Rip Off Britain (2009) s07e04 Episode Script
Series 7, Episode 4
1 We asked you to tell us what's left you feeling totally ripped off, and you've contacted us in your thousands.
You've told us about the companies you think get it wrong, and the customer service that simply is not up to scratch.
If I walk in somewhere and they treat me badly, then I walk, and I will never go in again.
You've asked us to track down the scammers who stole your money, and investigate the extra charges you'd say are unfair.
You've paid for a service and you expect it to be the service that you've paid for.
And when you've lost out, but no-one else is to blame, you've come to us to stop others falling into the same trap.
As a customer, you have to be a bit more savvy in terms of what you're buying and make sure that it's something that you want or need and not something that they're trying to trick you into getting.
So whether it's a blatant rip-off or a genuine mistake, we're here to find out why you're out of pocket, and what you can do about it.
Your stories, your money.
This is Rip-Off Britain.
Hello, and welcome to Rip-off Britain, the programme that's here to help when it seems that you have reached a dead end in trying to get your problems resolved.
No matter how complicated or tricky your situation might be, we will try and find the answers that you might otherwise be struggling to get.
But the stories you contact us about can often be pretty complicated.
There are unexpected twists and turns that make it hard to predict what the outcome will be.
And it's tales like that which we'll be investigating today.
As you'll see, in all of them, things aren't quite as clear-cut as they seem.
And in some cases you'll find that's putting it really mildly.
Because as you'll see, in occasional situations, you'll find that truth is definitely stranger than fiction.
But rest assured, we'll be trying to get the bottom of why you've been left feeling right out of pocket.
And, as always, you can be definitely assured that we'll have lots of advice to make sure you don't end up in that situation again.
Coming up After paying to put their precious belongings into storage, why haven't this couple seen any of them since? It left us very, very angry, and saddened that there are people out there that actually do these types of things.
And the pitfalls of discovering a forgotten mineshaft under your house.
I would like to know what's going on.
I don't want to come out one morning and find you in a hole! What I want from the Coal Authority is absolute assurance that the mineshaft is safe.
Thank you so much for all the e-mails and the letters that you've sent us here at Rip-Off Britain.
You know, we really do appreciate getting all of them.
But the one that's sparked off our next report, that really stood out.
And as soon as we saw it, we knew we just had to find out more.
If you're lucky enough to have money to invest, putting it into wine may not be the first opportunity that springs to mind.
Although, in fact, it can be a decent long-term investment.
If you go for the right company and the right bottles.
And that's exactly what Ellen's late father, Alan, was encouraged to believe.
Ellen, tell me about your dad.
Was he somebody who was pretty canny with his money? I'd say yeah.
He thought he knew what he was doing with his money.
And he wouldn't have spent money freely.
He was someone who looked after his money quite a lot.
- So he didn't take risks? - I wouldn't say so, no.
When her dad died in 2013, Ellen was surprised to discover from his will that, over an eight-year period, he'd invested approximately £30,000 in 600 bottles of red, bought from wine broker APW -- originally called Australian Liquid Assets Ltd, and later APW Asset Management Ltd.
When I phoned, them I was really excited to find out what was going on, could we sell the wine? Between me and my sister, we just wanted to find out more.
Yeah, it was exciting to start with.
Ellen's dad had been promised potential returns of over 300%.
So she was keen to clarify just how well his fine wine investment had matured.
But when she called the APW offices in London, the voice on the end of the line was suspiciously cagey about its current value.
They were really noncommittal about how much the wine would be worth.
They straight away said, "It won't be worth anything the amount "that was invested.
" Which obviously shocked me.
What was their reason for that? They said that, the wine market had been depressed over the last few years, and a lot of people have been trying to sell their wine, there was so much wine in the market that the value had gone down.
Some of the bottles that my dad had bought for £120 per bottle, they were saying were now worth £5 per bottle.
Which To start with, I thought, "This is ridiculous.
" Slump or no slump, Ellen couldn't understand how a vintage £120 bottle could now suddenly be worth only the same as your average supermarket plonk.
And she started to wonder if something rather underhand might be going on.
I started to worry whether the wine actually existed.
And I thought that all the money my dad had invested was going to be gone.
Did you ask to see the wine? I did ask where it was.
I was told it was in Glasgow.
For me, I thought that was a bit too far to go.
Over the eight years he was investing, Alan was charged an additional fee for the storage of his wine, supposedly in a Glasgow warehouse.
It changed year on year, but at its most it was over £1,100.
But now Ellen had inherited the collection, and it was her responsibility to pay for the storage.
She had three invoices, each for £1,000.
One was outstanding when her dad died, one for 2013, and one for the following year.
I was worried that if we didn't pay it, we'd lose the wine, because I was still under the impression that the wine was there and existed.
So we paid the money, thinking that we would then sell the wine and get the £30,000 back.
The next problem Ellen encountered was in the summer of 2014, when she tried to release from storage a personalised case of wine, called "Alan", which her dad had apparently invested in.
Ellen tried to get hold of it for a family gathering.
APW wanted to charge her around £113, apparently to cover duty and delivery.
But when she attempted to make the payment online, her bank called her back to advise her not to, as they were suspicious of the account.
By now, the whole business was looking decidedly murky.
Ellen, you admit alarm bells started ringing for you.
What do you think the real situation is? Worst case scenario, it might not be there at all.
I just don't know at the moment.
But, taking a closer look at all the brochures, certificates and letters that Ellen's father had meticulously filed away, it's easy to see just how APW had kept him on board for so long.
We've got here the very first one, February, in fact, in 2005.
£5,731 worth of wine? Yeah, he just brought that straight away.
It's just crazy.
But it wasn't just that.
As I looked through, every couple of weeks for the first few months, he was just buying parcels of wine.
I think that he was getting sucked into it.
But then, in March of 2015, Ellen received another letter to add to her collection, informing her that APW had been wound up by the authorities and put into liquidation.
It left investors in limbo as to exactly where their bottles of wine had gone, and whether they'd ever be able to cash in on them.
But the investigation has revealed the truth of these investments.
And how the company conducted its business.
We're now off to meet the lead investigator for the Insolvency Service to find out what happened, not just to the wine, but also to APW.
Colin Cronin has been heading up the case.
Is this actually a genuine company that was genuinely dealing in wine? It did deal with wine.
There's £12 million worth of wine in a bonded warehouse.
That's not to say there's enough wine to satisfy all investor interests.
We believe that there's a 19,000 bottle shortfall.
Does that make you feel a bit better, Ellen, knowing first of all there's the possibility that your dad's wine might still actually be up in Glasgow? Yeah, that does make me feel a bit better.
When we spoke to the warehouse, they confirmed that Alan's wine is indeed there, though it's down to the liquidator if or when it may be released.
Much less positive though was news that the Insolvency Service had discovered APW's sales practices were misleading, and investors were never going to get the returns they were promised.
Although the company had led clients to believe that if they chose to sell their bottles of wine it would be done on the open market, that is not what was happening at all.
The company made its money by buying back wine from clients at much lower than predicted prices, causing these investors significant losses.
And then reselling it on to new clients at a considerable profit.
In fact, an average mark-up of around 81%.
Is there any possibility at all, you think, that Ellen might get back some of father's investment? I think it's entirely possible.
We know that there's wine there in bonds.
It's going to be a mess for the liquidator to sort out as to who owns it, but a good starting point is the documentation you have here.
The official receiver has now been appointed to liquidate the company.
So for Ellen and the other investors, it's a waiting game to see what they'll be able to get back.
In the meantime, armed with the knowledge that her dad's wine does still exist, Ellen is travelling to the warehouse to see it for herself.
Really hoping to find the one called Alan, that was my dad's name.
I'm not sure they're going to be there.
We'll have to wait and see.
Ellen is meeting David Hogg, who oversees the storage facility where APW used to keep the wine.
So is any of this APW wine? I recognise some of the names.
Yes, in fact, this is APW stock here.
All of these different wines are part of their portfolio.
Have you managed to work out if all my dad's wine is actually here? We have been able to identify your dad's stock.
There's just under 600 bottles in the warehouse here, attached to his name.
