Tonight ` Excuse me, sir. How do you get outta here? no way in, no way out. I wouldn't have a clue. The great wall of Waiheke blocking one man from his land and the outside world. The council should be bloody paying out for this. Buying a second-hand car? Just make sure it doesn't come with an unwanted repo man. They've bought the vehicle believing that there's no finance on it, and we arrive, and unfortunately it gets repossessed. Hello, Janine. Plus, an update on a past Fair Go story. < Any comment on your plea? And our precious cargo ` # A, B, C, D... # what's the one thing we're probably not doing to keep them safe? Am I a bad dad? Welcome to Fair Go. Who builds a wall across your property without asking you first? Answer ` the local council. So how do you complain to the council that just built that wall without asking? Garth set out on a mission to find who, how and why on the island. One increasingly inhabited island in the Hauraki Gulf, half an hour from our biggest city. Island life can challenge your patience and test your nerves right to the limit. This is a story about access and how to survive and thrive when you're completely cut off. I'm gonna show you what it takes to survive a bureaucratic bungle when you feel like you've hit the rocks, engineer a way a right through an almost impassable barrier. But the biggest test will be getting a fair go from Auckland Transport. We're on Waiheke Island. We've just landed. We're about a kilometre from shore. Already this bush looks pretty lush. This land belongs to a guy called Bob and a lady called Bev. One day it could be home to a bach. Right now, it's a test. Bob bought the vacant section nine years ago, but more than half that time it's been inaccessible. And not because of this subtropical undergrowth. It's nearly as thick as the local red tape. No, there's another barrier here ` it's this a 2.4m retaining wall and safety fence that stretches from boundary to boundary. The section is completely cut off from the road. Excuse me, sir. How do you get out of here? < (CHUCKLES) I wouldn't have a clue. Have you got a long ladder? It's time you met Bob Logan. (GROANS) Not bad. What are you complaining about, Bob. It's easy. Yeah, I know. Well, according to the council, it's no trouble. This is your driveway. I'm not sure what type of car to buy to get over here. You want a really good winch to get yourself up over here, and I don't know how the fence would hold up, to be quite honest. At 74, Bob won't be hurdling this in a hurry. Ooh. Just slightly too high there. (CHUCKLES) The council built this wall to widen the road and create a cycle lane. These Google Street View pictures from May 2010 show the queue of cyclists just waiting for the job to be done. All of it was news to Bob, who had moved off the island when he bought the land. He rushed back there on the next boat. I said to the contractors doing it, 'What's going on here? How am I gonna get on my section?' And they said, 'Well, we've got nothing on the plans to show any access.' A stark contrast to the neighbours, who were all getting very flash new entrances at council cost and with months of notice. Oh, I knew before they started that it was coming. By how long? Well, they were sending letters. They sent plans and put them in` and posted them in the letterbox so we could have a good look at what exactly's gonna be happening. Paul lives three doors up. He had steps. Auckland Transport did this for him for no charge. Either side of me, my two neighbours, they got a driveway put in so far down for free. He reckons Bob deserves as much. I don't mind helping him in the rates, fixing this. The bloody council ballsed it up, so I don't helping out the guy. You know, the council should be bloody paying out for this. Bob says at the time, he spoke with the council's transport manager on the island. And he said, 'Well, there was no letterbox on an empty` on the section, an empty section,' and he said, 'We didn't know how to get in touch with you.' And I said, 'Well, we get a rate bill four times a year.' That finds you easily enough. > Yeah, well... (CHUCKLES) Yeah, it does. Bob says the manager promised it would all be sorted island style ` if Bob got the plans, council would do the work. Who's paying for all this? And he said, 'Well, we'd put in the posts, new culvert and lift the old one out.' And, um, I think he said, 'We'll backfill it all for you.' Time dragged on. Bob checked back with his council contact. You told me you'd put the posts in and da da da, and then he said, 'Yeah, I know I did, but I had no authority to say it.' He said it's become a bit of a legal... issue. And an engineering issue too. From his new home on the road, Bob's wound up managing this project to fix council's mistake. He's already spent nearly $9000 on council consent fees and plans. And now you've gotta fill all of that in, you've got to have retaining walls and stuff. And construction costs could top $45,000. At one point, Bob says the council was even talking about charging him rent for the part of the driveway entrance that would have to be built on council road reserve land. Everything was awkward. And I honestly think that they used bullying tactics, hoping like hell I'd just walk away and do it myself. An Auckland Transport manager admitted to me that they... and made things harder for Bob. So Auckland Transport is making Bob an offer ` let's go halves ` 50/50. Bob thinks he should pay no more than it would have cost him to upgrade a driveway here before the great wall of Oneroa went up. I'm subsidising