(CHEERFUL THEME MUSIC) Tonight ` an Auckland P den is busted by police. They had a ramming 'things', and then next minute, you hear the door smash open. Smash open. The neighbours warned the tenants were trouble. We told you this was gonna happen. Like, we told you. The total repair bill ` 100,000. So where was the property manager? What am I paying them for? Plus ` a breath-taking hidden fee. Oh dearie me. An $1100 refund fee for an oxygen machine has left her gasping. ...I was just absolutely amazed about. And the flat-pack that fell,... well, flat ` All it was doing was takin' up space in the lounge. There's plenty of parts, but something's missing. It didn't have any instructions. That's not ideal. I'm scared that I'm gonna muck it up. Copyright Able 2018 Kia ora. Welcome to the show. Homeownership is fast approaching an all-time low. There are about 1.8 million homes in New Zealand, and 33% percent of those ` that's just under 605,000 ` are rentals. More and more landlords are using property managers, but how much bang do you get for your buck? Here's Garth. (KRS-ONE'S 'SOUND OF DA POLICE') GARTH BRAY: It's 20 to 8 on a wet winter morning in Auckland. # Whoop! Whoop! That's the sound of da police. Whoop! That's the drug squad coming up the driveway. WOMAN: Then there's this banging from next door. A security camera catches the police arriving. Banging, and all you see is police running up. They had, like, those little ramming things, and then next minute, you hear the door smash open. Smash open. The people inside number 2 are getting a big wake-up right now, but next door... We were standing inside the house going, 'We told you. (CHUCKLES SOFTLY) 'We told you this was gonna happen. Like, we told you.' (CHUCKLES GENTLY) So when the drug squad broke through that front door and came into the flat, they found two men inside ` one of them in here at the kitchen sink dumping a white powder down the plughole, another one in here in the laundry shovelling cash into the washing machine. That's not how you launder money. Down the hall in the bedroom ` a woman with more drugs and a lot more money. It's impossible to tell now, but a year and a half ago, this flat was a hub for anyone here in Hillsborough with a P habit. It had been let to a woman who, it turned out, was already facing charges of helping to run a P house in Wellington. Here the police seized... And there were heavy traces of it left on the walls and the floors and the fixtures. None of that could be cleaned up properly; it all had to be replaced. So for me, that's the worst thing that's ever happened in all the years I've been renting. Esther owns the flat, but she lives in Christchurch, where she helps husband Paul with their business, breeding and growing peony flowers for weddings. It's very easy to drop these seeds. But there's been little peace for Esther lately. The damage done by that tenant in just under three months and the bill to make it right have left her shaken. The decontamination was about 24,000,... and there were no shortcuts with that. That was just the start. In total, the rebuild has cost her... ...100,000. But what's still upsetting Esther is the feeling she was let down by the property manager. Oh, abysmally let me down ` abysmally. Yeah, and they don't care. We hear all the time about how tough it is for renters, but landlords can be caught out badly too, and the advice is usually ` find yourself a professional property manager; let them do the worrying. Barfoot & Thompson. (APPLAUSE) Esther thought she'd signed up the best. Barfoot & Thompson were recognised as the world's best lettings agency at an awards ceremony in London last year. It was their Mt Roskill branch managing her investment property. We had some questions for them. The branch manager referred us straight to head office. (LOW, PULSING MUSIC) We're not gonna argue with that. But did they really do all they could? Barfoot & Thompson insists that allegation was only made to the company two weeks before the police raid. They offer sympathy but no apology. So you've got Barfoot & Thompson saying, 'Our property managers did all they could as soon as they knew,' and the neighbours saying, 'Oh, no. We told them straight away those tenants were trouble.' At the beginning, we called every single day,... Mm. ...and it was, like, twice a day, three times a day. And then