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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. Plus, unsafe self-storage after thefts at some branches of Shoreguard. We
00:31ask if the biggest self-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. It
00:41didn't feel like that Shoreguard 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 Shoreguard and also in our sights is car company
01:10Persia and dealership Evans-Halshaw. As our advice clinic arrives in Mansfield, we meet the young mum
01:17who's forced to borrow cars from friends and family just to get her children to school because of bungled
01:24safety recall has rendered the car, for which by the way she's still paying the finance, undriveable.
01:30It was awful. I remember just getting off the phone ringing my husband and just breaking down
01:34saying I don't know how we're going to pay to have the car back. Plus, our experts will be tackling
01:40your questions including who 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 you've been telling us
02:04that 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 of
02:29the emails, WhatsApps and letters that you send to the programme. The names of some companies crop up
02:35more than others, but the team is especially familiar with your complaints about Evry.
02:41Researcher 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
03:00daughter almost four months ago never arrived. At first, Evry said that the parcel was damaged,
03:04then they said it was lost in transit. She's out of pocket for about £20. But these are only a
03:10few
03:10complaints that we've seen related to Evry here at Ripoff Britain. But the thing is, this is nothing new.
03:17We've been on the company's tail before, but despite its promises, first in October 2022...
03:23We really care about your parcels. We are trying really hard to firstly get it right,
03:28but when it goes wrong, to improve it. And we'll continue to do that.
03:33And 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.
03:47We're looking forward to seeing what's going on in the future.
03:49We're looking forward to seeing what's going on in the future.
03:50One 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.
04:01I work for lots of different bands, and when we're on tour, we sometimes collect stuff.
04:06This was a gif from the Stone Roses tour I did a few years ago, which all the bands signed
04:11it for me,
04:12which 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
04:26Europe. And in August, during a stop-off in Newcastle, she decided to send some of her
04:31personal belongings back home. I accumulated quite a few extra bits and pieces from, you know,
04:37jackets that I didn't need anymore because it was summer, bits and bobs, and I decided to
04:41package them up and send them home to save me from having to fly around
04:47Europe with a whole load of extra stuff. The box contained presents and special tour
04:52t-shirts that were only available to the crew. She 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. And when it came to the courier to do the job,
05:10one firm stood out. I sort of looked at different prices, and every was quite good. And then you
05:16could do the tracked and 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
05:36of 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... I paid it on the app and took it up to the nearest
05:50drop-off
05:50point. She 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
06:04precious cargo would arrive in Stockport the next day. But as she was packing up to move on,
06:09four days later, her partner back home mentioned that the parcel had 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
06:22drop-off point. 17.28, Avery had collected my parcel, and at 20.03, my parcel arrived at the local
06:30depot in Newcastle, and that is the last entry. I 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 contract Avery, first via his virtual chat.
06:51I couldn't get any questions answered because there's no way of asking a question properly
06:56to a chatbot. Before managing to get hold of a real employee a day later. But they were of little
07:03help.
07:03I don't understand how it can be tracked and arrive at a depot, and yet suddenly not be there anymore,
07:10and go missing. And 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. I was absolutely livid. I don't think I've ever
07:27been that angry with a company before. Because it was all personal items, and stuff that I couldn't
07:33put a value on. It was just infuriating that that's how they treat people.
07:37And as 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
07:46will pay me is £20. Plus the £7.49, which was my postage. But it wasn't about the money to
07:55make,
07:55it's about everything that was in my parcel, and I want to know where it is.
