Tonight ` If a strong boy, they just ` BANG! And then everyone can get in. They're living in fear. It's not fair. Very not fair. It's a case of neighbours to the rescue. We decided to park our cars here, essentially to help protect the premises. So why has it taken their insurers so long to fix this door? We're human beings. Treat us as human beings. Plus, major home groans. Everyone who's got a house listed is in this position. It is the real estate deal that can only be described as fail-tastic! We didn't do a thing wrong. Can an agent charge a commission for not selling a house? We were a bit blown away by that, really. We quickly got this out, and we were like, 'What?!' And ` So we've got dead crops a huge debt, and everyone's running for cover. A chemical cocktail wipes out his crop. This is, sort of, 67 grand, then, that should've been? Should've been. Shoulda been, coulda been, but it's not. So who's to blame? Well, who ordered the chemical? DIAL TONE He just hung up on me. Able 2016 Welcome to the show. We begin tonight with an SOS from a family in desperate need of help. Just over a month ago, Wendy Cao and John Sands' Auckland dairy was ram-raided by thieves. Police organised an emergency plywood door, but it was pretty flimsy, and it's taken an age to get it replaced. So for five weeks, the family of three have been sleeping rough on the shop floor. They are literally living and sleeping in fear. CRASH! They call this ram-raiding. The high-speed, highly-destructive snatch and grab crime wave is making life a living hell for some Auckland families. I just feel so angry. It's not fair. Very not fair. Why these things happen to me, to my family? Five weeks ago, Wendy's dairy was hit. The thieves didn't take anything, but destroyed the front door. If they coming back, I just want to finds them. Really, I just want to catch them. This is the third time this dairy has been broken into. Now, Wendy, she's angry at the people who are responsible for this, but she's equally frustrated at her landlord and the insurance company. Wendy is literally trapped in this dairy. The problem is this flimsy repair door, which can only be locked from the inside. I could kick this in right now! BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG! If they're a strong boy, a tall boy, a big boy, they just ` BANG! And then a big hole, and then everyone can get in. The only other exit is out back. (GRUNTS) So there's six locks on this back door, and it has to be opened and closed from inside the shop as well. While they wait for a permanent door, Wendy and her husband John have to bed down in the aisles every night to protect their property. It's just uncomfortable living here. Um, during the night, you can't get a good night's sleep. I kept worrying. I heard something from the outside. It was, 'Oh! Something there! 'It's waked me up.' If anything happen, and my husband ring the 111, and I` I will ring the neighbours, and they might come, so we make sure we get the bad people. The couple are literally living in fear. It's scary. You wonder if the guys are going to come back or whether anyone is going to attempt to break in. Three times they've been promised the door will be fixed, and still, nothing has been done. The only thing we've got to protect ourselves is a phone to call the police, or` and that's about it. It's hard to see any positive in this story, but there is something, and it doesn't come from the landlords, it doesn't come from the insurers, but Wendy and John's neighbours. Every night, Paul parks his car outside the shop to prevent it from being ram-raided again. Anyone, basically, uh, with a strong shoulder and certainly a car could easily get through the door. There's no protection for them, uh, so we've decided to pike` park our cars here, uh, essentially, to help protect the premises, and also make it look like there is more than one or two people inside. He's also taken up residence and slept overnight to give the family a break. Well, I was scared when I slept in there. Yeah, I` it's not a comfortable experience. (LAUGHS) It's not relaxing being in there at night, wondering if someone's going to break in. It's a sleepover, Paul says, no one should have to endure. I think it's kind of ridiculous that if someone came to your house, broke into your house and the insurance company left you in a situation where you were sleeping on the floor for weeks on end, I don't think you would be very happy about it. It just seems like an untenable situation to start with, rather than try to imagine how long they can last, if you like, in the face of this inaction from the landlord and the, uh, insurance company. Good neighbours and good friends are comforting, but what Wendy and John really want is a secure shop and a good night's rest in their own home. They don't care, because we are little, they are big, right? I don't know whether because I'm a Chinese or they don't care, and, well, probably, they think I can't complain, because I don't speak excellent English, something like that. We've had enough. We just want to go back to our own beds. They don't want anyone to go through what they've been through. It's just