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Danger: No Entry- blocking off the Elshaw's nightmare building project - Source: Fair Go -
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Falling down
Reporter:
Ali Mau
Barry and Raewynne Elshaw thought they had it covered when they
took on a contractor to build a large retaining wall during the
subdivision of their Tauranga family home. They employed a design
engineer, got plans and Council approval, but half way through the
project the wall collapsed, and it'll cost around $150,000 to fix.
They looked into getting special works insurance before they
started the project, but say the contractor told them not to bother
as they'd be covered by his own Public Liability insurance. His
claim's been declined; and now the Elshaws have few options left to
them.
"Sham" tender
Reporter:
Gordon Harcourt
We reckon an Auckland car yard is using so called "tenders" to
avoid its responsibilities under the Consumer Guarantees Act
(CGA.)
If you buy a car from a dealer, you are covered by the CGA. But as
the law stands, sales by auction or tender are not covered by the
Act.
Ezybuy Car Auction and Tender Centre doesn't hold auctions, and we
reckon its so-called tenders are a sham.
Last year the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal (MVDT) called the
tender form a "sham document" and said what Ezybuy does is
"indistinguishable" from other car dealers trying to get a better
price.
Angie and Jeremy bought a car at Ezybuy. They got a
pre-purchase inspection - the only major thing was a wheel
alignment needed. They took it for a service and were
horrified when their mechanic told them the steering had a major
problem, and could partially fail at any moment.
They're furious, and they filed in the MVDT this week.
Gemma got a refund before her case got to the MDVT. Her
mechanic said the transmission needed replacing. Last
week her car was back on Ezybuy for more than she paid.
We're also concerned about the ownership of cars at
Ezybuy.
Sales staff tell buyers Ezybuy doesn't own the cars sold there -
they're all being sold on behalf of other vendors.
Gemma's car is now registered to a company called Almac Holdings
Ltd. It's owned by Alan McCarrison who runs Ezy Buy Car
Auctions Ltd. We checked 45 cars sold or selling at Ezybuy,
and 15 were registered to Almac Holdings Ltd.
Don't get burned buying firewood!
Reporter:
Pete Cronshaw
There's nothing like an open fire on a cold winter's day and the
secret to a good fire is dry wood. Which brings us to Gaylene
Glasson and Chelsie Robertson's burning issue. They each bought a
heap of wood from an Auckland company called `City Firewood
Supplies Ltd'. It was supposed to be a `hot-mix' but it has proven
to be the antidote to a good fire. It hisses and sizzles but
refuses to burn. The wood is so wet, we couldn't even get an
accurate moisture reading! City Firewood Supplies have now come to
the party and offered both women a full refund.
Fair Go Ad Awards - Schools' Categories
Our ad awards are coming up at the end of October - and schools -
we want to see if you can do better than the pros.
Primary and Intermediate schools - Sell us a colour.
Secondary schools - Keep Kiwis here (that's people we're talking
about, not the bird.)
All the details on how to enter are on the right of our
front page here:
And please keep sending us your picks for the best and worst ads
on the box. We've got a special
email
address for this:
mailto:adawards@tvnz.co.nz