Tonight ` I deposited $2000 in the name of my grandson. But when the inheritance was ready to withdraw... They had no record of it in the bank. Plus ` the developer who promised a view,... We designed the house for the view. ...only to take it away. I just think it's immoral and unethical. Then the cold war... They've got to feel as though that we're helping them. ...that's not defrosting. I thought, 'No, screw you. You can do it the way that I'm entitled to.' We're at number eight on the countdown to the dumbest fee. July was $1.47. June was $1.87, and May was $1.24. And question five in Brodie's consumer quiz is a real stumper. I'm gonna go with true. Welcome to Fair Go. Money in the bank ` you might not earn much on it, but at least you know it's safe. But hang on. Have you checked it's still there? If you leave a nest egg untouched for too long, it may... (CLICKS FINGERS) disappear. Mark explains. Remember 1997? Jenny Shipley, our first woman PM; Fitzy led the All Blacks; these kids on breakfast TV made their debut; and song of the year was Che Fu's Chains. 1997 was also the year Trevor Roswell of Christchurch went to the ANZ in Riccarton. I came into the bank and deposited $2000 in the name of my grandson Manu. Manu was 5-years-old, and his dad had just died. The money was his inheritance. The money was going into an account which Manu could access when he turned 21. After his dad passed away, Manu and his mum moved in with his grandparents. < Is he a good kid? Oh yeah. Yeah. He really is. Don't tell him that, though. (CHUCKLES) Depending on interest rates, Manu stood to pick up between $2500 and $4000 by the time he turned 21 in 2013. I didn't tell anyone what the bank account number was, and I hadn't disclosed that number to anyone until I walked into the bank. In Manu's 21st year, Trevor went back to the ANZ Riccarton. He still had the deposit book from 1997. There's the amount, the date and teller's stamp. His name was Arthur. But, in 2013, Trevor was in for a shock. They couldn't locate it and had no record of it in the bank. That's right. The bank had no record of Manu's $2000. For all intents and purposes, it had gone. Banks are usually required to retain records for seven years. We need to make it clear here that the banking ombudsman, Nicola Sladden, can't comment on individual cases such as Trevor's. If an account is inactive for, um, in some cases six years, they're required to transfer those monies to the Inland Revenue. Yep, that's right. Banks are only legally required to hold financial records for six years if an account is inactive. ANZ told Trevor that three things could've happened to Manu's account. Number one ` he could've withdrawn the money and forgot about it. I haven't got, uh, Alzheimer's yet. Number two - someone else might have withdrawn it. Um, in that case, the bank hasn't done their job properly. And number three ` the money was sent to Inland Revenue as unclaimed monies. They had a look and said that, uh, no record. So, if the banks only hold records for inactive accounts for seven years and the only deposit was $2000 in 1997, that would have meant that, by 2004, any trace of Manu's account would have vanished. 2004 ` Helen Clark was prime minister; Tana Umaga, All Black captain; Lord of the Rings won 11 Oscars; this Kiwi song was in the charts; and Manu was 12 years old and his $2000 inheritance was already gone. Did you ever get a statement from for this account from ANZ? No, no, I didn't, because I... You know, I didn't sort of expect one because I'd put the money in, telling the bank teller that it was for my grandson when he turned 21. In his quest to find the money, Trevor's written to the banking ombudsman and even laid a complaint with police. ANZ had another look and were able to access their records back to 1999. They say the account had gone by then; the money repaid. 'No way,' says Trevor. If we can't do anything now, I'll just have to wear the thing and save up a bit of money from my pension and give it to Manu in due course, unless you guys can work a miracle. A miracle? We'll see what we can do. Manu lives in Sydney these days, but we decided to give it one last try. I've just got this email from ANZ, and they say they're going to give you <BLEEP> in an account in Manu's name. We can't tell you how much because it's confidential, but ANZ have been generous, and Trevor is a humble man. Oh, that sounds all right. Yep. Helps me out as well. ANZ stress this is a unique situation and still say the account no longer existed by 1999, but they wanted to reward Trevor for trying to teach savings habits to his grandson. LINE RINGS MAN: Hello? We rang Manu in Sydney to give him the good news. Oh, that's brilliant. That's wonderful. Thank you very much for that. I've got your granddad here. Uh, what would you like to say to him? He's the one that's put in all the footwork, mate? Yeah, yeah. It's, um... I'm very thankful to have such a loving grandfather like him. He's helped me through a lot, through my life and in... And still today, he still, as you can see, continues on to help me in that and do the best by me. So I'm very