Tonight ` (SMASH!) It looked like a hand grenade had gone off. it's unpredictable, spontaneous and dangerous. Blood was coming out of my arms, down my legs. How safe is your shower? It is happening on a much more regular basis than the companies are letting on. Plus ` The whole thing has just kind of been really stressful. a sweet deal quickly turns sour when you get stuck with a lemon. The car wouldn't stop ` if there was an emergency, it would just keep going. This car is full of bitter memories. I'm upset, annoyed, don't trust anyone. (LAUGHS) Yeah. Plus ` there's confusion in the kitchen. Isn't the can meant to be bigger than the bottle? Hadyn's on to a weighty issue. This is bigger than this. Copyright Able 2017 Welcome to the show. Is your shower a ticking time bomb? Are you being exposed to injury when you're at your most vulnerable? Well, all around the world, there've been reports of glass doors and panels shattering without warning. Manufacturers say it's rare, but as Hannah discovered, it's happening here, and people are getting injured. You're about to see how the sort of shower glass most of us will have in our homes can shatter to smithereens. Sure, we tapped this one with a hammer, but glass like this can spontaneously explode, at any time, without warning. (SMASH!) It woke me up. It woke us both up at the same time. We heard this enormous bang. It was an explosion, like a low boom. It was terrible. We both got up, drawed the curtains. It sounded like a car crash outside. Had a look ` there was no one out there. So goes to open the bathroom door. Ow! What's this? And I looked down, and it's glass. I turned round and I saw the glass panel on the side of the shower had blown out. And there's all this crackling and crunching going off. I didn't feel safe at all. If anybody was standing in here, they would've been very seriously injured. So you were lucky. Lucky, very lucky. Terryann Young wasn't so lucky. She was helping her 6-year-old granddaughter in the shower. I leant over the top of her like that, turned the water on, and then there was this almighty explosion. So I was protecting her. But then, of course, when we turned around, the glass was just everywhere. She was screaming. There'd been a spontaneous explosion of one of the glass panels of the Crest shower. Glass chips at high speed smashed into everything in the bathroom, including Terryann and her granddaughter. Blood was coming out of my arms, down my legs. At this stage, she was quite traumatised. It really looked like a hand grenade had gone off in the middle of our bathroom. The first question's gotta be how could this happen? Our glass expert here ` 19 years in the business ` is about to test a sheet of toughened safety glass. It's what we must use in our bathrooms under the Building Code. It's been factory treated to withstand extremes of heat followed by cooling off, and as you can see,... (CLANG!) ...it is... (CLANG!) ...tough. But if this glass gets knocked, that can cause a weakness, a stress point. It's often along the edge of the glass, and you won't always know it's there. But that weak point... (SMASH!) ...can prove to be explosive. The good thing is that toughened safety glass is designed shatter into chunks, minimising the risk of injury. Terryann and her granddaughter weren't badly cut, but she was, nonetheless, seriously injured by this large overhead piece of the shower falling on her when the shower glass exploded. It was enough to actually rip this out of its clamps on this one and down across Terryann's shoulder. How heavy was it? It might be, uh, half a kilo. So it was surprising the amount of damage that it done to Terryann. Terryann is still having physio for her shoulder, six months after the accident. She says insurance covered most of the bathroom repairs, but not the shower itself, because that was a product failure. The Youngs want the Crest Shower Company to cover the $4000 shortfall. And the only thing they've offered so far is obviously the replacement sheet of glass. Doug and Terryann have only just renovated their house. They've now decided not to have a glass shower at all, and they think this shower has a design fault. Once the wall exploded, the overhead element was free to fall and strike Terryann or anybody that was standing underneath it. They wanted to get the word out about exploding showers. We know of 10 individual