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Rip off Britain - Season 18 Episode 6 -
Your parcels lost, damaged or late
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Your parcels lost, damaged or late
tele: https://t.me/TopFilmUSA1
#film#shows#usa#usashows#hot#filmhot
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FunTranscript
00:00Today, the big names letting you down and they don't come much bigger than the parcel delivery
00:05giant Evry. Lost parcels, late parcels, damaged parcels, you name it. How can Evry, such a big
00:13company, just lose my parcel, wipe the hands of it and then hold absolutely no responsibility?
00:18I'll be putting your problems to the regulator and asking what it's going to do to hold Evry
00:24to account. Plus, unsafe self-storage after thefts at some branches of Shorgard. We ask if the biggest
00:32self-storage firm in Europe is doing enough to protect your property. Never in a million years
00:38did I think that my items in the storage unit would vanish. It didn't feel like that Shorgard
00:42were taking this matter seriously. Holding big names to account for you, welcome to Ripoff Britain.
00:55Hello from Ripoff Britain HQ in Salford where today we're calling out the companies that should
01:00be looking after you and your stuff. And as we just heard today, that includes Evry and Shorgard
01:08and also in our sights is car company Persia and dealership Evans Holshaw. As our advice clinic
01:14arrives in Mansfield, we meet the young mum who's forced to borrow cars from friends and family
01:20just to get her children to school because a bungle safety recall has rendered the car,
01:26for which by the way, she's still paying the finance, undriveable. It was awful. I remember
01:31just getting off the phone ringing my husband and just breaking down, saying I don't know how we're
01:36going to pay to have the car back. Plus, our experts will be tackling your questions including,
01:41who should foot the bill for damage caused by driving over a broken manhole cover?
01:47But first, to a company that needs little introduction, Evry. It delivers hundreds of
01:53millions of parcels in the UK every year and says it's on a mission to be, quote,
01:58the most convenient way to send, receive and return parcels. But for years now,
02:03you've been telling us that all too often, Evry gets that seemingly simple job wrong.
02:09Shortly, I'll be asking the industry regulator what it's going to do about one of the poorest
02:14performers in the business. But first, here are just some of your tales of Evry's errors.
02:22This is the team behind the scenes at Ripoff Britain HQ. Every day, they comb through dozens
02:28of the emails, WhatsApps and letters that you send to the programme. The names of some companies crop
02:35up more than others, but the team is especially familiar with your complaints about Evry.
02:40Researcher Tom Charlesworth has been keeping a very close eye.
02:44I've seen complaints about missing parcels, damaged goods and even suspected thefts.
02:49I haven't got evidence for all of these complaints as yet.
02:55Barbara from Leicestershire, she emailed us complaining that a present that she sent to her daughter almost
03:00four months ago never arrived. At first, Evry said that the parcel was damaged, then they said it was
03:05lost in transit. She's out of pocket for about £20. But these are only a few complaints that we've seen
03:11related to Evry here at Ripoff Britain.
03:13But the thing is, this is nothing new. We've been on the company's tail before, but despite its promises,
03:21first in October 2022...
03:23We really care about your parcels. We are trying really hard to firstly get it right,
03:29but when it goes wrong, to improve it. And we'll continue to do that.
03:32And again in January 2023...
03:35We're putting in processes and procedures to improve our quality. And we're investing
03:40heavily, £10 million so far, in our customer services.
03:44Your emails are still shouting about the same problems.
03:52One of the latest Evry customer complainants in our inbox is Stephanie Head from Stockport,
03:57who works in the music industry as a backstage manager.
04:00I work for lots of different bands, and when we're on tour, we sometimes collect stuff.
04:06This was a gift from the Stone Roses tour I did a few years ago, which all the bands signed
04:11it for me,
04:11which was lovely. One of my Radiohead tour pictures. I've got Genesis as Adele, Robbie.
04:20Stephanie picked up plenty more memories in 2025. After spending months away on tours right across Europe,
04:27and in August, during a stop-off in Newcastle, she decided to send some of her personal belongings back home.
04:33And accumulated quite a few extra bits and pieces from, you know, jackets that I didn't need anymore,
04:38because it was summer, bits and bobs. And I decided to package them up and send them home,
04:44to save me from having to fly around Europe with a whole load of extra stuff.
04:50The box contained presents and special tour t-shirts that were only available to the crew.
04:56She estimated its value at about £200. The box is full of irreplaceable items,
05:02some personal items, five months' worth of accounts and receipts, which is irreplaceable.
05:07And when it came to the courier to do the job, one firm stood out.
05:12I sort of looked at different prices, and every was quite good. And then you could do the tracked
05:17and delivered the next day option, and I thought, oh, I'll go for that.
05:22The postage cost £7.49p, and on principle, Stephanie opted not to pay an extra £7.64p for insurance.