very thankful to have him as my grandfather. What do you reckon about that? When I next see you, you can shake my hand, but don't squeeze it too tight. He's got a powerful grip. (CHUCKLES) Will do, Granddad. Will do. Oh, what a lovely granddad and a lovely grandson. Look, ANZ described Manu and Trevor's situation as unique, but every year, the banking ombudsman is called in to look for bank accounts that customers believe have gone missing. Banks are only legally required to keep financial records for seven years, so don't think you can just put your money in and forget about it. Each year, we would encourage customers to do a bit of a` like, a health check or a warrant of fitness to ensure that all accounts still meet their needs. So, for example, sometimes people might put money away and don't expect to access it for a number of years. But, despite that, they should still regularly check and ensure that the money is where they expect it to be and to ensure that all of the contact details, the address details are still up to date. The bank is equally responsible to provide statements and to ensure that they give regular updates and communicate effectively with the customers as well. And, after seven years, if the account's closed down, the money will be transferred to the taxman. Have a look. You may find a welcome surprise. I've looked. Nothing for me. No, it'd be nice, wouldn't it? Time now for question five in Brodie's consumer true/false quiz. This week, food labelling. So, I've got six questions, $10 prize. Let's see how we go in Christchurch. We're at Riccarton Mall with question number five, which is... Country of origin labels on food are compulsory. I'll go true. True. I'm gonna go with true. Yes. Crikey. Trues all around. Are our Christchurch peeps right? Find out later in the show. 10 bucks on the line? If it's unclaimed, the taxman might take it. No. So you buy a property because of the stunning views, and then they're taken away. Yeah, it's crazy. Shouldn't be allowed. We chose our site because it was 360-degree view. Plus ` fridge wars between a well-known retailer and a determined customer. They're saying that we just get bored and start playing with the temperature controls, which we don't. And how's this for a dumb fee? We say this charge is beyond dumb. This is an insult. Kill the charge. Welcome back. This is a story about trees. Trees always get people fired up. But, more than trees, it's about broken promises. What happens when you're sold breathtaking views and park-like surrounds, but you end up looking at a forestry block? Brodie went to a very beautiful place near Gisborne. Check out this view. We designed the house for the view. We chose our site because it was 360-degree view. And, um, yeah, that was the purpose in coming out here with a little bit of land ` to create a lifestyle. And what a lifestyle it is. Oh, stay here forever. I want to be buried on the place. This is Kauri Park in Gisborne, a rural residential subdivision which was created around 2007. Brian and Karen were instantly drawn to it. Stunning views. (CHUCKLES) Park-like surrounds, um, that we could wander through the bush at our own leisure. They bought the land in 2008 and had built this place by 2010. There were some pretty impressive selling points crucial to their decision. All those inducements are very exemplary when we were deciding... Or they're the strength on what we bought on. Oh, yeah, and there were a few more. Ah, but if only those promises had been stated clearly in the sale and purchase agreement. Karen and Brian were sold breathtaking views; that they were going to be able to meander through this beautiful land with park-like surrounds and really enjoy nature. Instead they've now got a pine forest. Now, you might be thinking, 'Oh, these are just nice little Christmas trees.' But pine trees can grow up to 30m, meaning down the track, this could be the view. And to give you some perspective, this map shows developer Luke Hansen's land right beside the subdivision. He has consent to fell all the bush that's here and replace it with pine. Why? Well, because in 2013 Luke Hansen of Eagle Eye Developments changed his plans for the land dramatically. He was taking photos down the valley, and we said, 'What are you up to?' And he said, 'Oh, I'm thinking of planting pine forestry.' Well, I couldn't really believe it for a long time. You know, I... I couldn't understand what on earth he was doing. It just bores a hole in your stomach, quite frankly. Yeah, it's crazy. Shouldn't be allowed. In an attempt to put a stop to it, the landowners say they tried to reason with Luke. But they say his only offer, which was non-negotiable, was for them to buy the land off him at what they say was an exorbitant price. We were stunned and bewildered. I just think it's immoral and unethical. Now, to be clear, Luke Hansen applied for and was granted resource consent by the Gisborne District Council to change his plans on that land. So no issues there. But the landowners say that's not the point cos, remember, this is what they thought they'd be looking at forever. They certainly did not