their mistake ` that's the way I look at it. After five years waiting for access to a property he pays rates on, it doesn't seem fair to Bob. I'm pretty easy going, and, um, it's just not on, as far as I'm concerned. Why on earth didn't the council contact Bob or his partner before they built that wall? It seems extraordinary to us. As Auckland Transport puts it, there were 'shortcomings with its initial engagement' with Bob during the design of the road project. It did build crossings for Bob's neighbours at council expense. One cost nearly $20,000. Those crossings replaced existing access. Auckland Transport says there was no complying vehicle access to Bob's section before it started its roadworks, so it's only offering to pay half the cost of an entrance. And of course that entrance will cost way more than what it would have cost to build it in the first place. Now, buying a car should be one of those occasions that fills you with happiness. But for more and more unsuspecting Kiwis, that feeling quickly turns sour when the repo man comes knocking. We don't enjoy taking things off people, but that is part and parcel of what we're hired to do. Plus, we're at number three on our dumb charge countdown. # A, B, C, D... # And the ABCs of car-seat safety. But there's one thing you could easily be doing wrong. OK, so, we just need to see if you're in your seat properly, sweetheart. q Welcome back. You buy a car privately, get a good bargain, sweet as. What's not so sweet is that car getting repo'd, because a nasty surprise came with it. And it's happening all the time. Why? Here's Brodie to explain. ROCK MUSIC Ah, look at the nice Beemer. It's gonna be towed. Why? Well, that's what can happen when a repo man comes a-knockin' at your door. You're perceived as not everyone's best mate. Would I be correct in that? (LAUGHS) Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's a` that's a, yeah, common perception. Look, um, yeah, some people would think that, but, uh, yeah, we're actually quite nice people. Rob Carpenter's job is to get money back off people ` money that's owed to banks and finance companies. And if he can't get the money, then he has to take things. Not the guard dog, though. We don't enjoy taking things off people, but that is part and parcel of what we're hired to do. Um, if` We're always attempting to get people back on track, and if we can't do that, um, then, yeah, that is one side of the industry or the business that we're in, where we do have to collect vehicles. So, right now you might be thinking why on earth are we interviewing the repo man? Cos believe it or not, the repo man wants to help you. You see, he doesn't want to take cars off people. So you're not the baddies that everyone makes out? > Nah. You don't have the black boots` steel-capped boots and wraparound shades. It's not like that, is it? Nah, I've got green laces on. (LAUGHS) Yeah, I know. > So, Rob says too many of you are getting stung through no real fault of your own when it comes to buying a car. Now, there are many things you should do when buying privately. The main one Rob wants to talk about is of course to do with the cash. We have seen, sort of, a 15% increase this year in onsold vehicles, so those are vehicles where a third party's involved, has purchased a vehicle, more than likely they haven't done a financial background check on the vehicle, and they've bought the vehicle believing that there's no finance on it. And we arrive, and unfortunately it gets repossessed. Back up the truck. So if you own it, cos you bought it, how can that be? Well, I'mma break that down for you all. So if a finance company lends money to someone to buy a vehicle, they can register a security interest over it, so even if the vehicle has been sold to a 'new owner', the finance company has rights over the vehicle and can take it back. In layman's terms ` it means the loan sticks to the car, not the owner. When the car sells, the unpaid loan goes with it. And word on the street is it's a nightmare to try get the car back. It's extremely difficult, because they're not the client, and they're not the person that's entered into the agreement with the finance company, so in most cases, it's almost impossible. Oh. > Rob says it's just not an ideal situation. That's probably one side of the job that, um, is particularly hard to do. And like I said, they are usually an innocent member. They just haven't done the right checks, and they bought the vehicle believing that they are the new owners and that it's a legitimate sale, and so the first knock on the door they get from us is usually quite a shock to them. So what can you do? How can you know if someone else has got coin on your precious set of wheels? It is very easy. Um, you can carry out a history check on the vehicle. Basically, it's a security register, and it lets you know if there's security interest or finance owing on the vehicle. But how are people allowed to sell cars when they owe money on them in the first place? Well, the reality is when you choose to buy a car privately, it is up to you to do all the checks to ensure you don't get stung before you hand any cash over. It's a good, easy check to do and relatively inexpensive. Yip, prices range from three to 20 bucks. It's pretty cheap when you're, you know, putting in an investment to something, eh. Considering the money you spend buying the car, it's very, very, very cheap. You can use the AA, MotorWeb, Carjam, or for just three bucks, you can TXTB4UBUY with the companies register. So, people, there really is no excuse. And if I were you, I'd listen to the repo man... who I had one more tough question for, just to really flip that repo man stereotype on its head. So you're not meanies? > No. You don't want to do it? > No, no, we're certainly not meanies. BOTH CHUCKLE Yeah. > Mercury Monterey. '58? 