There's a certain bottle of wine I'm really interested in finding and knowing that you have, it's called Alan's Cabernet Sauvignon.
Is there any chance of finding exactly where that is in your warehouse? We can certainly look through our records.
After checking the inventory, David manages to finally locate the wine that her late father never got to see.
This is the Alan's Cabernet.
Which I think is the one that you actually - particularly came to have a look at.
- Yeah.
I can't actually believe that it's real, and I can actually see it.
It's quite emotional, actually, considering this is a special bottle of wine that I particularly wanted to see.
I'm really pleased that we have found it.
But I also feel sad for my dad that he thought that, ten years ago, he was making a good investment in some wine, and obviously spent a lot of money.
That really we haven't been able to do anything with it or see any fruition of the investments.
We wrote to APW Asset Management Ltd, now in liquidation, but got no reply.
Ellen doesn't know if she'll ever get her hands on the wine that her father was persuaded to spend so much money on.
I'm really upset that I actually had a bottle of my dad's wine in my hand.
But I'm unable now to take that bottle, or any of the bottles of wine that my dad had, away with me.
The bittersweet visit to the warehouse leaves Ellen a little overwhelmed.
It makes me realise how many people must be in the same position as me.
It was quite shocking really.
It made me feel quite upset.
We're used to hearing shocking stories here at Rip-Off Britain.
But sometimes you tell us about a situation that is so extraordinary that it really is unlike anything we've ever heard before.
And I'm afraid that's how it is with our next case, at the heart of which is a couple who wanted to keep their belongings safe after moving house, so they hired a man who should have helped them do just that.
Not only would he move their possessions, but he'd arrange the necessary storage on their behalf.
So they packed up all their stuff, watched the van drive it all away and that was the last they saw of it.
They haven't seen any of those belonging since.
And there are others who have used the same business who tell a similar tale.
Barbara and Peter Barnes were hoping for a hassle-free move when they decided to move out of their home in Lowton, near Wigan, and back to Sale in South Manchester, where they're from originally.
We wanted to move back to Sale to be near friends and family.
Our daughter's just ten minutes away, so we can phone her if there's any problems.
And also it's good socially.
In 2007, Peter became paralysed from the waist down after being struck down with an autoimmune virus.
Barbara became his sole carer.
Do you want moving? - I could do with a bit of moving.
- Just a minute.
So part of the purpose of moving was to help ease the pressure on Barbara by switching to a property that offered residential care and was better kitted out for wheelchair access.
Every day is a challenge.
You can't just get up and walk and do things.
It's very, very hard, because Peter can't do a lot of the things that he could do before, which is frustrating for him.
And also puts pressure on me.
The couple found exactly what they were looking for, but there was a problem.
The house they wanted was still being built.
So, as they'd already sold their current home, Barbara and Peter had to find somewhere in the area to rent until it was finished.
No, that's not what we want, is it? Just let's have a look.
So in June of 2013, the couple rented a fully-furnished flat in South Manchester, leaving most of their possessions in storage in Wigan.
But six months later, with the care facility still not completed, they decided they should move their belongings into a different storage facility, closer to where they were living.
Well, we wanted to move the furniture because we felt it was quite a way to go if we needed anything.
All Barbara and Peter needed now was someone to move their possessions.
And they saw an ad in the local paper for a "Man And Van" firm to do just that.
Petrie's Of Timperley was run by a man called Stephen Charlesworth, who was offering removal and then storage at just over £50 a month.
It was a lot cheaper than the other companies and seemed to provide the same facilities as the others.
So we thought we'd just give him a try, cos he seemed very amenable and he seemed to be able to fit in with our timescale.
So in January of 2014, Stephen Charlesworth began moving the couple's belongs to a new storage centre in South Manchester.
And amongst all the stuff that needed to be moved, there were a number of items that had special significance for the couple.
We had 30 paintings that Peter had done and framed himself.
And also an electric wheelchair and a manual wheelchair.
Barbara and Peter paid £315 for their belongings to be stored for six months.
When that was up, with their home still not finished, they handed over the same again for a further six months.
But when they tried to add a few extra items, Stephen Charlesworth didn't return their calls.
We couldn't get hold of him.
I tried loads and loads of times and there was no answer.
And that's when I became a little bit suspicious.
By now, the care facility they'd planned to moved into had increased in price, and the couple had decided they could no longer afford it.
Instead, the best option was for them to buy a house with their daughter, Debbie, and in February they found somewhere they could all call home.
But when they came time to try and get their much-needed belongings out of storage, again, it proved very tricky to get hold of Stephen Charlesworth.
We were worried that he wasn't answering the phone calls, and why was he not getting back to us? Then the couple's daughter, Debbie, called from a different number.
This time, Stephen did answer, and, after apologising for being so hard to get hold of, he assured Debbie that he would soon be around to deliver the furniture.
But the agreed date came and went.
With the man with the van nowhere to be seen.
I just waited in the flat, waiting for him to come, and he just never arrived at all.
Over the following days, Debbie tried contacting Stephen Charlesworth numerous times, by phone, text and letter.
He simply didn't reply.
Barbara and Peter were living in a new home, without their furniture and belongings, and starting to worry that they'd never see them again.
In money terms, it's probably worth about £2,000.
But what matters more to us is the sentimental value of all the things that we've lost.
And Barbara and Peter had forked out £630 for the so-called storage.
We need every penny that we can have and just to lose it like that on something we've got nothing to show for and we've lost all those memories, it means an awful lot to us.
Desperate for help, Barbara and Peter turned to the police, who advised that, as it was a civil matter, they should go to their local Citizens Advice.
When they did, the CAB called Stephen Charlesworth and managed to get through to him.
They then put Barbara on the phone.
He told her the reason he'd gone quiet was that his company had ceased trading at Christmas.
I said to him, "I'm really, really hurt and upset.
"You know our situation with my husband "and I just can't believe that you've done something like this.
" Barbara asked when she could get her stuff back and was told that it would be dropped around.
But surprise, surprise, Stephen Charlesworth failed to show up again.
I'm just absolutely disgusted that there is somebody out there that could come around, seeing us in our situation, knowing what we've already gone through and, you know Why he's done it to us, I just can't understand.
When he first took their belongings, Stephen Charlesworth had given Barbara and Peter an address for where they'd be stored.
So today the couple have come to take a look.
But it's immediately clear they've been spun a line.
Where could you store something here? It turns out the address they'd been given isn't a storage facility at all.
It's a local community centre.
We did a bit more digging into Stephen Charlesworth and discovered that not only has he operated a number of businesses under different trading names before, but several of these have caused similar problems for other customers, some of whom we've also spoken to.
But when we contacted him to ask just where Peter and Barbara's belongings have gone, he insisted that We then asked him where they could be collected from.
Astonishingly, he told us it was hard to remember because he does so many jobs.
He eventually said that the goods had indeed been stored at a community centre in a "mobile storage container", but have since been moved.
Stephen Charlesworth also said that, as his business was run on a "not-for-profit" basis, he relied on the goodwill of other businesses for storage space.
But he didn't tell us where Peter and Barbara's things are now, despite our repeated requests.
He went on to say that his team has carried out more than 100 jobs every week for the last ten years with many positive reviews, and that the people we've talked to represent a very small proportion of his customers.
So what can you do to avoid ending up in a situation where the company that you trust to keep your precious belongings safe ends up losing them? Stephen Vickers is from the British Association for Removers.
There are some clear tell-tale signs that consumers should look out for to protect themselves.
If a removal company is demanding cash in hand, if they don't give you a proper written quotation.
If they don't make you fully aware of your rights under cancellation and your rights for insurance, again be aware.
Get three companies in to give quotations.
But don't always go for the cheapest.
Look at the service.
Meanwhile, nearly two years after they handed them over, there is still no sign of Barbara and Peter's belongings.
It's stuff we can't replace.
I mean, apart from the fact we've lost quite a bit of money, it left us very, very angry and saddened that there are people out there that actually do these type of things and we want him to sort of, well .
.
understand how we feel.
As we were finishing this programme, we heard the sad news that Peter had died, making it all the more important that the most sentimental items amongst their missing belongings are finally returned.