want to be looking at something like this. < Would you have bought here? Definitely not. I don't want to live next door to a pine forest. So I'm very very disappointed that we bought the view, and now it's gonna be taken away with pine trees, and no one wants to be accountable for anything. Bayleys Real Estate sold parts of Kauri Park on behalf of Luke Hansen. What do I think has gone wrong here? I mean, somebody's just blatantly breached their promise. It's just ridden roughshod over what they'd indicated and promised that they would do some time ago. Are you guys disappointed at his behaviour? Absolutely. Absolutely. James says while they were the agent and sold the land using that appealing marketing material, they don't have any control over what Luke Hansen does with his land. We try and act in good faith in all circumstances, and when somebody does what he's done, which fortunately is not very often, um, and goes` reneges on their promises, it's very very unpleasant. As a sign of goodwill, Bayleys has offered to put up some cash for the group to get some legal advice in a bid to get a resolution. So, obviously, we wanted to speak to Luke Hansen. We had many questions for him, like why the change of heart with the land, why the broken promises? Unfortunately he wouldn't speak to us. Instead he referred us to his lawyer. These are some of the explanations offered. And, also, Luke Hansen's plans changed... Finally, he says... But all of that is little comfort to the people who have to look at his pine trees every day. I think what we'd like to see is what we're been promised and what we've paid for, and that's a pretty simple equation. Quite simply, they want the trees gone. When you look out there and look at what's happening, how do you feel? Um, I actually feel quite sick. This is our view. This is where we live. This is where we get up every morning, and we look out the windows, and we see pine trees, and, um, we actually feel quite devastated about it. We've got a bit of an update. Via Fair Go, the group of residents have put a proposal to developer Luke Hansen. They want to buy their views back, but no word yet on an agreement. Via his lawyer, Luke Hansen said he's open to a solution allowing all parties to move on. We will stay on this. Yes, dumb charges time now, and Gordon's pretty fired up about this week's contender. Number eight in our top-10 dumb charges this week, it's from John McLellan in Lower Hutt. I'm a customer of Pulse Energy, and this month they've charged me $2.26 for an invoice delivery. That's despite the fact that they send it by email, and I print it myself. I've checked other Pulse invoices, and I see they've charged me varying amounts. July was $1.47, June was $1.87, and May was $1.24. There is a 50% online discount, but... Yes, it is a dumb charge. (CHUCKLES) A very dumb charge! It's ridiculous. Now, Clint, my cameraman here, he used to hand-deliver his invoices by bicycle, didn't you, Clint? And did you charge them for the privilege? No. So why do Pulse? They say they chose to offer a very high degree of transparency. That's why there's an explicit charge for delivery. With online discount, John's $2.26 was cut to $1.13. Average customers pay about 60c per month. We checked with all these other retailers. Do they charge a delivery fee for electronic invoices? No, they do not. Pulse say other retailers include costs in the overall price. They've chosen transparency. Pulse Energy, we say this charge is beyond dumb. This is an insult. Kill the charge. They aren't killing the fee, but they say they are constantly reviewing all options. And we are constantly reviewing dumb charge options. Keep them coming. Yours may still make our top 10. OK, lots of feedback on last week's story about trying to return faulty goods. One story was particularly interesting ` about a very well-known retailer with a fascinating attitude to the Consumer Guarantees Act. So they've got the product there. They've got their money, and we can't get it out of the house. And do you know the answer to this week's consumer quiz? 1 Welcome back. Right, think you know the answer to our true/false consumer quiz question? Here's Brodie. Right. Remember this week's true/false question? Country of origin labels on food, compulsory. Let me see. Peanut butter made in China. No. No?! (CHUCKLES) Would you believe it? All our consumers thought it was true, but it was not. Our laws don't require food manufacturers to tell you where the food has come from. So our people were all wrong. Better luck next time cos it's cash-refund time. Ooh, that was tricky, that one. Next week, though, I expect top marks. Now, remember our mystery shopper test last week, where we checked what big appliance stores are telling people about their return rights? We got a very interesting message from a viewer after that story, including a rather surprising phone recording. Here's Garth. At Kelly Tarlton's, it is nesting and mating season for the penguins, and there's love in the icy air. Oh, this little guy's woken up. Devon is trying to find her inner penguin, though that's not easy. What do you like