after that, like, after speaking to him` Every other day. ...every other day. Amrita and Dorothy used to flat together next door. They say the trouble started with parking problems. We couldn't get in the driveway; we can't get outta the driveway. That's just the beginning. (CHUCKLES SOFTLY) Supposedly, the flat had only one tenant. It was pretty crowded, yeah. Mm. Yeah, there was a lot of just comin' and going at whatever times ` 3 o'clock in the morning. So when the neighbours complained to the property manager about this place, they pretty quickly got a lecture about their own parking arrangements and whether that wall up there is strictly legal and a bunch of other stuff that seemed a bit of a red herring, considering what these guys were up to, because Amrita and Dorothy say they also made it clear then to Barfoot & Thompson that there was more. Marijuana ` the aroma of marijuana wafting into our house, the dog that was there. I told him about the dogs, the marijuana we could smell, the incoming cars at all hours of the night, people knocking on the doors and stuff. Everything ` we told him everything. But they say Barfoot & Thompson weren't having any of it. He was saying it as if we're just making up this whole story about drugs, but he got so angry. That's when we said, 'Send someone, and you'll see what we're talking about.' Barfoot & Thompson says that is not correct. (LOW, UNSETTLED MUSIC) The neighbours say they kept trying to make that happen. We're like, 'Hi. It's us again. Can you pass a message on again? 'We're tryin' to get hold of someone.' 'It's us. You know who we are. We've rung, like` We ring all the time.' We didn't stop; we don't give up. (CHUCKLES DRILY) How many times do we have to call and no one's gonna help us? The parking problems continued. Another neighbour caught it on dashcam. In fairness, they never showed the property manager. The lease said only one occupant allowed and no pets. Barfoot & Thompson took the tenant's word there were no mutts. They checked to see if there was anyone else living at the property. They say their inspection found no evidence of any illegal activities. But when the police raided here, one of those guys turned out to be the tenant's partner ` he'd moved in. He's now bunking at the taxpayers' expense after being convicted on those same drugs charges. Barfoot & Thompson says when it screened the tenant... ...including... (LOW, UNSETTLED MUSIC) Other property managers swear by using social media when screening, and one look at that tenant's Facebook page shows you this ` a picture of a home-detention ankle bracelet apparently worn by the tenant. Barfoot & Thompson says it wasn't picked up on this occasion. Knowing what she knows now ` that the neighbours say they repeatedly tried to raise the alarm ` Esther is furious that none of this was ever passed on to her. If I'd known something, I would've actually flown up there. I thought, 'If they can't sort it out, I'll have to sort it out.' But what am I paying them for? This whole messy business has destroyed her faith in property managers. All property managers seem to say, 'All care but no responsibility as far as damage by tenants,' but then I think they've got an obligation to do their job. They haven't been negligent ` those were their words. They haven't been negligent, whereas they've been negligent the whole way through. Man. Whew. Esther was restrained, wasn't she? Mm-hm. 100 grand ` I would be ropeable. Yes. Now, look, anyone can be a property manager. You don't need any qualifications or registration ` it is a free-for-all, which seems a bit ridiculous to us, given the value of the properties they're managing. If you do need a property manager, we reckon you ask the same questions you would of a prospective tenant. Where are their references? What are they promising to do? And how quickly can you ditch them if it all goes horribly wrong? Mm. Right, coming up after the break ` a hidden fee that will take your breath away. But I thought, 'Wow.' How much should it cost you to change your mind? An $1100 refund fee for an oxygen machine has left her gasping. ...I was just absolutely... amazed about. And the flat-pack that fell, well, flat ` I bought a $420 bookcase,... and it didn't have any instructions. Welcome back. If you are a frequent online shopper and you've bought something that doesn't meet