COPYRIGHT ABLE 2017. 1 Tonight ` a precious family heirloom is seized by customs. It's part of my heritage. This bayonet is causing its owner a world of pain. It's very unfair because I tried to do the right thing. To destroy or not destroy ` that is the question. I'm not exactly going to go out and fight somebody with it. And dangerous diving. This compressor has been called a 'loaded gun'. (HISSES) There is a funny odour there. Is it really turning good air bad? It had a taste in it, but pretty pungent at times, but you sort of get used to it. Sometimes you come up and you don't feel that well. Plus ` Going, going, gone. If you're selling your house at auction, you're allowed to bid on it yourself. True or false? False. False. True. I'm not 100% sure on that one. Welcome to the show. If you've ever lost something of value, you'll know that sickening feeling of helplessness. It's all the worse when that item is a precious family heirloom, because they are, after all, a living reminder of past generations. But what if your heirloom wasn't lost? What if it was seized by customs because of an honest mistake? Here's Anna. Surrounded by picturesque mountain peaks and glacial streams, this is the perfect spot to soak in the scenery. For West Coaster Keith Hartley, it's also a place to reflect on the last remaining memories of his family history. You're a long way from home, aren't you? Yes, I am. I was born in South Africa. Grew up there, and I emigrated 18 years ago. And you've had to leave quite a bit of your life behind. Yes, I did, cos there was not much we could bring with us. What he did bring are treasured items. His father's medals, a camp stove that's travelled the world, the flag of a homeland with a chequered past. And something else. This ` his grandfather's bayonet ` which might now be lost forever. It's part of my heritage. It's very unfair because I tried to do the right thing. It's been seized by customs, and Keith's now locked in an ongoing battle with police to get it back. They have kind of handed the ball to customs, and customs have tried to hand the ball to them. And poor old me, I'm stuck in the middle. Customs say they can't do anything without a valid permit, and police say they won't issue a permit and I've got to review that with customs. Keith and his wife, Shelley, emigrated to New Zealand in 1999. They're proud Kiwis these days. But back when they arrived, Keith had to declare a family heirloom ` his grandfather's bayonet. He applied for a permit, and it was granted. Here's the letter to prove it. So far, so good, but then Keith and Shelley moved to Australia for a bit, and when they returned last year, Keith again declared the bayonet. I actually said 'I've got a bayonet. It's in our container,' and when the container arrived, I opened the container, found the box, and took the bayonet out there. And I didn't think anything of it. But that was the last time he saw the bayonet. Because I hadn't got an import permit for it, I couldn't have my bayonet back. And I said 'But I've got the permit,' and eventually they informed me that my permit had expired. Keith says he never got a copy of his original permit. He didn't know it had expired. It's a complete misunderstanding. I was under the impression everything was 100% correct. Had I known I had to have a new import permit before I came into the country, I would have got one. Nothing on the customs website told Keith he would have needed a new permit. Police say he should have known his permit had expired, should have known he had to apply for another one, and they won't give him a new permit because these aren't exceptional circumstances. Police say there are no set criteria for what exactly 'exceptional circumstances' are or aren't. Which all seems a bit strange to Keith. I've never met my grandfather. I know very little about him. The only thing I have left of any significance to him is the bayonet. I'm not going to go out and fight anybody with it. It'll probably disintegrate, anyway. It's an heirloom. It's of sentimental value to myself and my family, and I just can't believe I'm in this situation. What's even more ridiculous is that Keith can't get his bayonet, but he could go out and get someone else's. If Keith wanted to buy a bayonet, he could ` on Trade Me. There are dozens of them for sale, anywhere between $100 and $300. So we're gonna buy one. This one ` World War I, 1907 ` the same kind as Keith's. A week later, it's ours. Now customs and police tell us that a bayonets is an offensive weapon, so you'd think it would be quite hard to get your hands on an offensive weapon, but this one took just a couple of clicks ` no permit, no checks, no balances, just $130 plus some postage. And look ` it's just like Keith's. Same year, same war, only it's not just like Keith's, because this one wasn't carried into battle by his grandfather. It hasn't been handed down through the generations. Sure, Keith made a mistake, but should that cost the family a priceless heirloom and the chance to pass it on to Keith's son Devon? He's devastated because, you know... As I said, he's said he actually attends the Anzac parades wearing both my and my father's medals every year. He introduced the kids to that. He was really looking