different cases that the exact same thing has happened to them. People need to know that it is happening on a much more regular basis than what the companies are letting on, and that people are being hurt by it. If you think Fair Go is being alarmist, the same thing happened some years ago with exploding glass oven doors. We were told it was rare, until dozens of you got in touch. (SMASH!) And the same thing with exploding glass tables. It was still popping and exploding down. Popping like popcorn. And this is all that's left of June's glass-top patio table. Well, as I say, you're just blinking lucky. (LAUGHS) For Pam and Ron, the problem was who pays? Their Calais shower had a 10-year warranty; it was only three years old. All right, it blew ` it's an accident; it's a fault in the glass. But Calais Showers said... READS: The warranty does not cover glass. I said, 'But the shower is glass.' He said, 'It's not covered, but I will send you a side panel down 'free of charge.' And he made it sound as if he was doing me a favour. What about putting the new glass in, then? And he said, 'Oh, well, your husband or you could put it in.' We wouldn't be covered by the warranty if we did it ourselves anyway. And we're told the sort of damage that causes spontaneous explosions can happen during installation. You need a qualified installer. The corners and edges of shower glass are especially vulnerable. The glass panels shouldn't be rubbing or knocking against any other surface. Pam and Ron, meantime, are adamant that their whole shower needs replacing. That panel exploded, and where did the glass go? It went all over. It would've hit the other glass panel. But Crest Showers said no. I'm just not very happy with that. Stalemate. Shower still in pieces. And all this time, you've had to do without the shower. What's that been like? Well, we're starting to hum a bit, I think. (CHUCKLES) So it needs sorting. It definitely has to be sorted. Oh, that would be incredibly frustrating. Now, if they were in Auckland, they'd be saving water, which would be great. Less of an issue for them, though. Here at Fair Go, we love a happy ending. Yes. However, this one is a bit of a mixed bag. Mitre 10 and the shower company, Calais, say they will replace the entire shower for Pam and Doug. Turns out the shower glass is covered by warranty; Calais are sorry that's not what the Weirs were told. But there's only cold comfort for Doug and Terryann. Crest Showers say their shower design has been sold for decades, is in keeping with common trade practice, and the glass actually exceeds the required standards. They also say their offer to replace the damaged shower was made out of goodwill and declined. Well, that response hasn't gone down well with Carters. They sold Doug and Terryann the shower and say they'll no longer stock the Crest range of products. OK, time to test your consumer knowledge now. Dedicated followers of Fair Go will know ` a faulty item bought in a sale is covered by the Consumer Guarantees Act. A landlord can't charge more than four weeks' bond. A business must collect a large faulty item at its own expense if you can't transport it without significant cost to yourself. And a finance company can charge you more than 100% interest. Got all that? Time to head back to the Bay of Plenty for round five of the True/False challenge. Our penultimate question... Can I interest you in a little wager? It's the Fair Go True/False Quiz. Right. I've got six questions. Yeah. $20 for anyone who gets all six correct. OK. And there are still people in the running for our $20 big cash prize. Here's a question for all those shopping lovers ` if you have made several payments for an item on lay-by but change your mind before you pick it up, you can cancel the agreement and get a refund. True or false? True? I don't know. 50/50, probably. I'm not sure about lay-bys and things like that. I don't know if I've put anything on lay-by. It's true. Because you haven't used it. I'm gonna go with you. It's just sitting there. It's a grey area, that one. (CHUCKLES) True. True? (LAUGHS) Both saying false? We're fully` Trust this guy? We're fully guesstimating on these. (LAUGHS) Uhh, I'd say... Both say false? Yeah. Both true? False. False? My wife's shaking her head, so... (LAUGHTER) I feel like you should be able to. Yeah, but I don't think that they would let you. OK. (CHUCKLING) So