麻豆社

For months viewers have been getting in touch saying they鈥檝e been ripped off by companies selling them the Green Deal and similar schemes.

Now X-Ray investigators have been given misleading information after ringing two Welsh companies offering a Green Deal service.

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See details of the investigation

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So how can you avoid losing out when you are cold called by Green Deal firms?

• Remember the basics: The Green Deal is a loan, and interest rates aren鈥檛 always competitive. You should do your own research before committing to any offers, especially if you haven鈥檛 approached a company yourself.
• Be wary of any company that promises you over the phone that you are eligible for particular Green Deal benefits.听 An assessor will need to visit your home to see if you qualify.
• It is more likely that you will qualify for Green Deal funding for lower cost items like insulation. It is rare for expensive items like boilers to be fully funded by the Green Deal. Beware of anyone who guarantees you a new boiler or double glazing over the phone.
• If you are on means tested benefits there could be schemes available to you.听 You will never have to pay upfront for them. Ring the Energy Saving Advice Service 0300 123 1234 to find out if you are eligible. You can also try the Welsh Government鈥檚 NEST scheme: 0808 808 2244. They might also be able to help.
• If you do want to apply for a Green Deal loan you might need to pay for an assessment. But these cost around 拢120. Some cold calling companies charge as much as 拢400. If you have paid for an assessment and you are unhappy with what you have had, get in touch with X-Ray and your local trading standards department.

You can find more information on the Green Deal and Affordable Warmth schemes .

Two rogue traders are safely behind bars, thanks to the determination of two victims who became key witnesses.

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John William Price and Steven Lavercombe were the brains behind National Landscapes, a Bridgend based company supposedly specialising in expert, professional maintenance and driveway work.

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But last year they scammed X-Ray viewer David Ormrod from Neath out of 拢15,000 after initially offering to lay a new driveway for just 拢6,000.

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Trading Standards Officer Darrell Price told X-Ray, 鈥淎ll of the methods that Mr Price used in this case were exactly as we see on a regular basis for rogue traders.

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鈥淭hey come out and offer a fairly low price job鈥�then they end up digging up the driveway and increasing the price as high as they can get."

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And not long afterwards Mike Davies from Bridgend was also caught out, in exactly the same fashion, to the tune of almost 拢9,000.

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鈥淚 always said oh that鈥檒l never happen to me, but it does. It鈥檚 quite easy, they have got you over a barrel and you鈥檙e obliged to say yes because it鈥檚 got to be done," he said.

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But justice prevailed. After a five-day trial, the Jury took less than an hour to find John William Price guilty on nine counts of fraud. Steven Lavercombe had previously pleaded guilty to five of those counts. Price was sentenced to five years in prison and banned from cold calling or pricing driveway work for eight years afterwards. Lavercombe got just over two years in jail.

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Darrell Price told X-Ray he believed the punishment fitted the crime: 鈥淚 certainly felt that we had to pursue this case to听the enth degree because we didn鈥檛 want them visiting anymore elderly people and committing the crimes they did, because it was a particularly nasty incident."

RAF engineer Josh Hobbs thought buying an Alfa Romeo would be a dream come true 鈥� instead he says his car has been plagued with problems.

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The 23-year-old, who lives in Cardiff, bought his Alfa Romeo Mito in May last year from a dealership in Cheltenham.

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He said: "I'm a young lad, so I wanted a sports car. Alfa Romeos are just small Ferraris."

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The car had been used by the garage as a demonstration vehicle and was a year old, with six thousand miles on the clock.听 Josh paid 拢16,750, but within eight months it began having problems.

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"The first hitch I had was actually driving down the M4 motorway on my way back to Cardiff," he said.听"The electric windows decided they were going to just go down on their own, so I was obviously doing about 70mph. With that kind of airflow coming in the car it was quite horrifying.鈥�

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The windows were repaired under Alfa鈥檚 three year warranty, but then the car started making an odd whining noise on corners. No one seemed able to fix the problem and then it turned into something much more serious.

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Josh said:听 "In the middle lane of the motorway in quite busy traffic, and suddenly the brakes make this horrible squealing, screeching noise. The handbrake warning light comes on as if the handbrake was on. There's a lot of juddering, a lot of noise, the smell of burning, the car felt like someone had yanked the handbrake on. It was very scary."

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He limped along to the nearest services, before calling out a recovery vehicle. The driver told him there was corrosion in his back brakes.

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Josh says Alfa Romeo refused to pay for the brakes to be repaired under warranty 鈥� in the end his finance company picked up the cost.

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He said: "I'm just waiting for other things to go wrong with it really, and Alfa Romeo to say no they're not paying for it."

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X-Ray asked Gareth Rees, an independent vehicle inspector, to take a look at the car. He highlighted a split in the paintwork around the boot as a particular problem.

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Gareth said: "We've got delamination and fracturing on the bodywork. I'm clearly of the opinion this was there at the date of manufacture. This is going to devalue the vehicle and I'm suggesting Alfa Romeo should address this ASAP."

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Alfa Romeo said that they were committed to delivering the highest standards of service and care to customers.听 They say they鈥檙e now conducting a thorough investigation into Josh鈥檚 case and will be sending an engineer to inspect his car.