(UPBEAT ELECTRONIC MUSIC) Tonight ` a birthday surprise is captured on camera,... Mum didn't know about it. It was her big birthday present. ...but the photos and photographer are nowhere to be seen. If he's buggered it up, just be honest about it. Is all hope lost? That's the million-dollar question, isn't it? (CHUCKLES) And a diamond ring loses its sparkle after just seven months. You know, it's from Shane. It represents his love. The jeweller just doesn't want to know. It just blows my mind that they could do this. Plus ` I go to the rescue of a woman in a tight spot. Oh, come on! This wardrobe malfunction has got her feeling... Torn apart. (LAUGHS) Sorry, (LAUGHS) couldn't resist! Copyright Able 2018 Kia ora. Welcome to the show. Photographs are a return ticket to a special moment in time. That moment can never ever be reproduced or replaced. As we all know, once it's gone, it's gone for good. Now, a professional photographer should know that better than most, but even they can lose focus. Here's Gill. (MAJESTIC MUSIC) With that backdrop of majestic mountains and flurries of caramel-coloured leaves, you can't get much better than Hanmer Springs for a professional family photo shoot. It was a great weekend. It was autumn colours. Great place for a photo shoot. It was just a good, social time. It was a special 65th birthday surprise for mum and grandma, Sandy Dunn. We'd arranged for the photographer to come in on the Sunday morning. Mum didn't know about it. It was her big birthday present. Suddenly, there's a knock on door, and Nikki said, 'This is Carl. 'He's come to take photographs of us all.' But those photos they thought they'd treasure forever never came. So what happened? That's the million-dollar question, isn't it? Yeah. (CHUCKLES) Yeah. What's happened? In some regards, it'd be easier to understand if we'd paid this guy, and he'd disappeared with the money, but we haven't paid him. He's just gone with these photos, and can't get hold of the guy, and who knows? Bizarre. I love that one. The last time she had her whole family in one place was five years ago. This is from my 60th birthday, and I did the same thing. I got a big house. Getting them all together is a very rare event. My family's really important to me. I've got three children and five granddaughters. Very seldom that we're all together. Everybody works, including some of the grandchildren now. You've got sport. You've got dancing. Why do you think photos mean so much? It's that you're capturing a moment in time. Just, you know, the differences in the ages and the smiles, and you can't ever replace it. They're the memories. So, the trip to Hanmer Springs meant everything. This birthday, for 65th, when people said, 'What would you like, Mum?' I said, 'No presents. No party. Just time together.' The surprise photographer was the icing on the cake. They chose Karl van Beek. He was local. His photos looked great. So they gave him a shot. Big, flash website. Looks, like, professionally done. Karl took them to the old Hanmer hospital. He found some really nice places around what's quite a derelict hospital. He took a lot of care posing us. Very professional. Very nice guy. It took about two hours to do, so, I mean, this guy gave a lot of his time as well. It was a complete surprise to Mum. She was thrilled. The perfect way to end the weekend. Back home, they were all excited for the photos to arrive. But over three months later, and not a single snap. Sandy is beside herself. We just want to have those memories, and, also, we didn't take any photographs ourselves. None. Now, these photos of a fun run were recently taken by Karl, a month after Sandy's photo shoot. Other events too, so they knew he was still working. And daughter Nikki had tried to contact him repeatedly through May and June. Emailed him a couple of times, and I phoned as well. And you left a message? Yep, left a message, and I text. And then I asked my sister to phone, thinking she would be, like, a different phone number to contact,... Yep. ...and she had no reply, either. So a friend, who is a photographer, also tried to contact him, and she had no reply, either. So, her sister starting ringing around Hanmer. Did a little bit of detective work, and she rang the information centre and the Hanmer Pools, and they confirmed that he was still in town, and they had had other calls for people looking for him. On his website, it says, 'Here's what I promise you ` to deliver on time.' We know there's always two sides to a story of any situation, but if he's buggered it up, just be honest about it. If he hasn't buggered it up, well, we'd like the photos, and we're more than happy to pay for them. Maybe a bit of a discount now. (BOTH CHUCKLE) Nah, nah, look, just` Yeah, just front up. Be honest about it. Don't just hide from emails, pretend you've lost your phone or your email's been hacked. I mean, that sort of stuff gets` That's for Tinder punks, you know? So, let's see if we can help solve this little mystery. (RINGING TONE) No surprise ` Karl doesn't answer the phone, so I leave a message. Hopefully, there's a simple explanation, and we can get this all sorted. So if you could give us a call, we'd love to have chat to you. There. Hopefully, that does the trick. And it did! A response within minutes by text. Too easy! True to his word, they were sent to daughter Nikki the same day. You've had some