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Anton - the concerned son of a couple who fell prey to unscrupulous sales tactics - Source: Fair Go -
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TAKEN FOR A RIDE
Reporter:
Alison Mau
Elderly people are sometimes the prey to unscrupulous sales tactics - even in their own home.
Here is some advice from the experts.
Age Concern give the following advice "take your time" - don't let yourself be rushed
- Don't sign up to anything immediately unless you are
completely sure.
- It is advisable to get as much information as you can about the
firm, the product, the person and then go away to digest it, make
comparisons and ask others for their opinions.
- Seek advice from friends and family.
In the past people would have trusted their lawyer or bank manager. Now lawyers' fees are prohibitive and most people no longer have a personal relationship with their bank manager. However, you may know a professional person whom you can trust.
- If you are thinking about a buying something that may be a bit
risky, ask yourself "can I afford to lose this money?" This may
clarify things.
- Respect for "authority" should not stop you from asserting your
rights as a consumer.
For further information click here.
And Home Care offer the following advice:
- Don't be pressured into drawing large amounts of money out of
the bank to give to strangers. Get advice from family, friends, or
an independent party if you feel you are being harassed, or made to
do something you don't want or are uncertain about.
- Don't be rushed into business deals. Don't accept home
maintenance offers or gardening deals or any offers until you have
thoroughly checked them out, discussed them with friends and
family, and compared prices.
- Some sales people can appear very genuine in their efforts to
gain your trust. Beware of seemingly very cheap goods and
services.
- It is a good idea to check the credentials of people who call
offering to do such things as paint your house, or roof, or other
home maintenance. You could telephone the relevant professional
association, or phone around comparing prices if you are
interested in the deal. Someone in your family or a friend would
probably be happy to help you.
- Don't rush into any deal involving your property or your money.
You may commit yourself to something you will later regret. Seek
advice from your family, a neighbour your lawyer, accountant, the
Citizens Advice Bureau, Age Concern, bank, or relevant professional
body.
For further information visit www.athomecare.co.nz.
BIRTH & EXPIRY
Reporter:
Hannah Wallis
Blenheim mum Imogen Warren got in touch after applying for the Working for Families benefit for her 2 month old, Quinn. She needed an IRD number for Quinn so supplied his, and her own, birth certificates, as proof of ID.
Only hers - issued in 1996 - had expired. How can that happen, aren't they for life? And why should she have to pay $26.50 for a new one, when she already paid for the last one?
Since 1998, all birth certificates have featured a unique identifying number to help prevent fraud and identity misuse. Any issued before 1998 are now invalid as a means of ID in certain situations - like applying for an IRD number.
You can use your passport as I.D. - if you've got one - and a couple of other more unusual forms of I.D.
Internal Affairs can't say how many people have been caught out with an expired certificate. First because different Government departments might accept different types of I.D. And second, because they don't ask people why they need a new birth certificate when they apply for one. Finally, Inland Revenue reckon $26.50 is a fair fee for producing the certificate.
A FRUITY QUESTION
Reporter:
Gordon Harcourt & Hannah Wallis
Last week Hannah reported on the Statistics NZ Household Economic Survey. For the first time it listed tomatoes as our best selling vegetable. Good grief - that caused uproar. Tomatoes are a fruit not a veggie you told us! In large numbers!
Hey, we were just quoting the survey! Sheesh...
We thought we'd better get the definitive on this one, so we went to the experts at Plant and Food Research. It's the Crown Research Institute which does research and development on fruit, vegetable, crop and food products. So that covers tomatoes no matter how you describe them.
Dr Roger Harker says yes, tomatoes are a fruit botanically. Broadly speaking any plant structure which has seeds in it will be a fruit. BUT he also says the important thing is the way we use it as a food, not the botanical definition.
Which one is a berry?
If you're sticking to your fruit-not-vege guns, here's a really
fruity question for you. Which of the following is a
berry?
(a) Raspberry
(b) Strawberry
(c) Banana
The answer is Banana! The Plant and Food people told me that in botanical language, a berry is a simple fruit having seeds and pulp produced from a single ovary. That's the banana.
A strawberry is actually an "accessory fruit". Technically the actual fruit is the seeds on the strawberry, and the yummy bit is the accessory.
A raspberry is what's known as a composite or aggregate fruit - which makes sense if you think of all those bits it's made up of. They are called drupes or drupelets.
And just to really do your head in, it turns out the banana "tree" or plant is actually a herb! It is herbaceous because it doesn't contain true woody tissue. There's a Facebook page for everything these days. Have a look at this.
SOUNDING THE ALARM
Reporter:
Ruwani Perera
There's plenty of choice when it comes to smoke alarms on the market, but how do you know which ones to choose and where to place them in your home?
The two different types of alarms are:
Photo-electric detectors:
Works with a light sensitive sensor detecting thick
smoke. Photo-electrics are best suited for the lounge and
kitchens which usually contain large pieces of furniture (sofas,
chairs, mattresses, counter tops) which burn slowly and create
smoke rather than flames.
Ionisation sensors:
These use a very small amount of radioactive material to
ionise the air to detect flames. Ionisation models are best to be
used in the bedrooms or rooms that contain highly combustible
materials that can create flaming fires.
The New Zealand Fire Service recommend photo-electric alarms, but ideally a mixture of the two is what you need.
Current statistics indicate the percentage of where fires start in the home:
Kitchen 33%
Lounge 18%
Ceiling space 12%
Bedrooms 11%
Garage 10%
Laundry 7%
Toilets 1%
Outside 8% (spreading to the house)
Even if you think your smoke alarm is working - chirps when you
test it and the batteries are new, your alarm may not actually
alert you in the event of a fire. That's because smoke
detectors have an expiry date of around 5 to 10 years. Check
on the back of your alarm/s to see what the expiry date is -
especially important if you're moving into a new home that has
existing alarms installed.
Remember to test out your alarms once a month and make a habit of changing your batteries every year - do it at the same time you change your clocks backwards/forwards for daylight saving.