forward to having something as memory of his grandfather. Keith's last chance to get the bayonet back is another appeal, but it comes at a cost ` almost a week's wages worth just to file a claim. Keith has to weigh up whether it's worth losing a piece of family history. It's just crazy. I mean, we've lost an heirloom passed down from father to son for the last` almost 100 years. This is the last little bit I still have of my South African heritage. Look, at the risk of sounding like the voice of reason, we've still got this hanging about the office, so I'm proposing a swapsie with the authorities. You know, a bayonet for a bayonet. This one is old and rusty and it's got no sentimental value to us. We can meet on a bridge in the middle of the night or something and do a bit of trade-off. Very cloak and bayonet. It's a good idea, but not necessary on this occasion. Late last week, we got some really good news and had to send Anna back to the deep south. (UPBEAT POP MUSIC) On Friday, I got this letter on my desk from the Customs service. I think it might have some good news for Keith, so we're back in Franz Josef to hand deliver it to him. Let's go and see what it says. Oh, Keith. Gidday. I've got a letter. Ah! They've seen logic at last! You're gonna get it back? That's great news. Oh, excellent. But I suppose you'll have to go to Christchurch to get it, won't you? That's not a problem. Well, you know, we've just come from Christchurch. And did you manage to bring it with` There you go. One bayonet. (SIGHS) Thank you. You're welcome. (CHUCKLES) It's the right one, isn't it? Of course it is. Oh, thank you so much. Anybody who's got any sort of, slightest bit of logic in them would have said, 'What an absolute lot of nonsense.' And somebody, at long last, has seen sense. We've had a good look at it. It's a very nice bayonet. I could see why you were keen to get it back. Yeah. And there's nothing wrong with it. It's pretty sharp, though. I did try it out. Did you stab somebody? (BOTH LAUGH) MAN: Me. Don't leave the bloody country with that thing ever again, will you? (LAUGHS) I won't. No, I won't. At least I know what to do this time. (CHUCKLES) Oh. Father's Day as well. Can you believe it? Happy Father's Day. Thank you very, very much. That's an absolute pleasure. Mwah. (CHUCKLES) Aw, that's amazing, isn't it? Good work, Keith. Happy to have his bayonet back. Very nice. Now, look, police and customs have asked us to point out that firearms, knives an explosives in all their many forms should be considered potentially offensive weapons. You need a special permit, issued by police, to import them into the country, and they must be declared to customs as soon they arrive. Once an item has been imported, the permit for that item is no longer valid. So, look, there you go New Zealand. You've been told. And we got told ` told off, that is ` over last week's true or false question, Pippa. Yes. The question was 'Anyone can do building work on a home?' We said the answer was false, which is kind of true and false. Anyone can whack up some shelves, skirting boards, architraves and the like, but work affecting the structure or weathertightness of a home should be done ` or supervised ` by a licensed practitioner. So, 'true' and 'false' are both arguably correct, which put you in a little bit of trouble. But due to the ambiguity of that question, apparently, I'm still in the running for that $20 prize. Yes, and we will make sure that anybody who answered true or false is also in the running for that prize. Yes, very fair. But you've got four more questions to get right to get your hands on the money. With scenery like this ` the galleries, cafes and exhibits ` it's not hard to see why so many people call Nelson home, and this week, we've got a real estate question. If you're selling your house at auction, you're allowed to bid on it yourself ` true or false? False. False. True. I'd say false. I would say false again, but I'm not 100% sure on that one. False. False, OK. True. I'm going to go false. Ooh, is that a split here? OK. It didn't feel ethical, at least. Yeah, it's true. False. I say false. So a lot of people are calling false for this one, but are they right? We'll tell you soon. Can I have a guess? Yes, please. Well, it's pretty clear and obvious and common sense that you couldn't possibly bid on your own home. So I'm gonna say that the rules say that you can. (LAUGHS) All righty. Coming up after the break ` we take the plunge. Diving to survive ` it isn't easy with bad air. (HISSES) There's a funny odour there. The compressor responsible has been called a loaded gun. Sometimes you just come up and you don't feel that well. So why won't the manufacturer give his money back? We will sue him. Welcome back. Life is full of risks ` some you take, others you avoid. For those willing to take the plunge scuba diving can open up a world of beauty, wonder and mystery. But it's not without its hazards. If you want to dive to survive, you need clean air. Here's Garth. Awesome. Awesome. A world of its own. Tim Matheson is close to his happy place. Quiet peaceful. Yeah, escape from the world. Beneath these glassy waters, he loves to dive. It's freedom. Yeah, just nice. You just seem to float around the