre.
I was told I was signing up to a three month free trial, when in reality I wasn't because they charged me £4.
99 instantly for it.
They didn't give me any detailed information as to the cost or what steps they were going to take.
They asked for verification that I was with a UK bank and for me to give them my bank card, and then the next thing I knew I'd been charged.
Giving the impression something's free when it isn't? Can this be true? Sounds like we need to go undercover again.
LOVEFiLM uses several companies to sign up new subscribers.
We sent a researcher for an interview with one of the biggest, Corporate Jungle Ltd.
He not only got the sales job, he got stacks of material.
Another excuse for me Another excuse for me to sit at home on the sofa.
Three days of secret filming footage - movie night bliss! Mind you, even I can sit through this much on my own.
So, I've invited my old friend Deborah Parry over.
Oh, Deborah! And you brought popcorn.
It's my favourite brand.
Don't know if it will be enough, though.
She's a legal expert.
She knows everything about your consumer rights and she never switches off.
Today you be learning about the LOVEFiLM products.
So first the mini feature.
LOVEFiLM customers normally pay £4.
99 a month for unlimited movies.
But here's our researcher getting the low-down on how to sell one of their special offers - three months for the price of one.
Most of the instructions were by the book, then he was encouraged to tell potential customers they only had a short amount of time to grab this offer.
Now, when it says limited offer, by the way, don't worry.
It's an ongoing offer.
It's just so you can show it to the customer and say, 'Look, if you don't do it today, you'll miss out.
' it puts that fear of loss and to them, you know.
Right So this special offer isn't going to be withdrawn any time soon.
But you should tell potential customers that it is? Hmm That seems pretty tricksy to me, Deborah.
Yes, it is.
The consumer protection from unfair trading regulations prohibit traders from falsely claiming that an offer is time-limited, so that it encourages consumers to make a rash decision without thinking about things properly.
So it's not just tricksy, but it's actually illegal? Yes, there is the potential for a criminal prosecution in cases like that.
See, I told you.
She never switches off! OK, time for the main feature.
Our researcher's now sent to sign up new customers on the streets, where other members of the sales team are putting those legally iffy instructions into practice.
They're also using other tactics to get customers to sign up.
Now, remember, this three months for the price of one special offer costs £4.
99, a figure this team manager, Anthony, isn't too keen to shout about.
Once a customer agrees, LOVEFiLM takes the £4.
99 from their account immediately, although some sales staff don't explain that clearly.
So how do they obtain the customers account details? Well, sneakily.
Got that? Some sales reps say your card details are needed solely for verification purposes, and not for an immediate £4.
99 payment.
According to Anthony, anyway.
Oh, and this other sales rep too.
Of course, the longer a potential customer has to think about what they're signing up for, the greater the risk of them backing out.
But senior manager, Stephanie, has a way to deal with that.
Hang on.
Did I just hear that right? That really is very bad practice.
Consumers should be able to have the proper information given to them, an opportunity to think about it and then voluntarily choose to buy the product.
Now, what if customers complain afterwards, when they realise the deal wasn't quite what they thought it was? Well, they have a problem because LOVEFiLM can point to the sales confirmation form they signed.
Now, this form is crucial, as our researcher was told during his training.
Yes, doing the job correctly - vitally important.
Just a pity it doesn't always happen.
Forge a signature when it's a phone sale? Wow.
Mind you, this was only one rep and we were never told to do this by anyone in authority.
We were encouraged to do something else, though, while out on the streets with senior manager, Stephanie.
You can fill it in for them? Yeah.
Yes, if the customer's in a rush, sales staff can tick and initial the boxes instead.
So, if someone is running for the bus, is it OK to fill in the form for them? No, it's not.
If the boxes are filled in If the boxes are filled in on their behalf, then they aren't properly agreeing to the items in those boxes.
So, let's recap the laws of the Corporate Jungle so far.
One, tell the customer it's a limited offer, when it's not.
Two, don't always tell the customer you're going to take an immediate payment of £4.
99.
Three, get them to put a signature on the confirmation form, but then tick all the boxes for them.
Very naughty.
They wouldn't do that to me, though, would they? Well, it's about time I found out.
I'm fed up with looking at movies.
I want to star in one.
I want to play a mystery shopper.
In fact, there are two of us.
And in order to play our scene, we first have to find our co-stars.
Just where are they selling today? Aha! Spotted them.
So now we're going to walk towards them, looking like just the sort of people who might be up for a deal.
Hello.
Hi.
That's an amazing hat.
Thank you.
Yup, they've bitten.
I better sound enthusiastic.
OK, over-sharing from me aside, it's all going pretty well.
They're clear about the price, we fill in the tick sheet ourselves, but do you know something? Like many people, I like to know exactly what I'm signing up to.
So I ask a simple question.
This is clearly a contract.
There are 25 pages of terms and conditions and, although the consumer can cancel at any time, they are clearly entering a legally binding agreement.
I think consumers would be interested to know that if they fall into arrears, quote, 'We reserve the right to pass on your details to a collection agency 'for retrieval of the outstanding debt.
' As can be seen from all the detailed terms, this is clearly a contract.
In fact, we were told five times that we weren't signing up to a contract, when in fact we were.
And we were never at any point shown the terms and conditions.
Now, LOVEFiLM employ a number of different companies to sell their products.