Still to come on Rip Off Britain The ticking time bomb that could cost property owners like this family thousands of pounds.
It's not an ideal situation to be in, having to pay this lease or having to potentially lose the flat.
It represents a very big chunk of money that we just don't have.
We are on the road again and, this year, we've come to Nottingham.
Our Rip-Off Britain pop-up shop is well and truly open for business.
And you've been out in force to get as much consumer advice as possible from our team of experts.
All of whom are doing their very best to stop you being ripped off.
Marguerite Zaymana came to see Martin James from the Financial Ombudsman Service after eventually spotting that she was still paying for car insurance a year after she thought she'd cancelled it.
Can I ask you how much money you were actually paying every single month? - It was £95 each month.
- 95? - Yes.
- Whoa! OK, that is a lot of money.
Have you got in touch with the business to ask them - to pay you back the money? - I did.
I spoke to someone and they told me to give them proof of my car insurance at the moment and I did but I never heard anything from them.
And when was that? - That was in February this year.
- OK, well, that is far too long ago.
Your insurance company has made two big mistakes.
It shouldn't be charging you after you told them and it doesn't matter whether you phoned them, whether you wrote, if you say to the insurance company you want to end the contract, they'll explain to you how that will work and if you have to pay any charges, but they shouldn't continue to debit your account.
I'll get some details, we'll get one of our colleagues at the Ombudsman to give you a call and we'll get in touch with the insurer and we'll ask them why is it taking so long to pay you back.
The one thing the insurance company might say to me when we have a look at this is, why did you not notice? - Do you not check your bank account statement? - No, I didn't.
It is a really good example of why it's a good idea to check your bank account on a regular basis.
And when Martin's team did contact Marguerite's insurance company, her money was immediately repaid in full.
Result! Meanwhile, Angela and financial expert Sarah Pennells were finding out how much passing shoppers knew about their state pension.
You're clearly not pensionable age, but do you have any idea at all of when you're going to be able to draw your pension? I believe it's 68? 68, OK.
Do you mind if I ask you what month were you born? December '67.
Give me two seconds.
I've managed to get it down by one year.
I don't know whether that's good news or bad news.
So you're going to be 67 and you'll get your pension in December 2034.
- Right, OK.
- So you'll be able to finish work, put your feet up a whole year earlier than you were expecting.
I'm in a fortunate position where I did manage to do nearly 23 years in the force anyway so I've got that pension coming in already.
In terms of how much National Insurance you've paid in, - have you paid in throughout your career? - Yeah.
- I have worked since I was about 18.
- You're well away then, aren't you? You've got plenty of National Insurance contributions.
- I should be all right, shouldn't I? Is it 30 years? - It's changing.
So for people who reach state pension age after April 2016, you need 35 years.
And have you any idea how much you are going to get per week? - Every week, about 140? - Not bad, actually.
In today's money, the final figures haven't been fixed yet, but they estimate it will be £151.
25 a week.
- But you'll get more than that because you've got a wife.
- Yes.
A lot of people think you get a married couple's state pension - but that's actually never been the case.
- OK.
If each of you have the full National Insurance record in your own right, you get double the single person's pension.
That is quite good news, actually, to be fair.
Are you going to tell the missus? She's behind you, so she's listening! - You've been listening to that, have you? - Some of it.
I think it sounds like you're going to have quite a nice retirement.
Good.
I'm pleased.
Our next story came to light from a viewer who's been in a state of flux for four years over fears that his house could be at risk from a mineshaft.
But what does that actually mean? With his life on hold, he's asked us to come up with some answers.
I can see the little homestead on the sea.
Roy and Glynith have lived in the former mining community of Neath in South Wales all their lives.
The childhood sweethearts married back in 1950 and, soon after, they found a plot of land ideal for setting up home together.
We bought the land in 1954 and we employed the architect to design our house and then we built our own dream home.
We've been extremely happy here.
Neath was once a bustling coal-mining town, but, by the time Roy built his home, the industry here was already in decline and the nearby colliery closed down for good in 1968.
Years before we moved in here, in the early 1900s, there were collieries in the area and we believe that this part where we built our house was a part of the old dram road from the colliery to the screens where they used wash the coal.
Roy and Glynith lived peacefully in their home for over 50 years, but all that changed in 2011 when they received some unexpected news.
Out of the blue, we received a letter from The Coal Authority, informing us that we had a mineshaft in the garden and in due course they would come and inspect it.
- And this is dipping down here now.
- Yeah.
They'd never known it, but it turns out that a mineshaft lies under the side of the footpath in their back garden, just metres from the house, which has got them wondering about some of the changes they've spotted over the years.
- We haven't noticed that before.
- No.
We have noticed a dip in there.
When the house was built, all the earth from the building plot was thrown up here, so we thought it was natural settling.
And, of course, now that The Coal Authority has informed us about the mineshaft it makes sense.
Roy wrote to The Coal Authority, who are responsible for making disused coal mines safe, to find out what work had been done on this one.
They sent round an inspector, who carried out a visual assessment, but he didn't say much.
All he could tell Roy was that the mineshaft is about 290 metres deep and was last worked back in 1901.
What I wanted to know was whether or not the mineshaft had been filled in or whether the mineshaft had been capped.
In other words, I wanted to be assured that the mineshaft was safe.
He didn't tell us that because he didn't inspect it.
And we still don't know.
Abandoned mineshafts can be a serious safety concern.
But to avoid sinkholes appearing years later, they can be made safe by capping the entrance with a concrete panel.
Roy has no idea if that's been done to the mineshaft under his house.
And whilst it may well be perfectly safe -- after all, for the past 50 years, it doesn't seem to have caused a problem -- the problem for Roy is he now knows the mineshaft is there.
That meant that when it came to renewing his home insurance, Roy was obliged to report it.
They would not insure our house until we gave assurances and the only time we managed to get assurances was by receiving information from The Coal Authority, which stated that they would repair our house should it be damaged by subsidence.
Eventually then, the insurance company accepted that assurance and reinsured our house.
But that was just one of the difficulties the news about the mineshaft has created.
At the time they were first told of its existence, Roy and Glynith had been making plans to move.
Now that we are getting older, we were wondering whether or not we would move into sheltered accommodation.
With that in mind, we visited different properties, especially one in Swansea, and we were quite taken with it.
The couple had struck a potential deal, which involved part-exchanging their home for a place in the sheltered housing they liked.
But all that had been discussed before Roy knew about the mineshaft and, once he did, it seems the situation completely changed.
I mentioned to them that we had a mineshaft in our garden.
And the lady on the other end of the telephone, after a lot of spluttering back and forth, said she would contact her solicitor for advice and would come back and let me know what the situation was.
Well, that's 18 months ago, I'm still waiting for the telephone back.
Across the country, there are more than 170,000 disused mines and shafts lurking beneath our feet, and as many as seven million properties have been built within Britain's coalfields.
But unless homeowners have actual evidence that the mines their homes sit on have been made safe, it can prove very difficult when it comes to selling them, as local estate agent Jonathan Morley has seen many times before.
Around this particular area, there are probably one in five houses that would come close to a mineshaft.
The value of the property can definitely be affected.
It can be anywhere from 10% to 20%.
If you get more information from The Coal Board, letting you know when it was capped, it shouldn't affect the value too much.
Of course, that's the information Roy hasn't been able to obtain.
Jonathan has called round to get a sense of how the house's value may now be affected.
Can you give me any further information about that mine? No, none whatsoever.
We've had the letter from The Coal Authority informing us they have no information about it whatsoever.
This is why we want to know.
Unfortunately, it is going to affect the value of the property.
There is going to be a question asked over it and any potential buyer that will come along will need that information for a mortgage purpose, or for their own peace of mind.
I can recommend, before we actually provide you with a valuation, get a local mining search done.
We followed Jonathan's advice and went back to The Coal Authority to instruct them to carry out a property search on Roy's behalf.
Roy hoped this would bring the extra detail on the mineshaft he was so desperate to receive.
But while the report he got back made clear that there's no evidence of any subsidence to his property because of the mineshaft, it also stated that there was no record of any safety work being carried out.
If there's no record of anything being done, then surely they should make sure that the thing is safe in case it needs to be done.
