Tonight ` All we ever wanted was just a home. Their home and dreams left shattered on the side of the road. Half of the house had been destroyed. So what did the removal company say? They said it wasn't their fault, wasn't their responsibility. (SOBS) Plus, how to stop visits to your GP costing an arm and a leg. We charge as little as possible. We begin our countdown of the top-10 dumbest charges as voted by you. Brodie has question four in our consumer rights quiz. And we're back into the vault for the ad awards. Can you remember what was voted the best for 1992? Bugger. Bugger. Copyright Able 2015 Welcome to Fair Go. Take a look at this. We found this chunk of classic-Kiwi weatherboard on the side of the road. It's part of a house which was being moved to the Coromandel to become a family's new home. So what happened to it? Here's Mark. Sometimes the toll can take its toll. (SOBS) It's just been terrible. It's just the` It's constant letter writing and... just the not knowing w-what` where you're going with this. The tears are real and raw, and they're over Cheryl and Tom Circuit's new home. They and their two boys, Reef and Tiki, have been waiting for it to arrive for the past 10 months. It was in really good condition. It'd been looked after and totally cared for. There was no rot in any` anywhere at all, not even the weatherboards or the windows. Tom's a building inspector. He'd paid $30,000 for this four-bedroomed, weatherboard family home in Auckland. The plan was to relocate it to beautiful Tairua in the Coromandel and put it on this piece of dirt. We were going to come through here. This is where the boys would grow up. This would be would be an open-plan lounge, then we'd go into the dining room. The Circuits chose Andrews Housemovers to transport their new home to its new home. We checked them out on the internet. Their reputation ` they weren't a small firm; they're a big firm, They were a big firm. and they're nationally recognised, so we really did our homework on it. Here's the contract between Andrews and the Circuits over moving the house to Tairua ` $40,945.75. Tom and Cheryl would pay half upfront. But buried in here under general conditions is the line... We did think about insurance, didn't we? But the only insurance we could get was for collision or over turning. If it was their responsibility, if they'd damaged it, it fell over or whatever ` or what happened` what happened ` we thought they would be insured for that. The house was cut in half for the trip and a couple of Andrews trucks headed off for Tairua. But around five in the morning, Tom got a phone call. It was Andrews. They said a tyre had burst on one of the trucks carrying the house. There'd been a slight accident at the top of the Hikuai and the bathroom had been` They'd lost a section of the bathroom. Slight accident? The reality, as these police photos show, was far, far worse, but the Circuit's didn't find that out for more than 8 hours when Andrews sent two of its bosses to see them. So what happened that half of the house had been destroyed. They said it wasn't their fault, wasn't their responsibility; it was our responsibility, but they were willing to move the other half of the house, which was two bedrooms` two and a half bedrooms onto this building site, and that would've been it, and we had an hour and a half to make the decision. Andrews said they would excuse the remaining 20 grand of the house-moving bill, but Tom and Cheryl said no. It was old weatherboard, old roof. We would never have matched it up. We'd lost the kitchen, the bathroom, the living room, an office and half a hallway, plus the deck which was also inside the house. We'd lost way over three quarters, really. We'd never been able to afford to build it back. Remember the Circuit's didn't have insurance for the transit, and Andrews was saying this mess was Tom and Cheryl's responsibility. It's just too` Too upsetting. Too upsetting, yeah. This is the first time Cheryl has been to the crash site. Almost a year later, you can still find bits of their house stuck in the mud. Oh, they just said that tyres had burst on the trailer. And they'd lost the bathroom. And when you came here and had a look, what did you think? Couldn't believe how much damage there was. But something wasn't adding up. If we take another look at the police photos. As you can see here, the house is no longer attached to the trailer. It has slid right off. The police officer who attended the scene said there was no evidence of burst tyres, and there's more, much more. We were told that an infringement notice had been issued for a` Insecure load. Insecure load, and that had been issued to the company driver at the time. Yes, that's right. The driver of the truck carrying the Circuits' house had been charged with failing to properly secure the load and a $600 fine was paid. Do you take any responsibility for this at all? How` How could we? (CHUCKLES) You know, um, if he'd been in a collision or if the trailer had turned over, we would've accepted that because we weren't insured, but it was an insecure load, which they` We can't` We don't feel there's any responsibility to be placed on us for securing that load. They were the professionals. That's why we hired them. Andrews have admitted liability under the carriage of goods act and offered the maximum compensation of $2000. Tom and Cheryl have turned that down. Andrews also told us in a statement they dispute the cause of the damage. It'll now be up to the courts to decide. Both sides are suing the other over breach of contract, and Andrews wants more money to clean up the mess left behind when the house disintegrated. Meanwhile, what remains of Tom and Cheryl's house, the other