05:31Because I've already paid for the tracking to get my parcel from A to B, I didn't see the importance
05:35of getting the insurance as well,
05:37because if you were getting on a bus to get you from A to B, you wouldn't pay extra insurance
05:41to make sure you got from A to B, would you?
05:43But as Stephanie waved her parcel goodbye...
05:46I paid it on their app and took it up to the nearest drop-off point.
05:51She had no idea that her decision not to take out insurance would prove to be disastrous.
05:59Steph prepared to begin work at a music festival in Newcastle, safe in the knowledge that her precious cargo would
06:05arrive in Stockport the next day.
06:07But as she was packing up to move on, four days later, her partner back home mentioned that the parcel
06:13had not turned up.
06:14I went on the Avery app and checked its progress. At 15.38, my parcel had been dropped off at
06:22the drop-off point.
06:2317.28, Avery had collected my parcel. And at 20.03, my parcel arrived at the local depot in Newcastle,
06:31and that is the last entry.
06:34I was getting a little bit worried.
06:38From there, the trail went cold, with no sign that the parcel had even made it out of the city.
06:44So Stephanie filed a lost parcel report and attempted to contact Avery, first via his virtual chat.
06:50I couldn't get any questions answered because there's no way of asking a question properly to a chat bot.
06:57Before managing to get hold of a real employee a day later.
07:01But they were of little help.
07:04I don't understand how it can be tracked and arrive at a depot, and yet suddenly not be there anymore
07:09and go missing.
07:10And they just kept saying, oh, we'll investigate it and see what's happening.
07:16Three weeks passed, with no sign of Stephanie's precious cargo.
07:20Then, Avery admitted it was gone for good.
07:24I was absolutely livid. I don't think I've ever been that angry with a company before.
07:29Because it was all personal items and stuff that I couldn't put a value on.
07:34It was just infuriating that that's how they treat people.
07:38And ask for any recompense for Avery's service failure.
07:41They have investigated my claim, and due to the level of cover I chose, the compensation they will pay me
07:47is 20 pounds.
07:49Plus the £7.49, which was my postage.
07:52But it wasn't about the money to make. It's about everything that was in my parcel.
07:56And I want to know where it is.
07:59To date, Stephanie has had no further contact from Avery.
08:03And has been left mystified over what happened to her precious parcel.
08:06And regardless of whether or not it was insured, she just wants to know where it is.
08:11How can Avery, such a big company, just lose my parcel, wipe their hands of it, and then hold absolutely
08:17no responsibility?
08:19I am still so angry and livid about this whole incident.
08:25They should be more caring, and they should be held accountable for things like this.
08:32But with me now to talk about the whole subject is Kat Chirada from consumer group Witch, and one of
08:37our producers, Katie Satche.
08:39Well, I love the way you're surrounded by these marvellous boxes, but what's the significance of them today?
08:44I thought you'd never ask. So we've got 38 boxes here.
08:48This represents the number of Avery customers that have contacted the programme in just a two-month period.
08:54So January and February 2026.
08:57That is 38 people telling us about Avery leaving their parcels in unsecure places, or their parcels being delayed, damaged,
09:06lost and more.
09:07Do we get a similar amount, or anywhere near similar, with other companies?
09:12We hear about the same issues, but not in the same volume as Avery, and certainly not over such a
09:18sustained period.
09:19Now, normally we hear about people who bought things, say, online, and Avery's messed up with the delivery.
09:24And in cases like that, we know that people should take it up with the retailer.
09:29But Stephanie used Avery to send something herself, which went missing.
09:33What are your consumer rights there?
09:35Yeah. So it's a bit more niche, that, because she's in the driving seat.
09:38So she'll have to do all the headache work of trying to come with her evidence to prove that she
09:42is entitled to some compensation.
09:43So what's important to know is when you are shipping something with Avery, you have the choice to use their
09:48free insurance,
09:49which is where you can get up to £20 plus your cost of postage, or you can opt for extra
09:54cover.
09:54But even then, it's a bit unclear, because you need to check through the terms and conditions to see what
09:59is covered.
10:01Memorabilia is not covered in this situation.
10:03So if you're sending something that you are worried that's not going to get to your destination, you should definitely
10:08opt for the extra insurance.
10:09Well, you know, it's not just us, or indeed, which, on Avery's case.
10:13Because the industry regulator, Ofcom, has also been highly critical of the firm's performance as well.
10:19When Ofcom ranked parcel couriers in order of satisfaction, amongst customers who have needed to contact them about a delivery
10:26issue,
10:27Avery was placed at the bottom of the pile.
10:30And earlier on, Louise spoke to Fergal Farragher from Ofcom.
10:34Thank you so much for joining us.
10:36I just want to take you back to something that Stephanie said in our film.