good news? Yes, truly lovely photos, so a great outcome for us. Yeah. And I hope that he thinks about how he interacts with his customers. Nikki sent them to her mum, who was beside herself with excitement before she'd even seen a single shot. So, it's a good result? Yes, it is. I mean, very quick. Well, (CHUCKLES) this bit was. So, with no more delay... Isn't that gorgeous? Yeah, it is. Just such natural smiles. Oh, that's Nikki. (LAUGHS) Gosh, they're lovely. That is really special. That's gorgeous. Oh gosh. Oh, this is the best we've ever had. In an email to Fair Go, Karl spoke about dealing with certain health issues, adding ` He'd also asked Sandy to call, promising he'd answer, and this time he did. I've just looked at photos, and they're amazing. We're just relieved to have them. People are forgiving. In the end, he did good,... (GASPS) That` That is amazing. ...and it's brought a heap of happiness. Don't know where I'm gonna put them all, that's all, cos I want to have lots of them. (CHUCKLES) It's a bit bewildering. Why couldn't he answer the phone for three months, and then Gill Higgins rolls into town with her flash phone, dials a couple of numbers, and the job's` Just answer your phone! It's Gill. Gill, she's amazing. She's not that good. Glad we got there in the end, but three months ` too long. Way too long. Right. Coming up after the break ` we all know diamonds last forever, but what about diamond rings? I'd expect it to last longer than seven months. Mm-hm. The sparkly rock of love is gone,... You know, it's from Shane. Pretty gutted, really. ...but the jeweller just doesn't seem to care. I just don't like being treated unfairly. Plus ` ladders are great if you're fixing up the house. But not so handy when they're running up your leg. They just tear as soon as you put them on. So, how do you prevent tears? So, I thought the rubber gloves might stop them from catching on anything. * Vodafone TV has Sky, TVNZ, all in one place, bringing all your favourites together like never before. Welcome back. Diamonds are the ultimate gift of love. Every year, 20,000 Kiwis find their match, better half or other half and spend a small fortune on big, sparkly chunks of carbon. Romantic. Those 'chunks of carbon', as you so eloquently described them, should last forever, but one couple's love has prematurely lost its sparkle. Here's Hannah. * Let me set the scene. It's a beautiful, moonlit night. The fake stars are twinkling. Shane's got something on his mind. Shauni doesn't know what's happening. Shane is reaching into his pocket. He's reaching into his pocket. He's still reaching into his pocket. (GASPS) Will she say yes? (RECORD SCRATCHES) No, no, no. That's not how it happened. No, it didn't happen like that, and it wasn't supposed to end like this ` with the sparkle, the diamond, gone from the engagement ring, and the couple battling to get a fair deal from the jeweller. It just blows my mind that they could do this. I just think we've been unfairly treated. Yeah. Let's backtrack to August last year ` back when the ring looked more like this. Something small, simple, not too in-your-face. Yeah. Shauni wanted a white gold solitaire. Shane found it online at Michael Hill for $1800. He secretly bought it and hid it. It was in my toolbox in the shed, cos that's the one place I knew she wouldn't go. (LAUGHS) Tell me about the proposal. He said to me that he had to wear a suit, and I was to wear a dress. There was a flash dinner out. After main, I'm like, 'Oh yeah, he'll do it now.' He didn't do it. I was still building up the courage to. Then pudding came out. I was like, 'Oh, he's definitely not doing it now.' I just` Yeah, down on one knee, and she was saying, 'You're not doing it here, are you?' And I was like, 'Yes, I am. Will you marry me?' (LAUGHS) (LAUGHTER) A minute later, she said 'yes'. Thank goodness! Yeah. But their magical night out wasn't quite finished, because there was a Bledisloe Cup match on that night. Oh, nothing better after an engagement than to come home and watch a game of rugby (!) It was the All Blacks, so it was important. (LAUGHS) I broke the news to my parents, and Mum cried. After seven years together and just seven months engaged, Shauni, one day, noticed something was very wrong. Looked down, and I was like, 'Oh, something missing.' It was gone. The diamond was gone. I don't remember banging it, don't remember it catching. Cos the sort of bang it would take to dislodge the stone, you would notice that, wouldn't you? Yeah. Yeah, definitely. But, yeah, don't remember anything. But the good news was they had this lifetime diamond warranty from Michael Hill, which said if the stone was lost, Michael Hill would replace it. They took the ring into their local store where... He said right then and there that it's been in an accident, and they can't cover it. I said, 'There hasn't been an accident. She's real careful with it.' In fact, Shauni had been so careful, the ring was off her finger almost more than it was on. So, dishes, gardening, shower, sleeping... I didn't want to lose it, didn't want to damage it. It's new. It's pretty. (CHUCKLES) And this ring didn't come easy. Shane worked extra shifts at his sawmilling job to save up the cash. Shauni's an early childhood worker, so $1800 is a lot of money. It's supposed to be, yeah, quality and not a cheap knock-off or anything like that. So I'd