(JAZZ MUSIC) www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2024. Tonight ` a favour to a neighbour goes badly wrong. - $110,000 estimate, up to a high end of $180,000. - What's arriving dead at people's doors? - A box of rotten roses, dead, dying. It smelt foul. - And why tackling your debts might be even more important than you think. - If the debt's more than a thousand dollars, unless there's an exceptional reason, I will bankrupt the individual. - Tena koutou katoa. Welcome to the show. Now, Mother's Day's coming up, folks, and flower companies are about to get very busy. - And those splashing out on our mums want to know the flowers are arriving fresh. - That's right. So when we heard about dead flowers arriving at people's doors, Kaitlin got on the job. - There should be life inside these boxes ` - And there are some little holes here, which I assume are for ventilation. - ...a temporary home, not a coffin. - A box of rotten roses, dead, dying. It smelt foul. - That's what many customers say they're getting from Bloomex ` an online shop selling flowers in Canada, Australia and, most recently, New Zealand. Last month, its Australian arm was fined a million dollars for publishing misleading ratings and promoting fake discounts. It's also featured on Fair Go after using a local florist to deliver a single rose, when the customer had paid Bloomex for a bouquet and at nearly twice the price. - I was a bit confused, like maybe there's been a, um, hiccup in the order delivery. - Sometimes Bloomex calls up a local florist to fulfil an order, but since last year, it's started doing its own arrangements, here in Onehunga, Auckland, but that's not where its customers think they're getting their flowers from. Customers like Annie's family in Australia, who spent $135 on flowers for her birthday. - I was supposed to get a surprise box of two dozen roses. It didn't turn out to be quite what everyone expected. - For starters, her daughter-in-law Ashleigh thought she was ordering from a florist in Masterton, where Annie lives. - Which she thought was good ` local florist, support the industry. - Not only does Bloomex show up as one of the first picks when you Google search 'Masterton NZ florist'; here its website describes Bloomex as a 'Masterton florist'. Annie's birthday was on January 28, but the flowers were ordered to arrive the day before. - But they didn't. - Bloomex says after the order was placed, it sent an email the next morning, warning it couldn't get a local florist to make the order, so it would have to send the flowers from its base in Auckland, a four-day delay. Ashleigh says she never got that email, only a missed call from an unknown number that didn't leave a message. When she did manage to get a hold of Bloomex on the phone, two days after the flowers were due, the company says she could have cancelled the order then, but because she didn't, it went ahead, Preparing Annie's roses on the 30th and couriering them to her the next morning. - I opened the box up and thought, 'Eurgh!' - 24 hours in transit was too much for this bunch. - Threw some out that were just too rotten to deal with, and the rest were dead and dying, like, comatose. - Annie counted 16 casualties, even though, dead or alive, there was supposed to be 24. Bloomex says when it had to change the delivery date, it upgraded the order with a gourmet item. That turned out to be a $2 packet of Oreos. - People like my mother, for example, would be too embarrassed to say anything about the flowers if I sent them ` she might feel, 'Oh, I, you know... I won't say anything,' so people, yeah, will lose money. - We've heard similar stories from people up and down the country. Chris ordered 100 alstroemerias for his mum in Nelson, who'd just been given the news she had terminal cancer. The flowers spent four days in transit. Bloomex promised to send Chris' mum gourmet chocolates to make up for it. She got this box of crackers. While Janene spent $107 to send this birthday bunch to her friend in Tauranga. They showed up a day late. Those customers say they did eventually get a refund or partial one, but reckon they had to work for it. - In that time were interim offers of, 'We'll give you 50% off the roses, 'but we'll charge you for the courier.' And to be honest, they've just been awful to deal with. - In each of the cases, Bloomex used Aramex to deliver its flowers, which are put into your typical parcel van, which we're told isn't chilled. Bloomex is aware that Aramex NZ does not offer a refrigerated service and that their flowers are not refrigerated during transport, 'Perishable items are accepted for transport within our network ` they are at the sender's own risk.' Bloomex has not provided care instructions to Aramex NZ for preserving flowers during transit. Florists we've spoken to say, in those conditions, time is everything. - Flowers are a massively perishable product, like almost nothing else, so the time from us picking them out of the ground to getting to the end consumer, that needs to be as short as possible. - We met up with Christy Ralphs, who runs the flower farm Nourish Gardens. She says most blooms can only survive so long without being chilled. - I think overnight is maximum, and you're pushing it even