1959. Which we of course both knew. '59. So close. So close. Thank you to Auckland Classic Wedding Car Hire for letting us use that car as well. As for your car being repo'd ` hopefully it's not one of them ` uh, prevention is really the only cure here. It is nigh on impossible to get a car back once it's repo'd, unless you pay off someone else's debt. Then you'll have to take that person to the disputes tribunal to try and get your money back. Good luck with that. So we can't say this strongly enough ` if you are buying privately, for goodness' sake, do your homework first. Spend 20 bucks or less to check the car's history. If you don't, it really is your problem. It is. Now, sticking with cars, just a quick word on those ACC vehicle risk ratings. The ACC of course backed down from overcharging us $6 million because of Fair Go's story earlier this year. ACC is asking for feedback on that new system, especially if you think it gave your car the wrong model name or safety rating. You've only got till the end of this month. Can't see the rush, cos it's not going to change anything until July next year. So have your say. We've put a link on our Facebook page and the info section of our website. And you've already been having your say about dumb charges, unfair fees, that sort of thing. A lot of you have singled out bank charges as a real bugbear. Here's Hannah with a whopper of a bank charge. This week, Betty in Auckland says a charge is dumb, because it's just too much. Betty's story ` When a council rates cheque of mine went missing in the mail, I phoned Westpac to cancel the cheque so I could send a replacement one. The bank told me it would cost me $25 to put a stop on it. $25! I know some young people who'd work two hours for that sort of money. I was stunned. I thought that was really greedy. So I didn't cancel the cheque. So Betty didn't pay the fee. And, look, she knows she's a little bit old fashioned still using a chequebook. Westpac tell us only about 5% of their customers still use these. so the $25 cancellation fee won't affect very many people. But is it justified? Westpac says cancelling cheques is a manual process. I would've thought everything was automated these days. But staff have to check their records every day to see if the cheque has been presented. That could go on for up to six months, when ` thank goodness ` the cheque becomes invalid. If the cheque is presented, bank staff have to compare details like name, date, serial number against the cancellation details. Then they can return the cheque to the owner ` uncashed, of course. So that's the work that goes into that $25 fee. But, look, here's how Betty sees it ` she says the bank's got her money, so they've the use of it, so they should pay the cost of protecting it, just like they provide security guards and bank vaults. Thanks. And you know who ended up with my cupcake? Russell Brand. That is so weird. He invited himself into TVNZ yesterday. Strange. Now, if you are wondering what happened to Betty's original cheque, it did finally turn up at council. Betty told them she wanted it posted back to her, and they said no, they'd rip it up. And they did. They ripped it up right by the phone so Betty could hear it, and she heard it drop in the bin too. So that was $25 well saved. And here's a final twist. Westpac tell us if a whole cheque book is lost or stolen, there wouldn't be a charge for putting a stop on that. Apparently that is much less work than stopping a single cheque ` for 25 bucks. Amazing. A question ` last year how many car-seat infringement notices do you think were issued by police? Well, I actually know that. It's, uh, 8200. 8000. Isn't that amazing? What are we doing wrong? Out of 10? Maybe seven out of 10. Am I a bad dad? We have some crucial advice for keeping your precious cargo safe. Hello, Janine. I hear you've just pleaded guilty. And an update on a story from two years ago. < Any comment on your plea? q Welcome back. Car crashes are one of the biggest dangers to our kids. So we thought we'd give you a helping hand keeping your kids safe on the road. Here's Mark and his 2-year-old, Edie. Are you ready? They're our most precious of cargo. Whose car's this? My car. Good girl. We'd do anything to keep them safe, but we can't watch them all the time, especially when we're driving. Hi, camera. Parents of young children have less than a fortnight to get up to speed on new car-seat rules. Two years ago, the government brought in a law which stated that all children under 7 must use an approved child restraint appropriate for their age and size. OK, so, we just need to see if you're in your seat properly, sweetheart. So, how are we doing? Or even more pertinently, how am I doing? Now, the seat itself, that feels nice and firm. I see you're using the LATCH system there to attach that, which is good. So far, so good, but how well have I attached the seat to a rear anchor point? What you've got it attached to is actually a luggage clip. Oh. Oh dear. > These luggage clips may not be strong enough to hold the seat in place in a collision. Out of 10? Maybe seven out of 10. Ooh, could do better. That tether strap is quite an important thing, so, really, it is important. It's to stop the seat flipping forward in an accident, so it is