half, remains here on the lot at Andrews. And two days before Christmas, Tom and Cheryl got a letter from Andrews' lawyers. Saying that were we aware that there was incurring storage charges on the section of the house that was there, and that's $150 plus GST per week, plus tarpaulin hire. and also a charge for removing the section of the house from where the crash site was back to their yard; we hadn't paid for that either. You can still see the outline of where Tom and Cheryl's new family house was meant to go on their bare Tairua section. They're out of pocket to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars and crammed into a rental house down the road. Their hopes now pinned on a court case. It hasn't gone away. There's no closure. You've lost` You know you've lost your house. You have to prepare yourself for this fight. All we ever wanted was just a home; that's it, isn't it? It's just been terrible. The Circuits are seeking about $90,000 compensation. We were hoping Andrews Housemovers would sort this before it got to court due in December. No luck so far. Andrews wouldn't go on camera, but they tell us... 'They regret the damage, and the cause is in dispute,' they say. Interesting that, because remember the Andrews driver was fined $600 for an insecure load. Andrews have accepted liability and offered that 2000 compensation. Andrews say they've made a number of higher goodwill offers, but, they say, they've been rejected. We asked what they were, because the Circuits say that's news to them. The only offer they know of was to deliver the un-smashed part of the house and waive the unpaid 20,000. Finally, Andrews say if the Circuits followed written advice to insure the house, they wouldn't be in this predicament. We asked for that written advice, but none was supplied. OK, here is Brodie with question number four in our consumer true-false quiz. Righty-ho, we are on the hunt for Christchurch's most switched on consumer. Who will it be? The question for our peeps this week... You have 10 days to cancel a door-to-door contract. I'm gonna go with yep, 10, true. I'm gonna with false. I think it's true. Oh, what could it be ` is it 10 or is it five? Find out soon. Pretty important protection that. The law broadened it out last year. Find out what the answer is coming up. Hmm. Now, free GP visits for under 13s, that's what the government promised. Why are some of you missing out? All practices are businesses. They set their own fees. Some of them charge you a lot; some of them not very much at all. Plus, has your dumb fee made our top 10? We begin the countdown. And we have some tips to make your Sunday car wash the best ever. . My cousin Ben is funny and kind and good at sport. But sometimes people are weird around him. Mum says he's got mental illness, but that just means sometimes he's not well. If people would just talk to him, they'd see how cool he is. And that ` that would make NZ even cooler. Yeah. Hey, Ben! Hey! One in five NZers will experience mental illness this year. . Welcome back. How much does it cost you every time you go to the doctor? Well, if the patient is under 13, it should cost nothing, right? Isn't that what the government promised? Well, not exactly, as one mum found out. Here's Garth. Hang in there NZ; Spring is almost upon us, so wrap up and count yourself lucky if you aren't spending time in a doctor's waiting room. This practice saw a 128 patients in one day last week. That's a new personal best. Those winter bugs can be pretty persistent and quite costly to fight off, right? Elsuri was very glad to hear the government promising that from July 1, children under 13 would get free GP visits and prescriptions. It makes a huge difference and especially if you don't earn a lot. We should make it clear we're paying for the coffees here, you know. She's got to spend all her money on doctor's fees now. (LAUGHS) Elsuri wasn't laughing after the family's first trip to the doctor since the plan kicked in. The bill came to $77 for her husband and daughter. The doctor had seen them together and only charged her daughter half price. Good deal? But I said why did you pay for her? You're not supposed to pay for her. Elsuri was puzzled. She'd done her research, which couldn't make it clearer. Here's National's website ` 'Free GP visits and prescriptions for children under 13.' Full stop. There isn't any phrase that says, 'But it's only for certain people, or it's only for certain children in certain places.' The government had made the promise, after all. She expected them to keep it. So how do doctors decide how much to charge you? The first thing you need to know is that medical practices are businesses. They set their own fees. Some of them charge you a lot; some of them not very much at all. And their funding varies by who they have enrolled. That depends on the age of the patient, the ethnicity of the patient, where the patient lives, the gender ` all of these factors are taken into consideration, and based on the expected health need for that person, the practice get's a certain amount of money. Anything from about $60 to $600 a year. Whether I turn up or not? That's right. Here at Waitakere Union Health keeping cost down is crucial. We charge as little as possible, so we charge nothing if you're 18 and under, nothing if you're 65 and over. We are free for union members, family members of union members, free for ACC. Does anyone pay? About five people a day Doctors who still charge for under 13s say in their circumstances the extra funding won't cover the cost of providing free visits to their patients. They'd be losing money if they opt in. Elsuri may have to shop around. Making that job a little easier is this thoughtful young guy in