your expectations, you probably know all about restocking or shelving fees. You get hit with them when you change your mind and apply for a refund. Mm-hm. Now, host of us don't mind paying a couple of bucks, but how about $50, $100, $500 or even 1000? Yowzers. Here's Anna with one of the most outrageous restocking or shelving fees we've ever heard of. Clever girl. Come on. (CLUCKS SOFTLY) ANNA BURNS-FRANCIS: Shirley Barrett's got a pretty good life. Have your food up here. Most days she spends in the garden,... Pretty girl. ...hanging out with her mates. But feeding the chooks has become a bit of a hassle for Shirley. Not gonna let me have a little pat? You see, she used to be a smoker. For how long, Shirley? Oh, I hate to tell you that; I really do. Probably about... 45 years. Mm. I don't know why I smoked all that time ` got no idea. She quit nearly 20 years ago, but the octogenarian's now reliant on oxygen 24-7. I always find the little trolley that I carry it on is a bit cumbersome and awkward, and if I have to go up and down the stairs, like I do here, it's heavy. Now, Shirley's pretty tech-savvy for an 87-year-old and loves the internet. Oh, yes, I love it. I love it! It's great for me, looking up things of interest and recipes and email to my mates. So she went surfing the net in search of an oxygen solution. I saw on the computer that there was a new kind coming out. The weight was the thing of interest to me. Shirley had found this ` the G4, a light, portable machine ` just what she was after. The thought of having that little thing was just really wonderful for me. She bought it. It was too expensive for me, let's be honest, but I thought, 'Wow. Let's be honest ` I'm at the end of my life. Why not have that little bit of comfort and pleasure?' So I managed to wangle some extra bank money... and bought it, mm. Shirley spent nearly 6 grand on the machine and a spare battery ` all bought from this company, Emech Medical in Porirua. But when it arrived, things weren't quite right. I couldn't wait to try it out,... and I put it on and went out to my garden,... and I didn't feel as if I was 100%. Shirley's oxygen level had dropped dangerously low. Way, way too low. Shirley tried again the next day, but things were no better. Now, Shirley didn't think there was anything wrong with the machine; it just wasn't strong enough for her. It was very disappointing. I was really sad, because I'd put so much faith in it and thought, 'Well, this is just going to be wonderful.' Mm. So reluctantly, I sent it back. And Emech agreed to give Shirley a refund. After waiting a while, Shirley emailed Emech to ask about the money. Finally, it came through, but there was a catch. The refund was sent.. less a shelving fee of $1100-odd,... which I was just absolutely... amazed about. I couldn't understand it. I had not been told at any stage that there was a shelving fee involved. Shirley was being charged more than $1000 to return the machine. I just couldn't believe it, and I sent an email back, said, 'Well, you just must be kidding. What's this shipping fee? 'Shelving fee. And what's this shelving fee?' And she... said, 'Yes, you have to pay that.' I have never been... I, yes, was so upset about it. Really and truly, I was. The Consumer Guarantees Act means Emech didn't actually have to offer Shirley a refund, because there was nothing faulty about the machine, but ` and it's a big one ` the company should've warned her before she sent it back that she'd be charged a restocking fee. If you're going to return something, you should know about all the costs before you send it back. We wanted to talk to Emech about this, and at first, they responded by email to say they had told Shirley about their restocking fees, but Emech wouldn't provide us proof of this, and they wouldn't return our calls or any of our follow-up emails. And when we went to visit Emech... Hello, I'm Anna from the Fair Go programme. Is there anyone in charge I could talk to? Well, we left a card for Phil, but he didn't come back to us. So we went looking for Emech's registered owners, but working out who actually owns Emech's proven a bit tricky. The company's not registered in New Zealand. It's a trust registered in Australia to members of the Exclusive Brethren. Being registered by a religious organisation means the company wouldn't have to pay tax. We haven't