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Rip off Britain - Season 18 Episode 6 - Your parcels lost, damaged or late
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00:00Today, the big names letting you down and they don't come much bigger than the parcel
00:05delivery giant Evry. Lost parcels, late parcels, damaged parcels, you name it.
00:11How can Evry, such a big company, just lose my parcel, wipe the hands of it and then hold
00:17absolutely 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.
00:25Plus, 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.
00:36Never in a million years did I think that my items in the storage unit would vanish.
00:40It didn't feel like that Shorgard were taking this matter seriously.
00:44Holding 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
01:00should be looking after you and your stuff.
01:04And as we just heard today, that includes Evry and Shorgard and also in our sights is car
01:10company Persia and dealership Evans Hallshaw. As our advice clinic arrives in Mansfield,
01:16we meet the young mum who's forced to borrow cars from friends and family just to get her
01:21children to school because a bungle safety recall has rendered the car, for which by the
01:27way she's still paying the finance, undriveable.
01:30It was awful. I remember just getting off the phone, ringing my husband and just breaking
01:33down, saying I don't know how we're going to pay to have the car back.
01:38Plus, our experts will be tackling your questions, including who should foot the bill for damage
01:43caused by driving over a broken manhole cover.
01:47But first, to a company that needs little introduction, Evry.
01:52It delivers hundreds of millions of parcels in the UK every year and says it's on a mission
01:57to be, quote, the most convenient way to send, receive and return parcels.
02:02But for years now, you've been telling us that all too often, Evry gets that seemingly
02:07simple 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
02:34crop up 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
02:59to her daughter almost four months ago never arrived. At first, Evry said that the parcel
03:03was damaged, then they said it was lost in transit. She's out of pocket for about 20 pounds.
03:08But these are only a few complaints that we've seen related 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
03:20its promises, first in October 2022...
03:23We really care about your parcels. We are trying really hard to firstly get it right, but when
03:29it 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.
03:39And we're investing heavily, 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 Heard from Stockport,
03:57who works in the music industry as a backstage manager.
04:01I 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, which was lovely. One of my Radiohead tour pictures.
04:16I've got Genesis as Adele, Robbie.
04:20Stephanie picked up plenty more memories in 2025, after spending months away on tours
04:26right across Europe. And in August, during a stop-off in Newcastle, she decided to send
04:31some of her personal belongings back home.
04:33I accumulated quite a few extra bits and pieces from, you know, jackets that I didn't need
04:38anymore because it was summer, bits and bobs, and I decided to package them up and send
04:43them home to 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.
04:59The box is full of irreplaceable items, some personal items, five months' worth of accounts
05:05and 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.
05:16And then you could do the tracked and delivered the next day option.
05:19And I thought, oh, I'll go for that.
05:22The postage cost £7.49p.
05:24And on principle, Stephanie opted not to pay an extra £7.64p for insurance.
05:30Because I've already paid for the tracking to get my parcel from A to B, I didn't see the importance
05:36of getting the insurance as well, because if you were getting on a bus to get you from A to
05:40B,
05:40you wouldn't pay extra insurance to make sure you got from A to B, would you?
05:43But as Stephanie waved her parcel goodbye...
05:46I paid it on the app and took it up to the nearest drop-off point.
05:50She 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,
06:03safe in the knowledge that her precious cargo would arrive in Stockport the next day.
06:07But as she was packing up to move on, four days later, her partner back home mentioned
06:12that the parcel had not turned up.
06:14I went on the Avery app and checked its progress.
06:18At 15.38p, my parcel had been dropped off at the drop-off point.
06:2317.28p, Avery had collected my parcel.
06:26And at 20.03p, 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,
06:40with no sign that the parcel had even made it out of the city.
06:44So Stephanie filed a lost parcel report
06:46and attempted to contract Avery, first via his virtual chat.
06:51I couldn't get any questions answered
06:54because there's no way of asking a question properly to a chatbot.
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
07:07and yet suddenly not be there anymore and go missing.
07:10And they just kept saying,
07:12oh, 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.
07:23I was absolutely livid.
07:26I don't think I've ever been that angry with a company before.
07:29Because it was all personal items
07:31and 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 every service failure.
07:41They have investigated my claim
07:43and due to the level of cover I chose,
07:45the compensation they will pay me is £20.
07:49Plus the £7.49, which was my postage.
07:53But it wasn't about the money to make,
07:55it's about everything that was in my parcel
07:57and I want to know where it is.
07:59To date, Stephanie has had no further contact from Avery
08:02and has been left mystified over what happened to her precious parcel.
08:06And regardless of whether or not it was insured,
08:09she just wants to know where it is.
