9 Tonight ` fast cars... Where that car is there now is where she came in. And she took out over 100m of fence. ...and slow-moving insurance companies. Did you think you were going to get your money? No, not a snowball's chance in hell. They've got this cocky really 'fenced' off. I'm like a bloody fox terrier chasin' rats. I ain't giving up. Plus the registration rort. Too easy. Oh my gosh. Are you confident you're the legal owner of your car? Kind of upset about it. I'm hoping that this can get changed back as quickly as possible. And... So it will make it overnight? Yep. ...does 'next day' really mean next day? Three parcels, 10 days, and not one of them delivered as per the service that I paid for. We put NZ Post to the test. Is the overnight service actually overnight? Copyright Able 2017 Welcome to the show. Big corporations have big budgets; they can afford to drag the chain. But every so often they're confronted by the dogged determination of the little guy. Tonight Matt heads south to meet a good Kiwi bloke who's had a gutful of fast cars and slow-moving insurance companies. Where that car is there now is where she came in, and she took out over 100m of fence. She could've been killed. There's a big, heavy strainer post there, like that, that was broken off at the ground level, snapped off like a carrot. Unbelievably, the driver survived the mid-December doozy. I think she came out without a scratch on her. Malcolm Wright's fence, though, was absolutely munted. Luckily, the driver was insured. But Malcolm says her insurance company just didn't seem to care about the damage to his property,... Nobody wanted to know about it. ...leaving this tenacious 70-year-old an innocent victim and badly out of pocket. I'm like a bloody fox terrier chasing rats ` I ain't giving up. This is a matter of principle. With the fence on State Highway 1 just east of Invercargill demolished, the seven cattle in the paddock fled. They would've spooked. And somebody had locked` opened the gate up there and put them through into what we call the house paddock. Another accident averted, but the trouble didn't end there. That house paddock was the baleage paddock, a field set aside for baleage, months of feed the fencing contractor ` yes, ironic, I know ` was about to cut and use in winter. Well, it pees you off. Absolutely pees you off. When you got home and found the cattle in your baleage paddock, why didn't you simply take them over there and put them in that paddock? Because the other paddocks had not long had fertiliser on, and we were waiting on the rain to wash it in. You can't put cattle or any stock on a freshly fertilised paddock. You're not just trying it on here? No, no. I'm not trying nothing on with nobody. The hobby farmer's bill for the accident was mounting. The ruined fence $1776,... 20-odd posts, netting, labour. ...lost baleage $1020,... Between 20 and 25 bales. ...then there's that fenceless paddock that couldn't be grazed for weeks ` $210. You couldn't put stock in here now, could ya? No. We're talking $3000 out of pocket, all through no fault of his own. Fortunately, Malcolm had his lifestyle block ` that's his house, contents, sheds and their contents ` vehicles and public liability all insured with FMG. But his hopes of getting his insurance company to fix the fence and fork out for the damages quickly came to nothing. She came back and said, 'Ah, no, we can't proceed any further with this 'because you haven't got fencing cover,' which blew me out of my bloody truck seat. For about 40 bucks a year Malcolm could have insured 12 acres of fencing. But then, he says why would he? He's not the one knocking his fences down. I've always been of the assumption when you've got third party and you damage something that belongs to somebody else, your policy covers that. In other words, the liability's with the driver. And drivers have been causing Malcolm a fair bit of grief. This is the eighth accident in 16 years. I don't know what it is with them, whether they're on the turps or something else, but they just go through your fence. So in the past, who's forked out to have the fence fixed? This fulla, because everybody buggers off and leaves you to it. And, 'Oh, yeah, yeah, we'll get on to that we'll get on to the insurance company.' Not wanting to foot the bill this time,... Normally it's a post or a patch on the netting and everybody's honky dory again. ...Malcolm hit up AA Insurance. I'm ringing up regarding that claim... the company which insured the driver in the latest accident. He says he tried AA twice in December, twice in January to get that fence back up and cover his other losses ` without any luck. Remember, with that fence down, this paddock is unusable. Unusable because any stock could wander straight on to State Highway 1 and become road kill. They kept saying, 'It's your property, your fence, you fix it and then you deal with us,' meaning the same old scenario ` I fix it; they no pay. Did you think you were going to get your money? No, not a snowball's chance in hell. Nearly a month after the accident and getting nowhere fast, Malcolm got a little creative and erected a sign in his paddock by the open road, pointing out AA weren't coming to the party. READS: AA Insurance will not pay this claim. Just two days after it went up, Malcolm made them aware of it, then boom. Their attitude changed completely. And he simmered down and he said, 'Right, I'll put the stamp