then, because, um, there's no control over them being put in a hot warehouse and a hot courier van, and as soon as flowers get over a certain temperature, they're gonna perish pretty quickly. They might arrive looking OK, but a day later, even, collapse. - Christy grows her flowers right here on Waiheke, which is as local as it gets for people on the island. - I know nothing about Bloomex, in particular, but as a flower consumer, most people want to send flowers locally, because that is how you're gonna get the freshest, best product. - To test how far Bloomex was prepared to ship from Auckland, I sent flowers to our friends at 1 News who work in the regions. I'm buying each of them half a dozen roses to be delivered to their doors next Wednesday, which is five days away. Wednesday arrived and so did two bunches. - A teddy inside, Bloomex,... and a vase ` looks a little bit like a beer mug ` and here are the flowers. Condition actually looks really good ` flowers appear to be relatively fresh. - Just opened up our flowers. Look at that beautiful bunch. I must say, if I got these delivered, I'd be a happy man. - One more that evening. - It's 10 past 7 at night, and my flowers arrived! Oh, here we go. Flowers look pretty good, look pretty fresh. - Up north, Helen was kept waiting to the next day, but the roses seemed fine to her. - All in all, they're quite a small bunch, but better than nothing. - But by the time they got to Jess, it was late afternoon on Friday. - I would say everything is just a little bit dead. Roses look pretty dead; the little white flowers are dead. - This is how they were looking two days on. - Ooh, Kaitlin, if I'd paid for these, I wouldn't be super-stoked. - From Northland to Queenstown, all flowers were sent from Auckland. Bloomex says its website states it delivers to local destinations, rather than being in the area itself. Interesting that it deleted this reference to being a local florist since we got in touch. When you look up Bloomex on Trustpilot, it has a 1.5-star rating; it's slightly higher on Google. So when we asked Bloomex what it bases its own five-star product ratings on, well, they magically disappeared from its website too. But the company did reveal to us it's busy making changes for the better, including switching to NZ Post for future deliveries, using vehicles that can keep flowers fresh on the road. It's also opening up a second facility in the South Island, to reduce the need for overnight couriers ` hopefully an improvement for consumers and competitors. - I think anything which undermines the industry in flowers can have a really big negative impact, because if people have a bad experience like that, then they might be less likely to buy flowers the next time. - And this bunch surely beats a box of chocolates. Oh, now, that was a bunch of flowers. That was stunning. - Maybe take note, Wetzell kids. Now, the Commerce Commission says they've had 30 enquiries about Bloomex, and it's written to them about some of those. - Mm. It's not currently investigating, but it is keeping an eye on things, especially given that recent court judgement in Australia. E haere ake nei, coming up ` a neighbourly deed goes horribly wrong. - And debt-collection woes? We've got the info you need. - You owe me $12.75 million. - I think that might have just cleaned me out. (JAZZ MUSIC) - Kia ora, nau mai, hoki mai. Welcome back. It is a good feeling, doing something kind for a neighbour. - Which is how Lindsay from Wellington felt when he agreed to a building project next door. - But that favour led to his garage being damaged, and Lindsay was sure of one thing ` he shouldn't be the one to pay. Here's Gill. (JAZZ MUSIC) - On a summer's day in Wellington, we were on the hunt for a particular garage. - Something tells me this is it. - And it's not-so-proud owner. - Kia ora, Lindsay. - Yeah, hi, Gill. Nice to see you. - Seen better days? - It certainly has. - A bit like the weather, which, at least, suits Lindsay's mood. - Up till April of last year, this was a perfectly suitable garage. - Then his neighbour wanted something new ` something big. Builders started digging and digging. - But in doing that, they undermined this building. Everybody knows that Miramar has sandy-based soils. He dug very deep under the existing foundations of this building. In 24 hours, the sand gave way, and the wall moved. - None of this is your fault? - No. No. My mistake was to be a good neighbour and say yes to building a new garage. (CHUCKLES) I might reconsider that next time. - These photos show how the builders needed makeshift bracing to stop the shared wall from falling down. Lindsay paid for a building report. He then got quotes to repair. - $110,000 estimate, up to a high end of $180,000. - Then there's what he owed for reducing his tenant's rent, as they can't use the garage. - As it stands today, we're about $4000 out of pocket. (JAZZ MUSIC) - Now, Lindsay is retired. (MUSIC CONTINUES) - My job these days ` I'm a home executive. - He relies on a pension, plus the fixed income from his couple of rentals, but cleaning up the costs involved with repairing his garage would be too much. - Oh, impossible. I'm 71, turning 72 this year ` I don't have $100,000 sitting around under the bed. - So he looked into