10:39She had her parcel lost in Newcastle by Avery.
10:42She said she just wanted them to investigate, to be more caring, to be held accountable.
10:48Can Ofcom, can you hold them accountable?
10:51So when it comes to Avery, what we found is that 73% of people say they're actually satisfied by
10:56their experience.
10:57However, when you look at Stephanie's experience and you dig into the numbers,
11:00what we actually find is Avery is one of the worst performers when it comes to some of the common
11:04issues that people face their deliveries, such as delays.
11:07We also find that when things go wrong, three out of ten people say that when they do contact Avery
11:12to help, they're not satisfied.
11:14So it's clear that Avery and other parcel operators need to do a lot more to improve their performance.
11:18So you're being really clear, it is not what it should be.
11:22What are you doing to hold them more accountable?
11:26So recently we've written to all the providers to really put them on notice,
11:30and we'll be bringing them in to make them explain their performance.
11:33If we don't see improvements, we'll take further action.
11:35And what kind of action are you talking about?
11:38So what we'll be doing is we'll be looking closely at their compliance with our rules.
11:42When we see a clear breach of the rules, we can find companies.
11:46And Ofcom's got a track record across our sectors of holding companies to account.
11:50But I want to be clear that our enforcement approach is just the tip of the iceberg.
11:54We try and work with companies and try and get them to improve their standards.
11:57Lots of people will be watching, and we know because we get dozens of emails about delivery companies,
12:02they'll be watching going, why can't you find them now?
12:05Why haven't you done that already?
12:06Is it not clear that their customer service is not acceptable?
12:10So it is clear that customer service isn't where it needs to be.
12:14When you look at where our search tells us, every tend to be one of the worst offenders,
12:19but it's not just them.
12:20What we're doing now is looking at the evidence to see how they're complying with the regulations.
12:24We'll take a look at that work, and then we'll make a call on whether we think enforcement action is
12:28needed in this case.
12:29Fergal Farragher, Policy Director of Ofcom, thank you so much for your time.
12:33And hopefully, one day, you can come and speak to us, and hopefully you'll have better news for us.
12:37But thank you very much in the meantime.
12:41Well, that's exactly what the regulator had to say, but Kat, people like Stephanie, they're in a fix now.
12:46What would you do?
12:47So, first thing, gather your evidence.
12:49So get your proof of postage, get photos of what you couriered, get as much as you can to support
12:54your claim.
12:54And then you'll want to contact the company that you used with a formal complaint saying what happened and the
12:59value of your items inside.
13:01But also shout about it, you know, make a big deal, and that might make them respond to you.
13:04But we're seeing a lot of people impersonating customer service for lots of different brands.
13:10So if someone does reach out to you asking for your personal information to resolve your query, you should make
13:15sure that they are legitimate.
13:16Now, we're going to put all that advice on our website, bbc.co.uk slash ripoffbritain.
13:22And thanks very much to The Kat and Katie Show for all that information.
13:28When we spoke to Avery, it told us it invested £57 million last year in the improvement of operations, service
13:36and technology.
13:37And that it's couriers have more than 4 million five-star Trustpilot reviews.
13:43Avery added that internal data shows that customer satisfaction has increased and clear improvements have been made since the firm
13:51was last interviewed on the programme.
13:52Avery said it was sorry it couldn't return Stephanie's memorabilia and pointed out that its customer service team responded to
14:01her initial contact the next day and was in regular contact during the investigation.
14:07Avery said it prompts all customers to take out additional cover at the point of sending an item, adding that
14:13while Stephanie chose not to add cover, Avery handled her claim in line with its processes.
14:20And regarding Barbara from Leicestershire, whom we heard about at the very start of the film, Avery told us it
14:26has apologised for her experience and offered her a goodwill payment.
14:32And Avery added that in the two months we received 38 viewer emails, Avery delivered around 200 million parcels.
14:42Next to the space race, but probably not the one that you're thinking of, I'm talking about the race to
14:48find space to store your belongings.
14:50I could do with that.
14:52Whether it's because our homes have got less storage than they used to, or just because we buy more stuff.
14:58And the market for secure storage units away from home is actually bigger than ever.
15:03And secure is the key word here, isn't it?
15:06Because whatever goes into your storage units, you expect that the firm running the place to take security really seriously.
15:12But the man in our next film says that when he trusted the biggest storage operator in Europe to look
15:19after his precious belongings, it failed.
15:22And before he'd been back to his unit and discovered the theft, the security footage that could have captured the
15:28crime had been deleted.
15:34Gary Rosansky's flat is being taken over by toys.
15:41The avid collector from East London can't get enough of these rare and collectible pieces.
15:46I've been collecting for well over two decades now.
15:50I've been into Lego, I've been into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or He-Man since I was a wee kid.
15:55But it's not just his passion.