With the document shedding no further light on what, for Roy, is the most important question, the couple felt they'd hit a brick wall.
But The Coal Authority did then agree to do some further investigations to determine if the mine had been made safe and that's good news for Roy and his neighbours.
I would like to know what's going on.
- I don't want to come out one morning and find you in a hole, Roy! - No.
It's going to be pretty deep down, isn't it? 'I feel very frustrated in that we are now still no further forward 'knowing the condition of that mineshaft.
' They acted responsibly, informing us that we had the mineshaft, but since then totally irresponsibly, in that there has been a four-year gap and they have done absolutely nothing.
When we spoke to The Coal Authority about the Roy's predicament, it reiterated that, due to the age of the mineshaft, it's not been possible to determine what work, if any, was undertaken to make it safe.
It said it had been under the impression that Roy was satisfied with their first 2011 inspection.
But, in any case, after he got in touch with them earlier this year about the depression in his garden, they inspected again and have promised to investigate further.
If it is found that the depression is coal mining-related, The Coal Authority has promised to But, for Roy, it's not just the financial implications he's concerned about.
What he really needs is peace of mind.
What I want from The Coal Authority is absolute assurance that the mineshaft is safe.
I want a sheet of paper which states categorically that the mineshaft is safe.
If you are amongst the four million people who live in a house classified as leasehold, then make sure at the moment you put down anything you might be doing and listen up, because there are some experts who say that you may well be sitting on a ticking time bomb that could create big, big problems when it comes to selling your home.
Buying a home is an expensive and tricky business at the best of times.
But what is really crucial to know is whether you're getting a freehold or a leasehold property, because it could end up costing you a fortune if you're not sure why the difference matters.
I don't know but it's got something to do with rental property or what? I honestly couldn't tell you.
I believe that it's probably better to have a freehold property but, to be honest with you, I'm not really certain what leasehold actually means.
The leasehold is when you don't own the land that your property is on.
I think.
In England and Wales, when you buy a leasehold property, you are not really buying the bricks and mortar or the land on which the property sits.
That would be freehold.
Instead, you are buying the right to live in the property for the term of the lease.
Now, usually this amounts to the same thing, as many leaseholds come with a 999-year lease.
But some homes, such as these in Cramlington in Northumbria, were sold when they were built in the 1960s with just a 99-year lease.
And now, decades on, this is spelling trouble for owners like Trevor Wharton, who's being told it will cost thousands of pounds to extend the lease.
Trevor came to own this flat after his father recently died.
Unfortunately, in January this year, he passed away.
In actual fact, he was up having dinner one minute and chatting to the nurses, went back to his bed and the next time he was checked on, unfortunately, he'd gone.
After inheriting the house, Trevor planned to help his own son, Chris, get into the property business.
The idea was to sell it to Chris and then use some of the proceeds to help Chris pay his deposit.
Every dad wants to help his children out.
This was an ideal opportunity for our Christopher to get into something he's wanted to get into for a while, a small property business.
Chris himself had big plans for where the flat could take him.
I've always had this dream to maybe own a small flat, maybe turn that into a profitable business and then eventually maybe have enough capital to sell the properties and maybe to build the dream home that I want for me and my family.
With the flat valued at £55,000, Trevor earmarked £10,000 for Chris, and the rest would be used to help make his retirement more comfortable.
As a windfall for me, it's very important because it's financial security.
But it was only as the sale process went ahead that the problems with the lease became apparent.
I was under the impression, as was my dad, that the flat had about 76 years left on the lease.
I applied for a mortgage, which was successful.
Then when it came to searches with a solicitor, we actually found out it had 48 years left.
"So what?" you might think.
But as Chris was about to find out, mortgage lenders typically require leases to extend for a minimum of 40 to 50 years beyond the end of the mortgage.
That is because the value of the property will become lower as a result of the remaining period of the lease getting shorter.
The mortgage lender would not lend on anything that was less than 50 years at the end of the term.
So it makes the property unmortgageable.
With most of the flats in Cramlington originally sold with similar 99-year leases, it's a problem that many more people in the area facing.
Paul Reynolds is a local estate agent.
This is a very big problem across Cramlington.
Most people I come across probably haven't thought about it very much and think, "We'll leave it until later on, "there is no hurry, we have got plenty of time.
"After all, there are 50 years left on the lease.
" Which sounds like a long time, but in building society and bank terms, it isn't.
What's more, in recent years, many mortgage firms have been clamping down on the length of leases they are prepared to lend on.
The banks have become, if you like, more picky and choosy about house loans, larger percentages, and certainly looking at the diminishing terms on leases.
It certainly is becoming a big problem.
Many solicitors, in fact, may tell you to avoid a leasehold property.
Now, in order to get a mortgage to buy the flat, Trevor and Chris would have to pay for a 90-year lease extension, so Chris got in contact with the freeholder, the people who owned the land, to find out how much this will actually cost.
When my grandad enquired about the lease in 2005, the price he was quoted at that time was £1,500 premium with £100 ground rent.
However, when the property management company came back to us, the price was actually ten times as much.
It was closer to £15,000 with the legal fees than it was.
So I got quite a shock when that came through.
It represents a very big chunk of money that we just don't have.
£15,000 to extend the lease by 90 years may sound steep, but by law the freeholder is entitled to charge the leaseholder a fee, usually determined by a share in the increase in the value of the property as a direct result of the lease extension.
So the longer you leave it to renew your lease, the more you're likely to pay in a lump sum should you need to extend it.
There were other options available that would reduce the £15,000 lump sum, but all of it involved a huge hike in ground rent, which Chris was concerned would put off future buyers.
Is that price going to put off future buyers? If that price represents two months' rent for the property .
.
how is your business viably going to take those costs on? So if Chris can't make the sums work, then, thanks to the short lease, his dad may be forced to sell the property on the open market for far less than he was hoping for.
We don't want to do the property up and then lose a lot of money on it if we've got to sell it at a lower price.
But Trevor and Chris' situation is not unusual.
Across England and Wales, over 750,000 properties have been sold with a 99-year lease.
So solicitors like Gary Rycroft would say that it's critical that homeowners extend their lease before it drops below the 80-year mark.
Leasehold property can be a ticking time bomb.
If your lease has less than 80 years to go, then it will start to lose value quickly and significantly.
Whilst you are entitled to ask your landlord to extend the lease, your landlord is entitled to ask you to share what is called the marriage value with you.
A marriage value is the increase in value that your property will benefit from by extending the lease.
But if your lease has dropped below 80 years, your landlord is entitled to ask you to share that marriage value by up to 50%.
A pretty astonishing figure.
But Chris has tried to negotiate with the freeholder to reduce the cost of the lease extension, so that his dad can get a better price for the property to help with his retirement.
And when we got in touch with the property management company acting on behalf of the freeholder, they said the lease extension system "works well" for the vast majority of people.
And the new leasehold premium.
.
.
over the period of the lease, which the leaseholder stands to benefit from.
But for Chris, the premium quoted feels simply too high.
It's not an ideal situation to be in, having to pay this lease, or having to potentially lose the flat.
I would obviously rather continue on with the property.
It's what I wanted to do.
Give my dad some money to live out the rest of his life in a comfortable manner.
Here at Rip-Off Britain, we're always ready to investigate more of your stories.
And we would especially like to hear from you if you've had a problem on holiday or while travelling at home or abroad.
You can write to us at Or send us an e-mail to Now, of course, whatever deal or arrangement you are entering, none of us has that crystal ball which will say for sure exactly how things are going to turn out.
There's always going to be an element of risk involved, I'm afraid.
So the key thing is making sure you've done enough research to be totally confident that you understand exactly what you're getting into.
Because at least that way, provided both parties keep their side of the bargain, you're much less likely to have any nasty surprises later on.
So do ask as many questions as you can and then, if the worst does happen and something does go wrong, you won't be reproaching yourself thinking, "Well, maybe I should have done something different.
" Of course, you'll never be able to prevent the unexpected, but the more you know, the better prepared you'll be.
And on that very sensible note, I'm afraid to say we've run out of time for today.
Thanks for your company and do keep your stories coming.
Join us again when we investigate more of them next time.