07:59To date, Stephanie has had no further contact from Avery, and has been left mystified over what
08:04happened to her precious parcel. And regardless of whether or not it was insured, she just wants
08:10to know where it is. How can Avery, such a big company, just lose my parcel, wipe the hands of
08:16it,
08:16and then hold absolutely no responsibility? I 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
08:36Witch, and one of our producers, Katie Saatchi. Well, I love the way you're surrounded by these
08:41marvellous boxes, but what's the significance of them today? I thought you'd never ask. So we've
08:46got 38 boxes here. This represents the number of every customers that have contacted the programme
08:52in just a two-month period, so January and February 2026. That is 38 people telling us about Avery,
09:00leaving their parcels in unsecure places, or 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, and certainly not over such a
09:18sustained period. Now, normally we hear about people who bought things, say, online, and Avery's
09:23messed up with the delivery. And in cases like that, we know that people should take it up with
09:28the retailer. But Stephanie used Avery to send something herself, which went missing. What are
09:34your consumer rights there? So it's a bit more niche, that, because she's in the driving seat. So she'll
09:39have to do all the headache work of trying to come with her evidence to prove that she is entitled
09:42to
09:43some compensation. So what's important to know is when you are shipping something with Avery, you have
09:47the choice to use their free insurance, which is where you can get up to £20 plus your cost of
09:52postage, or you can opt for extra cover. But even then, it's a bit unclear, because you need to check
09:57through the terms and conditions to see what is covered. Memorabilia is not covered in the 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. Well, you know, it's not just us, or indeed,
10:11which on Avery's case, because the industry regulator Ofcom has also been highly critical
10:17of the firm's performance as well. When 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. And earlier on, Louise spoke to Fergal Farragher from
10:33Ofcom. Thank you so much for joining us. I just want to take you back to something that Stephanie said
10:38in our film, she had her parcel lost in Newcastle by Avery. She said she just wanted them to
10:45investigate, to be more caring, to be held accountable. Can 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
10:56by their experience. However, 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 when it comes to some of the common
11:04issues that people face their deliveries, such as delays. We also find that when things go wrong,
11:10three out of 10 people say that when they do contact Avery to 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.
11:19So you're being really clear, it is not what it should be. What are you doing to hold them more
11:24accountable? So 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. If we don't see improvements,
11:34we'll take further action. And what kind of action are you talking about?
11:39So what we'll be doing is we'll be looking closely at their compliance with our rules.
11:43When we see a clear breach of the rules, we can find companies. And Ofcom's got a track record
11:47across our sectors of holding companies to account. But I want to be clear that our enforcement
11:52approach is just the tip of the iceberg. We try and work with companies and try and get them to
11:56improve
11:56their standards. Lots of people will be watching, and we know because we get dozens of emails about
12:01delivery companies, they'll be watching going, why can't you find them now? Why haven't you done
12:06that already? Is 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. When you look at what where our
12:15search
12:16tells us, Avery tends to be one of the worst offenders, but it's not just them. What we're doing now
12:20is
12:21looking at the evidence to see how they're complying with the regulations. We'll take a look at that work,
12:26and then we'll make a call on whether we think enforcement action is needed in this case.
12:30Fergal Farragher, Policy Director of Ofcom, thank you so much for your time, and hopefully
12:34one day you can come and speak to us, and hopefully you'll have better news for us.
12:38But thank you very much in the meantime. Thank you.
12:41Well, that's exactly what the regulator had to say, but for people like Stephanie,
12:45they're in a fix now. What would you do? So first thing, gather your evidence. So get your
12:50proof of postage, get photos of what you couriered, get 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 saying
12:58what happened and the value of your items inside. But also shout about it, you know,
13:02make a big deal that might make them respond to you. But we're seeing a lot of people impersonating
13:07customer service for lots of different brands. So if someone does reach out to you asking for your
13:12personal information to resolve your query, you should make sure that they are legitimate.
13:15Now we're going to put all that advice on our website, bbc.co.uk slash ripoffbritain. And
13:22thanks 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 pounds last year in the improvement of
13:35operations, service and technology, and that its couriers have more than 4 million five-star
13:41trust pilot reviews. Avery 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.
13:53Avery said it was sorry it couldn't return Stephanie's memorabilia and pointed out that its customer
13:59service team responded to her initial contact the next day and was in regular contact during the
14:06investigation. Avery said it prompts all customers to take out additional cover at the point of sending
14:12an item, adding that while Stephanie chose not to add cover, Avery handled her claim in line with its
14:18processes. And regarding Barbara from Leicestershire, whom we heard about at the very start of the film,
14:25Avery told us it has apologized 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.
14:43Next 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. I 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
14:58stuff. And 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? Because whatever goes into your storage units,
15:08you expect that the firm running the place to take security really seriously. But the man in our next
15:14film says that when he trusted the biggest storage operator in Europe to look after his precious
15:20belongings, it failed. And 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 Rosansky's flat is being taken over by toys. The avid collector from East London can't get
15:44enough of these rare and collectible pieces. I've been collecting for well over two decades now. I've
15:50been 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. He's been lucky enough to make money out of this lot for the past
16:01six years, buying and selling online. There is a lot coming from Asia, from the United States as well.