Dunedin, who's built and run a website in his spare time. Like, I had` I had been looking for a doctor myself and I was` I had noticed that the prices vary heaps, but there wasn't a way of comparing the prices, and I thought why? (LAUGHS) doctorpricer.co.nz scrapes the public data, runs it through google maps and shows what GPs are charging for a standard 15 minute consultation in your neighbourhood and beyond. I think there's a lot of people who` who could really benefit from something like this, especially given the variation in, like, one area. Here it's from zero to, like, $60 or something. So we put Elsuri's address into it. Turns out none of the practices in her neighbourhood offer under-13s free visits. Push out to five K's, and, bingo, there are two big practices in the scheme taking patients. There's more detail on another website you can use ` only if you're in Auckland, sorry ` healthpoint.co.nz lets you search for a female doctor for example. Both website's have their limitations but are a helpful start. You've got to be fundamentally happy with your doctor. Price will be one of those considerations. For some people it will be the most important consideration, but for some people who can afford it, even if their, you know, doctor is one of the 3% of practices in NZ not offering under-13s, they may think it's worth sticking with that doctor. Elsuri is in that 3%. Though Dr Coleman insists she isn't missing out. Free for 99% of children, and there are easily accessible alternatives if your doctor doesn't happen to be one of those practices that are signed into under-13s. You know, I think that's a pretty outstanding result. Elsuri still reckons it would be better to say 'most' doctors to avoid disappointing people, but she's hoping these tools we've mentioned can help her find her a doctor she trusts as much as the one she has and save her money with free visits for her kids. doctorpricer.co.nz ` great idea. Brilliant. Now, we got a bad habit of crashing websites, so if you go to that tonight and can't get on, don't be surprised. No, try again tomorrow. Now, if you do change doctor, don't immediately expect a free visit. It can take months for government funding to follow you to the new practice. So, ask if you'll be charged extra to see your GP until that funding kicks in. We've been contacting doctors who aren't offering under 13s free visits. Most haven't come back to us. Some say they've juggled finances and will join in October. Others tell us they are concerned that signing up will lead to a surge in visits that they don't have the staff or the funding to cope with, so they're keeping out of it. Now, a couple of weeks ago, we asked what was the dumbest fee you've been charged. Well, the volume of dumbness was fairly astonishing. (LAUGHS) Uh, tonight we begin a countdown of the top-10 dumbest charges so far. Kicking us off at number 10 ` what we're calling the 'triple whammy'. Here's what Melissa from Palmerston North told us. I bought a ticket from TicketDirect to go to my daughter's kid's first concert. Cost of the ticket ` 22.50. But by the time they added a fee for wanting the ticket ` the booking fee ` going and picking up the ticket ` delivery fee ` and paying for the ticket ` merchant fee ` it cost me 31.88! What's with all the fees? Yep, the triple whammy, where you get charged not one, not two, but three extra fees on top of the face value of the ticket. So we reached out to Matthew Davey, CEO of TicketDirect and said to him, 'What is with all the fees?' He says the service fee or booking fee covers the... Talking to a human face to face will cost you $1 more, and if you need help on the phone, cha-ching, that'll cost you more again. For Melissa, this felt like a fee for wanting to buy a ticket, but for Mike, it's staff and infrastructure costs. The merchant fee is the percentage charged by the credit-card company for the use of their cards, which they pass straight on to you. Be careful; it's a percentage, so the more expensive the ticket, the more expensive the fee. Think of it as our contribution to banks and their record-breaking profits this year. And finally, the delivery fee. It will cost you extra for a courier. Printing it out at home is cheapest, although Melissa reckons she was never offered that option, and she was too late for a courier, so she had to pick it up herself, which cost her $5. Mike says he'll look into Melissa's case to triple check everything is in order. There are ways of reducing the fees by doing much of the legwork yourself, but none of them involve getting rid of them completely, and we think that's a bit dumb. I'll tell you what, there's been no shortage of examples of dumb fees coming from you guys, but we'd love to hear more examples too. So dumb. Contact us on Facebook, email us ` fairgo@tvnz.co.nz Write to us ` private bag 92038, Auckland 1142. Number nine, so far, next week. Yeah, exactly. Now, it's a Kiwi pastime ` Sunday afternoon washing your car. But all this time you could've been doing it wrong. So this is a perfect overcast day? This is a perfect day. This is perfect day to wash your car. Plus we have the answer to Brodie's consumer quiz question. I think it's true. And we're back into the vault for the ad awards. Can you remember what was voted the best for 1992? And basically try to hold the country to ransom. See how it pours. See how it swirls. You can almost feel the freshness. Almost taste it. Which is strange, because water doesn't really have a taste like orange juice or soup does. Not really. Not Beersies ` people drink it with beersies and sports, like karate. Welcome back. Tricky but pretty important consumer quiz question tonight. Here's Brodie with an answer that could save you