lots of people thought this one was false, but were they right? We'll tell you soon. So Hadyn's got them all right so far, but he knew this one was tricky, so he has skived off on holiday. So, Garth, you've gotta make the call for him. Pressure on. Uh, I'm gonna say true. Mm-hm. And with a 'but'. Oh, I don't know if you can have a 'but'. I think there's a 'but'. But we will have, of course, the answer for you later in the show. After the break, we go in to bat for a 17-year-old taken for a ride by a car dealer. The whole thing's just kind of been really stressful. A dream machine turns into a mechanical albatross. It's got an air conditioning button, but there's no air conditioning in the vehicle. First cars are full of memories, but these ones are all bad. I'm upset, annoyed, don't trust anyone. (LAUGHS) Yeah. And it's a perplexing problem. Its contents can fit in this. So how does that work, then? Is tom sauce a victim of shrink-flation? There's no way that should fit in here. 1 Welcome back. Buying your first car ` it's a really big deal. What was your first car? 1956 Ford Prefect called 'the fridge'. '56? The fridge? It was cheap. What about you? What about you, then? A Toyota Starlet called the Sewing Machine, cos that's about how grunty it was. Oh, safe choice. First cars, right, they're full of memories, but they can be very bitter ones if you get stuck with a lemon. Here's Anna. The start of the new year, a new life, a new school, and learning to get around a new city. 17-year-old Chelsie Osterman's got a lot to learn, including what not to do when you buy a car. Yeah, a lot of money, a lot of work. (LAUGHS) Everything gone. This lil red lemon's what Chelsie bought, but what she thought she was getting wasn't what she paid for. I'm upset, I'm annoyed, um,... don't trust anyone. (LAUGHS) Yeah. Chelsie's car, a Daewoo Lanos, was advertised as having ABS brakes, air conditioning, a driver's airbag. It was warranted and in 'excellent condition'. Only... it wasn't. No ABS, no airbag, and the air con? Yep, that wasn't there either. That's interesting. That's weird. I'll have to check that out. We got Phil from the AA to give the car the once-over. An air conditioning button, but there's no air conditioning in the vehicle. Fair to say, Phil was less than impressed. An owner has a responsibility to make sure the car is roadworthy and safe before they pass it on to the new owner. Remember, this car was advertised in excellent condition. But a mechanical inspection revealed the tyres were near-bald, the brake rotors were, in the words of the mechanic, 'destroyed', and a breather hose had melted, pouring oil all over the engine. At first, I just wanted him to sort of say, like, 'I'm sorry,' like, 'I messed up,' whatever, but he didn't. And things just kept getting worse and worse, and more things kept getting wrong, and now I don't even know, like, if anything else is wrong with it, yeah. He ` the car dealer Chelsie bought the car from ` one Ryan Cook. Only problem is Ryan isn't a car dealer ` not registered anyway. But his girlfriend is. It was Ryan that Chelsie met when she saw the car, Ryan who dealt with the paperwork, and Ryan who she thought she was texting about the vehicle. Only Ryan says that wasn't him ` that was his girlfriend, Emma. Although, he does admit some of the texts were from him. So, 'My partner's gone into labour and will have to be tomorrow,' that's Emma as well, talking about you going into labour? Obviously, a man wouldn't be in labour if she was talking about you. Have you ever met Emma? No. Did you ever see Emma Shearer? No. Do you know who she is? No. (LAUGHS) Did Ryan ever make any reference to an Emma? He didn't say an Emma, but he said his partner was in hospital, so I assumed that that was her, yeah. Despite our best efforts, we couldn't actually talk to Emma. Right. So how come we can't talk to Emma, then? The CIN document does clearly state Emma was the seller. And according to Ryan, it was Emma who listed the car on Trade Me, saying it had airbags, ABS braking and air conditioning, when clearly it didn't. Hmm. except when you list a car on Trade Me, those items start off un-checked. You have to click them to add them. You got the impression that Ryan was a licensed car dealer? Yeah, yeah, definitely. He said that he'd been trading cars and he had a whole bunch of other cars, and he was talking