to pay it on there tonight.' I was paid within probably eight hours. AA say it was a coincidence ` they were processing the claim, looking at quotes ` but admit they were a little slow. In the end, Malcolm was paid nearly $1800 to fix his fence but nothing for the loss of baleage and grazing, which he clearly claimed for. They turned a deaf ear, absolutely stone deaf ear. We wanted to talk to AA on camera; they weren't keen. They say there's been a misunderstanding. In a statement to us they said... Did you accept the $1700-odd as full and final payment? Definitely not. AA went on to say in their statement... Were you asked to provide independent evidence for the lost grazing and baleage? No way. Yet the day after our visit to Southland, after our involvement, Malcolm provided that independent evidence and was paid $1230 the following day. An apology goes a hell of a long way towards rectifying what happened. That's all they had to do. But it's a bit blinkin' late now. With no apology from the driver and a pocketful of cash, he's quit cleaning the chain saw, finally taken that sign down, he's back fixing the fence ` for the eighth time ` and finally keen for fence cover. Saves all this bull dust that goes on. The only question is eight accidents in 16 years ` will they cover ya? (LAUGHS) You reckon I might be exceeding the limit a wee bit, eh? Oh, that fence certainly does seem to be a target. I have to say, though, I think the world needs more people like Malcolm. Calls it like he sees it. Yeah, old school. Like it. Right, moving on, time to test your consumer knowledge. We now know a landlord can't charge more than four weeks' bond, and a faulty item, even though bought in a sale, is covered by the Consumer Guarantees Act. That's right. You've got two out of two. Yes! So let's see how you go with tonight's trivia challenge. There's some serious shopping to do on Tauranga's main drag. But when it comes to consumer law, how well do you guys know your rights? Week three in our six-week Fair Go true-false quiz. We've still got plenty of people in the running to win the $20 big cash prize. And the question for today... True or false? And remember, we never said they were easy questions. These aren't really true or false questions, are they? They're very good questions. True. Yeah, false. I'm sure we've picked up beds and stuff before. Oh, that's true. False. One true, one false. OK. Uh, true. Yes. True. (BOTH LAUGH) Never been accused of agreeing. So a bit of a mixed bag with our answers. We'll find out who's right and who's wrong later in the programme. Ooh, so my chest freezer, big giant thing, lot of meat in it. Heavy. And it's broken. I can't lift it up and take it in. It's faulty, it's their fault, so they've gotta come pick it up. You're gonna say false, then? I'm false. OK. How'd I go? I'll let you know soon. Oh, the suspense! Coming up ` are you 100% sure you are the legal owner of your car? Ta-da! Too easy. It's a registration rort. Kind of upset about it. A loophole in the system is being abused by ratbags. I'm hoping that this can get changed back as quickly as possible. And... (CROSSING SIGNAL BLEEPS) Meet Frisby. He's going postal to test the efficiency of NZ Post's overnight service. Oh, hi, Frisby. 9 Welcome back. You've paid thousands of dollars for a car, you've registered it in your name, but are you sure you're the legal owner? Good question. Cos registration identifies you as the person legally responsible for a vehicle. But contrary to popular belief, it is not a legal title of ownership. And that leaves the system open to abuse by ratbags. Here's Hannah. (FUNKY MUSIC) So, Claudia, this is your car. Mm-hm. What is it? It's a Toyota Celica year 2000. Our TVNZ colleague Claudia has agreed to let us try and take over the rego of her car, giving us lawful possession of her beloved Toyota. It's actually my first car. It's adorable, it's like a little sports car, and I absolutely adore it. And this is our producer, Claire, who normally drives a VW but is quite keen to get her hands on Claudia's slinky Celica. How simple do you think it's gonna be? Well, it shouldn't be simple at all. It should be quite hard. I should have to actually jump through some hoops. I don't think this is gonna work. She has a pretty minimal amount of information about your car, right? Mm-hm, yes. OK, well, let's have a crack at it. Off to the Post Shop with this Change of Registered Person form. All Claire needs to know is the car's make and model, the VIN or chassis number, plus her own driver's licence details, her address and her own signature. Ta-da! Too easy. Oh my gosh. I'm gonna get you to read that out. READS: The registered person for this vehicle has been changed to Stephanie Claire Watson. Yes, in less than five minutes and for just 9 bucks Claire has gained lawful possession of Claudia's car. She didn't need any proof that Claudia knew about or approved of the change. Are you surprised that it was so easy for you to basically lose your car? Yeah, I am. I'm kind of upset about it. I'm hoping that this can get changed back as quickly as possible. It seems way too easy to change rego, and it is open to abuse, as these two men found out when they lost their cars to a man running a car-leasing business. Honest person. He seemed like an honest person. Satendra runs a panel beating business, and he'd done work for the businessman. He was looking for a 4 x 4. Because he had some normal