So could it be they just aren't aware that this kind of thing is going on? I complained to LOVEFiLM about what had happened and my experience via email.
And they sent me a response apologising and stating what to do next and so to send my DVD back in order to get a refund.
I emailed LOVEFiLM several times, different people kept emailing me back.
It went on for weeks and weeks and weeks.
So, after hearing it from their customers and from us, what do LOVEFiLM have to say? Well, they apologise to anyone who has had a bad experience with reps selling their services.
They say we've uncovered isolated incidents that don't reflect the typical working practice of Corporate jungle, but they'll be reviewing all face-to-face selling activity it conducts on their behalf.
Corporate Jungle itself says it's investigating the issues we've raised.
It says it has clear guidelines and procedures in place, and any individual not following them will be dealt with.
Both companies have thanked us for bringing these issues to their attention.
Now, when any company takes a regular recurring payment off your credit or debit card, it's called a continuous payment authority.
You're effectively giving them permission to take money out of your account indefinitely.
Always remember that you have the power to stop it.
All you have to do is contact your bank or card provider to cancel it and, by law, they have to.
Also, if the bank doesn't stop these payments coming out, it has to refund you any future payments and any charges that might have been incurred.
But, of course, depending on your contract with the company, you may still have to pay off any amounts due.
For more information and advice, please visit our website Back to Thorpe Park now - one of the UK's most popular attractions and where we found the games run by HB Leisure Ltd are sometimes manipulated.
But there is a time of day when they'll actively boost your chances of winning, as their boss told one of our undercover moles.
Oh, yes.
Nothing advertises a game better than a customer walking around the park all day clutching a big prize.
Because children then see that prize and want to play for themselves.
HB Leisure likes to give them out early.
So it's 10:30am.
We're here as customers playing a game called Ball Buster And doing badly.
We decide to move on.
But the host is keen for us to keep playing.
Yes, very keen.
She even offers us extra goes for our money to persuade us to carry on.
We're still not buying it.
But then she actually guarantees we'll win.
Just pick the orange tiger, yeah? OK, we've been guaranteed a prize.
But will we really get one? After all, the rules say we must get three down.
Yes, the park's been open for just half an hour and we have a big cuddly prize.
The plan to tempt other people to play the games is working nicely.
Now that we've uncovered what's going on, we're breaking the news to the Ashleys.
They had no idea about these tricks - until now.
So, even if you were the best shot, your actual chances of winning are severely reduced because someone is tampering with the fairness of the game.
Yes.
I think it's disgusting.
I really do think it's disgusting.
It is not about the experience on the day.
It's about making as much money as possible.
But we couldn't let the Ashleys lose out like that, not after they were good enough to let us tag along with them last time.
So, we've brought them back to Thorpe Park.
But now they know the secret of how to win, they head for the game stalls early.
lt's 11am and the game is Lobster Pot.
For £5, they're given five throws to land two balls in a pot.
John and Will have no luck.
Then dad, Jason, misses too.
So, you guessed, the stallholder changes the rules.
Yes, instead of having to get two in the pot, he now only needs to land one.
And then when he continues to miss, the stallholder makes it even easier.
He adds another ball to the pot - that's it there - which will help stop others bouncing out.
As a result, the inevitable happens.
Yes, big winner, a big doughnut and another big trick exposed.
HB Leisure Ltd strenuously deny that their games are manipulated or rigged.
They say they've given out more than 100,000 prizes at Thorpe Park in the last season and a half.
80% of them in the afternoons when there are more players.
They say no game is made more difficult than the stated rules.
They add that they make the games easier at quieter times as part of what they call promotional periods.
But they will now display new signs alerting customers to the fact promotional offers may be made during the day.
They say they take our allegations seriously.
They've commenced staff retraining and say they will, if necessary, take further action once they've seen our evidence.
Thorpe Park's owners, Merlin Entertainments, say their attractions offer excellent value for money.
They say they would never condone any activity that's proven to mislead or disadvantage their guests.
They've launched an investigation into our allegations and will take swift and appropriate action if they find any evidence of malpractice.
Right So, what are we going to do tomorrow? Maybe just a walk in the park? Good idea.
It's too much money.
Your money.
And their tricks.
See you next time! Coming up next week.
.
.
We're taking on the giants of the motor trade.
Meet the whistleblower who reveals what really goes on at Britain's best known at Britain's best known garage chain.
We do everything to convince you to buy a lot of things you don't need to buy.
We feel like we've ripped people off.
Buying second-hand.
What you need to know about one of the country's biggest dealers.
And ever had one of these? How to fight back against those dreaded private parking cameras.
Just thought you should know this is me leaving the car park.
This is what leaving looks like.
Every pound is precious but wherever you turn, big companies are determined to squeeze you even more with their tricks.
It's disgusting.
I really do think it is disgusting.
It is about making as much money as possible.
But this is the series that is determined to stop them.
My goodness! Each week we go undercover to expose their tactics.
If you don't give them a chance to think and change their mind.
.
.
yeah.
We talk to the whistleblowers.
We do everything to convince you to buy a lot of things you don't need to buy.
We feel like we rip people off.
and reveal how you can fight back.
Would you like to know what, in total, you manage to save? £1,293.
Wow! Yes.
Whether we are going on holiday, buying a car, furnishing our homes, or enjoying time off, there can be shocking underhand ploys to avoid.
Want to know what they are? Then this is the programme for you.