expect it to last longer than seven months. Mm-hm. You should be able to wear it every day. Michael Hill then sent the ring off to the company's headquarters in Brisbane. It took three months to get the ring back with an answer. What they'd hoped for was... That they'd realise it wasn't an accident, that it was just their workmanship, and they would fix it. So, what did they say? It had been involved in an accident, and that it was gonna cost nearly $1300 to fix. Let's have another look at that warranty. Under 'what is covered', it says, 'We will replace, free of charge, any diamond covered by this warranty 'if it chips, breaks or is lost from its original setting 'during normal wear.' Yeah, the warranty says it will replace lost stones. But Michael Hill seemed to be arguing that the ring wasn't covered, because it no longer had 'its original setting'. He thinks one of the claws has moved, and that it's not the original setting anymore. And that's what brought them to Fair Go, because they don't feel they've had one from Michael Hill. Honour the warranty, basically. Just replace it. Replace the stone. Not what you'd expect from a big company. From a reputable jeweller, yeah. They just want their ring back ` the ring Shauni chose, the ring that Shane worked hard for. You know, it's from Shane. You know, it represents his love. Yeah, pretty gutted, really. I just don't like being treated unfairly. Mm. Now, look, we've also been talking to Michael Hill in Brisbane. They told us... We are satisfied with our original assessment that the damage was due to the customer's handling of the ring. We followed our company policy and process regarding the replacement of faulty product and our diamond warranty. But they do agree that the assessment process took longer than it should have, and Shane and Shauni were inconvenienced as a result. They say because of that, they wanted to put things right. It's kinda got a bit going on, but it's still kinda simple. Mm. Shauni and Shane are looking at rings again, because they've just had some good news from Michael Hill. We sure have. Yeah. Yeah, they're gonna offer us a full store credit for the original value of the ring, so... Gonna get a new ring. Yeah. Best thing we could hope for, I suppose. Definitely. They're looking at this sort of thing, where if you lose one of the little diamonds, it's not such a big deal. I don't want a solitaire again, after what happened. They're happy with the outcome. I was on my lunch break, and I kinda was like, 'Ahh!' Unhappy it took so long to sort out. Yeah. Yeah Oh, that is a great outcome. Thrilled for them. Yeah, good result. Now, there is a warning, though, to this story ` if you have a jewellery warranty, and you don't want to lose your cover, make sure your bling is regularly checked. Yes. Right, coming up after the break ` a wardrobe malfunction has got one woman really torn up. All three packets tore, when I was putting them on, in different places. How much wear should you get without a tear? If they are not fit for purpose, why we can't take them back to the retailers? And putting the brakes on road rage. Yeah, I think people just need to be way more careful. What grinds your gears? Be kind! You don't have to toot. That really infuriates me. Welcome back. Tights, stockings, pantyhose ` they keep us warm and look good. They sure do. Not really my area of expertise, but I do understand rips, tears, runs and pulling, they can be a big issue for some. (CHICKENS CLUCK) Oh, come on! On many a morning, you can't help but hear Lisa Allen's frustration. Oh, come on! Her daughter Hannah's used to it. Every morning, it's, 'Oh, come on!' Even the chooks are nonplussed. Oh, come on! It's got nothing to do with Lisa's make-up application... I get it done. (CHUCKLES) ...or wardrobe choices. Smart-business, cos I'm in sales, so... It's her legs. Specifically, her pantyhose. They only last a few wears. After that, they just ladder and put holes through them. They can go at any time,... You go to stand up from a meeting, and you hear them go. ...in any location. There is a common place a bit further up, but I'm not gonna show you that. (LAUGHS) Lisa does take precautions. Got to take the jewellery off, otherwise you snag them. She tells me you have to wind first. It's quite an operation. It really is. For extra-long it is, yeah. (LAUGHS) Her hosiery horrors started after her Legalongs didn't last long. Last year, they started tearing every time I put them on, so I changed to Razzamatazz. And for a while, they were 'razzamatazztic', but then they weren't. They just tear as soon as you put them on. Lisa sought a solution in her garage. So, I thought the rubber gloves might stop them from catching on anything. It's very serious. It's a big operation. Then, a couple of months ago, even with gloves on... One Monday morning ` of all times. ...a nylon nightmare. Oh, come on! All three packets tore, when I was putting them on, in different places. The chooks were catatonic. (CHICKENS CLUCK) By this stage, Lisa's faith in pantyhose was... Torn apart. (CHUCKLES) (BOTH LAUGH) Sorry. Couldn't resist. Amusing, yes, and expensive. I usually buy four pairs every time I go for a grocery shop. Weekly? Yes. At $10 each? Yes. So, Lisa decided to put her fingers to work. I fired off an email to Razzamatazz, hoping that they would just explain what I could do with the pantyhose that I