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Gingerbread House
Reporter: Jacquie Hudson

Back in 2003 Zoe and Geoff Tait were sold a property in Canterbury's Waikuku Beach by L J Hooker agent Kath Smith. Kath Smith also owned the property with husband Mark. Kath Smith was vendor and agent.

Zoe and Geoff had their lawyer look over the LIM and had the property valued. Everything seemed fine until a few months later Geoff and Zoe decided to put a new kitchen in. When their builder started ripping out the old kitchen he discovered major problems with the house...it was the floor. Unbelievably concrete had been poured on top of the original wooden floorboards and joists. This had caused the wooden foundations and beams to rot, meaning the house had next to no structural support. Geoff and Zoe had to hire jacks to prop up the two level home before their builder built a temporary wall.

L J Hooker agent Kath Smith told Geoff and Zoe the house had a solid concrete foundation. She also told Geoff and Zoe they hadn't been able to do the proposed renovations to the house because the bank wouldn't lend them the money.

Fair Go sent round building inspector Mike Anticich from AA House Checks in Christchurch. Mike says it's the worst house he has seen in his 35 years in the business and had to tell Geoff and Zoe the house was basically demolition material. Mike's view was the house is so unsafe that Geoff and Zoe really shouldn't be living in it.

The council is also assessing the situation and will let Geoff and Zoe know in the next few days whether the house should be condemned or not.

Fair Go approached Kath and Mark Smith who admit to pouring the concrete floor about 7 years ago but say a builder did it , and it was done to standard. However Kath and Mark wouldn't say who the builder was. They wouldn't comment further. .

Fair Go also approached Athol Earl at L J Hooker Rangiora. He says the responsibility lies totally with Mark and Kath Smith as the vendors. He says he was also misled by Kath Smith on the condition of the property. Athol Earle did not know about the condition of the property.
Athol Earle also told Fair Go that Geoff and Zoe should have got a qualified builder to inspect the house , and this problem may have been visible under such an inspection. Kath Smith no longer works for  L J Hooker Rangiora.

In our view, the people who sold the house, Mark and Kath Smith, are primarily responsible for compensating Geoff and Zoe. Not only were they the owners, but they carried out the  work, and she was the real estate agent who said nothing about it. If they can't, we think L J Hooker should step in. It was L J  Hooker that Geoff and Zoe put their faith in. It was L J Hooker who told them if anything goes wrong, contact us.

Even if their sales woman didn't tell L J Hooker there were major faults with the house, it doesn't mean they still don't owe a duty of care to Geoff and Zoe.      

Tradme Underage
Reporter: Greg Boyed

If you want to buy or sell on Trademe the rules are you are supposed to be over eighteen. But following our first story on a trade gone wrong on Trademe, Fair Go had a slew of letters from traders who were happily, yet illegally signed on to Trademe, but under eighteen. The Haden family has not one, but three underage traders. Seventeen-year-old Chris, fifteen-year-old Stephanie and their twelve year old brother David all have their own Trademe accounts which they filled out with their actual birth dates.

Like the Haden's many of the traders who wrote to Fair Go weren't even aware they had to be over eighteen, the rule was buried and, to say the least, vague. But then Trademe changed everything. Just a few days after contacting Trademe, Fair Go was told underage traders were to have the rules tightened.

All the traders who registered their date of birth as under eighteen, were sent an e-mail asking them to check their details. Trademe now says the rule has been made a lot clearer; if you're on Trademe and under eighteen, get off. For the likes of the Haden family, that means they will have to use a parents account until they are old enough.

Sky High Parking
Reporter: Mary-Jane Aggett

It costs ten bucks for an hour's covered parking if you drop someone off at Auckland Airport. We thought this was a tad steep, so we thought we'd compare prices around the country.

It's a dollar an hour in Rotorua and Dunedin. In Kerikeri it's free. It's a buck for half an hour in Christchurch. But when you get to Wellington it costs you seven dollars an hour for uncovered parking and nine dollars an hour for covered.  And in Auckland it's five dollars an hour for uncovered and ten dollars for covered.

Auckland Airport say they benchmark their carparking against the cost of parking in the CBD and city fringe - amongst other things. Nick Forbes, the Airport's General Manager of retail says there's a strong demand for the premium option. Wellington Airport say the same thing.they benchmark their nine dollars an hour with other airports in New Zealand and Australia...and other commercial carparks in Wellington.

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