it, starting with his own landlord insurance. turns out damage caused by natural disasters are covered, if accepted by EQC, so if it had been acts of God, all good, but not the acts of a builder. - They said the claim was declined ` why don't you go through the builder's indemnity insurance? - So he did ` he went to the builder's insurer, QBE Insurance. Their assessor took a look and offered $7700 for repairs. It's not gonna do it, is it? - No. We've got a quote for more than that for the demolition, let alone to rebuild it. Yeah, correct, yeah. - Mm. The assessor mostly blamed pre-existing damage. - They said it was not destroyed. Yeah, it was pretty depressing. - As Lindsay's shown, just because something's a bit older, it doesn't mean it can't do the job. And when it comes to his 70-year-old garage, the neighbour's recent building consent confirms it was completely level before the build began. The changes since aren't hard to see, when the top of the garage pulled over. - It's lifted this side up and broken the foundations. - Plus walls have broken away from support. - It's actually over the boundary ` not legal at all. - So the day after the paltry offer ` $7700, compared with repair quotes of over $100,000, he turned it down, saying he was heading to Fair Go. QBE said it would reconsider, while Lindsay got to work. - I approached the Insurance Ombudsman. - It said QBE wasn't a member ` try the Finance Ombudsman. It also turned him away, saying,... - We shouldn't be contacting them, because we're not the direct customer. - And then you came to Fair Go ` we're kind of like an ombudsman. - You guys have been fantastic. - Thank you. Thank you very much. - You are. - We do have an uncanny knack for timing. We'd contacted QBE just before coming to see Lindsay, and coincidence or not,... - I had an email come in yesterday telling us that they're about to make another offer. - This is after Lindsay feeling it was a lost cause, despite QBE's engagement. - We were fobbed off for nearly 12 months. - And telling QBE he felt they treated him with contempt, so even with an offer in the pipeline, he was clear. - The story needs to be told. We're trying to deal with large corporate. You know, I'm not trying to get a brand new garage out of this ` I'd just like to have what we had at the start of the whole process. - From the word go, he's wanted transparency, so he wasn't happy when the offer came with a condition he didn't share details. - The insurance company has not been easy to deal with. - He stood his ground, winning the right to reveal the main points of QBE's Expert Building Report. It said the builders did cause damage to the roof and the framing and the door, while still partly blaming pre-existing damage. This weather doesn't get any better, does it (?) And he won the right to at least confirm an offer was made ` just not the amount. Congratulations on the resolution. - Oh, look, you know, thanks to you guys. If you guys had not been involved, I'm sure we'd still be arguing. - Here you are. If you'd like to show the camera. - That was the original offer. - Yes. Yeah. - Unfortunately, we can't talk about what the offer is, except to say we now can rebuild our garage. - So brighter times ahead, hopefully. QBE sound happy. - This was a complex claim, and we're grateful for the collaboration of all parties to enable us to reach a resolution. - Lindsay too. - We thank them for coming to the party, but I think you guys helped a lot as well. - So you get to cut the ribbon now. - Excellent. - There you go. I'll hold that. - Thank you, Gill. (CHEERING, WHISTLING) - Oh, great result, Gill. And in the rain. - Yes, a lot of rain. Imagine that in Wellington. E haere ake nei, coming up ` how much debt could you be made bankrupt for? - I've seen people being made bankrupt for $2000. - And a very special celebration. - It's a big birthday this month for one of favourite pieces of legislation. (JAZZ MUSIC) (JAZZ MUSIC) - Kia ora, nau mai, hoki mai ` welcome back. Now, credit ` it's easier than ever to get, meaning more people could find themselves in the hands of a debt collector. - And if it does end up there, what are your rights, and what are the risks? Garth spoke to the experts. (FUNK MUSIC) - Sorry ` do not pass go. - Is there ever just a friendly game of Monopoly? - You owe me $12.75 million. - I think that might have just cleaned me out. Debt brings a lot of people to Fair Go too. - With all these bloody interest-free loans and stuff these days, it's just too easy to get into debt young guys can't afford. - All it does is, like, accumulate and builds up, so better to get it over and done with. - Could be money they're chasing. - It's not worth chasing them for small amounts. - If it is your fault, then you pay for it. (GIGGLES) - Just pay your bill. - Or people facing demands... - READS: Letter from the debt collector. You owe 10K. - ...that might or might not be right. - Nah, it's generally something I owe when they say I owe it. - (LAUGHS) You're very honest. - What else can you be? - So what happens when the demand isn't for funny money but the real stuff? - Why does somebody enter into a contract with an obligation to pay a debt, and then not pay the debt? - There's lots of people who will help you with this