15:57He's been lucky enough to make money out of this lot for the past six years,
16:01buying and selling online.
16:04There is a lot coming from Asia, from the United States as well.
16:07They sell out the limited editions.
16:09So being able to bring these toys into the UK and sell them here was a great opportunity for collectors
16:14in the UK.
16:16But there was a problem.
16:17I was running an online store selling these toys out of my living room space,
16:23which quickly ran out of space with the number of toys that I was importing.
16:26So I needed to get a storage unit to hold those.
16:32Step in, Shorgard.
16:35It's one of the biggest suppliers of self-storage in Europe, with 91 sites across the UK.
16:42And, as its name suggests, it promises to guard your stuff with 24-hour CCTV surveillance,
16:49perimeter fencing and secure access.
16:54So, on moving day, first impressions, it was great.
16:57They did have an app to get through the gate.
16:59It was light.
16:59It was clean.
17:01I knew that they were a larger brand, so I trusted that they would be a secure unit.
17:08By March 2025, Gary had been using Shorgard for around 15 months without a hitch.
17:14So he stuck with the firm when he decided to shrink his storage needs.
17:20His new, smaller unit cost £97 a month, plus £24 a month for insurance.
17:27It was a struggle to get everything into my unit.
17:30I was pretty proud of myself, using my Tetris skills to get all the boxes into the unit,
17:34so I took a photo of this.
17:36In the photo, everything was neatly arranged from the floor to the ceiling.
17:41Gary didn't know it at the time, but this photo would prove to be vital evidence in what was to
17:47come,
17:47because five months later, he would be facing a different view of his unit altogether.
17:55So I paid a visit to Shorgard on the 13th of August.
17:58I'd walked down the corridor.
17:59I'd done this 100 times.
18:01I locked my unit and stepped inside.
18:04The first thing I noticed was that all my boxes weren't in the same place that I'd left them in
18:09March.
18:10The unit was in disarray.
18:12It was chaos.
18:14The lock on the door hadn't been tampered with, but someone had definitely been inside.
18:21There were other boxes.
18:22I found camera equipment that would be used for drones, as well as designer coats.
18:27Inside one of the boxes as well, there was a host of designer watches.
18:31Gary's mind was racing.
18:33Could these be stolen goods?
18:36Then, he opened the next box.
18:39There were shotgun cartridges.
18:42There was other bullets in there.
18:47Seeing these, I was going crazy.
18:50I don't understand how these are actually in my unit.
18:52So I grabbed all these belongings that didn't belong to myself, locked up and took the goods to the police.
19:01After making a police report, Gary complained to Shawguard.
19:05They sent a response back to me saying, unfortunately, we had a few customers confirming that somebody accessed their units.
19:12In case if anything is missing, please report it to the police.
19:14We can provide you with an insurance claim form if you need one.
19:18I was infuriated.
19:20It didn't feel like that Shawguard were taking this matter seriously.
19:24Gary felt his possessions weren't safe.
19:27So around two weeks later, he returned to Shawguard to clear out his stuff.
19:32And that was when he realised that some of his own possessions, including games consoles, speakers and camera equipment, had
19:40been stolen.
19:42And standing in the unit, he finally realised how someone could have gained access.
19:48There was a long crack along the centre of the ceiling tile.
19:52And the rest of the ceiling tiles looked like they'd been disturbed.
19:56This made me think that perhaps somebody's accessed my unit from the ceiling tiles above.
20:01So in March, there's no cracks in the ceiling tiles.
20:06And then going back to the August photo, you can see visibly a crack in the ceiling tile.
20:14With his hypothesis firming up, Gary went online.
20:18And bingo!
20:20He found reviews that suggested Chingford's answer to Ethan Hunt had been targeting other Shawguard customers too.
20:28Our storage unit at Shawguard was broken into after thieves entered through the roof tiles.
20:33My partner's unit was broken into through the roof tiles with no signs of forced entry.
20:38So you can see that there are a number of customers that are having break-ins to their units.
20:42And it's simply not good enough that they are losing their items.
20:47But that wasn't enough for Gary, who went one step further with his evidence gathering and asked the police if
20:54there was a pattern of crime at the units.
20:57I actually put a Freedom of Information request to the Met Police and found that there were 20 break-ins
21:03at this Chingford location.
21:05It made me angry that these break-ins are happening.
21:08Yet, despite his dogged detective work, the goods dumped in his unit remain a mystery.
21:14And so far, the burglar who targeted Gary's unit remains at large.
21:19Partly, he believes, because Shawguard told him in an email that the CCTV footage that could have helped apprehend the
21:27criminal had been wiped.
21:29They only keep CCTV footage for 21 days.
21:32I don't feel like 21 days is a long enough time to keep CCTV footage, especially as customers are not
21:39always going to their storage unit.