cars for rental, and people were asking if they can have 4 x 4s on rental. Satendra lent the man his Suzuki to lease out, and Pradeep lent him his Isuzu D-Max. Was anything written down anywhere? He was supposed to make an agreement, a lease agreement, the ownership not to be changed. So, the leasing business was in a pretty good address in downtown Auckland. The man took their cars, saying he'd first get them AA-checked and organise a lease agreement. But before that happened, the man, his business and their cars all disappeared. His yard was closed, his office was closed, So the premises was all locked up? All locked up, shutters all down. Yeah. What was going through your minds, the both of you? Well, it was scary. Then Satendra found out his $22,000 car had been sold for around $11,500. Pradeep found the man who'd bought his car for... 20 K. And what do you think it's worth? It was worth 35 K. How can you get a 2013 Isuzu D-Max for 20 K? He said, 'I don't want to talk to you. It's a civil matter,' he said. Police had logged the cars as unlawfully converted, but when it was discovered that the businessman had changed the rego and within days sold the cars to third parties, the 'stolen' warning was removed from the vehicle registry. So weren't they stolen? It's not as simple as straight theft because the cars have been handed over willingly. Now, that doesn't mean it's not a crime. Sam says the crime would be obtaining by deception, carrying a maximum seven-year penalty. It's a serious crime, and for that sort of money I would expect that it's well and truly in the realms of a criminal matter as well as a civil matter. But the chances of Pradeep and Satendra getting their day in court, well... It seems as if the man's long gone from his Auckland business premises. Gone too, apparently, from his inner-city apartment. In fact, it looks likely that he's left the country. So could the new owners be charged with receiving? They're innocent bystanders, or purchasers, and so on, so I don't see them as facing any liability. And I also don't see, um, that there's a real chance of going after them to have the cars returned. That's for Suzuki. And all these two are left with is a text from the businessman to a mutual friend saying he had cancer and needed the money, and forgive him. Somebody who betrayed the trust which we put in him. And this could happen to others. It's the system which has done this thing. Because the system is not right. But the people who run that system say it isn't broken, just misunderstood. There's an understanding that a Certificate of Registration is a Certificate of Ownership, which it is not. Basically, it tells us where to send the vehicle licensing fees, it tells councils where to send parking tickets, and it tells police where to send` or to whom to send infringement notices. MAN: Is this your car? Yes. Over the years Fair Go has highlighted problems with the vehicle register. But my name is on the ownership papers here. Wouldn't it be safer if the rego could only be changed once the buyer and the seller have both signed up? The NZTA says that would slow things down. Consumers want things quick, simple and cheap. Most of these transactions are happening online, or a lot of them are happening online. Often the vehicle is being purchased from a buyer who is in one part of the country and the seller is in another part of the country, so we do need to allow time for the practicality of the exchange of goods. But it also leaves this massive opportunity for a scam like this. And so if this loophole exists where people can do this, I'd want it shored it up pretty quickly, because anything that can be exploited like that, will be. The NZTA says it will look at ways to make it harder to misuse their system. Meantime, Claudia's car is safely back in her name. But as long as the system remains open to abuse, it's really important who you trust with your car. (HORN HONKS) It seems outrageous that the ownership of something so valuable can be so loose. Yeah. At the risk of sounding like I'm 110, what happened to ownership papers? Oh, you're going old school again. Yeah. After the break, Hadyn goes postal. From New Plymouth... to Christchurch... Here's Frisby. ...and so much more,... Hawke's Bay, Frisby! ...Frisby's on a grand adventure to test the efficiency of the overnight post. Oh, hi, Frisby. And... Never been accused of agreeing. The answer to our true-false challenge. These aren't really true or false questions, are they? Those are very good questions. Welcome back. I've got a quick and rather obvious question for you guys at home and you, Pippa. Brace yourself. Overnight delivery ` what does that mean to you? I think it would mean that something is delivered overnight. Sent one day, delivered the next. You got it. Well done. Well done at home, too, for getting that right. Unfortunately, NZ Post has a slightly different interpretation of overnight delivery, and it's driving Kiwis a bit mad. Frisby is my soft toy. But today he's leaving home. It's time. It's all part of a Fair Go experiment. Frisby's touring the country, exclusively using NZ Post's overnight service. And on day one, it works perfectly. New Plymouth to Christchurch overnight. Thanks, Hadyn! Parcel arrived early this morning, 9.30am to be exact. Here's Frisby. But Frisby didn't stay long. TV's not for him; the bright lights of Ashburton were beckoning. Frisby got to the farm the next morning. Two