- But until then, from all the team, goodbye.
- Goodbye.
- Goodbye.
You've told us about the companies you think get it wrong, and the customer service that simply is not up to scratch.
If I walk in somewhere and they treat me badly, then I walk, and I will never go in again.
You've asked us to track down the scammers who stole your money, and investigate the extra charges you'd say are unfair.
You've paid for a service and you expect it to be the service that you've paid for.
And when you've lost out, but no-one else is to blame, you've come to us to stop others falling into the same trap.
As a customer, you have to be a bit more savvy in terms of what you're buying and make sure that it's something that you want or need and not something that they're trying to trick you into getting.
So whether it's a blatant rip-off or a genuine mistake, we're here to find out why you're out of pocket, and what you can do about it.
Your stories, your money.
This is Rip-Off Britain.
Hello, and welcome to Rip-off Britain, the programme that's here to help when it seems that you have reached a dead end in trying to get your problems resolved.
No matter how complicated or tricky your situation might be, we will try and find the answers that you might otherwise be struggling to get.
But the stories you contact us about can often be pretty complicated.
There are unexpected twists and turns that make it hard to predict what the outcome will be.
And it's tales like that which we'll be investigating today.
As you'll see, in all of them, things aren't quite as clear-cut as they seem.
And in some cases you'll find that's putting it really mildly.
Because as you'll see, in occasional situations, you'll find that truth is definitely stranger than fiction.
But rest assured, we'll be trying to get the bottom of why you've been left feeling right out of pocket.
And, as always, you can be definitely assured that we'll have lots of advice to make sure you don't end up in that situation again.
Coming up After paying to put their precious belongings into storage, why haven't this couple seen any of them since? It left us very, very angry, and saddened that there are people out there that actually do these types of things.
And the pitfalls of discovering a forgotten mineshaft under your house.
I would like to know what's going on.
I don't want to come out one morning and find you in a hole! What I want from the Coal Authority is absolute assurance that the mineshaft is safe.
Thank you so much for all the e-mails and the letters that you've sent us here at Rip-Off Britain.
You know, we really do appreciate getting all of them.
But the one that's sparked off our next report, that really stood out.
And as soon as we saw it, we knew we just had to find out more.
If you're lucky enough to have money to invest, putting it into wine may not be the first opportunity that springs to mind.
Although, in fact, it can be a decent long-term investment.
If you go for the right company and the right bottles.
And that's exactly what Ellen's late father, Alan, was encouraged to believe.
Ellen, tell me about your dad.
Was he somebody who was pretty canny with his money? I'd say yeah.
He thought he knew what he was doing with his money.
And he wouldn't have spent money freely.
He was someone who looked after his money quite a lot.
- So he didn't take risks? - I wouldn't say so, no.
When her dad died in 2013, Ellen was surprised to discover from his will that, over an eight-year period, he'd invested approximately £30,000 in 600 bottles of red, bought from wine broker APW -- originally called Australian Liquid Assets Ltd, and later APW Asset Management Ltd.
When I phoned, them I was really excited to find out what was going on, could we sell the wine? Between me and my sister, we just wanted to find out more.
Yeah, it was exciting to start with.
Ellen's dad had been promised potential returns of over 300%.
So she was keen to clarify just how well his fine wine investment had matured.
But when she called the APW offices in London, the voice on the end of the line was suspiciously cagey about its current value.
They were really noncommittal about how much the wine would be worth.
They straight away said, "It won't be worth anything the amount "that was invested.
" Which obviously shocked me.
What was their reason for that? They said that, the wine market had been depressed over the last few years, and a lot of people have been trying to sell their wine, there was so much wine in the market that the value had gone down.
Some of the bottles that my dad had bought for £120 per bottle, they were saying were now worth £5 per bottle.
Which To start with, I thought, "This is ridiculous.
" Slump or no slump, Ellen couldn't understand how a vintage £120 bottle could now suddenly be worth only the same as your average supermarket plonk.
And she started to wonder if something rather underhand might be going on.
I started to worry whether the wine actually existed.
And I thought that all the money my dad had invested was going to be gone.
Did you ask to see the wine? I did ask where it was.
I was told it was in Glasgow.
For me, I thought that was a bit too far to go.
Over the eight years he was investing, Alan was charged an additional fee for the storage of his wine, supposedly in a Glasgow warehouse.
It changed year on year, but at its most it was over £1,100.
But now Ellen had inherited the collection, and it was her responsibility to pay for the storage.
She had three invoices, each for £1,000.
One was outstanding when her dad died, one for 2013, and one for the following year.
I was worried that if we didn't pay it, we'd lose the wine, because I was still under the impression that the wine was there and existed.
So we paid the money, thinking that we would then sell the wine and get the £30,000 back.
The next problem Ellen encountered was in the summer of 2014, when she tried to release from storage a personalised case of wine, called "Alan", which her dad had apparently invested in.
Ellen tried to get hold of it for a family gathering.
APW wanted to charge her around £113, apparently to cover duty and delivery.
But when she attempted to make the payment online, her bank called her back to advise her not to, as they were suspicious of the account.
By now, the whole business was looking decidedly murky.
Ellen, you admit alarm bells started ringing for you.
What do you think the real situation is? Worst case scenario, it might not be there at all.
I just don't know at the moment.
But, taking a closer look at all the brochures, certificates and letters that Ellen's father had meticulously filed away, it's easy to see just how APW had kept him on board for so long.
We've got here the very first one, February, in fact, in 2005.
£5,731 worth of wine? Yeah, he just brought that straight away.
It's just crazy.
But it wasn't just that.
As I looked through, every couple of weeks for the first few months, he was just buying parcels of wine.
I think that he was getting sucked into it.
But then, in March of 2015, Ellen received another letter to add to her collection, informing her that APW had been wound up by the authorities and put into liquidation.
It left investors in limbo as to exactly where their bottles of wine had gone, and whether they'd ever be able to cash in on them.
But the investigation has revealed the truth of these investments.
And how the company conducted its business.
We're now off to meet the lead investigator for the Insolvency Service to find out what happened, not just to the wine, but also to APW.
Colin Cronin has been heading up the case.
Is this actually a genuine company that was genuinely dealing in wine? It did deal with wine.
There's £12 million worth of wine in a bonded warehouse.
That's not to say there's enough wine to satisfy all investor interests.
We believe that there's a 19,000 bottle shortfall.
Does that make you feel a bit better, Ellen, knowing first of all there's the possibility that your dad's wine might still actually be up in Glasgow? Yeah, that does make me feel a bit better.
When we spoke to the warehouse, they confirmed that Alan's wine is indeed there, though it's down to the liquidator if or when it may be released.
Much less positive though was news that the Insolvency Service had discovered APW's sales practices were misleading, and investors were never going to get the returns they were promised.
Although the company had led clients to believe that if they chose to sell their bottles of wine it would be done on the open market, that is not what was happening at all.
The company made its money by buying back wine from clients at much lower than predicted prices, causing these investors significant losses.
And then reselling it on to new clients at a considerable profit.
In fact, an average mark-up of around 81%.
Is there any possibility at all, you think, that Ellen might get back some of father's investment? I think it's entirely possible.
We know that there's wine there in bonds.
It's going to be a mess for the liquidator to sort out as to who owns it, but a good starting point is the documentation you have here.
The official receiver has now been appointed to liquidate the company.
So for Ellen and the other investors, it's a waiting game to see what they'll be able to get back.
In the meantime, armed with the knowledge that her dad's wine does still exist, Ellen is travelling to the warehouse to see it for herself.
Really hoping to find the one called Alan, that was my dad's name.
I'm not sure they're going to be there.
We'll have to wait and see.
Ellen is meeting David Hogg, who oversees the storage facility where APW used to keep the wine.
So is any of this APW wine? I recognise some of the names.
Yes, in fact, this is APW stock here.
All of these different wines are part of their portfolio.
Have you managed to work out if all my dad's wine is actually here? We have been able to identify your dad's stock.
There's just under 600 bottles in the warehouse here, attached to his name.
There's a certain bottle of wine I'm really interested in finding and knowing that you have, it's called Alan's Cabernet Sauvignon.