We are talking about your money, their tricks.
Tonight - tampering with the games at one of Britain's biggest theme parks.
How staff control your chances of winning and losing.
I was really shocked and I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing or what I was being asked to do.
X-rated sales tactics.
LOVEFiLM - you won't like how they sign up their customers.
So it is not just tricky but it is actually illegal? Yes, there is the potential for a criminal prosecution in cases like that.
And fed up with paying over the odds? Whether it is a trip to Cineworld Can I take this popcorn in with me? or a one direction gig at the O2, how you can swerve those dreaded mark-ups.
Ha-ha-ha! I foiled that trick.
So what are you doing this weekend? Meeting up with friends? Going to a concert, the theatre, or a visit to the seaside more your thing? Free time - we all love it.
If only we could agree on how to use it.
Oh, I am so excited! I am checking out the Justin Bieber concert.
It is over at the 02.
just being near him makes me happy! Aren't you a bit old for that? Whatever.
Nothing can beat a day out with the family really, can it? Lots of rides and drinks and ice creams, things like that? I was going to buy the three of us tickets to go to the pictures, but if you are all doing something else I will.
.
.
just go by myself.
.
.
Baby, baby, oh! Baby, baby, baby, no Not my idea of fun either to be honest.
This is though.
There are rides that will thrill you and scare you.
And as the school holidays approach, where better for a family day out? Britain's theme parks attract an incredible 6 million of us each year.
But as with any day out, the costs can add up.
Here at Thorpe Park, there is the price of the ticket from £22 up to £43 a person.
Then there is the parking, £5.
If you would like a photo to remember your day, that will be an extra £8, please.
And if you want to avoid the queues, that is up to £5 a ride, or a whopping £70 a person for an unlimited one-day pass.
It can be expensive enough for one but for a family, let's find out.
Today I am joining the Ashleys.
That's Will, and Eloise and their dads, brothers Jason and John.
They all love the rides.
Look! There they go.
Whoa! But as for the tempting extras Thorpe Park is owned by Merlin Entertainments, the biggest theme park operator in Europe.
They also run Alton Towers, the London Eye, Legoland and Madame Tussaud's to name just a few.
Their Thorpe Park attraction brings in around 2 million visitors a year.
Visitors with money in their pockets.
Being careful with your money is tough when temptation is everywhere.
For children that is.
One of the things I have noticed here is how many games there are.
You can win a Sonic the Hedgehog, a furry animal, they are even offering an Xbox here.
Three games for £5.
It is not cheap, is it? The games are managed by HB Leisure Ltd who have what they call a strategic partnership with Merlin Entertainments - to run the games at many of their theme parks.
Games that these kids I am rubbish.
.
.
aren't having much luck with today.
But I found out there could be a reason for that because we have had a tip-off from somebody on the inside.
Yes, meet Charlene.
She worked for HB Leisure at Thorpe Park last year and she is prepared to tell us the real story about what has been going on.
I was working as a games host on the games and I basically had to get people to play the games and then tell them how to play it, and give out prizes when people win.
The games are skill-based.
They are pretty challenging, so you don't expect to win every time, but according to Charlene, the odds are sometimes stacked against you.
Deliberately.
People who had worked there for a few years were showing me what to do with the games to make them harder for people.
People used to get into trouble for giving out too many prizes, not making enough money.
They basically said to do certain things to the games to make the games harder for people.
I was really shocked and I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing or what I was being asked to do.
Serious allegations but are they true? To answer that, we went undercover on the games stalls.
Two of our researchers applied for jobs with HB Leisure and guess what - they got them.
Day one on the job and our first mole, Lucy, meets HB Leisure's general manager at Thorpe Park.
He tells her that to hit her targets, the number of winners on each game should be managed.
I'd been referred to this as controlling the payout.
Each game had a target for takings and once that target had been hit, you could give someone a price and after they had got their price, ideally, you would be expected to make the same amount of money again before you would allow someone else to get a prize.
I had no idea how you could control the number of people who would win or who would lose, but he said there were ways on a number of the games where you could manipulate the odds and that all of the staff knew about them.
Not cheating anyone? We will let you decide.
We are going to show you what we discovered in just a few days of working there.
So if you want to know the tricks, keep watching.
Oh! That is quite hard.
Despite what I told the other two, I am not actually heading to the O2 Arena to see Justin Bieber.
It is just a little ruse so I can investigate a mark-up trick.
A mark-up essentially is the amount of money that a company decides to place on top of the cost that it incurs to produce a specific product.
Then, when we also take away from that mark-up the overhead costs that are general to the business, we are left off with What we know as profit.
Profit.
Certainly not a dirty word in my book.
I don't think they should just charge whatever they think they can get away with.
Which is just what we have heard has been happening at the 02.
You know it, the place that started as a failure and swallowed up £800 million of our money.
Well, these days it is a success.
It is a music venue, home to an 11-screen cinema, exhibition spaces, bars and restaurants galore.
So a shiny new entertainment complex with an interesting trick to take more of your money.
We are going to show you how they do it by fitting three cars with hidden cameras.
I've gaffered it on.
Then parking them at the O2 on the exact same day.
But crucially, each car is going there for a different reason.
OK.
Car number one.
So my first disguise.
Can you guess where I am going? That's right.
The cinema.
Off we go then.
Whoa! Go to the cinema at the 02 and the parking is free.