place. I suppose it'd be something like a pilot gets when he flies. It's not for everyone ` can be a little bit claustrophobic for some people ` but once you get into it slowly, it's a good healthy sport. In this sport, there's no room for a fool. Tim knows he has to be careful. There's nothing worse probably than sitting around waiting for somebody to come up that doesn't come up. But Tim has found himself deep in troubled waters because of bad air. You're dealing with your life ` no second chances. The trouble started when Tim decided he wanted to fill his own dive tanks at home. He bought this electric dive compressor to do the job. He says he had trouble early on with the air it made. It had a taste in it ` pretty pungent at times, but you sorta get used to it. Sometimes, you just come up and you don't feel that well, but whether it's that or the boat rocking around or whatever. At the time, he had a partner who was also diving. Living quite a way from a dive shop, this had seemed like a way to make their pastime easier. Economically, it doesn't really make much sense for the amount you spend buying something like that, but it's more the convenience and being able to do it. For that one, it was 5200. That's a lot of coin for a` It is, for convenience. This model had been advertised on Trade Me from Nardi Compressori, a big Italian brand ` brand new from the New Zealand agent. It looked a nice tidy machine. He talked the talk, and I'd driven all the way the to Helensville, so two hour drive, so it's, 'OK, well, we're here now. May as well.' Do the deal? Yeah. It wouldn't be the last long drive ` Tim has been trying to return his purchase for two years, locked in a battle with that agent who sold it to him, accused of failing to maintain the compressor and look after it, blamed for making the bad air himself. This is a highly unscientific and subjective sniff test, but this is a bottle of fresh air. (HISSES) Nothing wrong there. This is a bottle filled from that Nardi compressor. (HISSES) There's a funny odour there. We actually don't have to rely on my nose or anyone else's ` Tim spent another $1600 to get the machine tested ` by then he'd had it for just over two years. The report was thorough and damning. Tested exactly as it should run according to the manual, the machine was 'unsafe to be operated as a high pressure breathing air compressor.' It was making carbon monoxide in excess of the New Zealand Standard. It is your lifeline to the surface. You don't want to be running out of air underwater. You don't want bad air underwater because it'll confuse you. It can actually kill you. Steve is the technical advisor for Underwater New Zealand. He tests the air made at most of the country's dive shops. He's seen the report on Tim's compressor and shares its concerns. Look, an electric compressor should not be producing carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is found from exhaust fumes, and so there's a major, major problem with it. It's producing unbreathable air. You're talking about calling it a loaded gun. Well, it is a loaded gun. The report doesn't say what's causing the problem. After spending $1600, Tim wanted the seller to help find out. The agent had already made his mind up, though, and told us, we quote... This hadn't been the first disagreement about this compressor. Early on, Tim had added this meter to check the number of hours he was clocking up to keep on top of maintenance. The agent was not impressed. Tim had also complained repeatedly the machine was turning oil black. He changed to a different breathing air quality oil ` the agent said that voided the warranty. Having made up his mind it was Tim's fault, the agent seemed unwilling to investigate what was a potentially lethal problem ` the carbon monoxide. He said, no, he didn't want it and told me to get out of his workshop cos I was trespassing. We put that to the agent. The manufacturer in Italy is backing that up. Cos everybody knows this Mr Tim. And when he complains, they don't find it convincing. We will sue him because he is trying to damage our reputation. If our compressor had this kind of problem, we wouldn't be able to sell it to government institutions, to health and safety institutions, hospitals, etc. Then things got weird. Over Skype, the woman from Nardi accused Tim of trashing them online ` four years before any of this had happened. complaining about our model and things like that, and it was not very good for our image. He's famous in the company because every now and then he shows up with` create problems and things like that, which in reality are not, how do you say, 'real'. Apparently, this was in order to get a replacement for another compressor he'd bought from them or their agent here, she wasn't sure. After this conversation, I will get all the information with regards to paperwork so that you have proofs because I know that reporters and journalists, you need proofs. (CHUCKLES) We do, and we've seen nothing since from Nardi to back up what she said here. And Tim denies it emphatically. He says he only ever bought compressor not two, and as for that So, the famous Mr Tim, tell us about your YouTube video. Um, no. No I'm not even on Facebook ` I haven't got a