hadn't even had a chance to wear, and I got nothing back. Lisa Allen had one big, unanswered question. I'd, actually, just like to know what our rights are as consumers of these products. If they're not fit for purpose, why we can't take them back to the retailers, and why they won't refund our money. The Consumer Guarantees Act says goods much be of 'acceptable quality', which means, amongst other things, they must be durable. So, depending on what you bought and how much you paid for it, if something is not durable, you'll likely have the right, under the law, to ask for a refund or a replacement. I hunted out Hanes, who own Legalong, Voodoo and Razzamatazz. They're based in Australia. And a few days after having a few words, this arrived in my inbox from Australia for Lisa. We do really apologise for the inconvenience. We really appreciate your feedback, and we want to thank you for taking the time to let us know. If you experience this problem again, please write into us, together with the product, and we will look into it. To ensure your legs continue looking amazing this season, we're sending you a box of hosiery essentials, which we hope you enjoy. All the best, from the Hanes hosiery team. Lisa decided her free pantyhose would go to Dress For Success. They fit out women going for job interviews. Quite nice. Yeah, that's nice. But it still doesn't answer Lisa's key question ` how long should pantyhose last? Hanes wouldn't commit to a timeframe. Lisa Allen has found one final use for her knackered nylons ` they make great tree supports. Very expensive, but they do work. But in a last, final, cruel, ironic blow... The pantyhose don't snag the tree. The chooks have now seen and heard everything. (CHICKENS CLUCK) Wow! You have a lot more information in your head now. Stay tuned, New Zealand. It gets better next week. I've found a place in Napier that scientifically tests pantyhose. So we're gonna take Lisa's pantyhose, give them a test. We're gonna produce, like, a pantyhose ladder ` next week on Fair Go. Fantastic. Great. Now, we all like to think of ourselves as good drivers, but are we really? A recent AA survey found 70% of Kiwi drivers have no confidence in other motorists. We are quick to point out the mistakes in others, but are we good at spotting our own? We're talking etiquette, and tonight we're delving in to the delicate dilemmas of driving. First up, tooting. When is it OK to honk? Driving past a hot chick. Beep, beep! What up? I strongly disagree with people honking their horns, especially around residential areas. Be kind! You don't have to toot. He may be a radio and TV star, but Sam Wallace is still a motorhead at heart, with his share of thoughts on the dos and don'ts when you're out on the road. And, yes, he's a fan of his horn. Yes, it's OK to toot. Toot liberally. I know there's some pretty specific hours about when you can and can't toot, but I think in terms of an aggressive situation, use horn liberally. It's a basic road rule ` keep to the left. But are we any good at it? That infuriates me. I go behind them and keep flashing my lights, hoping they'll move over. People shouldn't be in the fast lane if they're not gonna, you know, go fast. It's horrendous, and I reckon it's happening more and more ` people in the fast lane doing the same speed as the person next to them. If you're going the same speed, move to the left and let the fast people go. A wave or a flash of the lights. Do we need to say thanks? I give a wave. Yeah, I think you need to. Yeah, definitely. It's just manners. Definitely. If more people did that, less road rage. I reckon hand gesture, absolutely. Thank you. You're awesome. Thumbs up. Or the double toot. Toot, toot! Beep, beep! Happy days. Multi-tasking ` what's OK? What's not? Yeah, I think people just need to be way more careful. Things like eating a hot pie or having a hot coffee is just as dangerous, eh. I think it just needs to stop. I reckon it's a serious problem. People need to put their phones down, through and through. I reckon it's the biggest problem on our roads. Should you let cars in or make them wait? I think, outside of Auckland, they're nicer. They wave to you. It doesn't really change how much longer it takes you to get anywhere by being polite. Some people don't look. They just barge in, and I think it's just courtesy to wait a little bit, and, obviously, a lot safer as well. Only if there's a break in the traffic, because if you're one of these people that are all of a sudden stopping, holding up the traffic behind you to let other people in, that's blowing the rules of the road, and then you create chaos. Once you're making up your own rules, chaos on the roads ` no good. So, no. Oh, I bet this'll start a conversation or two at home. You would be a waver, wouldn't you? Oh! There'd be big thank-yous coming out of you. I reckon you would shout out dinner invites to thank someone. Especially when I'm cutting people off. A nice, friendly wave. Well, that's the show for tonight, but we're always here to help. Our programme is all about you and your concerns. If you've got a wrong you want made right, or you feel like you're not getting a fair go, please, drop us a line. Yes. We're on Facebook, or you can email us ` Or write to us ` Thank you for watching. And, remember, merge like a zip, New Zealand. Until next week,... BOTH: ...po marie. Copyright Able 2018