21:41As for getting his money back, Gary's Shawguard insurance policy did pay out.
21:46But a clause meant that Shawguard accounted for his items depreciating over time.
21:51So even though he valued them at £2,300, Shawguard only stumped up £1,500.
21:58It's all been a hard pill to swallow for Gary, especially since Shawguard markets itself as having security at the
22:06heart of its business.
22:08I feel like Shawguard are mis-selling their safe and secure storage units, knowing that there are so many incidents
22:15happening with customers.
22:21Well, hats off to Gary for doing all that.
22:24He was told that it was deleted after just 21 days.
22:27Now, we had a bit of a look at Shawguard's website.
22:29It said that it deletes security footage after a month, unless it's, what they say, flagged in relation to infraction,
22:38damage or misbehaviour.
22:39So we think what that means is if you report something within that first month, it will then hold on
22:44to it.
22:44But even if the CCTV is not kept on fire for long, surely it should have seen the theft when
22:50it was actually happening and a security guard should have jumped into action.
22:55Well, you'd think so, wouldn't you?
22:56But it raises the question, really, of which parts of the facility are actually covered by CCTV.
23:01So the question is, I suppose, whether the corridors are actually covered, which entrances and exits are covered.
23:07Now, Shawguard wouldn't say.
23:09They told us that it would be inappropriate to comment on what they described as detailed security arrangements.
23:15When you look at their website, it just says that surveillance cameras watch all entrances, exits and other areas.
23:21So it's perhaps understandable they don't want to give us a detailed layout of where the cameras point.
23:26But I think what it flags is if there's a weak spot in the ceiling, for example, where someone can
23:32get in that way, you can have all the CCTV you want.
23:35It's not going to show where they're coming into your unit.
23:37And Gary Rycroft, turning to you, where does the other Gary stand now?
23:41Because he claimed on Shawguard's insurance but only received £1,500 for items that he says were valued at £2
23:48,300.
23:50Big gap.
23:51There is a big gap there.
23:52And it seemed to me, watching the film, that Gary in the film was rather surprised that everything wasn't covered
23:57by the insurance policy.
23:59So that makes me wonder whether the insurance policy was properly explained to him at the time he took it
24:05out.
24:05Now, the Financial Conduct Authority that regulate people that are selling financial products like insurance, under their consumer duty, you
24:12are meant to sell a financial product to someone that is the best possible product for them, that covers all
24:19their circumstances.
24:20And I think Gary would say, well, this hasn't been the best insurance product for me because it hasn't covered
24:26my loss.
24:27And because there's a shortfall, he can still, of course, go against the person or the company that he feels
24:33is in the wrong, that's let him down.
24:35In this case, Shawguard, he could issue a claim in the small claims court.
24:40And I think for good measure, if I was Gary in the film, I would also be reporting what's happened
24:44to trading standards.
24:45Well, Dave, I know you've been looking into security at other self-storage operators.
24:50What did you find there?
24:51Yeah, so we've looked at the security arrangements and the top five self-storage providers in the UK based on
24:59the number of branches.
25:00In order, they are SafeStore, Big Yellow, Self Storage, Shawguard, Access Self Storage and Storage King.
25:08So for all of those, we wanted to know what security arrangements look like in each case.
25:13Now, the first concern that we've already talked about is with CCTV and particularly how long that's kept for.
25:20So we had a look at all of those.
25:22SafeStore is 31 days plus.
25:25Big Yellow, Self Storage, 30 days.
25:27Shawguard, we know already a month.
25:29The other two doesn't say on their website how long they keep the footage for.
25:34We asked them as well and they've not got back to us.
25:35But that seems to be the standard, certainly among the three there.
25:39I mean, what else stood out for you?
25:41Sort of security generally, we found some differences there as well.
25:45So talking about alarms, first of all, there's actually sort of two types of alarms, if you like, on self
25:50-storage.
25:51One is for the whole facility and then some also have alarms on your individual unit as well.
25:56And what we found was that Big Yellow, Self Storage and Access Self Storage, they both have alarms on your
26:02individual units.
26:03Storage King, that's not on there because they say storage units are alarmed, but we couldn't get exact clarity on
26:11what that meant.
26:11But what we can say for definite, because they told us SafeStore and Shawguard, they both said that their individual
26:18units are not alarmed.
26:19So they do have coverage for the whole facility.
26:22But when it comes to your individual place where you've got your stuff locked up, there's no alarm on there.
26:27The other thing I mentioned was secure access control.
26:30That's just a fancy way of saying how you physically lock your unit up.
26:34Now, some of them, Shawguard and Storage King, they have a kind of fancy, whizzy smartphone apps.
26:40So, you know, you've got codes on there.
26:42It tells you who's been in and out and all that sort of stuff.
26:45There's also more simple PIN code.