The only condition is that you have to watch the entire film before they'll validate your ticket.
Can't argue with that.
Now, what if I don't want to go to the 02 to see a film? What if instead So I am off to review some restaurants.
I mean, isn't it obvious? Yep, me and a friend are hungry and we need to park.
Four hours for £7?! Even though it is free if you go to the cinema? Hmm, confusing as well as expensive.
OK.
Time for the third and final visit and the giddy schoolgirl act.
This time.
.
.
l have got Bieber fever.
.
.
Baby, baby, baby, oh Get out of my way, I need to see Bieber! Yep, Justin is on and I am going in.
Parking was free when I was going to the cinema and £7 when I was visiting a restaurant.
So what is the damage for concert-goers? Yes it is.
Really! For leaving your vehicle at the same venue for the same length of time.
£28 to park for the arena.
You have to have Bieber fever for that.
The O2 told us it is obliged to minimise car travel and it designs its prices to discourage people from driving to the venue.
It says it reinvests profits into other transport services and says it is the cinema who dictates their free parking.
It adds that rates for the bars and restaurants are in line with other car parks in the area.
Still, I think I have found a way for concert-goers to avoid being stung so badly.
Yes.
It is a month later and Justin is long gone.
But there is another teen pop sensation at the 02 tonight.
In fact, there are five of them.
Harryyou are coming in with me.
Well, I couldn't look more like a One Direction fan if I tried, could I? But those concert tickets cost, you know.
So why should I pay an extra £28 to park? .
.
Getcha, getcha, getcha, getcha One way or another .
.
Going to find you, going to getcha, getcha.
.
.
Ha-ha-ha! I foiled that trick.
Wahey! I am in! And you can't say I did not give them a chance to be suspicious.
.
.
one way or another.
The O2 has since told us it does brief stewards to ascertain the purpose of a visit, but I was not questioned because I might have been heading to the One have been heading to the One Direction pop-up shop on the site.
It says it is already planning a new system including number plate recognition to ensure customers pay the right fee.
As for me, despite appearances, I really was only visiting the restaurants so I did not cheat the 02 out of any money.
But if YOU are a concert-goer who wants to avoid the £28 charge while sticking to the rules, remember this - book in advance and you will pay £7 less.
Fun days out, eh? Not that much fun when you have been left on your own.
Typical.
Stood up by my mates yet again.
Oh, well.
Get myself a nice bag of popcorn to cheer myself up.
I can't believe it.
One small bag of popcorn from Cineworld, £4.
15! I am not paying that.
Popcorn - it is cheap, it costs little to make, but that does not stop the cinemas putting a whacking great premium on it.
A cinema has popcorn and cinema tickets to sell.
The cinema might decide to lower The cinema might decide to lower the price of the cinema ticket to get as much volume into the cinema as possible and then a percentage of those people will say, "Hey, 'l want to have some popcorn,' or Coke, or something else and, therefore, I can charge a premium for that particular product.
So what does popcorn cost in cinemas today? Take a deep breath.
Small Vue bag in London, a medium one and a large one.
A small Cineworld bag, a medium one and a large one.
And finally, small Odeon bag, a medium one and a large one.
I reckon they must be making a fortune on these snacks.
But when we asked the big three chains to tell us what their mark-up is on popcorn, none of them would.
So let's try and work it out for ourselves.
We bought a small, medium and large bag of popcorn from three different Cineworld, Vue and Odeon cinemas in central London.
We measured the weight of the popcorn in all of them.
Next, we looked for the cheapest bag of popcorn we could find and calculated the average mark-up.
So, which of the cinema chains has the biggest mark-up on its popcorn? And it is CineWorld.
Yes.
I can buy this bag from the supermarket for just 43p per 100g, yet Cineworld's small bag costs 16 times as much.
If this is what they are flocking in the foyer, that would be an eye-watering 1,500 % mark-up.
Amazing! By the way, if you want the best value for money at the cinema, buy a large bag.
The one at Cineworld costs £5.
20 and of all the three chains, it has the smallest mark-up.
Although at £2.
01 per 100g, that is still an impressive 370%.
I would be very surprised if a cinema did not get popcorn at a cheaper price than we can on the high street.
The reason is simple - they buy in bulk.
Then as a cinema, I have a decision to make.
Do I want to keep the high mark-up because I have the low costs, but perhaps have fewer people buying popcorn, or do I want to reduce it because I can now? The costs are lower and generate much more traffic.
That decision, of course, in the end depends on what maximises the profit for me.
The Cinema Exhibitors' Association representing Odeon and Vue told us many cinemas rely on income from food and drinks to remain viable.
The popcorn prices are clearly advertised and people have a choice whether they want to pay it.
So why would I buy this small bag from Cineworld for £4.
15 when I can pay exactly the same for all this popcorn in my big bag and take it in with me? That's if Cineworld will let me, of course.
Hi.
I've got my own popcorn.
OK.
Can I take this popcorn in with me? I've got a ticket to see the film.
Can I take my own popcorn in? Would that be OK? Great.
Can I then? Yeah! I've got it in here somewhere.
I did have a ticket.
Honestly.
Have you lost it? Yeah.
OK.
I did put in my Hang on, I've got it.
No, I haven't.
No, I haven't.
How embarrassing.
What a fool.
Anyway.