computer. Yeah, no, no, no. Never done anything on YouTube? No, no. What do you make if that? Crazy. As for that report, Nardi pointed out it was done by a business that is also an agent for its competitor. So, you can understand that is, how do you say, a good opportunity for a competitor to put you in, how do you say, a bit of shade. The agent now seems to accept the report. He eventually made an offer ` he'd buy back the compressor and on-sell it. He told us it would be to a paintball company not a diver. But how do you know? You've never looked at the machine. There's more good news. The agent's now agreed to wear half the cost of the report ` that's $800. Add in the $5200 refund in full for the compressor, and Tim's back in his happy place, doing what he loves best. I like to calculate the risk, but you've gotta have that little bit of excitement or life's not worth living. This weekend, we received an 11th hour statement from Nardi. They now tell us Tim's machine was made under an old standard for carbon monoxide that was three times higher than today's. They've since modified their compressors to ensure they meet the new standards and offered to fix Tim's a few months ago. That offer ` comprising of new oil and a filter ` came after Tim's repeated insistence something was seriously wrong. It was also made nearly two and half years after the modifications were introduced. As for that amazing sledge ` the woman from Nardi offers us a humble apology and says it was simply a misunderstanding. The agent, Ben Vallings, denies liability and says he's refunded the money to defend Nardi's reputation. The company maintains the machines are safe, thousands exist and no one has died. If you're a diver with your own compressor, here's some really good advice ` get it tested every three months. Coming up after the break ` going, going, gone. How well do you know the house auction rules? It's the question that's divided Nelson. If you're selling your house at auction, you're allowed to bid on it yourself. True or false? This real estate agent reckons he knows. You can. But is he right? Plus ` look out, we're putting our dignity on the line in the name of inspiration. Welcome back. There are things you need to know if you're in the market for a house. It's our number one asset and the biggest purchase most of us will ever make. So, if you're planning on buying or selling ` listen up. We're basking in a bit of winter sunshine in Nelson, and we want to know if you can bid on your own home at auction. You'd expect this local real estate agent to know the answer to this one, and he sure did. You can,... Yeah. ...but as long as it's below the reserve. That's right. Vendor bids are allowed at some house auctions, but they must be declared. So I'm right, but I'm really not happy. I mean, that is ridiculous. Why`? But you're selling the house, why would you bid on the house? Well, just to get things moving. You have to be transparent about it. See, this is an Aucklander telling a man from the provinces how the property market works. Right. The deadline is fast approaching. There are just four more weeks to get your Ad Award entries in. Now, your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to make the 70s groovy again. (THE BEE GEES' 'SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER' PLAYS) Ooh, yeah. We're getting out groove on for the '70s ` a time when bigger was most definitely better. # Listen to the ground. There is movement all around. Well, except for men's shorts, of course. Fortunately, if you had a gripe about pint-sized pants, there was a new show to turn to. Over the past year, we've unearthed some major rip offs and some minor rip offs. That's right. The 1970s saw the birth of Fair Go. So, to celebrate our 40th, we want you to make the '70s cool again, and we have some amazing prize packs up for grabs. The winning schools will get thousands of dollars worth of Canon goodies ` an interactive learning suite that includes a smart board and a Canon projector, two ` that's right two ` Canon digital DSLR cameras with lenses, plus a couple of accessory packs and a printer. On top of that, there is $2000 in cash. That makes the first prize worth more than 10,000 bucks. Sound good? Second and third place winners are also looked after. Second spot will get the latest Canon digital video camera and $500 cash. Third place will also receive the latest Canon digital video camera. That's a total prize package of over $22,000. Go Canon! So kids, it's time to cook up some ideas, tune in your imagination and get your sky-high dancing shoes on because the Kids' Ad Awards' clock is now ticking. The clock is ticking. The deadline is Friday, the 29th of September. We are strict on deadlines and durations ` 30 seconds maximum, please. Go to our Facebook page or website for all the details to enter. We're looking forward to seeing your items. Now, that is the show, but we will be on Facebook for the next half hour to answer your questions. Our programme is all about your gripes and grumbles, no matter how big or small, please do contact us. Yes, we're on Facebook or you can email us ` fairgo@tvnz.co.nz or write to us ` Private Bag 92038, Auckland, 1142. That's our show. Until next week, po marie. Copyright Able 2017