not right. It's not fair. I don't know why they take so long. We are human beings. Treat us as human beings. It's been a really unpleasant situation for a really nice family, but we are pleased to report there is a happy ending to this story. The couple can now rest easy. Yesterday, when we finished filming, the security door installers arrived and gave them some peace of mind. It took just a couple of hours to fit this metal roller door. We're told our intervention had nothing to do with the job getting done. But why did it take so long? Five weeks of sleeping on the floor seems ridiculous. The landlords haven't been returning or answering my calls, but we did get a statement from their insurers, Vero, who told us ` Right, well, after the break, a real estate horror story that's guaranteed to get a 'What the`?' reaction! DOGS BARK A real estate deal goes to the dogs. They said, basically, 'You need to carry on listing your house with us, otherwise we're gonna charge you.' What happens when clinching the commission is more important than clinching the deal? A contract's supposed to protect all parties. Where's our protection? And ` We've got dead crops, a huge debt, and everyone's running for cover. A chemical cocktail wiped out his crop. This is, sort of, 67 grand, then, that should've been? Should've been. Shoulda been, coulda been, but it's not. So who's to blame? Well, who ordered the chemical? DIAL TONE He just hung up on me. 1 Welcome back. Real estate agents. We trust them with our most valuable asset, placing our hopes and dreams in their hands. But what happens when clinching the commission becomes more important than clinching the deal? Here's Hannah with a real estate story that should ring alarm bells for anyone selling a house. DOGS BARK So this is your dream job then is it? Yes, love it! I love going to work every day. After working in kennels for years, Sarah wanted to own one, and she thought she'd found the perfect place. (BARKS) Five acres with a house and a wee cattery and a boarding kennel. So you were excited? Yeah, really excited. Yeah, it was just perfect, really, for us. Before they could buy the kennels, though, the couple needed to sell their own house. The kennels were being marketed by this real estate company, and the agent was, apparently, very persuasive. She seemed just like any other real estate agent, really ` very loud and bubbly and a bit pushy. They made an offer on the kennels through that agent, Vicki Driver. They then ended up listing their own house with Vicki too. It was a rural property just north of Christchurch, and it was a bit of a slow burner. She took through a handful of people, like maybe 10. 10 max. And there didn't seem to be that much interest. There was just one offer made, subject to finance. As far as we were aware, like, if they didn't have the finance, they just wouldn't buy the house, and it wouldn't be a big deal. But the deal fell through. The purchasers couldn't get finance ` and, even worse... The lawyer came back and said, 'Look, these people aren't going to be paying any deposit. 'They're not going to be buying the house. They've got no means of doing any of this.' It just all suddenly came to an end. A bit devastating, really. At this stage, feeling a bit burnt by the whole process ` losing the sale, losing the deposit, losing the kennels ` they decided to take their house off the market. But... They said, basically, 'You need to keep listing with us, 'otherwise we're going to charge you commission anyway.' We were a bit blown away by that. We quickly got this out, and we were like, 'What?!' The listing agreement says Waimakariri Real Estate are instructed to ` and are ` But even if the deposit isn't paid, the agent can still go after their commission. It's all in the contract. If the deposit isn't received by the agent, the vendor agrees to pay the agent and fees commissions and other expenses when the sale becomes unconditional. And that commission was $19,000. And we assumed that they had come and made a moral decision that they would drop it, seeing as the house didn't actually sell. But the real estate company didn't drop it. For the past two years, as Sarah and Nick have tried to get on with their lives, finally selling their house and buying a new one, trying to start a family, this $19,000 threat has hung over them. Why should we have to pay it when we really` we didn't do a thing wrong? For two years now, they've been getting invoices from Waimakariri Real Estate, demanding payment of the commission. A contract's supposed to protect all parties. Where's our protection, you know? Like, we've literally done nothing other than try to sell a house, and now we're being told to try and sell a house it's cost us $20,000. And it didn't sell. Do you think the real estate agent has done $20,000 worth of work? Definitely not. No. No. The agency's also lodged a disputes tribunal claim. The hearing's next month. How are you feeling about that? Um, mortified. Yeah. Terrified, um, and incredibly nervous. It makes me very nervous and very stressed, yeah. They're not just dealing with this ` and, oh with EQC claims on their old house ` but you may