08:11How can Avery, such a big company,
08:14just lose my parcel, wipe the hands of it
08:16and then hold absolutely no responsibility?
08:19I am still so angry and livid about this whole incident.
08:25They should be more caring
08:26and they should be held accountable for things like this.
08:32But with me now to talk about the whole subject
08:34is Kat Chirada from Consumer Group Witch
08:37and one of our producers, Katie Saatchi.
08:39Well, I love the way you're surrounded by these marvellous boxes,
08:42but what's the significance of them today?
08:44I thought you'd never ask.
08:45So we've got 38 boxes here.
08:48This represents the number of every customers
08:50that 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
09:03or their parcels being delayed, damaged, lost 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
09:16and certainly not over such a sustained period.
09:19Now, normally we hear about people who bought things say online
09:22and Avery's messed up with the delivery.
09:25And 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?
09:35So 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
09:41to prove that she is entitled to some compensation.
09:43So what's important to know is when you are shipping something with Avery,
09:47you have the choice to use their free insurance,
09:49which is where you can get up to £20 plus your cost of postage,
09:53or you can opt for extra cover.
09:54But even then it's a bit unclear because you need to check through the terms and conditions
09:58to see what is covered. Memorabilia 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,
10:07you should definitely opt 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
10:17of the firm's performance as well.
10:20When Ofcom ranked parcel couriers in order of satisfaction
10:23amongst customers who have needed to contact them about a delivery issue,
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,
10:46to 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
10:55are actually satisfied by their experience.
10:57However, when you look at Stephanie's experience and you dig into the numbers,
11:01what we actually find is Avery is one of the worst performers
11:03when it comes to some of the common issues that people face to their deliveries,
11:06such as delays.
11:07We also find that when things go wrong,
11:10three out of ten people say that when they do contact Avery to help,
11:13they're not satisfied.
11:14So it's clear that Avery and other parcel operators need to do a lot more
11:17to improve their performance.
11:18So you're being really clear, it is not what it should be.
11:23What 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.
11:36And what kind of action are you talking about?
11:38So what we'll be doing is we'll be looking closely at their compliance
11:41with our rules.
11:42When you 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
12:01about 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 what where our search tells us,
12:17every tend to be one of the worst offenders, but it's not just them.
12:20What we're doing now is looking at the evidence to see how they're complying
12:23with the regulations.
12:24We'll take a look at that work and then we'll make a call on whether
12:27we think enforcement action is needed in this case.
12:30Fergal Farragher, Policy Director of Ofcom.
12:32Thank you so much for your time.
12:33And hopefully one day you can come and speak to us
12:36and 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.
12:43But Kat, for 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,
12:53get as much as you can to support your claim.
12:54And then you'll want to contact the company that you used with a formal complaint
12:58saying what happened and the value of your items inside.
13:01But also shout about it.
13:02You 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,
13:14you should make sure that they are legitimate.
13:16Now, we're going to put all that advice on our website, bbc.co.uk slash ripoffbritain.
13:21And thanks very much to the Kat and Katie show for all that information.
13:28When we spoke to Every, it told us it invested 57 million pounds last year
13:33in the improvement of operations, service and technology.
13:37And that its couriers have more than 4 million five-star Trustpilot reviews.
13:43Every added that internal data shows that customer satisfaction has increased
13:47and clear improvements have been made since the firm was last interviewed on the program.
13:53Every said it was sorry it couldn't return Stephanie's memorabilia.
13:57And pointed out that its customer service team responded to her initial contact the next day
14:03and was in regular contact during the investigation.
14:07Every said it prompts all customers to take out additional cover at the point of sending an item.
14:13Adding that while Stephanie chose not to add cover,
14:16Every 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,
14:25Every told us it has apologized for her experience and offered her a goodwill payment.
14:32And Every added that in the two months we received 38 viewer emails,
14:37Every delivered around 200 million parcels.
14:42Next to the space race, but probably not the one that you're thinking of.
14:47I'm talking about the race to find space to store your belongings.
14:51I could do with that.
14:52Whether it's because our homes have got less storage than they used to,
14:55or 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,
15:08you 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
15:18to look after his precious belongings, it failed.
15:22And before he'd been back to his unit and discovered the theft,
15:25the security footage that could have captured the crime had been deleted.
15:34Gary Rozanski's flat is being taken over.
15:38By toys.
15:40The 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.
15:51I've been into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or He-Man since I was a wee kid.
15:55But it's not just his passion.
15:58He's been lucky enough to make money out of this lot for the past six years,
16:02buying 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 I've been able to bring these toys into the UK and sell them here.
16:13It was a great opportunity for collectors in the UK.