16:07They sell out the limited editions. So being able to bring these toys into the UK and sell them here,
16:13there's a great opportunity for collectors in the UK.
16:16But there was a problem. I was running an online store selling these toys out of my living room
16:22space, which quickly ran out of space with the number of toys that I was importing. So I needed
16:27to get a storage unit to hold those. Step in, Shorgard. It's one of the biggest suppliers of self-storage
16:38in Europe, with 91 sites across the UK. And, as its name suggests, it promises to guard your stuff with
16:4724-hour CCTV surveillance, perimeter fencing and secure app access.
16:54So on moving day, first impressions, it was great. They did have an app to get through the gate.
16:59It was light, it was clean. I knew that they were a larger brand, so I trusted that they would
17:05be a secure unit.
17:08By March 2025, Gary had been using Shorgard for around 15 months without a hitch.
17:15So 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. I was pretty proud of myself using my Tetris skills
17:32to get all the boxes into the unit. So I took a photo of this. In the photo, everything was
17:38neatly
17:38arranged from the floor to the ceiling. Gary didn't know it at the time, but this photo
17:44would prove to be vital evidence in what was to come. Because five months later,
17:49he would be facing a different view of his unit altogether.
17:55So I paid a visit to Shorgard on the 13th of August. I'd walked down the corridor. I've done this
18:00100 times.
18:01I locked my unit and stepped inside. The first thing I noticed was that all my boxes weren't in
18:08the same place that I left them in March. The 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.
18:32Gary's mind was racing. Could these be stolen goods? Then he opened the next box.
18:39There were shotgun cartridges. There was other bullets in there.
18:47Seeing these, I was going crazy. I 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, unfortunately, we had a few customers
19:09confirming that somebody accessed their units. In case if anything is missing,
19:13please report it to the police. We can provide you with an insurance claim form if you need one.
19:18I was infuriated. It 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
19:31out his stuff. And that was when he realized that some of his own possessions, including games consoles,
19:37speakers and camera equipment had been stolen. And standing in the unit, he finally realized how
19:46someone could have gained access.
19:48There was a long crack along the centre of the ceiling tile. And the rest of the ceiling tiles
19:54looked like they'd been disturbed. This made me think that perhaps somebody's accessed my unit
20:00from the ceiling tiles above. So 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. He found reviews that suggested
20:23Chingford'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. So you can
20:38see that there are a number of customers that are having break-ins to their units and it's simply not
20:44good enough that they are losing their items. But that wasn't enough for Gary, who went one step further
20:51with his evidence gathering and asked the police if there was a pattern of crime at the units.
20:56I actually put a Freedom of Information request to the Met Police and found that there were 20
21:02break-ins at this Chingford location. It 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. And so far,
21:15the burglar who targeted Gary's unit remains at large. Partly, he believes, because Shorgard told
21:22him in an email that the CCTV footage that could have helped apprehend the criminal had been wiped.
21:29They only keep CCTV footage for 21 days. I don't feel like 21 days is a long enough time to
21:35keep CCTV
21:36footage, especially as customers are not always going to their storage unit.
21:40As for getting his money back, Gary's Shorgard insurance policy did pay out. But a clause meant
21:47that Shorgard accounted for his items depreciating over time. So even though he valued them at £2,300,
21:55Shorgard only stumped up £1,500. It's all been a hard pill to swallow for Gary, especially since
22:03Shorgard 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, knowing that there are so
22:14many incidents happening with customers.
22:21Well, hats off to Gary for doing all that. He was told that it was deleted after just 21 days.
22:27Now, we had a bit of a look at Shorgard's website. It said that it deletes security footage after a
22:33month,
22:33unless it's what they say, flagged in relation to infraction, damage or misbehaviour. So we think
22:39what that means is if you report something within that first month, it will then hold on to 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
22:51actually happening and a security guard should have jumped into action.