26:47So that's just a code on the door.
26:49That's what Big Yellow and Access have in place.
26:53Also, Access Self Storage allows you to add a padlock to that if you want.
26:57And that brings us to SafeStore, which just offers a padlock.
27:01Well, I was going to ask you, Gary, what advice you've got if somebody's watching this and thinking of using
27:06a self-storage company.
27:08Well, actually, it's all about doing your homework.
27:10Don't just fall for the boasts on the website.
27:13I think you actually do need to actually go and see the units as well, actually do a physical inspection.
27:20In a sense, you've got to put your mind into the mind of a burglar and think, well, where are
27:25the weak spots here?
27:26Actually get a feel for the staff and whether they seem switched on, shall we say.
27:32And understand whether you feel confident to put your important and valuable goods there.
27:38I think there is a killer question here when you go and inspect, which is, have there been any break
27:44-ins?
27:44Now, they won't volunteer that information, of course, but if you ask them, they do have to tell you what
27:50the answer is.
27:51And they do have to answer truthfully.
27:53Now, I would say ask that question when you're there, but do follow it up in writing.
27:58Ask it in writing.
27:59Just send a simple email and get the response in writing, and then you've got some future evidence.
28:04And, Dave, finally, when it comes to insurance, they've all got their own policies, but do you actually have to
28:09take out insurance with the company you're using?
28:12No, you don't.
28:13The other option is you can just find a separate policy.
28:16So if you go onto one of those price comparison websites, for example, you can find specialist insurance for self
28:22-storage.
28:22The important thing to say, though, is your home contents insurance is highly unlikely to cover you for stuff that's
28:28stored off-site in self-storage or elsewhere, unless for a very short period of time.
28:33So don't rely on that.
28:34Get a specialist policy out and check the terms and conditions.
28:38Make sure that it's fit for purpose of what you need it to cover.
28:41Well, thanks to both of you, Dave and Gary, and also I think we should thank the other Gary for
28:45all the investigative journalism he undertook.
28:48Absolutely.
28:49He did a very good job.
28:51When we spoke to Shorgard, it acknowledged the seriousness of the matters raised by Gary's case and said it has
28:57at all times acted in accordance with its legal and contractual obligations.
29:02Shorgard told us it would not be appropriate to comment on its detailed security arrangements or on the situations of
29:09individual customers, but pointed out that no security system can guarantee absolute protection, which is why all customers are required
29:18to declare the value of the goods they're storing and have appropriate protection cover in place.
29:24Shorgard added that it regularly reviews its security measures and makes improvements where needed, and said that when concerns are
29:34reported, customers are advised to contact the police and Shorgard will cooperate with the authorities.
29:41As for the other operators, whose security measures Dave compared, SafeStore told us its facilities at all of its stores
29:48comply with the self-storage association's membership standards, and that while CCTV recordings are kept for a minimum of 31
29:57days, CCTV can be held for considerably longer, particularly where the store has low footfall.
30:05SafeStore also told us that its stores have FOB and app access systems.
30:10Both SafeStore and Big Yellow told us that all customers go through digital ID verification before being allocated a storage
30:19room.
30:19Big Yellow added that it takes the security of stores and customers' possessions extremely seriously, and that its security procedures
30:28are regularly reviewed and continuously improved.
30:32Access SelfStorage and Storage King didn't respond to our request for a comment.
30:40Time now to put some of your questions to Solicitor Guy Rycroft and Kat Chirader from Consumer Group Witch.
30:46So Kat, this one is for you, and it comes from Michael Rutt in Surrey. He sent you this message.
30:52A while ago, I bought a premium sofa, and soon after, we discovered a few patches.
30:59So I phoned the company, they sent somebody, and they declined the insurance, claiming that it was just small sun
31:07patches.
31:09So we accepted that.
31:11Sometime later, the patches got a whole lot worse, so we tried again.
31:16Once again, we were denied insurance, saying the same problem.
31:19So just my question being, is there any way that you guys can help us, please?
31:24And Kat, Michael also sent in photographs.
31:26Have a look at this and see what you think.
31:28So what's your opinion of that?
31:30Yeah, that's certainly quite disappointing when it's not that old of a sofa that it's already coming apart like that.
31:34But the tricky thing is, is that when you buy furniture, in terms and conditions, they kind of exclude responsibility
31:41for wear, tear and fading like this, really.
31:45So yeah, definitely worth checking the paperwork for any mentions of fading, wear and tear to see if he can
31:51kind of get any compensation or any money back.
31:53But yeah, that's really frustrating and disappointing.
31:56Gary, what do you think?
31:56Well, I would just add to that, Kat, that under the Consumer Rights Act, if a defect appears in the
32:03first six months, then it is assumed that the defect was there from the beginning.
32:07So that, I think, will help Michael's case.