16:15But 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.
16:27So 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,
16:39with 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, it 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, I'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. It was chaos.
18:14The lock on the door hadn't been tampered with, but someone had definitely been inside.
18:20There were other boxes. I 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. Could these be stolen goods?
18:36Then he opened the next box.
18:39There were shotgun cartridges. There was other bullets in there.
18:47Seeing these, I was going crazy.
18:50I don't understand how these are actually in my unit.
18:53So 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 Shorgard.
19:05They sent a response back to me saying,
19:07Unfortunately, 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 Shorgard were taking this matter seriously.
19:25Gary felt his possessions weren't safe, so around two weeks later, he returned to Shorgard 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.
19:41And 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.
20:03So 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. And bingo!
20:20He found reviews that suggested Chingford's answer to Ethan Hunt had been targeting other Shorgard customers too.
20:28Our storage unit at Shorgard 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
20:53and asked the police if there was a pattern of crime at the units.
20:57I actually put a Freedom of Information request to the Met Police
21:00and found that there were 20 break-ins at this Chingford location.
21:04It 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 Shorgard told him in an email that the CCTV footage
21:25that could have helped apprehend the criminal had been wiped.
21:28They only keep CCTV footage for 21 days.
21:33I don't feel like 21 days is a long enough time to keep CCTV footage,
21:37especially as customers are not always going to their storage unit.
21:41As for getting his money back, Gary's Shorgard insurance policy did pay out.
21:46But a clause meant that Shorgard accounted for his items depreciating over time.
21:51So even though he valued them at £2,300, Shorgard only stumped up £1,500.
21:58It's all been a hard pill to swallow for Gary,
22:01especially since Shorgard markets itself as having security at the heart of its business.
22:08I feel like Shorgard are mis-selling their safe and secure storage units,
22:13knowing that there are so many incidents happening 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 Shorgard's website.
22:29It's said that it deletes security footage after a month,
22:33unless it's, what they say, flagged in relation to infraction, damage or misbehaviour.
22:39So we think what that means is if you report something within that first month,
22:43it will then hold on to it.
22:44But even if the CCTV is not kept on file for long,
22:48surely it should have seen the theft when it was actually happening
22:51and a security guard should have jumped into action.
22:55Well, you'd think so, wouldn't you?
22:56But it raises the question, really,
22:58of which parts of the facility are actually covered by CCTV.
23:01So the question is, I suppose, whether the corridors are actually covered,
23:05which entrances and exits are covered.
23:08Now, Shorgard wouldn't say.
23:09They told us that it would be inappropriate to comment
23:12on what they described as detailed security arrangements.
23:15When you look at their website,
23:17it 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
23:25of where the cameras point.
23:26But I think what it flags is if there's a weak spot in the ceiling, for example,
23:31where someone can get 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.
23:39Where does the other Gary stand now?
23:41Because he claimed on Shorgard's insurance,
23:43but only received £1,500 for items that he says were valued at £2,300.
23:50Big gap.
23:51There is a big gap there.
23:52And it seemed to me, watching the film,
23:53that Gary in the film was rather surprised that everything wasn't covered by 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,
24:11under their consumer duty, you are meant to sell a financial product to someone that is the best possible product
24:17for them,
24:18that covers all their circumstances.
24:21And I think Gary would say, well, this hasn't been the best insurance product for me
24:25because it hasn't covered my loss.
24:27And because there's a shortfall, he can still, of course, go against the person or the company
24:32that he feels is in the wrong, that's let him down.
24:35In this case, Shorgard, he could issue a claim in the small claims court.
24:40And I think for good measure, if I was Gary in the film,
24:42I would also be reporting what's happened to 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
24:54and the top five self-storage providers in the UK based on the number of branches.
25:00In order, they are SafeStore, Big Yellow, Self Storage, Shorgard, 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
25:17and 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.
25:27Shorgard, 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.
25:36But 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.
26:04Storage 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 Shorgard, 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, Shorgard and Storage King, they have a kind of fancy, whizzy smartphone apps.
26:40So, you know, you can you've got codes on there. It tells you who's been in and out and all
26:44that sort of stuff.
26:45There's also more simple pin code. So 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. Don'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, and understand whether you
27:33feel 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 and 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. Ask it in
27:58writing.
27:58Just 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. The other option is you can just find a separate policy.
28:16So if you go on to one of those price comparison websites, for example, you can find specialist insurance for
28:22self-storage.
28:23The 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,
28:31unless for a very short period of time. So 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.
28:49Absolutely. He did a very good job.