about penguins? I like that they're clumsy like me. But determined? They are determined. And they deal with some pretty chilly situations, which brings us nicely to the point. This story isn't actually about penguins. It's about how to keep your cool when someone is denying you your rights as a consumer. At least that's how Devon sees it. She and her flatmate bought a Westinghouse fridge freezer. It either runs too cold and freezes the veggies or so warm that nothing will freeze, even where it's meant to. The problem with the fridge is that it does not fridge. (CHUCKLES) They purchased it five months ago from retailer Magness Benrow. Since then, a full-blown cold war has developed. Thing got so bad Devon started recording her calls. Now, for legal reasons, we can't replay it, but we can re-enact what the store manager told her in the final call. WOMAN: I'm sorry. I'm not interested in the Consumer Guarantees Act. You have dealt with Electrolux. Let them sort it for you. Are you aware that, under the Consumer' Guarantees Act, it's the retailer that has the responsibility to return the fridge? I'm quite well aware of that, and if everybody retailer went by that, there would be absolutely no retailers in this country and we would not be selling any products. We are the agents for the supplier. We do supply their products, but the supplier must stand by their product so we can sell it. What is going on? That's not the sort of language you might expect from a family business that's been serving our biggest city for 70 years. It's easy enough to say the customer is always right. The tricky part for a retailer is working out if they have a genuine grievance on their hands. Devon complained about the faults to Magness Benrow. A technician from a third-party service agency came three times to attempt repairs. They're saying that we just get bored and start playing with the temperature controls, which we don't. Magness Benrow says it relies on that third-party report to argue with its supplier for a refund, and no fault had been identified. We can't step in and overrule a repair agent's report because the supplier won't honour it. So they declined and directed Devon to Electrolux, who manufacture the fridge freezer. They decided the technician had got it wrong, and there is a fault with this appliance. Electrolux have said, 'Yeah, it's faulty. We'll sort it out.' Except, here, the freeze really sets in. The manufacturer has to repay the retailer. Then the retailer repays the customer. But, with things so chilly, Devon wanted her refund the same day the fridge would be taken away. It takes a minimum of two to three days for a credit to get issued by a company. We can fast-track it, but we've had terrible experiences that we've given the money back, and then all of a sudden, they won't let the product go. So they've got the product there. They've got their money, and we can't get it out of the house. Devon found it very frustrating. Adrienne says it's just the process. They've got to be pleasant. They've got to feel as though that we're helping them. If they go out and make arrangements with the supplier, well, we can't overstep that mark. They weren't very kind about that, so I thought, 'Nah, screw you. You can do it the way that I'm entitled to. I'm not gonna be out of a fridge for a few days.' This cold war desperately needs defrosting. Adrienne's agreed to speed up that credit so it's paid out the same day. She still insists Magness Benrow did all it could. Devon's glad to see the back of that fridge, and Electrolux will look at covering other costs like spoilt food. The moral - rights are one thing, but getting them taken seriously takes a cool and determined approach. Retailers, we feel your pain. It's tough out there. Consumers can be demanding. We got quite a bit of feedback from retail staff about that story last week. These sort of product disputes, they are very rarely clear-cut. That's why it's really important to keep that notion of good faith in your mind whether you're a seller or a buyer. We think this is a good example of how easy it is for mistrust on both sides to creep in and make small problems very hard to fix. That's almost the show, but before we go, remember, keep sending us your picks for the best and worst ads of 2015. We've got have a special email address for this ` Please use that address only or your votes won't be counted. The winners and losers on our final show of the year in November. And that is the show, but we will be on Facebook for the next half hour to answer your questions. Our programme's all about your problems, your thoughts. We do love to hear from you. We're on Facebook. Email us... Write to us.... And next week ` why should new customers get all the best deals? Now, Graham knows it's his choice to have Sky, but recently he's been a bit perplexed at all the offers they throw out there to new customers. Free movies or free sport for two months. You know, free Joseph Parker fights. Basically, free this and free that, and I feel us loyal customers basically, um, don't get offered anything. That's next week. Goodnight. Copyright Able 2015