a lot of grief. This week's question was a tricky one. You have 10 days to cancel a door-to-door contract. Most people said... True. I think it's true. I'm afraid they're wrong. You see, it's five working days after you receive a copy of the agreement, so if you've changed your mind, you've got five working days to get out of a contract. Oh, no one's getting this bad boy yet, so next week we look at food labels. Oh, that was easy. If nobody wins that, it might be dried noodles all around at the Fair Go team. Oh, straight back into petty cash. Now, you may remember the mysterious spots on the new car a few weeks back. Apparently, no one knew what caused them, and no one was taking responsibility for fixing them till we stepped in. Well, maybe those spots weren't such a mystery after all. Washing your car, how hard can it be? Don't wash a hot car. Don't wash in the direct sun, yeah right, blah, blah, blah. It's very important that when you wash your car on a hot day that you do dry it quickly. Not exactly hot the day we filmed this, but why does it matter? Well, it is important to avoid the water spotting. Tap water in particular causes water spots if it's allowed to dry, and we do believe that's what caused the problem on the Suzuki. This Suzuki ` the spotty car from Palmerston North, as featured on Fair Go a few weeks back. It looks horrible, looks like a car that's 20 years old, not just 5 months old. We were told that four paint experts had a look at this, and some mystery corrosive liquid caused this. We got plenty of guesses about what that liquid might be ` acid rain, blown ash, hard water in Palmie North got plenty of blame but this was the most interesting. This is a letter from prison. This guy reckons it's a particular fluid that we won't name sprayed on the car by vandals, and this guy says he knows, because he says he's done it to people he doesn't like. But after having another closer look, the man from DuraSeal now has a simple answer for this. We do` we do believe that it was caused by tap water or tap water and detergent. Yep, Jake reckons this is dried detergent and/or calcium. It's water spots. This sort of thing you've seen before, haven't you? We have seen that before, sadly, but it's very much a matter of education, of telling people what they're doing. A lot of people sadly do not dry their car, and that can lead to those situations, yes. Best thing ` wash the car when it's cloudy. So this is perfect overcast day? This is a perfect day. This is a perfect day to wash your car. But if it's the summer, and it's sunny, and you gotta wash the car, what do you do? You're probably really better off to wait until early in the morning or towards the evening when it all cools off a little bit, yeah So here's how the expert does it. Gordon from Final Touch Car Care says don't spray. What gets left behind is spots, and if it's warm and dries quickly those spots just dry on. So flood it off ` take off the spray nozzle entirely. If we get a steady stream of water as it peals itself back, it just pulls away to a nice clean panel. And use a decent chamois or microfiber cloth. Ta da! I have to say I don't quite get the whole 'car washing as a hobby' thing. It's so pointless cleaning the inside. The kids turn it into a mess in nanoseconds. No, but some people can spend hours, but, look, good news for the Hansons. They've got their car back, and here they are. The work was done by Andy at Manawatu Autobodies. But the Hansons are not happy at all to hear they might be to blame. Graeme says he's scrupulous about drying the car and never washes it in the heat of the day. So it's still a mystery as far as they're concerned. A little update for you now on last week's story about house inspections. Remember this guy, Mike Malcolm? He said he poked his finger into rotten wood. He says the inspector said, 'Don't worry. That's nothing.' And Mike swore an affidavit backing that up. Well, the inspector tonight, he said that, and we've now got an affidavit from him too. No solution there yet, but we're working on it. Yes, now, that's almost the show, but before we go, remember to keep sending us your picks for the best and worst ads of 2015. We've got a special email address for this ` adawards@tvnz.co.nz The winners and losers on our final show of the year in November. Now, we don't need much of an excuse to play classic ads, but this year the school ad awards theme is animals. And back in '92, our best ad winner featured an upstart Aussie airline and a soggy moggy. Fluffy? (MEOWS) (MEOWS) I've got a problem. Let me guess. Is it the... briefcase? No. Then it must be the... cat. (MEOWS) Fluffy. Oh, I loved that ad. They did some really good ads, actually, cos they did the whole 'throw the keys out the window' one too. Didn't end so well for Anne's head. (LAUGHS) No, it didn't did it? Oh, the actor, by the way, Peter Hambleton. You might` Actually, no, you wouldn't recognise him at all. He was one of Peter Jackson's hobbits. Oh, there you go. So that is the show, but Gordon will be on Facebook for the next half hour to answer your questions. Our programme is all about your problems, your thoughts. We do love to hear from you. We're on Facebook. Email us ` fairgo@tvnz.co.nz Write to us ` private bag 92038, Auckland, 1142. Now, next week ` they owe money, but that's not what they're afraid of. He raised his voice so that I couldn't get a word in. He didn't want to hear what I had to say. He was just being... pretty much brutal. I felt intimidated, and I just couldn't wait for him to leave. Have the debt collectors gone too far? I broke down. I broke down cos it was like now he's blaming for stuff that I haven't even done. That's next week. Good night. Copyright Able 2015