28:51When we spoke to Shorgard, it acknowledged the seriousness of the matters raised by Gary's case
28:56and said it has at 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
29:10individual customers,
29:11but pointed out that no security system can guarantee absolute protection,
29:16which is why all customers are required to declare the value of the goods they're storing and have appropriate protection
29:23cover in place.
29:24Shorgard added that it regularly reviews its security measures and makes improvements where needed,
29:31and said that when concerns are reported, customers are advised to contact the police and Shorgard will cooperate with the
29:39authorities.
29:41As for the other operators whose security measures they've compared,
29:45SafeStore told us its facilities at all of its stores comply with the Self Storage Association's membership standards,
29:52and that while CCTV recordings are kept for a minimum of 31 days,
29:58CCTV 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,
30:26and that its security procedures are regularly reviewed and continuously improved.
30:33AccessSelfStorage and StorageKing didn't respond to our request for a comment.
30:39Time 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 batches.
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. Sometime 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. Have 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 the terms and conditions, they kind of exclude
31:40responsibility for 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?
31:57Well, 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. I would also say that if he has purchased something that was
32:15described as premium leather, and to my untrained eye, that doesn't look like premium leather, then it wasn't, quotes, as
32:22described 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. Hlynos Morgan says she hit a water meter cover in her car which caused a
32:39puncture. Fixing it cost 120 quid, but neither the water company nor the council will cover the cost. Is there
32:46anything she can do?
32:47Well, I'd say it's certainly down to one of them, isn't it? Water companies are responsible for infrastructure perhaps in
32:54the 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, I 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. So gather all that evidence together. Ultimately, you
33:14can go to the small claims court, but you do need to know who you're suing, which is why you
33:18need to identify who is actually responsible for this.
33:21Well, 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. I'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 secondhand Peugeot 3008 in April 2024.
34:22We wanted to go for a taller car just with getting the kids in and out the car seats.
34:26We 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 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.
35:14And 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 issues to
35:34do 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,
36:17which 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,
36:40saying 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,
36:51which 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.
37:01So, she's coming to the advice clinic at Mansfield Library for Amy's help.
37:05Emily, I'm so sorry to hear what a distressing time you've had with your car.
37:11Amy's first concern is about the impact on the family's finances.
37:15Despite the car being off the road for four months,
37:18Emily and her husband have made more than £1,000 of repayments during that time.
37:24I do think it could be worth speaking to the finance company
37:28because there's something called forbearance, where they can give 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.
37:50Okay.
37:51Because you can use that to push back against Evans Halshaw,
37:54and that will enable you to escalate your complaint with Evans Halshaw,
38:00because if Peugeot say that there's no reason why they couldn't carry out the work,
38:04it really is back down to that garage.
38:06Okay, thank you.
38:08In the meantime, the team at Ripoff Britain HQ get onto Amy's case
38:13and put her in touch with automotive expert 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
38:33to us.
38:33I'm slightly concerned as to why they think it's reasonable.
38:36To suggest that they're going to charge you nearly a thousand pounds,
38:39I think I'd want to be raising that with them to make sure that you're not burdened with that cost
38:44as well.
38:46But what about the original recall?
38:48Emily strongly believes that if Evans Halshaw hadn't cancelled her first appointment,
38:54she wouldn't have experienced any of this and Ian agrees.
38:58If Evans Halshaw weren't able to get the job done quickly enough or obtain parts quickly enough,
39:04they should either have put you into a courtesy car and taken the vehicle off the road
39:09or nominated another dealer that had a 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
39:26is to replace your 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
39:41and also with the chief executive of Stellantis and you.
39:46And following a bit of discussion where we set out the law,
39:50they came back to us and accepted they 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. This 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,
40:19which 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 Ripoff Britain from us as a family.
40:30Without your help, we wouldn't have been in this position
40:32and we would be at a massive loss and having to pay out so much money for our car.
40:37So just want to say a huge thank you.
40:39When we spoke to Evans Hallshore, it told us there was no evidence that Emily's specific vehicle had a camshaft
40:47chain fault
40:48and that the purpose of the original appointment would have been to determine whether it did.
40:54Evans Hallshore blamed the cancelled appointment on technical difficulties,
40:58which 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.
41:09But insisted she was told she could take the car to any other Peugeot dealership for the recall assessment.
41:16As for the handwritten service history, Evans Hallshore said it followed manufacturer guidelines
41:21and understood that Emily's records did not meet the correct standard for the manufacturer's warranty procedures
41:29until Peugeot clarified its position in December 2025.
41:33Meanwhile, Peugeot told us it was investigating what happened
41:37and 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
42:04Or 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 partial deliveries go wrong,
42:41or indeed 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.
42:50Keep 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.
43:21Bye-bye.
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