from two. Wilby, do you wanna open this? Frisby's taking this trip because a handful of you have written to us saying when it comes to postage, overnight is not always overnight ` like Andie Mar from Auckland. Andie was relaxing when her phone beeped. It was her son. He needed clothes in a hurry. Yeah, got a job interview and had nothing to wear. She wrapped it pronto and sped to NZ Post. I was kind of more in a hurry than he was because I wanted him to get the job. She paid extra to send it overnight Auckland to Paeroa, but it never arrived overnight. They thought maybe it had been delivered in Hamilton somewhere, but they really just weren't sure. It wasn't long before her phone beeped again. He said, 'Mum, I need my passport.' Out rolled the wrapping paper. Time was short. It was a Friday afternoon, so I raced to NZ Post. You can pay extra for overnight, and then you can pay a little bit more for Saturday delivery. So I paid the money (CHUCKLES) thinking, 'Surely it won't happen twice.' But the parcel didn't make it overnight. And Andie's patience was severely tested when a third parcel, containing a phone, also failed to arrive on time. Three parcels, 10 days. And not one of them delivered as per the service that I've paid for. So, here's the inconvenient truth about NZ Post's overnight service. It's not actually guaranteed overnight. You see, it's just their target and, like any target, sometimes you hit and sometimes you miss. Frisby enjoyed the farm. But he had to go south to Invercargill, and the overnight service from Ashburton was a day late. See ya, Frisby. Good luck! Worse was to come. Overnight Invercargill to Wellington was sent on Thursday. It arrived on Monday. Then he went overnight to... The Hawke's Bay Frisby. He got to the Hawke's Bay on time. Frisby loved the bay. Nick Baggen also depends on NZ Post's overnight service. I advertise in the listing 'overnight shipping'. He's a student who sells crystal balls ` not actually made of crystal ` on Trade Me. They're just plastic. He sells a handful a week, and a few months ago needed to get a package across Auckland ` Birkenhead to Howick, to be exact. He needed it sent overnight. I posted it at 9am on the Thursday. It's $3 normally, but Nick paid $4.90 for overnight, except it didn't arrive the next day. Then I said, 'So how do I go about getting my refund?' And she says, 'We don't give out refunds.' NZ Post's response? Look, I'd just like to offer an apology to those impacted. We really pride ourselves on our service. Mark Stewart from NZ Post is here to answer your questions, like... Is the overnight service actually overnight? Absolutely it's overnight, and it's a really reliable service. Do you guarantee it overnight? No, we don't. It's a target, and we make that clear on our terms and conditions on our website and in stores. Their terms are clear both online and in the fine print in a store, but there's no mention of it when I sent a parcel. Am I a bit late for tomorrow, or is it all good? No, as long as you are here by 4.30 or a bit before, like you are, you're fine. Same in the second store. So it will make it overnight? Yep. It's only when you specifically ask. Is that guaranteed? Both of these packages did not make it to their destination overnight. Why not have a money-back guarantee that it will get there overnight? Cos at the moment, a target, if you don't make the target, there's no penalty. That would mean the price would go up. From what we understand from the majority of customers, they would prefer to have a slightly lower price point and a target associated with it, versus a guarantee which would come at a high price. NZ Post is just doing what the rest of the industry does. We searched the delivery conditions of the major courier companies. We couldn't find one that guarantees delivery on time. Nick Baggen did get offered compensation. NZ Post said they'd send him a free courier bag. I think they must have used their overnight shipping, cos I never got the bag. As for Frisby, he made it overnight from Havelock to Auckland. He didn't spend long with Garth's cat, though. He had a date with a lady. He was supposed to get across Auckland to Pippa's house by Saturday. He made it Monday. Hi, Frisby. (SNIFFS) Ooh! You need a bath. Pippa says he'll recuperate here. You are gonna fit right in here, Frisby. Then she's gonna send him home to me overnight. But she tells me that's also just her target. I may never get him back. OK, hand him over. As promised. Thank you. He's missed you. Oh, he lost a tooth! What happened to his tooth? He has a tooth. No, he used to` Oh, I'm ringing Fair Go. (LAUGHS) Wasn't on my watch. Oh, sure! All right, moving on. It's the moment of truth. Time to find out the result of our true-or-false challenge. Question three in our six-part quiz, and we wanted to know if you have to return faulty goods yourself to get a replacement or refund even if the goods are large in size. I'd say that's false. You know your consumer law quite well, don't you? Yep. I'm not keeping count, but I'm three from three. You are three from three. You're on fire, I know. Yes! That's the show. But we will be on Facebook for the next half-hour to answer your questions. The programme is called Fair Go, so if you're not getting a fair go, please do contact us. We're right here. You can join us on Facebook or email us... Write to us... That's our show. Until next week, goodnight. Copyright Able 2017