Is there any chance of finding exactly where that is in your warehouse? We can certainly look through our records.
After checking the inventory, David manages to finally locate the wine that her late father never got to see.
This is the Alan's Cabernet.
Which I think is the one that you actually - particularly came to have a look at.
- Yeah.
I can't actually believe that it's real, and I can actually see it.
It's quite emotional, actually, considering this is a special bottle of wine that I particularly wanted to see.
I'm really pleased that we have found it.
But I also feel sad for my dad that he thought that, ten years ago, he was making a good investment in some wine, and obviously spent a lot of money.
That really we haven't been able to do anything with it or see any fruition of the investments.
We wrote to APW Asset Management Ltd, now in liquidation, but got no reply.
Ellen doesn't know if she'll ever get her hands on the wine that her father was persuaded to spend so much money on.
I'm really upset that I actually had a bottle of my dad's wine in my hand.
But I'm unable now to take that bottle, or any of the bottles of wine that my dad had, away with me.
The bittersweet visit to the warehouse leaves Ellen a little overwhelmed.
It makes me realise how many people must be in the same position as me.
It was quite shocking really.
It made me feel quite upset.
We're used to hearing shocking stories here at Rip-Off Britain.
But sometimes you tell us about a situation that is so extraordinary that it really is unlike anything we've ever heard before.
And I'm afraid that's how it is with our next case, at the heart of which is a couple who wanted to keep their belongings safe after moving house, so they hired a man who should have helped them do just that.
Not only would he move their possessions, but he'd arrange the necessary storage on their behalf.
So they packed up all their stuff, watched the van drive it all away and that was the last they saw of it.
They haven't seen any of those belonging since.
And there are others who have used the same business who tell a similar tale.
Barbara and Peter Barnes were hoping for a hassle-free move when they decided to move out of their home in Lowton, near Wigan, and back to Sale in South Manchester, where they're from originally.
We wanted to move back to Sale to be near friends and family.
Our daughter's just ten minutes away, so we can phone her if there's any problems.
And also it's good socially.
In 2007, Peter became paralysed from the waist down after being struck down with an autoimmune virus.
Barbara became his sole carer.
Do you want moving? - I could do with a bit of moving.
- Just a minute.
So part of the purpose of moving was to help ease the pressure on Barbara by switching to a property that offered residential care and was better kitted out for wheelchair access.
Every day is a challenge.
You can't just get up and walk and do things.
It's very, very hard, because Peter can't do a lot of the things that he could do before, which is frustrating for him.
And also puts pressure on me.
The couple found exactly what they were looking for, but there was a problem.
The house they wanted was still being built.
So, as they'd already sold their current home, Barbara and Peter had to find somewhere in the area to rent until it was finished.
No, that's not what we want, is it? Just let's have a look.
So in June of 2013, the couple rented a fully-furnished flat in South Manchester, leaving most of their possessions in storage in Wigan.
But six months later, with the care facility still not completed, they decided they should move their belongings into a different storage facility, closer to where they were living.
Well, we wanted to move the furniture because we felt it was quite a way to go if we needed anything.
All Barbara and Peter needed now was someone to move their possessions.
And they saw an ad in the local paper for a "Man And Van" firm to do just that.
Petrie's Of Timperley was run by a man called Stephen Charlesworth, who was offering removal and then storage at just over £50 a month.
It was a lot cheaper than the other companies and seemed to provide the same facilities as the others.
So we thought we'd just give him a try, cos he seemed very amenable and he seemed to be able to fit in with our timescale.
So in January of 2014, Stephen Charlesworth began moving the couple's belongs to a new storage centre in South Manchester.
And amongst all the stuff that needed to be moved, there were a number of items that had special significance for the couple.
We had 30 paintings that Peter had done and framed himself.
And also an electric wheelchair and a manual wheelchair.
Barbara and Peter paid £315 for their belongings to be stored for six months.
When that was up, with their home still not finished, they handed over the same again for a further six months.
But when they tried to add a few extra items, Stephen Charlesworth didn't return their calls.
We couldn't get hold of him.
I tried loads and loads of times and there was no answer.
And that's when I became a little bit suspicious.
By now, the care facility they'd planned to moved into had increased in price, and the couple had decided they could no longer afford it.
Instead, the best option was for them to buy a house with their daughter, Debbie, and in February they found somewhere they could all call home.
But when they came time to try and get their much-needed belongings out of storage, again, it proved very tricky to get hold of Stephen Charlesworth.
We were worried that he wasn't answering the phone calls, and why was he not getting back to us? Then the couple's daughter, Debbie, called from a different number.
This time, Stephen did answer, and, after apologising for being so hard to get hold of, he assured Debbie that he would soon be around to deliver the furniture.
But the agreed date came and went.
With the man with the van nowhere to be seen.
I just waited in the flat, waiting for him to come, and he just never arrived at all.
Over the following days, Debbie tried contacting Stephen Charlesworth numerous times, by phone, text and letter.
He simply didn't reply.
Barbara and Peter were living in a new home, without their furniture and belongings, and starting to worry that they'd never see them again.
In money terms, it's probably worth about £2,000.
But what matters more to us is the sentimental value of all the things that we've lost.
And Barbara and Peter had forked out £630 for the so-called storage.
We need every penny that we can have and just to lose it like that on something we've got nothing to show for and we've lost all those memories, it means an awful lot to us.
Desperate for help, Barbara and Peter turned to the police, who advised that, as it was a civil matter, they should go to their local Citizens Advice.
When they did, the CAB called Stephen Charlesworth and managed to get through to him.
They then put Barbara on the phone.
He told her the reason he'd gone quiet was that his company had ceased trading at Christmas.
I said to him, "I'm really, really hurt and upset.
"You know our situation with my husband "and I just can't believe that you've done something like this.
" Barbara asked when she could get her stuff back and was told that it would be dropped around.
But surprise, surprise, Stephen Charlesworth failed to show up again.
I'm just absolutely disgusted that there is somebody out there that could come around, seeing us in our situation, knowing what we've already gone through and, you know Why he's done it to us, I just can't understand.
When he first took their belongings, Stephen Charlesworth had given Barbara and Peter an address for where they'd be stored.
So today the couple have come to take a look.
But it's immediately clear they've been spun a line.
Where could you store something here? It turns out the address they'd been given isn't a storage facility at all.
It's a local community centre.
We did a bit more digging into Stephen Charlesworth and discovered that not only has he operated a number of businesses under different trading names before, but several of these have caused similar problems for other customers, some of whom we've also spoken to.
But when we contacted him to ask just where Peter and Barbara's belongings have gone, he insisted that We then asked him where they could be collected from.
Astonishingly, he told us it was hard to remember because he does so many jobs.
He eventually said that the goods had indeed been stored at a community centre in a "mobile storage container", but have since been moved.
Stephen Charlesworth also said that, as his business was run on a "not-for-profit" basis, he relied on the goodwill of other businesses for storage space.
But he didn't tell us where Peter and Barbara's things are now, despite our repeated requests.
He went on to say that his team has carried out more than 100 jobs every week for the last ten years with many positive reviews, and that the people we've talked to represent a very small proportion of his customers.
So what can you do to avoid ending up in a situation where the company that you trust to keep your precious belongings safe ends up losing them? Stephen Vickers is from the British Association for Removers.
There are some clear tell-tale signs that consumers should look out for to protect themselves.
If a removal company is demanding cash in hand, if they don't give you a proper written quotation.
If they don't make you fully aware of your rights under cancellation and your rights for insurance, again be aware.
Get three companies in to give quotations.
But don't always go for the cheapest.
Look at the service.
Meanwhile, nearly two years after they handed them over, there is still no sign of Barbara and Peter's belongings.
It's stuff we can't replace.
I mean, apart from the fact we've lost quite a bit of money, it left us very, very angry and saddened that there are people out there that actually do these type of things and we want him to sort of, well .
.
understand how we feel.
As we were finishing this programme, we heard the sad news that Peter had died, making it all the more important that the most sentimental items amongst their missing belongings are finally returned.
Still to come on Rip Off Britain The ticking time bomb that could cost property owners like this family thousands of pounds.