about how he'd sold all these other ones on the side for business. Yeah. Now, Chelsie's in her first year at uni in Auckland, and extra costs like new tyres and brake rotors quickly add up. This car was supposed to help her get to class. But paying to make it safe has cost her an extra thousand bucks, and Chelsie's worried about her mechanic's warning that there could be more to come. The brake rotors were completely ruined. Like, he said he'd never seen it before and that, like, my car wouldn't stop if, like, I had to do it in an emergency; it would just keep going. Yeah, he said it wasn't` it shouldn't have got a warrant, it shouldn't be driving around, it was asking for trouble. It's a concern shared by Phil of the AA. My concern is that it had issues that were potentially serious safety risks. Phil says it ain't easy trying to work out how to buy a car when you've never done it before. Chelsie did this on her own, and she paid for the car with a part-time job while she was at school. The whole thing's just kind of been really stressful, and, yeah. Chelsie did try and raise her concerns and the car's many faults with Ryan ` or Emma, depending on who you think she was texting. Yeah, so he offered me $500 to pretty much just go away, like, not his problem, 'Take this and leave.' Ryan told us he didn't think he'd done anything wrong. A registered dealer should know their obligations under the law. Why aren't you a registered dealer? But you're acting for the company. After much toing and froing, Ryan eventually agreed to refund the full purchase price and cost of repairs ` about 3 grand ` if the car was delivered to Tauranga. Which was music to Chelsie's ears. I don't want to drive in a car that I don't know what's wrong with it or if anything else is wrong, yeah. Keen to fast-track a settlement, we hit the road, but hopes of a happy ending were short-lived. When we realised and alerted Ryan that the full refund was not $3000 but $3103, he called the deal off. After a lengthy waiting game and time to reconsider, Ryan told us he'd happily pay 3 grand, but if we wanted $3103, Chelsie had to pull the story from Fair Go. Chelsie says she'd rather take Ryan to court than take a loss. I don't think he should ` or Emma, whosever the business is ` should be selling cars at all. Like, it's not` if they can't do it and provide a safe car ` like, they're fine to give a 17-year-old learner a car that's not gonna work ` then he shouldn't be selling cars at all, like, full stop. So that means Anna had to drive that car all the way down to Tauranga and then cancel her flights and drive it all the way back. Drive it back. I mean, come on, we went the extra mile. Ryan says the $3000 offer is more than reasonable. If Chelsie delivers the car to Tauranga before Friday, he'll pay that amount, but not the $3103 for the full purchase price plus repairs. 103 bucks. Come on. I don't think that's reasonable at all. Come on, mate. Do the right thing. Mm. Right, after the break, Hadyn is on the sauce and raiding his neighbours' pantries. If in doubt, sauce it out. Now` I'm just confused now. We're on to a weighty issue. This is bigger than this. Is this tom sauce a victim of shrink-flation? Yeah, that's bizarre, isn't it? And ` Can I interest you in a little wager? we're back in the Mount to find the answer of our True/False challenge. Were they right? We'll tell you soon. 1 Welcome back. If in doubt, sauce it out. Ooh, I like that. Could be the catchcry of Kiwi kids who've struggled to swallow some of Dad's less palatable cooking. But are they getting enough of that saucy good stuff, or are they being short-changed? Hadyn's been looking into the weighty issue of tomato sauce refills. Kiwis love tomato sauce. On anything. The Ministry of Health says three-quarters of young men slurp on sauce at least once a week. Which is why Warren from Auckland had a question about sauce. Warren's question was how can a 575g of Essentials Tomato Sauce refill can fit in a 540g tomato sauce bottle? Same brand. So let's recap ` this is bigger than this. Although, Warren from Auckland says even though the can has 35g more, its contents can fit in this. So how does that work, then? (FIFTH HARMONY'S 'WORK FROM HOME') I failed sixth-form maths so sought neighbourly assistance. Stacey at number 6 is a teacher. There's no way that should fit in here. Her daughter Sabine's smart