been able to talk to Emech about this ` the Exclusive Brethren tend to not associate with people outside their own religion. They still haven't returned our calls or emails, and they still haven't provided any proof that they did warn Shirley of the restocking charge. I think it's more than an excess; it's just ridiculous. Shirley reckons the fee wasn't fair because she didn't know about it before sending the machine back. The Commerce Commission agrees ` Shirley should've been told about the fee before returning the machine. That, as far as I was concerned, was not on. Shirley's filed a claim with the Disputes Tribunal. She's waiting to see if Emech responds. Oh dearie me. Wow. Have I got this right? Have they got the product back, they've tested the product to make sure they can sell it again, they've put it in the box, they've taped up the box, and they've charged someone $1100? Mm-hm. Doesn't exactly seem reasonable. Whew! Coming up after the break ` have we discovered the ultimate flat-pack challenge? I bought a $420 bookcase,... and it didn't have any instructions. Freestyling the assembly is never a good idea,... I'm scared that I'm going to muck it up. ...which is why we've called in the experts. Never been beaten so far. And we go shopping for answers to a perplexing problem. A driver following you as you walk back to your car so they can take your car park ` is that cool... or creepy? Welcome back. Tools, time, some wine ` they're the must-haves when assembling flat-pack furniture. And so are instructions, and if you want to stay sane and avoid that creeping sense of frustration, it is best to follow them to the letter. But what do ya do if there are no instructions? Believe it or not, there are some manufacturers out there who think freelancing the assembly is a good idea. (MAROON 5'S 'WHAT LOVERS DO' FEATURING SZA) Despite appearances, there is no peace at Hiria Te Rangi's house. Look at her ` even the most inattentive male could tell she's not happy. No. It's her feature wall. It's featureless. (CREAKING) When we got this house, I was like, 'Great, I need a great big bookcase,' because I've got a lot of mint in-box collector's edition... These are her collectibles. They should be high on a bookcase, but they've been grounded, and there's already been collateral damage. When you've got little ones as well, they want to touch. Darth Vader's lost his lightsabre. Jem's boyfriend ` Rio, and he was absolutely hot. he's smiling, but he's nervous. I'd just like a bookcase, (CHUCKLES GENTLY) really. That's just the end goal, and I thought for $420, I'd get a bookcase that worked. The bookcase that isn't is down the hall, past the sleeping teenagers, hidden away in a corner of the garage. There it is ` a $420 tower of flat-pack. All it was doing was takin' up space in the lounge. It's 52 pieces of wood, a couple of hundred screws, bolts, nails. Like I'm supposed to be a carpenter. (LAUGHS) Now, Hiria can flat-pack ` she's done... Something like ` (SOFTLY) two, four, six, eight ` about 10. She eats off a flat-pack,... The hard part was puttin' on the tabletop, because it's heavy. ...sleeps on a flat-pack. That was a really big (CHUCKLES GENTLY) piece. Little table ` tables are really easy. Drinks tables ` the coffee table was really easy. Shelves ` two of them. We know how to put things together, but I wasn't quite sure on this one, so we went looking for the instructions, (CHUCKLES) and we couldn't find them. You heard right. I bought a $420 bookcase, and it didn't have any instructions. So Hiria is stuck, too afraid to start nailing and drilling. I'm scared that I'm gonna muck it up. Hiria bought off Trade Me member Valuetree. Valuetree is Wendy from Wellington. She sells everything ` bikinis, mankinis, this thing, that thing. All up, they have 3500 items for sale, including this rather stunning 16-cube bookcase, which does warn, 'Assembly required.' And I thought for $420-odd,... I'd get a bookcase that worked. So Hiria left feedback on Trade Me. It was quite direct. (MELLOW MUSIC) Mostly, it was to encourage them to contact me. Since then they've traded emails. Hiria asked for the instructions. She got these photos and this note. They really tried, but that doesn't tell me which piece goes where. Like most online traders, Valuetree has no phone number... No, that's not gonna help. ...or physical address, but