Now we know how to beat Cineworld's popcorn mark-up trick, it's time for us to leave before we overstay our welcome.
God! So there we are.
They wouldn't let me take the cameras in with me.
But they made it clear that although they have a policy with hot food - they don't like people taking hot food in - they said it would be all right if I took my own popcorn in rather than the Cineworld popcorn, which is considerably more expensive.
Good stuff.
There's enough in here to feed a whole cinema.
Cineworld has since told us it offers a competitive range of snacks and most customers buy popcorn as part of a combo deal rather than as a single item.
It says it doesn't encourage it but taking in your own cold food and non-alcoholic drink is allowed.
Just as it is at Odeon and Vue.
Earlier, we met an insider who told us how games operated by a company called HB Leisure Ltd at Thorpe Park, one of the UK's largest family attractions, were really run.
People who had worked there for a few years were showing me what to do with the games to make them harder for people.
They said to do certain things to the games to make the games harder for people.
I'm rubbish.
Two of our researchers got jobs at the park to investigate.
Our first mole, Lucy, who worked there last August was told by the games manager that she should control the payout on each of the stalls.
Day one on the job and she is about find out how.
She's sent to work on a game called Mad Milk.
Do you want to have a go? There you go.
So, here are the rules of the game.
Tip over all the bottles with one throw of the ball and you win a prize.
It costs £2 for one ball or £5 for three.
Certainly sounds simple but in reality Oh.
Nearly.
Yes, knocking down three bottles is a challenge.
But listen to this.
Four bottles? Although the display photo shows four, staff do vary the number, as we saw the following day.
Customers are now finding the game harder to win, which is just how HB Leisure's general manager wants it to be.
Not cheating? They're certainly not providing a level playing field for their customers.
They are essentially altering the difficulty of the game for players so they can control the number of winners.
It was made clear to me that the way the company was making enough money was to control the payout.
If you'd had too many winners, you were encouraged to make the games harder and you were told that it was possible to do that.
Really, you were in control of who was likely to win and who wasn't.
HB Leisure have since denied there is anything wrong with the way they operate this game.
They say the standard setting is four bottles and they only alter the game to make it easier.
Next up, a game called Bazookoid.
You have to knock down six stacked cans with the bazooka.
It costs £2 two balls.
it seems straightforward.
But don't look through the viewfinder.
The viewfinder doesn't work at all.
I don't know why it's on the gun.
It's just there for show.
Everyone always looks into it, thinking it will help with the aim but they will totally miss.
Is HB Leisure's general manager aware of this? Our mole Lucy asked why some customers weren't winning.
Some stallholders were also aware of the problem.
I was told that if someone looks through the viewfinder, they won't win because using the viewfinder means you aim too low and you won't fire the ball high enough.
A couple of stallholders even gave instructions to players to compensate.
When you're using the gun.
It's natural to look into the viewfinder before you fire.
That was one of the reasons why people weren't winning.
They were just aiming too low.
HB Leisure told us there are an average of 32 winners on Bazookoid each week.
They say it is a crude piece of equipment and the viewfinder couldn't be mistaken for the precision sights on a rifle.
They told us the missile's trajectory will vary due to various factors so lining up with the sights will not guarantee hitting the target.
Next, Blockbuster.
Here, players have to knock down a set of cubes with the ball.
It costs £2 a throw.
How do they control the number of winners in this? Wax? How does that work then? We know they use wax because the next day another of the stallholders gave us a block of it.
There it is.
Want to see it again? Oh! I see.
Our second mole also witnessed the obvious signs of wax residue on the games surfaces.
I it was the sort of wax that was grippy rather than slippy.
It's the type wax they use on surfboards to create friction so the surfer doesn't fall off.
A sneaky trick? Not according to HB Leisure, who say the wax is used when needed to replenish friction as part of routine maintenance.
However, they acknowledge that the amount of wax isn't clear to customers.
They've now withdrawn the game while they decide whether it can be operated to their standards.
So, three games where paying customers, often children, can be disadvantaged.
And you have to remind yourself that this isn't happening at some cheap travelling funfair.
HB Leisure is operating at Thorpe Park, one of the biggest theme park attractions in the UK.
But, as our first undercover mole found out, visitors could be potential victims of even more sophisticated tricks.
Yes, this is a Rebound.
The aim is to bounce a ball off a board and into a box placed in front of it.
The closer the box is to that board, the harder it is to win.
But moving the box in and out wasn't the only trick being used on this game.
Listen to this stallholder.
On Rebound there are two different balls.
If a customer comes up and asks how to play the game, you show them using a demonstration ball, which has a coin in it, which makes it much heavier so it falls more easily into the box.
They then think it looks easy and decide to play the game.
You then give them a different ball, which is much lighter because it has nothing inside it, so basically you're demonstrating the game with a ball that makes it look easy and makes it easier to play, but then they're having a go with a ball that makes it much harder to win with.
HB Leisure told us the use of coin balls is against company policy.
They say they don't sanction, condone or encourage this practice.
Despite that, we witnessed the trick in action.
We've seen how the odds of customers winning certain games can be manipulated.
Sometimes the tricks are clever.
But there's also a very unsophisticated one.
According to general manager, Abby Bandy, if too many customers are winning just put them off.
HB Leisure have since told us that distracting customers from playing would be inexcusable and a breach of company policy.
Our two moles have now found rules being altered, odds being manipulated and an old-fashioned distraction technique.