too. Isn't the can meant to be bigger than the bottle? So they emptied the 540g bottle, then poured the 570g refill into it. Now` I'm just confused now. They were definitely befuddled. Yeah, that's bizarre, isn't it? Somehow, a 575g can can squeeze into a 540g squeezy bottle. Soon the man from the tomato sauce company will reveal all. How can they possibly fit in? Because... But first let's talk something you should never ask a woman about ` weight. Many of you write to us curious if the weight on the packaging matches the food inside it. Adrian from Tauranga reckons his can of beans is, well, short of beans. He weighed four cans and thought they were on average 30g, or 7%, short. (WHISTLES) So I hit the streets again. Donna at number 16 has never weighed her groceries. Just taken for granted that that's what it weighs ` what it says on the outside of the can. She started lentils. Donna's a vegetarian. She got every last one out. They were just above weight. Thumbs up, Delmaine. (CHUCKLES) At number 18, Mark was doing dog food. It's Gourmet, so I'm expecting good things from it. 185g Classic Tender Beef. Oh, that is Classic Tender Beef. It was 10g short. This is 175g of tender beef, even though they said it was 185g. He doesn't seem too upset. Then we tested tried and true Wattie's Baked Beans. 420g. So this is my husband's staple diet. Not mine. They were just above. 424g. Stacey did the Essentials sauce bottle. Definitely not another 40g in there. 517. We're short 23g. Then the Essentials can. 563, and it was supposed to be 575. We rang and emailed the food companies featured tonight. They all say they stringently and frequently weigh their products Delmaine even went back and checked 23 cans of beans for us. 22 of them were overweight. Wattie's say they overfill all their products. Now, Wattie's also say the difference between the label weight and what's on your plate is the thick and sticky sauce which is left in the can after you've emptied it out. Now, they say even though it's a tiny amount, it can make a big difference. So their advice to New Zealanders is dig deep. And Chris Fisher from Countdown's Essentials brand has gone one better. He's come in to weigh his tomato sauce on air. And I'm scraping everything out of this. He's big on a spatula, is Chris. OK, 561. That's not too bad. (CHUCKLES) So it's 575 we're aiming for. Can we get 574? Come on. (SPOON CLINKS) In the end, his sauce is 2g short. 573. That's pretty good. Pretty good. I guess we've got 2g left probably on a combination of the spatula, the lid and the tin. And the puzzle about the big can fitting into the smaller squeezy bottle? Well, it's all because the bottle isn't filled to the brim. Don't fill it right up to the top. That's quite an obvious explanation for quite a peculiar problem. So we found if you just pour it out and then weigh it, you leave around 20 percent behind. 498. How many's supposed to be in a can? 575. But if you scrape and scratch every last skerrick,... It should be 575g, and the scales are measuring 562 currently. ...you can get around 90% ` and in the odd case, 100% ` out. (CHUCKLES) Do you reckon it's possible for the normal consumer to actually dig out of that can the whole 575? I don't think so. (CHUCKLES) So if you want what you paid for, you better get digging. The rewards, they say, speak for themselves. Hadyn has some good neighbours there. I do not think I'd want anyone rummaging through my pantry. Oh, they're very friendly folk down there in the Naki. Right, it is the moment of truth. Time to find out how well you've fared in our True or False challenge. So much temptation around. But if you put something on lay-by, can you change your mind, cancel the agreement and get a refund? That was today's question. I know that's true, cos I've done it. And true is true ` No reason needed. True. Nice work, you got that right. Oh, well, Hadyn was on a winning streak. I mean, you know, no way I was gonna let that drop. Back on him next time. I reckon you would never have lived that down. That's the show for tonight, but we will be on Facebook for the next half hour to answer your questions. Yeah, our programme is all about your problems, your thoughts, so please do contact us. Yes, get us on Facebook. Or you can also email us at fairgo@tvnz.co.nz Or write to us at Private Bag 92038 Auckland 1142 That's our show. Until next week, goodnight.