and who will help, you know, look at your contract, see if it's the right thing, see if this debt is legitimate. - Christine and Damien are two sides of the debt-collecting coin. - We have some clients who, as a point of principle, if you owe them money, they will pursue it. - Come and see me. I'm at Debtfix. We are a hardship and debt-solutions charity. - They agree it's best to engage early. - Don't be afraid to ring people and speak to them. Write down when you spoke to them, who it was, what day and what time. - And remember, the person on the other end is also working out who they're talking to. - Is this somebody who will not pay or is this somebody who can't pay, and once you understand where that is, the vast majority of people, when they are approached, they will engage if they can pay. - Back at the board, someone's rolling the dice and dodging the debt. Uh-oh. - I've seen people being made bankrupt for $2000, and that's really not really worth it. You know, it's, like, they're not gonna get anything ` what a waste of time, money and effort; let's just talk, and let's try and get a debt-repayment plan in place or get the debt resolved. - Which is what a debt collector wants too, but if they need to get tough... - If the debt's more than a thousand dollars, unless there's an exceptional reason, I will bankrupt the individual. - You would bankrupt someone for, like, a thousand, $2000? - Depends on the circumstances ` if this is a case of somebody who can't pay, then, no, what's the point? You're just being mean. But if you have someone who can pay, but is refusing to pay, then, yes, we will. We absolutely will. - Bankruptcy can last three years or longer. It ends the debt, but affects credit ratings, hurts job prospects, any assets are controlled and may be sold off by an Official Assignee, and bankrupts need permission to travel overseas. You're not winning. Could be game over. And it's a long game for the businesses too. - Takes you $5000 or $10,000 to bankrupt somebody, and if it's a $1500 debt, I mean, on the surface of it, it seems crazy. I want to send a market message ` the number of times we actually push someone to bankruptcy is very rare, because we have the reputation now of that's what we do. - No fear, though ` if it's wrong, dispute it. - Creditors usually have a disputes resolution, that you can bring into the loop at that stage and say, hey, you're disputing this debt, you know, you wanna make a complaint against them, because they're not helping you. - We get debt referred to us, where, with a little bit of digging, we work out that the money is not due, and so we just politely push it back. - And if you do owe, the creditor has to be reasonable, so make some sort of payment plan. - If you start paying $5 a week. - Part of the job as a debt collector is sometimes just to wait, and wait till that person is back on their feet, and you can engage with them. - A bad move doesn't need to cost you the game. Outta here! - (BOTH GIGGLE) - Don't be afraid, do make that call, and if you are worried, then contact a financial mentor ` the CAB, Debtfix or some other service that will help you. There is always help out there to help you. - And if you don't believe you owe the debt, you can ask the Disputes Tribunal to rule on that. - Mm-hm. That's right. It can look at anything up to $30,000, but there will be a small fee. - Now, something we often talk about on this show is knowing your rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act. - Ah, yes. So when we heard it was the Act's 30th birthday, I thought I'd better celebrate ` with cake. Here's this week's takeaways. (ROCK 'N' ROLL MUSIC) - It's a big birthday this month for one of our favourite pieces of legislation ` the Consumer Guarantees Act is turning the big 3-0. The CGA came into force in 1994, giving consumers greater rights when it comes to goods or services that are faulty or not doing what they're supposed to. Despite it being around for 30 years, a lot of people don't fully understand their rights under the CGA. One of the biggest misconceptions we see here on Fair Go is people thinking that the CGA is linked to a warranty. It's not. If something goes wrong, even if your warranty's run out, you may still be covered under the CGA. Check out Consumer NZ or the Consumer Protection website if you want to know more about your rights. And here's a TikTok trend we think should go the distance ` it's called loud budgeting. In a nutshell, it's being open about your financial goals, setting boundaries with your money and being upfront about them. - It's not I don't have enough; it's I don't wanna spend. - Makes a lot of sense ` I mean, after all, you can't have your cake and eat it too. Mmm. Sorry. (CHUCKLES) - Great year, 1994. - (LAUGHS) It is for you 30-year-olds. Right, that's it from us. But if you only caught part of the show, you can catch all of it on TVNZ+. - That's right ` our programme is all about you, so please do get in touch. - Yes, you can go to our webpage, tvnz.co.nz Email us - fairgo@tvnz.co.nz Or write to us ` PO Box 3819, Auckland 1140. - Thanks for watching. I'm off to find out where Pippa hid the birthday cake. Until next week,... - BOTH: ...pomarie. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air.