If you're planning to play the games, you now know what you could be up against.
But don't worry, it's not all doom and gloom.
Our moles have managed to find the secret to beat the tricks.
And keep watching because we're about to tell you.
First one, I promise.
Go compare, go compare Adverts can be annoying, can't they? Last year, the Advertising Standards Authority received more complaints about this one than any other.
Unfortunately, they couldn't find a reason to ban it.
Try saving this.
Insure your mort Yes! Yes, commercials.
They really can bring out your inner psycho.
Annoying commercials are one thing but misleading adverts are another.
They are the ones that paint a false picture.
They can trick you into parting with your cash.
That is why we really do not want to be had by the ad.
Nearly 4,000 ads are banned every year.
It's the leisure industry that generates more complaints than any other.
So, just how misleading are some of their messages? Welcome, everybody.
I'm going to introduce you to a number of adverts.
The first is a radio ad for the biggest restaurant chain in the UK, Pizza Express.
Have a listen.
'Your order is our start gun.
'Only then do we chop, knead, tear, season, drizzle and bake.
'Whether it's a classic American with extra anchovies or added olives, 'it's only made fresh from the 'it's only made fresh from the moment you order.
Pizza Express.
'We don't start without you.
' Jonathan, right? You hear that advert.
What does it say to you? It says to me that they are putting the customer first by cooking you fresh pizza.
Exactly.
You order your pizza then they start from scratch.
But that is exactly where we are being misled.
Yes, the food is sometimes prepared before orders are placed.
In the busiest restaurants, during preparations for peak periods, dough is sometimes pre-stretched and some fresh ingredients are chopped up beforehand as well.
So, not quite what it says in that particular advert at all.
It's a bit of a pointless advert if they're preaching about something that they're not actually practising.
Pointless, maybe.
Misleading, definitely.
That is why the Advertising Standards Authority banned the ad.
Pizza Express insisted that wasn't intentional.
It said it does make pizzas to order using fresh ingredients but it did admit that, at peak times in its busiest kitchens, these may be chopped shortly beforehand.
Well, the next advert we've got for you is an online ad for the Comedy Club.
These are the testimonials about the club on their website.
The BBC says, 'Definitely the funniest show in London.
' Personally recommended by the London Evening Standard comedy critic.
The Stage rated it 'first rate' and "hilarious".
Would you take their word for it? Lorna? I think when you're glancing through a website, you'll think, 'Oh that's great.
'They've got really positive reviews from all these new sources.
' But, when the Advertising Standards Authority investigated, the Comedy Club failed to provide any documentary evidence to show that those quotations and testimonials were in fact made by those publications or indeed to show that they were in fact even genuine.
It's a key principle of the advertising, regulatory system that if you make a claim in your ad, you've got to be able to prove it.
We all respond to testimonies if we think that some third party has said something is good, we're more likely to give it a go, which is why it is so important that advertisers that include quotes in testimonials and endorsements in their advertising, can prove that they are true.
In this case, they couldn't.
Well, the ASA obviously thought the Comedy Club was having a laugh so, you guessed it, they banned the ad.
As for this audience, they're not amused with certain other ads.
I've got something I want to raise.
Booking fees at a theme park.
Really? What was the company? Drayton Manor Theme Park near Birmingham.
I went with my wife and two grandchildren and booked online and they charged £3.
50 booking fee.
Let's have a look at the advert.
'Under fours free.
Free parking.
'Scary, stomach-churning rollercoaster experiences 'like no other.
'It's a scream at Drayton Manor.
'Crazy summer prices with a rainy-day guarantee.
'The ultimate summer explosion at draytonmanor.
co.
uk.
' What do they say about the booking fee? No mention of the booking fee.
There's no mention, is there? No, none at all.
We had a wonderful day.
I would go again.
But when I got back I wrote to the managing director, complaining about the booking fee.
I asked him how he could justify it.
He ignored my letter.
Drayton Manor wasn't subject to investigation by the ASA.
It has since told us that most of its summer explosion ads stated that they were terms and conditions and terms and customers needed to accept them before booking.
But it has now reduced booking fees.
Future advertising will reflect this.
just as well.
The Advertising Code is clear about booking fees and charges.
If there is a charge that applies to the ticket, you've got to include it in the ticket price.
It's got to be an all-inclusive price.
If there's a booking fee that applies irrespective of the number of tickets, you've got to state that upfront, clearly.
It's no good just saying see terms and conditions.
All we're asking is that the price that you're quoted is the price that you pay.
What happened to you? I am a regular theatergoer.
I'm charged on a weekly basis, hidden booking fees for going to the theatre.
I've made a series of complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority, all of which have been accepted.
He's not making it up.
This ad for the Old Vic Theatre did not mention their compulsory booking fee.
This ad for Charing Cross Theatre was also banned.
So was this ad.
.
.
this ad and this ad.
All these companies had to change their ads to make the booking fees clearer, thanks to Jonathan.
So, a result? Yes.
Which just goes to show, if you think an ad is playing fast and loose with the facts, you don't have to just sit back and watch.
We are prone to responding and placing too much weight to the first price that we see.
Not adjusting enough for extra charges or extra qualifications that we find out about later.
Don't feel alone, if you think that's happened to you.
Don't be scared about drawing it to the attention of the company concerned and letting them know what you think and certainly don't feel intimidated into not complaining to us.