important to make sure it's installed correctly. It should be as easy as... # A, B, C, D... # Even princes know how important it is to get it right. And as Prince William's future loyal subjects, we could be doing much much better. Police regularly get calls from concerned motorists who see children standing between the front seats or loosely roaming in the car, and we'll always intervene if we can at these opportunities. The cold brutal reality is that children have died or been seriously injured as a consequence of not being strapped in or the seat not being fitted properly. Last year alone, police issued more than 8200 car-seat infringement notices, a number that is almost incomprehensible. One, three, 16. How many? One... I've seen examples of where children have been told to strap themselves in. They haven't, and as a result, in a crash, they've gone out the window. Parents not using the correct anchor points in the vehicle to anchor the child seat to, and this has resulted in the` as an impact, the child seat will actually leave the vehicle and take the child with it out on to the road. What we'd need to do first of all is get her just to sit in the seat. Do you wanna have a sit in here, honey? Very good. Good girl. Good thing the kind people of Plunket can show you how to do it properly. And how do you feel in there? Is that good? If you can afford it, buy a new car seat, rather than second-hand, or rent one from Plunket. The lifespan will vary between different seats and different brands. Hopefully the seat will have on it itself somewhere an expiry date or at the very least a manufacturer's date. If all else fails, read the instructions. And here's the checklist. Rear facing till 2 if they can, and the law states they have to be in there until they're seven. Recommendation, though, is to keep them in a seat until 148cm in height. Seatbelts in your car are made to take adults, so until your child is the right height for that adult seatbelt, it will not hold them safely. A booster seat will lift the child up. And, yes, you can get your mechanic to install an anchor point in the back to tether your precious cargo properly. Am I a bad dad? No, definitely not. Your child's looking perfectly healthy. You've done what you can. You know now the mistake you've made, so you'll get that corrected. You betcha I will, just as soon as I get my 'twinkle, twinkle, little star' back home. # ...how I wonder # what you are. # Oh, how cute is Edie! (CHUCKLES) Oh, delicious! Now, look, Plunket has 60 car-seat services across the country, where you can get your car seat installed or checked at low cost. When buying your car seat, choose a retailer that offers free installation by a trained car-seat technician to ensure the car seat fits your vehicle. An update now on a story from two years ago. Back then we urged police to look into the actions of then-suspended, now ex-real estate agent Janine Wallace. Police did look into them. Hello, Janine. I hear you've just pleaded guilty. 'This was Janine Wallace a few days back, briefly, outside Manukau District Court.' Any comment on your plea? 'Well, no, obviously. 'She'd just pleaded guilty to one charge of theft by a person in a special relationship. 'A deposit on a 2012 property deal disappeared.' She'll be sentenced on that charge in December. She is no longer a licensed real estate agent. That's almost the show, but remember to keep sending us your picks for the best and worst ads of 2015. We've got a special email address for this ` For those of you who can't email, please write to us. The address is on-screen now. The winners and losers on our special show in four weeks' time. And now a trip down memory lane ` 20 years, in fact. This ad was voted the worst for 1995, and you will soon see why. Would you look at her legs. Every way. The wrong way! Simply put the Ab Isolator on. It locks her legs down, isolates your abdominals. It targets the stomach muscles automatically. Perfect exercise technique every time. You still got one of those in the back of your wardrobe, Gordie? I do not. I definitely do not. Look, here's how an ad should be made. This was voted best in '95. COMMENTATOR: Great form this afternoon. Lovely touches. A powerful try for Walter Little. 17-12 North Harbour. APPLAUSE, CHEERING Little again. Marty Roebuck waiting by. Nasty collision. And the injured man for New South Wales is number 15, Marty Roebuck. PHONE RINGS Yeah? Tell the boys I want them to watch Walter Little. CROWD CHANTS All right, you blokes! Now, listen up. The boss wants to watch us waltz a little. ALL: Eh? Ross, Sam, you pair up. Come on. Get together. Do it! WALTZ MUSIC PLAYS If it's vital to get your message across crystal clear,... Put your arms around him! ...then it's vital you're on the BellSouth GSM Digital network. All Blacks second-fives and catchphrases, 'Nonu, Nonu, Nonu.' (LAUGHS) That is the show, but Gordon and I will be on Facebook for the next half hour to answer your questions. Our programme is all about your problems, your thoughts, so do get in touch. We're on Facebook. Email us ` Write to us ` And next week ` Why have tens of thousands of dollars gone? Speak to me, Mr Travers. Why have you taken our money? Edward Travers is the astonishingly well paid home handyman. He's taken tens of thousands from a 97-year-old with Alzheimer's. I think they are absolute low-life, scumbag, awful people. And 22 years ago, we met this Edward Travers. CRASH! We reckon it's the same bloke, so why is he back on Fair Go? Go on. <BLEEP> off. That's next week. Copyright Able 2015