22:55Well, you'd think so, wouldn't you? But it raises the question really of which parts of the facility
22:59are actually covered by CCTV. So the question is, I suppose, whether the corridors are actually
23:04covered, which entrances and exits are covered. Now, Shorgard wouldn't say. They told us that it
23:10would 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,
23:20exits and other areas. So it's perhaps understandable they don't want to give us a detailed layout of
23:25where the cameras point. But I think what it flags is if there's a weak spot in the ceiling,
23:30for example, where someone can get in that way, you can have all the CCTV you want. It's not going
23:35to show where they're coming into your unit. And Gary Rycroft, turning to you, where does the other
23:40Gary stand now? Because he claimed on Shorgard's insurance, but only received £1,500 for items that
23:47he says were valued at £2,300. Big gap. There is a big gap there. And it seemed to me
23:52watching 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
24:04he took it out. Now, the Financial Conduct Authority that regulate people that are selling
24:09financial products like insurance, under their consumer duty, you are meant to sell a financial
24:14product to someone that is the best possible product for them, that covers all their circumstances.
24:20And I think Gary would say, well, this hasn't been the best insurance product for me because
24:25it hasn't covered my loss. And because there's a shortfall, he can still, of course, go against
24:30the person or the company that he feels is in the wrong, that's let him down. In this case,
24:36Shorgard, he could issue a claim in the small claims court. And I think for good measure,
24:41if I was Gary in the film, I 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. What did you find
24:50there?
24:51Yeah, so we've looked at the security arrangements and the top five self-storage providers in the UK,
24:58based on the number of branches. In order, they are SafeStore, Big Yellow, Self Storage,
25:05Shorgard, Access Self Storage and Storage King. So for all of those, we wanted to know what security
25:11arrangements looked like in each case. Now, the first concern that we've already talked
25:16about is with CCTV and particularly how long that's kept for. So we had a look at all of those.
25:22SafeStore is 31 days plus. Big Yellow, Self Storage, 30 days. Shorgard, we know already a month.
25:30The other two doesn't say on their website how long they keep the footage for. We asked them as
25:34well and they've not got back to us. But 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. So talking about
25:45alarms first of all, there's actually sort of two types of alarms, if you like, on self-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
26:01alarms on your individual units. Storage King, that's not on there because they say storage units
26:08are alarmed, but we couldn't get exact clarity on what that meant. But what we can say for definite
26:13because they told us SafeStore and Shorgard, they both said that their individual units are not alarmed.
26:19So they do have coverage for the whole facility. But when it comes to your individual place where
26:25you've got your stuff locked up, there's no alarm on there. The other thing I mentioned was secure
26:29access control. That's just a fancy way of saying how you physically lock your unit up. Now, some of them,
26:35Shorgard and Storage King, they have a kind of fancy, whizzy smartphone
26:39apps. So, you know, you can, you've got codes on there. It tells you who's been in and out and
26:44all that sort of stuff. There's also more simple PIN code. So that's just a code on the door. That's
26:50what Big Yellow and Access have in place. Also, Access Self Storage allows you to add a padlock to that
26:57if you want. And 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
27:05thinking of using a self-storage company? Well, actually, it's all about doing your homework.
27:10Don't just fall for the boasts on the website. I think you actually do need to actually go and
27:16see the units as well, actually do a physical inspection. In a sense, you've got to put your mind
27:22into the mind of a burglar and think, well, where are the weak spots here? Actually get a feel for
27:28the
27:28staff and whether they seem switched on, shall we say, and understand whether you feel confident
27:34to put your important and valuable goods there. I think there is a killer question here when you go
27:41and inspect, which is, have there been any break-ins? Now, they won't volunteer that information,
27:46of course, but if you ask them, they do have to tell you what the answer is and they do
27:51have to answer
27:52truthfully. Now, I would say ask that question when you're there, but do follow it up in writing.
27:58Ask it in writing. Just send a simple email and get the response in writing and then you've got some
28:03future evidence. And Dave, finally, when it comes to insurance, they've all got their own policies,
28:08but do you actually have to take out insurance with the company you're using?
28:12No, you don't. The other option is you can just find a separate policy. So if you go onto one
28:17of those
28:17price comparison websites, for example, you can find specialist insurance for self-storage.
28:23The important thing to say, though, is your home contents insurance is highly unlikely to cover you
28:27for stuff that's stored off-site in self-storage or elsewhere, unless for a very short period of time.
28:33So don't rely on that. Get a specialist policy out and check the terms and conditions. Make sure
28:39that it's fit for purpose of what you need it to cover. Well, thanks to both of you, Dave and
28:43Gary.
28:43And also, I think we should thank the other Gary for all the investigative journalism he undertook.