32:11I would also say that if he has purchased something that was described as premium leather, and to my untrained
32:18eye, that doesn't look like premium leather,
32:20then it wasn't, quotes, as described under the Consumer Rights Act.
32:24So I think there's two legal points there that he can push back on, and actually say this is not
32:29acceptable, and I want you to replace the sofa.
32:32Now, Gary, one for you.
32:34Hlynos Morgan says she hit a water meter cover in her car, which caused a puncture.
32:39Fixing it cost £120, but neither the water company nor the council will cover the cost.
32:45Is there anything she can do?
32:47Well, I'd say it's certainly down to one of them, isn't it?
32:49Water companies are responsible for infrastructure, perhaps in the pavement outside your house.
32:55But I would start with the public highway and actually write to them and say, unless you can demonstrate to
33:00me otherwise,
33:01I think you're responsible for this because I was driving on your road when it happened.
33:06They need to kind of prove why they aren't responsible, I think.
33:10So gather all that evidence together.
33:13Ultimately, you can go to the small claims court, but you do need to know who you're suing,
33:18which is why you need to identify who is actually responsible for this.
33:22Well, Kat and Gary, thank you both very much indeed for all your help.
33:26Now it's time for more advice as the advice clinic team heads to Mansfield.
33:32The advice clinic is on the road, bringing you the best consumer advice.
33:37I'm absolutely horrified on your behalf.
33:39They were lying to you throughout.
33:41To you.
33:46Here in Mansfield, we are close to Sherwood Forest, of course, the home of Robin Hood.
33:51Now we have no outlaws on horseback, but we do have a night.
33:55Amy Knight, personal finance expert, is here with me to help with some viewers' problems.
34:03Getting ready to come and see us is Emily Bakewell, a busy mum with two young children.
34:08She contacted us about how a simple car safety recall turned into months of stress and no accountability.
34:17Emily bought a second-hand Peugeot 3008 in April 2024.
34:22We wanted to go for a taller car, just with getting the kids in and out of the car seats.
34:27We just wanted something that was easier for us.
34:30Emily and her husband signed up to a five-year hire purchase finance agreement, paying £278 a month.
34:38And everything was fine until July 2025, when she received a letter explaining the car had been recalled due to
34:46premature wearing of the camshaft drive chain.
34:51We read the letter and I said to my husband, it seemed pretty serious.
34:55So he rang Peugeot and they advised us to book it in with our local dealership.
35:01So it was booked in for the beginning of August and we left it as that.
35:05But the day before her appointment, Evans Horshaw cancelled.
35:09The caller promised to be in touch when another appointment was available.
35:13And Emily says she was reassured the car was safe to drive in the meantime.
35:18But the dealership never got back to her.
35:20And two months later, she broke down.
35:25It was absolutely horrendous.
35:27I was stood on the side of the road with my baby in my arms.
35:30At the time when I broke down, it didn't even cross my mind that it could have been the issues
35:34to do with the recall.
35:35But after speaking to a local garage, she discovered it was.
35:40Emily rang Peugeot, which referred her back to Evans Horshaw.
35:44However, the dealership said that the fact the car's service history was handwritten meant Peugeot wouldn't cover repair costs.
35:53Peugeot contradicted that, saying handwritten service notes should be no problem.
35:58But Evans Horshaw wouldn't budge.
36:01All of which left Emily and her young family without a car.
36:05I asked about a courtesy car and they said they didn't have anything available.
36:09As a family, it was awful.
36:12Desperate to break the stalemate, Emily spoke to another Peugeot dealer, Stellantis & You,
36:18which said it would carry out the repair.
36:21But it said it would have to strip the engine to diagnose the fault.
36:25And if the problems went beyond those related specifically to the camshaft recall,
36:31Emily would have to pay almost £1,000 in labour costs.
36:35It was awful.
36:36I remember just getting off the phone, ringing my husband and just breaking down.
36:40I was saying, I don't know how we're going to pay to have the car back.
36:43And obviously, we're still paying the monthly finances every month.
36:47Reluctantly, Emily sent the car to the Stellantis & You dealership, which is part owned by Peugeot's parent company.
36:54But as they wait for the verdict, the potential financial impact of it all is a lot to bear.
37:00So, she's coming to the advice clinic at Mansfield Library for Amy's help.
37:06Emily, I'm so sorry to hear what a distressing time you've had with your car.
37:10Amy's first concern is about the impact on the family's finances.
37:15Despite the car being off the road for four months, Emily and her husband have made more than £1,000
37:22of repayments during that time.
37:24I do think it could be worth speaking to the finance company, because there's something called forbearance, where they can
37:31give you a payment holiday.
37:33They can put that on pause while there's a dispute in progress.
37:37You mentioned that Peugeot confirmed over the phone that handwritten service notes were acceptable.