It's not an ideal situation to be in, having to pay this lease or having to potentially lose the flat.
It represents a very big chunk of money that we just don't have.
We are on the road again and, this year, we've come to Nottingham.
Our Rip-Off Britain pop-up shop is well and truly open for business.
And you've been out in force to get as much consumer advice as possible from our team of experts.
All of whom are doing their very best to stop you being ripped off.
Marguerite Zaymana came to see Martin James from the Financial Ombudsman Service after eventually spotting that she was still paying for car insurance a year after she thought she'd cancelled it.
Can I ask you how much money you were actually paying every single month? - It was £95 each month.
- 95? - Yes.
- Whoa! OK, that is a lot of money.
Have you got in touch with the business to ask them - to pay you back the money? - I did.
I spoke to someone and they told me to give them proof of my car insurance at the moment and I did but I never heard anything from them.
And when was that? - That was in February this year.
- OK, well, that is far too long ago.
Your insurance company has made two big mistakes.
It shouldn't be charging you after you told them and it doesn't matter whether you phoned them, whether you wrote, if you say to the insurance company you want to end the contract, they'll explain to you how that will work and if you have to pay any charges, but they shouldn't continue to debit your account.
I'll get some details, we'll get one of our colleagues at the Ombudsman to give you a call and we'll get in touch with the insurer and we'll ask them why is it taking so long to pay you back.
The one thing the insurance company might say to me when we have a look at this is, why did you not notice? - Do you not check your bank account statement? - No, I didn't.
It is a really good example of why it's a good idea to check your bank account on a regular basis.
And when Martin's team did contact Marguerite's insurance company, her money was immediately repaid in full.
Result! Meanwhile, Angela and financial expert Sarah Pennells were finding out how much passing shoppers knew about their state pension.
You're clearly not pensionable age, but do you have any idea at all of when you're going to be able to draw your pension? I believe it's 68? 68, OK.
Do you mind if I ask you what month were you born? December '67.
Give me two seconds.
I've managed to get it down by one year.
I don't know whether that's good news or bad news.
So you're going to be 67 and you'll get your pension in December 2034.
- Right, OK.
- So you'll be able to finish work, put your feet up a whole year earlier than you were expecting.
I'm in a fortunate position where I did manage to do nearly 23 years in the force anyway so I've got that pension coming in already.
In terms of how much National Insurance you've paid in, - have you paid in throughout your career? - Yeah.
- I have worked since I was about 18.
- You're well away then, aren't you? You've got plenty of National Insurance contributions.
- I should be all right, shouldn't I? Is it 30 years? - It's changing.
So for people who reach state pension age after April 2016, you need 35 years.
And have you any idea how much you are going to get per week? - Every week, about 140? - Not bad, actually.
In today's money, the final figures haven't been fixed yet, but they estimate it will be £151.
25 a week.
- But you'll get more than that because you've got a wife.
- Yes.
A lot of people think you get a married couple's state pension - but that's actually never been the case.
- OK.
If each of you have the full National Insurance record in your own right, you get double the single person's pension.
That is quite good news, actually, to be fair.
Are you going to tell the missus? She's behind you, so she's listening! - You've been listening to that, have you? - Some of it.
I think it sounds like you're going to have quite a nice retirement.
Good.
I'm pleased.
Our next story came to light from a viewer who's been in a state of flux for four years over fears that his house could be at risk from a mineshaft.
But what does that actually mean? With his life on hold, he's asked us to come up with some answers.
I can see the little homestead on the sea.
Roy and Glynith have lived in the former mining community of Neath in South Wales all their lives.
The childhood sweethearts married back in 1950 and, soon after, they found a plot of land ideal for setting up home together.
We bought the land in 1954 and we employed the architect to design our house and then we built our own dream home.
We've been extremely happy here.
Neath was once a bustling coal-mining town, but, by the time Roy built his home, the industry here was already in decline and the nearby colliery closed down for good in 1968.
Years before we moved in here, in the early 1900s, there were collieries in the area and we believe that this part where we built our house was a part of the old dram road from the colliery to the screens where they used wash the coal.
Roy and Glynith lived peacefully in their home for over 50 years, but all that changed in 2011 when they received some unexpected news.
Out of the blue, we received a letter from The Coal Authority, informing us that we had a mineshaft in the garden and in due course they would come and inspect it.
- And this is dipping down here now.
- Yeah.
They'd never known it, but it turns out that a mineshaft lies under the side of the footpath in their back garden, just metres from the house, which has got them wondering about some of the changes they've spotted over the years.
- We haven't noticed that before.
- No.
We have noticed a dip in there.
When the house was built, all the earth from the building plot was thrown up here, so we thought it was natural settling.
And, of course, now that The Coal Authority has informed us about the mineshaft it makes sense.
Roy wrote to The Coal Authority, who are responsible for making disused coal mines safe, to find out what work had been done on this one.
They sent round an inspector, who carried out a visual assessment, but he didn't say much.
All he could tell Roy was that the mineshaft is about 290 metres deep and was last worked back in 1901.
What I wanted to know was whether or not the mineshaft had been filled in or whether the mineshaft had been capped.
In other words, I wanted to be assured that the mineshaft was safe.
He didn't tell us that because he didn't inspect it.
And we still don't know.
Abandoned mineshafts can be a serious safety concern.
But to avoid sinkholes appearing years later, they can be made safe by capping the entrance with a concrete panel.
Roy has no idea if that's been done to the mineshaft under his house.
And whilst it may well be perfectly safe -- after all, for the past 50 years, it doesn't seem to have caused a problem -- the problem for Roy is he now knows the mineshaft is there.
That meant that when it came to renewing his home insurance, Roy was obliged to report it.
They would not insure our house until we gave assurances and the only time we managed to get assurances was by receiving information from The Coal Authority, which stated that they would repair our house should it be damaged by subsidence.
Eventually then, the insurance company accepted that assurance and reinsured our house.
But that was just one of the difficulties the news about the mineshaft has created.
At the time they were first told of its existence, Roy and Glynith had been making plans to move.
Now that we are getting older, we were wondering whether or not we would move into sheltered accommodation.
With that in mind, we visited different properties, especially one in Swansea, and we were quite taken with it.
The couple had struck a potential deal, which involved part-exchanging their home for a place in the sheltered housing they liked.
But all that had been discussed before Roy knew about the mineshaft and, once he did, it seems the situation completely changed.
I mentioned to them that we had a mineshaft in our garden.
And the lady on the other end of the telephone, after a lot of spluttering back and forth, said she would contact her solicitor for advice and would come back and let me know what the situation was.
Well, that's 18 months ago, I'm still waiting for the telephone back.
Across the country, there are more than 170,000 disused mines and shafts lurking beneath our feet, and as many as seven million properties have been built within Britain's coalfields.
But unless homeowners have actual evidence that the mines their homes sit on have been made safe, it can prove very difficult when it comes to selling them, as local estate agent Jonathan Morley has seen many times before.
Around this particular area, there are probably one in five houses that would come close to a mineshaft.
The value of the property can definitely be affected.
It can be anywhere from 10% to 20%.
If you get more information from The Coal Board, letting you know when it was capped, it shouldn't affect the value too much.
Of course, that's the information Roy hasn't been able to obtain.
Jonathan has called round to get a sense of how the house's value may now be affected.
Can you give me any further information about that mine? No, none whatsoever.
We've had the letter from The Coal Authority informing us they have no information about it whatsoever.
This is why we want to know.
Unfortunately, it is going to affect the value of the property.
There is going to be a question asked over it and any potential buyer that will come along will need that information for a mortgage purpose, or for their own peace of mind.
I can recommend, before we actually provide you with a valuation, get a local mining search done.
We followed Jonathan's advice and went back to The Coal Authority to instruct them to carry out a property search on Roy's behalf.
Roy hoped this would bring the extra detail on the mineshaft he was so desperate to receive.
But while the report he got back made clear that there's no evidence of any subsidence to his property because of the mineshaft, it also stated that there was no record of any safety work being carried out.
If there's no record of anything being done, then surely they should make sure that the thing is safe in case it needs to be done.
With the document shedding no further light on what, for Roy, is the most important question, the couple felt they'd hit a brick wall.