28:48Absolutely. 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.
29:03Shorgard told us it would not be appropriate to comment on its detailed security arrangements
29:08or on the situations of individual customers, but pointed out that no security system can guarantee
29:14absolute protection, which is why all customers are required to declare the value of the goods
29:20they're storing and have appropriate protection cover in place.
29:25Shorgard added that it regularly reviews its security measures and makes improvements where needed,
29:32and said that when concerns are reported, customers are advised to contact the police
29:37and Shorgard will cooperate with the authorities.
29:41As for the other operators whose security measures Dave compared, SafeStore told us its facilities at all
29:48of 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, CCTV can be held for considerably longer,
30:01particularly where the store has low footfall. SafeStore also told us that its stores have FOB
30:08and app access systems. Both SafeStore and Big Yellow told us that all customers go through digital
30:15ID verification before being allocated a storage room. Big Yellow added that it takes the
30:22security of its stores and customers' possessions extremely seriously, and that its security procedures
30:28are regularly reviewed and continuously improved. Access Self Storage and Storage King didn't respond
30:36to our request for a comment.
30:39Time now to put some of your questions to Solicitor Guy Rycroft and Kat Chirada from Consumer Group
30:45Witch. So Kat, this one is for you, and it comes from Michael Rutt in Surrey. He sent you this
30:51message. A while ago I bought a premium sofa and soon after we discovered a few patches.
31:00So I phoned the company, they sent somebody and they declined the insurance, claiming that it was just
31:07small sun patches. So we accepted that. Sometime later, the patches got a whole lot worse. So we tried
31:16again. Once 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
31:33coming apart like that. But the tricky thing is, is that when you buy furniture in the terms and
31:38conditions, they kind of exclude responsibility for wear, tear and fading like this really. So yeah,
31:45definitely 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. But 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. So that I think will
32:10help Michael's case. I would also say that if he has purchased something that was described as
32:15premium leather, and to my untrained eye, that doesn't look like premium leather,
32:20then it wasn't, quotes, as described under the Consumer Rights Act. So I think there's two
32:25legal points there that he can push back on and actually say this is not acceptable and I want
32:30you to replace the sofa. Now, Gary, one for you. Hlynos Morgan says she hit a water meter cover in
32:38her
32:38car which caused a puncture. Fixing it cost 120 quid, but neither the water company nor the council
32:44will cover the cost. Is there anything she can do? Well, I'd say it's certainly down to one of them,
32:49isn't it? Water companies are responsible for infrastructure perhaps in the pavement outside
32:54your house. But I would start with the public highway and actually write to them and say,
32:59unless you can demonstrate to me otherwise, I think you're responsible for this because I was driving
33:03on your road when it happened. They need to kind of prove why they aren't responsible, I think. So
33:11gather all that evidence together. Ultimately, you can go to the small claims court, but you do need
33:17to know who you're suing, which 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 the best consumer advice. I'm absolutely horrified on your
33:39behalf. They were lying to you throughout. To you.
33:46Here in Mansfield, we are close to Sherwood Forest, of course, the home of Robin Hood. Now,
33:51we have no outlaws on horseback, but we do have a night. Amy Knight, personal finance expert,
33:57is 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.
34:27We just wanted something that was easier for us.
34:30Emily and her husband signed up to a five-year higher purchase finance agreement, paying 278 pounds
34:38a month. And everything was fine until July 2025, when she received a letter explaining the car had
34:45been recalled due to premature wearing of the camshaft drive chain.
34:51We read the letter and I said to my husband, it seemed pretty serious. So he rang Peugeot and they
34:58advised us to book it in with our local dealership. So it was booked in for beginning of August and
35:04we
35:04left it as that. But the day before her appointment, Evans Horshaw cancelled. The caller promised to be in
35:11touch when another appointment was available. And Emily says she was reassured the car was safe to drive
35:17in the meantime. But the dealership never got back to her. And two months later, she broke down.
35:25It was absolutely horrendous. I was stood on the side of the road with my baby in my arms. At
35:30the time
35:30when I broke down, it didn't even cross my mind that it could have been issues to do with the
35:35recall.