37:44I think it would be worth writing to Peugeot again and getting them to put that confirmation in writing.
37:50Because you can use that to push back against Evans Howshore, and that will enable you to escalate your complaint
37:58with Evans Howshore.
38:00Because if Peugeot say that there's no reason why they couldn't carry out the work, it really is back down
38:05to that garage.
38:06OK, thank you.
38:08In the meantime, the team at Ripoff Britain HQ get onto Amy's case and put her in touch with automotive
38:15expert Ian Ferguson.
38:17Hello, Emily.
38:18Who is critical of the fact that the Stellantis dealership wants her to pay labour costs to diagnose the problem,
38:25if it isn't related to the recall.
38:28They said that Peugeot have said that the engine has to be stripped and that it would be a cost
38:32to us.
38:33I'm slightly concerned as to why they think it's reasonable. To suggest that they're going to charge you nearly £1
38:38,000, I think I'd want to be raising that with them to make sure that you're not burdened with that
38:43cost as well.
38:46But what about the original recall? Emily strongly believes that if Evans Howshore hadn't cancelled her first appointment, she wouldn't
38:54have experienced any of this. And Ian agrees.
38:58If Evans Howshore weren't able to get the job done quickly enough or obtain parts quickly enough, they should either
39:05have put you into a courtesy car and taken the vehicle off the road or nominated another dealer that had
39:11a shorter length of time to wait.
39:14But with all Emily's complaints so far appearing to go nowhere, Ian is going to step in.
39:20So Emily, I'm quite confident that they can be convinced that the correct course of action here is to replace
39:27your engine free of charge.
39:29It would really help us as a family just to be able to get back to normal.
39:32Four weeks later and Ian's hard work pays off.
39:36I spoke with the chief executive of Stellantis in the UK and also with the chief executive of Stellantis and
39:45you and following a bit of discussion where we set out the law, they came back to us and accepted
39:53they would be carrying out the repair on your Peugeot under warranty.
39:57So they're going to fit a replacement engine free of charge without any cost to you at all.
40:03So how does that make you feel?
40:05It's a massive relief.
40:06This has been ongoing for nearly five months now.
40:09So it's nice to know that we're coming to the end of it and we're going to finally get our
40:12car back.
40:13So we also asked Stellantis and you to organise a courtesy car for you, which I believe they've done already.
40:21Yes, yeah, we received the car on Saturday.
40:23I would just like to say a massive thank you to Repoff Britain from us, the family.
40:29And without your help, we wouldn't be in this position and we would be at a massive loss and having
40:35to pay out so much money for our car.
40:37So just want to say a huge thank you.
40:40When we spoke to Evans Holshaw, it told us there was no evidence that Emily's specific vehicle had a camshaft
40:47chain fault and that the purpose of the original appointment would have been to determine whether it did.
40:53Evans Holshaw blamed the cancelled appointment on technical difficulties, which meant it temporarily paused recall appointments.
41:01It also told us it has no record that Emily was advised that the vehicle was safe to drive, but
41:09insisted she was told she could take the car to any other Peugeot dealership for the recall assessment.
41:15As for the handwritten service history, Evans Holshaw said it followed manufacturer guidelines and understood that Emily's records did not
41:25meet the correct standard for the manufacturer's warranty procedures until Peugeot clarified its position in December 2025.
41:34Meanwhile, Peugeot told us it was investigating what happened and the subsequent handling of the case.
41:40It confirmed that the recall would be carried out and a courtesy car provided for the duration of the work.
41:47And it said it was very sorry for Emily's experience.
41:54If you've got a problem and you think our team might be able to help, there are lots of ways
41:59you can get in touch.
42:00You can email us at ripoffbritain at bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp message to 0330 678 1321.
42:10We're also on Facebook. Just search for BBC Ripoff Britain.
42:15Or write us a letter. The address is Ripoff Britain, BBC Media City UK, Salford M50 2LH.
42:23Please include your phone number if you can and don't send us any original documents as we won't be able
42:29to return them.
42:33Well, I'm afraid we are almost out of time for today.
42:35But if you've missed any of it, including advice on where to complain if your parcel deliveries go wrong or
42:41indeed what to do if you get a letter saying your car has been recalled,
42:45then you can always catch up on today's programme and many more on BBC iPlayer.
42:49Keep an eye out as well on our Facebook page and website for more top advice to bbc.co.uk
42:56slash ripoffbritain.
42:57For today, though, thank you so much for joining us.
43:00And from everyone on the team, it's time to say goodbye.
43:03Bye-bye.
43:04Bye-bye.
43:05Bye-bye.
43:08Bye-bye.
43:09Bye-bye.
43:09Bye-bye.
43:12Bye-bye.
43:12Bye-bye.
43:15Bye-bye.
43:20Bye-bye.
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