But The Coal Authority did then agree to do some further investigations to determine if the mine had been made safe and that's good news for Roy and his neighbours.
I would like to know what's going on.
- I don't want to come out one morning and find you in a hole, Roy! - No.
It's going to be pretty deep down, isn't it? 'I feel very frustrated in that we are now still no further forward 'knowing the condition of that mineshaft.
' They acted responsibly, informing us that we had the mineshaft, but since then totally irresponsibly, in that there has been a four-year gap and they have done absolutely nothing.
When we spoke to The Coal Authority about the Roy's predicament, it reiterated that, due to the age of the mineshaft, it's not been possible to determine what work, if any, was undertaken to make it safe.
It said it had been under the impression that Roy was satisfied with their first 2011 inspection.
But, in any case, after he got in touch with them earlier this year about the depression in his garden, they inspected again and have promised to investigate further.
If it is found that the depression is coal mining-related, The Coal Authority has promised to But, for Roy, it's not just the financial implications he's concerned about.
What he really needs is peace of mind.
What I want from The Coal Authority is absolute assurance that the mineshaft is safe.
I want a sheet of paper which states categorically that the mineshaft is safe.
If you are amongst the four million people who live in a house classified as leasehold, then make sure at the moment you put down anything you might be doing and listen up, because there are some experts who say that you may well be sitting on a ticking time bomb that could create big, big problems when it comes to selling your home.
Buying a home is an expensive and tricky business at the best of times.
But what is really crucial to know is whether you're getting a freehold or a leasehold property, because it could end up costing you a fortune if you're not sure why the difference matters.
I don't know but it's got something to do with rental property or what? I honestly couldn't tell you.
I believe that it's probably better to have a freehold property but, to be honest with you, I'm not really certain what leasehold actually means.
The leasehold is when you don't own the land that your property is on.
I think.
In England and Wales, when you buy a leasehold property, you are not really buying the bricks and mortar or the land on which the property sits.
That would be freehold.
Instead, you are buying the right to live in the property for the term of the lease.
Now, usually this amounts to the same thing, as many leaseholds come with a 999-year lease.
But some homes, such as these in Cramlington in Northumbria, were sold when they were built in the 1960s with just a 99-year lease.
And now, decades on, this is spelling trouble for owners like Trevor Wharton, who's being told it will cost thousands of pounds to extend the lease.
Trevor came to own this flat after his father recently died.
Unfortunately, in January this year, he passed away.
In actual fact, he was up having dinner one minute and chatting to the nurses, went back to his bed and the next time he was checked on, unfortunately, he'd gone.
After inheriting the house, Trevor planned to help his own son, Chris, get into the property business.
The idea was to sell it to Chris and then use some of the proceeds to help Chris pay his deposit.
Every dad wants to help his children out.
This was an ideal opportunity for our Christopher to get into something he's wanted to get into for a while, a small property business.
Chris himself had big plans for where the flat could take him.
I've always had this dream to maybe own a small flat, maybe turn that into a profitable business and then eventually maybe have enough capital to sell the properties and maybe to build the dream home that I want for me and my family.
With the flat valued at £55,000, Trevor earmarked £10,000 for Chris, and the rest would be used to help make his retirement more comfortable.
As a windfall for me, it's very important because it's financial security.
But it was only as the sale process went ahead that the problems with the lease became apparent.
I was under the impression, as was my dad, that the flat had about 76 years left on the lease.
I applied for a mortgage, which was successful.
Then when it came to searches with a solicitor, we actually found out it had 48 years left.
"So what?" you might think.
But as Chris was about to find out, mortgage lenders typically require leases to extend for a minimum of 40 to 50 years beyond the end of the mortgage.
That is because the value of the property will become lower as a result of the remaining period of the lease getting shorter.
The mortgage lender would not lend on anything that was less than 50 years at the end of the term.
So it makes the property unmortgageable.
With most of the flats in Cramlington originally sold with similar 99-year leases, it's a problem that many more people in the area facing.
Paul Reynolds is a local estate agent.
This is a very big problem across Cramlington.
Most people I come across probably haven't thought about it very much and think, "We'll leave it until later on, "there is no hurry, we have got plenty of time.
"After all, there are 50 years left on the lease.
" Which sounds like a long time, but in building society and bank terms, it isn't.
What's more, in recent years, many mortgage firms have been clamping down on the length of leases they are prepared to lend on.
The banks have become, if you like, more picky and choosy about house loans, larger percentages, and certainly looking at the diminishing terms on leases.
It certainly is becoming a big problem.
Many solicitors, in fact, may tell you to avoid a leasehold property.
Now, in order to get a mortgage to buy the flat, Trevor and Chris would have to pay for a 90-year lease extension, so Chris got in contact with the freeholder, the people who owned the land, to find out how much this will actually cost.
When my grandad enquired about the lease in 2005, the price he was quoted at that time was £1,500 premium with £100 ground rent.
However, when the property management company came back to us, the price was actually ten times as much.
It was closer to £15,000 with the legal fees than it was.
So I got quite a shock when that came through.
It represents a very big chunk of money that we just don't have.
£15,000 to extend the lease by 90 years may sound steep, but by law the freeholder is entitled to charge the leaseholder a fee, usually determined by a share in the increase in the value of the property as a direct result of the lease extension.
So the longer you leave it to renew your lease, the more you're likely to pay in a lump sum should you need to extend it.
There were other options available that would reduce the £15,000 lump sum, but all of it involved a huge hike in ground rent, which Chris was concerned would put off future buyers.
Is that price going to put off future buyers? If that price represents two months' rent for the property .
.
how is your business viably going to take those costs on? So if Chris can't make the sums work, then, thanks to the short lease, his dad may be forced to sell the property on the open market for far less than he was hoping for.
We don't want to do the property up and then lose a lot of money on it if we've got to sell it at a lower price.
But Trevor and Chris' situation is not unusual.
Across England and Wales, over 750,000 properties have been sold with a 99-year lease.
So solicitors like Gary Rycroft would say that it's critical that homeowners extend their lease before it drops below the 80-year mark.
Leasehold property can be a ticking time bomb.
If your lease has less than 80 years to go, then it will start to lose value quickly and significantly.
Whilst you are entitled to ask your landlord to extend the lease, your landlord is entitled to ask you to share what is called the marriage value with you.
A marriage value is the increase in value that your property will benefit from by extending the lease.
But if your lease has dropped below 80 years, your landlord is entitled to ask you to share that marriage value by up to 50%.
A pretty astonishing figure.
But Chris has tried to negotiate with the freeholder to reduce the cost of the lease extension, so that his dad can get a better price for the property to help with his retirement.
And when we got in touch with the property management company acting on behalf of the freeholder, they said the lease extension system "works well" for the vast majority of people.
And the new leasehold premium.
.
.
over the period of the lease, which the leaseholder stands to benefit from.
But for Chris, the premium quoted feels simply too high.
It's not an ideal situation to be in, having to pay this lease, or having to potentially lose the flat.
I would obviously rather continue on with the property.
It's what I wanted to do.
Give my dad some money to live out the rest of his life in a comfortable manner.
Here at Rip-Off Britain, we're always ready to investigate more of your stories.
And we would especially like to hear from you if you've had a problem on holiday or while travelling at home or abroad.
You can write to us at Or send us an e-mail to Now, of course, whatever deal or arrangement you are entering, none of us has that crystal ball which will say for sure exactly how things are going to turn out.
There's always going to be an element of risk involved, I'm afraid.
So the key thing is making sure you've done enough research to be totally confident that you understand exactly what you're getting into.
Because at least that way, provided both parties keep their side of the bargain, you're much less likely to have any nasty surprises later on.
So do ask as many questions as you can and then, if the worst does happen and something does go wrong, you won't be reproaching yourself thinking, "Well, maybe I should have done something different.
" Of course, you'll never be able to prevent the unexpected, but the more you know, the better prepared you'll be.
And on that very sensible note, I'm afraid to say we've run out of time for today.
Thanks for your company and do keep your stories coming.
Join us again when we investigate more of them next time.
- But until then, from all the team, goodbye.
- Goodbye.
- Goodbye.