Rip Off Britain

Angela Rippon, Gloria Hunniford and Julia Somerville unravel the latest scams, including an elaborate con that saw a woman tricked into believing she was working undercover for the police and persuaded that she was helping them catch the very fraudsters targeting her money. Also, how scammers exploit the most trusted names and websites to get hold of car buyers' cash, and the lucrative recruitment con taking advantage of unsuspecting job hunters. Plus, the Rip Off Britain Pop-up Shop opens its doors in Nottingham.

Gloria Hunniford, Angela Rippon and Julia Somerville investigate problems viewers have said they simply can't resolve, including the mysteriously flooded garden that now threatens a family's entire house. Also, why hundreds of thousands of homes are locked into a heating system they can't leave, the residents battling for normal access to their own road, and why one man believes the problem with his iconic car may be more than a one-off. Plus, more advice from the experts at the Rip Off Britain Pop-up Shop.

Frustrations with everyday gadgets and services are under investigation as the team meet a group of neighbours who've discovered they've been paying too much for their water for decades. So why can't they get all their money back? Also, how one of Britain's best-selling phones can have unexpected charges for sending increasingly common images, and why locals in one town are in uproar over a car park where even if you've bought a ticket you may still be a hit with a penalty charge. Plus the homeowners who say mortgage lenders have made their homes unsellable.

Gloria Hunniford, Angela Rippon and Julia Somerville get to the bottom of more situations viewers have asked them to investigate, including the story of a couple who paid to put their belongings into storage but have never seen them since. Also, a couple are worried what effect the unexpected discovery of a mineshaft under their home will have on the value of their property, and the team are on the trail of a wine investment that wasn't all it appeared to be. Do the bottles even exist? Plus, with experts describing some leasehold properties as a ticking time bomb, there's advice to stop homeowners losing out.

Angela Rippon, Gloria Hunniford and Julia Somerville investigate property nightmares and disastrous building work, with a report on a company that's taken tens of thousands of pounds for jobs left completely unfinished. Also, a property investment gone badly wrong, and the couple angry that the survey they'd had done before buying their home didn't pick up that the basement was flooded. Were there signs that should have been spotted? Plus advice on what to do if your relationship with a trader turns nasty, and more problems solved at the Rip Off Britain pop-up shop.

Angela Rippon, Gloria Hunniford and Julia Somerville explore whether enough is done to contact customers when a product is recalled for safety reasons - and reveal new ways to check if your products are safe. Also, with more of us relying on them than ever, how much can we trust all those online reviews? And how a new way of making payments seemed to take away one family's normal rights when it came to getting a refund. Could the same happen to you?

Unwanted calls - and how to stop them - are under investigation as Angela Rippon, Gloria Hunniford and Julia Somerville meet people plagued by a barrage of nuisance calls and test a solution to see how effective it is in bringing the number down. Also featuring an elaborate con that started with a call from someone pretending to be from the phone company, but ended with the loss of thousands of pounds. And, how taking part in surveys may have consequences you didn't expect.

Gloria Hunniford, Angela Rippon and Julia Somerville are on the trail of whoever's behind a fake shopping site that uses the details and addresses of genuine businesses to lure you into ordering electrical goods that don't arrive. As the team investigate situations where viewers haven't got what they paid for, just how easy it is to set up an online store that isn't what it seems? Also, the unfinished building work that ruined a family reunion, and more problems solved at the pop-up shop in Nottingham.

Angela Rippon, Gloria Hunniford and Julia Somerville uncover a new twist to the problems hundreds of viewers have had with passport websites that aren't what they seem. Refuse to pay the charges of one of them, and you could end up in court. Also, the homeowners who've spent months waiting for a phone line to be installed - and how that's affected them in an emergency. Plus, a woman who says compensation for late-running trains can be as delayed as the journeys themselves, and the TV extras who haven't been paid.

Gloria Hunniford, Angela Rippon and Julia Somerville meet viewers caught out by the small print - including a family whose holiday was almost grounded by a simple but very costly mistake. Also, a wedding company whose contract came with an expensive sting in the tail, and a woman who found her house sale underway despite being adamant she'd never accepted an offer. Plus the avid caravanners whose dream upgrade turned sour, and more advice from the experts at the team's pop-up shop in Nottingham.