35:35But after speaking to a local garage, she discovered it was. Emily rang Peugeot, which referred
35:42her back to Evans Horshaw. However, the dealership said that the fact the car's service history was
35:48handwritten meant Peugeot wouldn't cover repair costs. Peugeot contradicted that saying handwritten
35:56service notes should be no problem. But Evans Horshaw wouldn't budge. All of which left Emily
36:02and her young family without a car. I asked about a courtesy car and they said they didn't have
36:08anything available. As a family, it was awful. Desperate to break the stalemate, Emily spoke to
36:15another Peugeot dealer, Stellantis and you, which said it would carry out the repair. But it said it
36:22would have to strip the engine to diagnose the fault. And if the problems went beyond those related
36:28specifically to the camshaft recall, Emily would have to pay almost a thousand pounds in labour
36:34costs. It was awful. I 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. And obviously,
36:44we're still paying the monthly finances every month. Reluctantly, Emily sent the car to the
36:49Stellantis and you dealership, which is part owned by Peugeot's parent company. But as they wait for the
36:56verdict, the potential financial impact of it all is a lot to bear. So she's coming to the advice
37:02clinic at Mansfield Library for Amy's help. Emily, I'm so sorry to hear what a distressing
37:09time you've had with your car. Amy'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
37:21than a thousand pounds of repayments during that time. I do think it could be worth speaking to the
37:28finance company because there's something called forbearance where they can give you a payment
37:33holiday. They can put that on pause while there's a dispute in progress. You mentioned that Peugeot
37:39confirmed over the phone that handwritten service notes were acceptable. I think it would be worth
37:46writing to Peugeot again and getting them to put that confirmation in writing because you can use
37:52that to push back against Evans-Halshaw and 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. Okay, thank you.
38:08In the meantime, the team at Ripoff Britain HQ get onto Amy's case and put her in touch with
38:15automotive expert Ian Ferguson, who is critical of the fact that the Stellantis dealership
38:22wants her to pay labour costs to diagnose the problem if 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
38:33us. I'm slightly concerned as to why they think is reasonable. To suggest that they're going to
38:37charge you nearly a thousand pounds, I think I'd want to be raising that with them to make sure that
38:42you're not burdened with that cost as well. But what about the original recall? Emily strongly
38:49believes that if Evans-Halshaw hadn't cancelled her first appointment, she wouldn't have experienced
38:55any of this and Ian agrees. If Evans-Halshaw weren't able to get the job done quickly enough or
39:02obtain parts quickly enough, they should either have put you into a courtesy car and taken the
39:07vehicle off the road or 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. It would really help us as a family just to be
39:31able to get back to normal. Four weeks later and Ian's hard work pays off.
39:37I spoke with the chief executive of Stellantis in the UK and also with the chief executive of
39:44Stellantis and you and 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.
40:04So how does that make you feel?
40:05It's a massive relief. This has been ongoing for nearly five months now so it's nice to know that
40:10we're coming to the end of it and we're going to finally get our car 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. I would just like to say a massive thank you to Ripoff
40:27Britain,
40:27from us as a family. Without your help we wouldn't have been in this position and we would be at
40:33a massive loss and having to pay out so much money for our car so just want to say a
40:38huge thank you.
40:39When we spoke to Evans Hallshore it told us there was no evidence that Emily's specific vehicle had a
40:46camshaft chain fault and that the purpose of the original appointment would have been to determine
40:52whether it did. Evans Hallshore blamed the cancelled appointment on technical difficulties which meant
40:58it temporarily paused recall appointments. It also told us it has no record that Emily was advised that the
41:07vehicle was safe to drive but insisted she was told she could take the car to any other Peugeot dealership
41:14for the recall assessment. As for the handwritten service history, Evans Hallshore said it followed
41:20manufacturer guidelines and understood that Emily's records did not meet the correct standard for the
41:26manufacturer's warranty procedures until Peugeot clarified its position in December 2025. Meanwhile,
41:34Peugeot told us it was investigating what happened and the subsequent handling of the case. It confirmed
41:41that the recall would be carried out and a courtesy car provided for the duration of the work and it
41:48said
41:48it 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 033 0678 1321.
42:11We'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. But if you've missed any of it,
42:37including advice on where to complain if your postal deliveries go wrong,
42:41or indeed what to do if you get a letter saying your car has been recalled,
42:45then you can almost 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. And from everyone on the team, it's time to say
43:03goodbye.
43:03Bye-bye.
43:04Bye-bye.
43:04Bye-bye.
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