Do you know the one good thing about these tricks that await us when we go out? It gives a Billy-no-mates like me the perfect excuse to close the curtains and curl up on the couch.
Yes! Can't beat an evening in with a good movie.
And there are so many ways to watch them these days.
There are film channels, DVDs direct to your door or you can get them streamed over the internet from companies like this, LOVEFiLM, the subscription movie service owned by Amazon.
All right, done deal! LOVEFiLM has 2 million members and is expanding fast, thanks to its ads and an aggressive campaign to recruit new customers on the streets.
Now, there's nothing wrong with persuading people to sign up to your service, but are they doing it correctly? I was approached by LOVEFiLM who were doing a promotion in the town centre.
I was told I was signing up to a three month free trial, when in reality I wasn't because they charged me £4.
99 instantly for it.
They didn't give me any detailed information as to the cost or what steps they were going to take.
They asked for verification that I was with a UK bank and for me to give them my bank card, and then the next thing I knew I'd been charged.
Giving the impression something's free when it isn't? Can this be true? Sounds like we need to go undercover again.
LOVEFiLM uses several companies to sign up new subscribers.
We sent a researcher for an interview with one of the biggest, Corporate Jungle Ltd.
He not only got the sales job, he got stacks of material.
Another excuse for me Another excuse for me to sit at home on the sofa.
Three days of secret filming footage - movie night bliss! Mind you, even I can sit through this much on my own.
So, I've invited my old friend Deborah Parry over.
Oh, Deborah! And you brought popcorn.
It's my favourite brand.
Don't know if it will be enough, though.
She's a legal expert.
She knows everything about your consumer rights and she never switches off.
Today you be learning about the LOVEFiLM products.
So first the mini feature.
LOVEFiLM customers normally pay £4.
99 a month for unlimited movies.
But here's our researcher getting the low-down on how to sell one of their special offers - three months for the price of one.
Most of the instructions were by the book, then he was encouraged to tell potential customers they only had a short amount of time to grab this offer.
Now, when it says limited offer, by the way, don't worry.
It's an ongoing offer.
It's just so you can show it to the customer and say, 'Look, if you don't do it today, you'll miss out.
' it puts that fear of loss and to them, you know.
Right So this special offer isn't going to be withdrawn any time soon.
But you should tell potential customers that it is? Hmm That seems pretty tricksy to me, Deborah.
Yes, it is.
The consumer protection from unfair trading regulations prohibit traders from falsely claiming that an offer is time-limited, so that it encourages consumers to make a rash decision without thinking about things properly.
So it's not just tricksy, but it's actually illegal? Yes, there is the potential for a criminal prosecution in cases like that.
See, I told you.
She never switches off! OK, time for the main feature.
Our researcher's now sent to sign up new customers on the streets, where other members of the sales team are putting those legally iffy instructions into practice.
They're also using other tactics to get customers to sign up.
Now, remember, this three months for the price of one special offer costs £4.
99, a figure this team manager, Anthony, isn't too keen to shout about.
Once a customer agrees, LOVEFiLM takes the £4.
99 from their account immediately, although some sales staff don't explain that clearly.
So how do they obtain the customers account details? Well, sneakily.
Got that? Some sales reps say your card details are needed solely for verification purposes, and not for an immediate £4.
99 payment.
According to Anthony, anyway.
Oh, and this other sales rep too.
Of course, the longer a potential customer has to think about what they're signing up for, the greater the risk of them backing out.
But senior manager, Stephanie, has a way to deal with that.
Hang on.
Did I just hear that right? That really is very bad practice.
Consumers should be able to have the proper information given to them, an opportunity to think about it and then voluntarily choose to buy the product.
Now, what if customers complain afterwards, when they realise the deal wasn't quite what they thought it was? Well, they have a problem because LOVEFiLM can point to the sales confirmation form they signed.
Now, this form is crucial, as our researcher was told during his training.
Yes, doing the job correctly - vitally important.
Just a pity it doesn't always happen.
Forge a signature when it's a phone sale? Wow.
Mind you, this was only one rep and we were never told to do this by anyone in authority.
We were encouraged to do something else, though, while out on the streets with senior manager, Stephanie.
You can fill it in for them? Yeah.
Yes, if the customer's in a rush, sales staff can tick and initial the boxes instead.
So, if someone is running for the bus, is it OK to fill in the form for them? No, it's not.
If the boxes are filled in If the boxes are filled in on their behalf, then they aren't properly agreeing to the items in those boxes.
So, let's recap the laws of the Corporate Jungle so far.
One, tell the customer it's a limited offer, when it's not.
Two, don't always tell the customer you're going to take an immediate payment of £4.
99.
Three, get them to put a signature on the confirmation form, but then tick all the boxes for them.
Very naughty.
They wouldn't do that to me, though, would they? Well, it's about time I found out.
I'm fed up with looking at movies.
I want to star in one.
I want to play a mystery shopper.
In fact, there are two of us.
And in order to play our scene, we first have to find our co-stars.
Just where are they selling today? Aha! Spotted them.
So now we're going to walk towards them, looking like just the sort of people who might be up for a deal.
Hello.
Hi.
That's an amazing hat.
Thank you.
Yup, they've bitten.
I better sound enthusiastic.
OK, over-sharing from me aside, it's all going pretty well.