Emma from Valuetree did answer our emails. Valuetree do have 99% positive feedback, and they did offer a $100 refund... after they got an email from Fair Go, but none of this gets Hiria's bookcase built, which is where Johnny from Kitset Assembly Services comes in. He puts together flat-packs for a living ` even the ones without instructions. Never been beaten so far, and it's not gonna happen today either. He offered to do it for free, and he didn't muck around. His first step was... Always lay out all the parts and pieces before you start. Then Johnny screwed, nailed... Better not hit my thumb, eh? ...and screwed some more. We're looking really good. It took nearly two hours. There were heaps of pieces left. So don't be too worried if you've got a few spare parts left over. In the end, Hiria from Whitby got her flat-pack unpacked. Just another day at the office, mate. That's pretty damn cool. She says next time she'll go and talk to a human. Yeah, I really should've done that. Live and learn. Yeah. (CHUCKLES) The only online buying she'll be doing is second-hand lightsabres. That was massive! Yeah. Two hours, it took the professional. Would've taken you what? Still be on the floor in pieces, I reckon. (LAUGHS) CHUCKLES GENTLY: Yeah, probably. You laugh at your own jokes. Awww. Right, moving on, we get lots of questions coming through the Fair Go inbox, and sometimes, to be honest, we just don't have the answer. So we've headed back to the streets to put a couple of those modern moral dilemmas to the people. (LAID-BACK MUSIC) Ah, summer ` picnics, backyard cricket, time by the water. What's not to love? But when the weather turns to custard, the mall is a great place to seek shelter and hit consumers with some Cool/Creepy questions. First up ` a driver following you as you walk back to your car so they can take your car park. Is that cool... or creepy? It's cool. I do watch for people coming out, especially on a day like today where it's packed. Oh, that's cool. That's cool. I think cool. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah? It happens. Yeah. It happens. They're just getting your car park. Yeah, we'd call that creepy. Yeah. Creepy. I'd say okay. Does happen quite often. Whereabouts? Anywhere ` any car park that's full. Uh, 'bout here. Oh, it might happen every now and then ` probably when I leave here, I'd say. Yeah. Yeah, definitely okay. (CHUCKLES GENTLY) I've done that before. Yeah, I do that. I usually pounce on the car park. Sometimes you ask them, 'Scuse me. You going?' (CHUCKLES GENTLY) Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, so that's OK, yeah. Yeah, definitely okay. That's okay. (THEY CHUCKLE) Yeah, that's okay. Have you done it yourself before? Yes. (ALL LAUGH) This definitely has the potential to go into the 'creepy' category when you are laden down with shopping bags and someone is just very slowly following you through a car park. Is this a thing? It's a thing! I thought this was just good comedy. In the provinces, we park outside a shop. (LAUGHS) We're in; we're out; we're home for dinner. Nice for some. Right, before we go, we got loads of feedback about Matt's ice-cream story and his campaign for a standardised scoop. Here's a taste. MATT CHISHOLM: Buying ice cream in a cone can be a lot like fishing. (SIGHS) So good. Depending on that scoop size, ya never really know what you're going to get until it's in your hot little hand. Have you ever bought, say, a two-scoop ice cream and looked at it and gone, 'That looks more like one'? Yup. Mm-hm. (CHUCKLES) Yes. You too? Yeah, yeah. We decided to test the cone ice-cream market to see whether dairies were dishing up a delight or a fright. That is supposed to be two scoops of ice cream. Two scoops of ice cream?! (LAUGHS) They're dreamin'! You guys have had a lot to say on this, and so has Tip Top. They told us... ...which Pippa is modelling right here. Mm-hm. That is right there. I think that probably seems about fair. My kids wouldn't complain about that. Now, they also say... So that's the show, but we're always keen to help right some wrongs. So if you've got a gripe, a grumble or you just need a bit of advice, drop us a line. We're on Facebook, or you can email us. Or you can still write to us ` happy to get your letters. (CHEERFUL THEME MUSIC) Well, thanks for watching. Until next week,... BOTH: ...po marie.