All-too-plausible scams that have cost viewers hundreds of thousands of pounds are exposed by Julia Somerville, Angela Rippon and Gloria Hunniford, and the team have plenty of advice to avoid being stung the same way. Among the investigations: how email hackers hijacked a house sale to get their hands on the cash, the student conned by a foreign au pair job that didn't exist, and a man who lost his life savings to what turned out to be a multi-million-pound scam. Plus behind the scenes of a team identifying the people most at risk from fraudsters. But how do the crooks get hold of your details in the first place?

Gloria Hunniford, Angela Rippon and Julia Somerville reveal easy ways to avoid losing either your money or your details online, investigating the darkest corners of the web where criminal gangs have found ways to take full advantage of your personal information. Also, how safe is the free wi-fi when we're out and about? The team set up an experiment to test out the risks. Plus the shopping website that promises bargains and fun, but has customers who'd say they ended up with neither. And more invaluable advice from the experts at the Pop-up Shop.

A man whose bank refused to believe he wasn't dead is among the people sharing their stories with Angela Rippon, Gloria Hunniford and Julia Somerville, after the error ended up costing him hundreds of pounds. Plus how companies taking advantage of the change in pension rules could cause your savings to vanish overnight, and the team helps a man whose insurer refused to pay out after an illness left him unable to work. And - after hearing what troubles there can be if a relative becomes unable to make the best decisions on their own - Gloria has a difficult conversation with her son about when might be the right time to start making crucial plans for the future.

Angela Rippon, Gloria Hunniford and Julia Somerville investigate situations where viewers have been left frustrated by the customer service they've received. Among the stories, the cricket club left stumped by the mistakes made with their kit, and a company that promises cash for your old clothes - but will you get what you expected? Plus a squeaky chair that was just the start of one man's battle with the furniture store where he bought it, and the angry customers who've joined forces after paying out thousands for animal shelters that were never built.

Disastrous experiences when the worst happens - and the problems getting them resolved - are the focus of this edition of the consumer investigation series presented by Julia Somerville, Angela Rippon and Gloria Hunniford. A tragic event highlights a common mistake made with holiday cover, and a family reveals how for 11 years they've been battling to get the cracks appearing in their home sorted. Also, the team open up a pet clinic after a rise in complaints about insurance for our four-legged friends. And after a car accident broke one woman's back and left her unable to work, why wouldn't her insurance pay out?

Houses under attack from plants and trees are one of the topics investigated by Julia Somerville, Angela Rippon and Gloria Hunniford in this edition of the programme that battles on viewers' behalf to get problems resolved. Also among the stories, what happened to one woman's family silver after she trusted an expert to sell it? Plus the latest on a company that left hundreds of investors without their apartments in the sun, and the homeowners adapting to life on a deserted street where other properties are up for sale - for just one pound.

The team investigate the spiralling costs of energy and heating and share advice on how to bring your bills down without switching supplier. Plus the latest on a big story the team has investigated before: could a vital piece of paper be the key to why so many households have been driven to breaking point by the costs of a heating system that's sent their bills sky-high? Also featuring a couple locked in a power struggle with their energy supplier after receiving huge bills for times when there was no-one at home, and a hi-tech heating solution leaving people hot under the collar.

As the team investigate whether we always get value for money, there's an exclusive peek at the tough tests designed to identify which products are the best to go for. Also, with hundreds of millions of batteries used in the UK every year, how can you tell which ones will last the longest, and could it be that it's cheaper ones that give the best overall value? Plus a big family day out accused of not living up to the hype, and an online dress shop whose frocks don't quite measure up.

Consumer champions Angela Rippon, Gloria Hunniford and Julia Somerville investigate complaints about big-name brands, including a sofa store whose new furniture didn't please one woman in the way she'd expected from the ads, and the high street pharmacies giving advice that isn't correct. Also, with more people reporting unexpectedly high charges for going online, the team unravels how much data you'll typically use on everyday tasks. Plus the gamers who claim hackers have found a way to order from their online accounts.

Angela Rippon, Gloria Hunniford and Julia Somerville investigate fake promises and products that could end up costing more than just money - with shocking lab tests revealing why counterfeit cosmetics aren't always the harmless bargain they might appear. Also, how fraudsters behind the type of accident scam driving up the cost of car insurance had their plans scuppered, and the team expose bogus celebrity endorsements that tempt you into handing over cash for something you may later regret. Plus the fake blender cashing in on one of the latest must-have gadgets - what are the risks if you accidentally buy the wrong one?