They're clear about the price, we fill in the tick sheet ourselves, but do you know something? Like many people, I like to know exactly what I'm signing up to.
So I ask a simple question.
This is clearly a contract.
There are 25 pages of terms and conditions and, although the consumer can cancel at any time, they are clearly entering a legally binding agreement.
I think consumers would be interested to know that if they fall into arrears, quote, 'We reserve the right to pass on your details to a collection agency 'for retrieval of the outstanding debt.
' As can be seen from all the detailed terms, this is clearly a contract.
In fact, we were told five times that we weren't signing up to a contract, when in fact we were.
And we were never at any point shown the terms and conditions.
Now, LOVEFiLM employ a number of different companies to sell their products.
So could it be they just aren't aware that this kind of thing is going on? I complained to LOVEFiLM about what had happened and my experience via email.
And they sent me a response apologising and stating what to do next and so to send my DVD back in order to get a refund.
I emailed LOVEFiLM several times, different people kept emailing me back.
It went on for weeks and weeks and weeks.
So, after hearing it from their customers and from us, what do LOVEFiLM have to say? Well, they apologise to anyone who has had a bad experience with reps selling their services.
They say we've uncovered isolated incidents that don't reflect the typical working practice of Corporate jungle, but they'll be reviewing all face-to-face selling activity it conducts on their behalf.
Corporate Jungle itself says it's investigating the issues we've raised.
It says it has clear guidelines and procedures in place, and any individual not following them will be dealt with.
Both companies have thanked us for bringing these issues to their attention.
Now, when any company takes a regular recurring payment off your credit or debit card, it's called a continuous payment authority.
You're effectively giving them permission to take money out of your account indefinitely.
Always remember that you have the power to stop it.
All you have to do is contact your bank or card provider to cancel it and, by law, they have to.
Also, if the bank doesn't stop these payments coming out, it has to refund you any future payments and any charges that might have been incurred.
But, of course, depending on your contract with the company, you may still have to pay off any amounts due.
For more information and advice, please visit our website Back to Thorpe Park now - one of the UK's most popular attractions and where we found the games run by HB Leisure Ltd are sometimes manipulated.
But there is a time of day when they'll actively boost your chances of winning, as their boss told one of our undercover moles.
Oh, yes.
Nothing advertises a game better than a customer walking around the park all day clutching a big prize.
Because children then see that prize and want to play for themselves.
HB Leisure likes to give them out early.
So it's 10:30am.
We're here as customers playing a game called Ball Buster And doing badly.
We decide to move on.
But the host is keen for us to keep playing.
Yes, very keen.
She even offers us extra goes for our money to persuade us to carry on.
We're still not buying it.
But then she actually guarantees we'll win.
Just pick the orange tiger, yeah? OK, we've been guaranteed a prize.
But will we really get one? After all, the rules say we must get three down.
Yes, the park's been open for just half an hour and we have a big cuddly prize.
The plan to tempt other people to play the games is working nicely.
Now that we've uncovered what's going on, we're breaking the news to the Ashleys.
They had no idea about these tricks - until now.
So, even if you were the best shot, your actual chances of winning are severely reduced because someone is tampering with the fairness of the game.
Yes.
I think it's disgusting.
I really do think it's disgusting.
It is not about the experience on the day.
It's about making as much money as possible.
But we couldn't let the Ashleys lose out like that, not after they were good enough to let us tag along with them last time.
So, we've brought them back to Thorpe Park.
But now they know the secret of how to win, they head for the game stalls early.
lt's 11am and the game is Lobster Pot.
For £5, they're given five throws to land two balls in a pot.
John and Will have no luck.
Then dad, Jason, misses too.
So, you guessed, the stallholder changes the rules.
Yes, instead of having to get two in the pot, he now only needs to land one.
And then when he continues to miss, the stallholder makes it even easier.
He adds another ball to the pot - that's it there - which will help stop others bouncing out.
As a result, the inevitable happens.
Yes, big winner, a big doughnut and another big trick exposed.
HB Leisure Ltd strenuously deny that their games are manipulated or rigged.
They say they've given out more than 100,000 prizes at Thorpe Park in the last season and a half.
80% of them in the afternoons when there are more players.
They say no game is made more difficult than the stated rules.
They add that they make the games easier at quieter times as part of what they call promotional periods.
But they will now display new signs alerting customers to the fact promotional offers may be made during the day.
They say they take our allegations seriously.
They've commenced staff retraining and say they will, if necessary, take further action once they've seen our evidence.
Thorpe Park's owners, Merlin Entertainments, say their attractions offer excellent value for money.
They say they would never condone any activity that's proven to mislead or disadvantage their guests.
They've launched an investigation into our allegations and will take swift and appropriate action if they find any evidence of malpractice.
Right So, what are we going to do tomorrow? Maybe just a walk in the park? Good idea.
It's too much money.
Your money.
And their tricks.
See you next time! Coming up next week.
.
.
We're taking on the giants of the motor trade.
Meet the whistleblower who reveals what really goes on at Britain's best known at Britain's best known garage chain.
We do everything to convince you to buy a lot of things you don't need to buy.
We feel like we've ripped people off.
Buying second-hand.
What you need to know about one of the country's biggest dealers.
And ever had one of these? How to fight back against those dreaded private parking cameras.
Just thought you should know this is me leaving the car park.
This is what leaving looks like.