have also noticed something else on the calendar. We're starting IVF next week. So, um, very excited about that, and all this does not help. Yeah. DOGS BARK And then there's the added stress of going public, making a big noise. But making that big noise is important. This has been an awful two-and-a-half years. I would hate anyone else to go through it. The majority of people would sign up for this and don't realise that they could be in this position. I mean, everyone who's got a house listed is in this position. Essentially, yeah, and the real estate agents have basically said, 'Well, that's OK.' Mm. I have to say, I find this so surprising that a vendor can be done for the commission when the house didn't sell through no fault of their own. This is how it works. Under the contract, when the purchasers confirmed their finance with their lawyer, the offer was declared unconditional, and the agent could claim commission. It didn't matter that the deposit hadn't been paid and that no proof of finance had been offered. Waimakariri Real Estate says that's not their job, even though the listing contract says they do collect deposits and can deduct their commission from them. They say they've tried to negotiate but strongly believe they're owed the commission, and that's backed by the Real Estate Agents Authority, who say the agent did nothing wrong and was entitled to the commission. We think the listing agreement is a real problem. It gives the vendor a false sense of security, because if the deposit doesn't come through, there's no protection for the vendors. After the break, there's trouble in the deep south. We've got dead crops, a huge debt, and everyone's running for cover. A chemical cocktail wiped out his crop. This is, sort of, 67 grand, then, that should've been? Should've been. Shoulda been, coulda been, but it's not. So who's to blame? Who will reap the consequences? Well, who ordered the chemical? DIAL TONE He just hung up on me. 1 Welcome back. Time to take a trip down south. Now, we know a lot of people don't like chemical sprays. But they are part of rural life and a lethal weapon in the war against bugs and weeds. Sadly, the risk of collateral damage is high, but who's to blame when a chemical cocktail wipes out your entire crop. Here's Garth. TRANQUIL MUSIC The mountains were calling. They said, 'Come home, son. Come home and dream big.' We've had this for a long long time. Um, it's been family farm for a number of years ` three generations. Now it's Michael Morris's turn to make his mark on the land. He's been getting his boots muddy, digging deep into his pockets ` all, it turns out, for a bitter harvest. This is the spot where it was all supposed to be springing out of the ground and, uh, solve your problems? Yeah. We're standing on the wreck of what was supposed to be a valuable crop of linseed. This is, sort of, 67 grand, then, that shoulda been? Shoulda been. Shoulda been, coulda been, but it's not. Linseed is a superfood and makes a sought-after oil. It's worth nearly $1000 a tonne to a company called Canterbury Seeds. They'd contracted Michael to grow and supply 60 tonnes of linseed. He was keen to begin a long, profitable relationship, and the crop was full of promise. Oh, just, you're looking good, it's looking great, um, it's growing really well. They were happy as, um, then they sent a spray recommendation, and that's when things went quite pear shaped. This bucketful of linseed is all that remains after a hard season and some human error. You've got a crop that's dying on ya, and, um, yeah, as soon as I started asking questions, it was like, 'It looks like we're gonna be left holding the lemon here.' What went wrong? Well, Canterbury Seeds had recommended spraying with two chemicals. Unknown to them or to Michael, a third chemical had gone into the mix. Someone's added something to it. They've never said anything` anything to us, and, uh, we're copping the brunt of it. That's pretty much the guts of it. How bad was it? Well, this brown paddock we're standing in, that's what should have been` and it should have been easy, but over Christmas the crop began to burn and twist, and it never recovered. Both Michael and Canterbury Seeds are blaming that third product ` something called uptake oil. It's a` a agent that clings to the plant and` and helps the chemical get in. So if it hadn't been added, it wouldn't have, probably, affected the linseed. Well, it wouldn't have killed it, that's for sure. Michael's no chemist. He'd relied on the advice of Canterbury Seeds. In this case, the uptake oil wasn't required at all. We have seen texts Michael Morris says went back and forth to a contractor. They make no reference to an oil being added to the mix. Whatever happened, no one told him. So we've got dead crops, a huge debt, and everyone's running for cover. Time we asked some questions. MAN: I know everything that's gone on, but it's uh` my` my involvement in it's slim to none. Um... Yeah. I'm on the phone to Ben Sarginson. Michael had asked him to sort the spraying. Ben's worker dealt with the order, while a related company put it on the crop. Well, who ordered the chemical? I-Is this phone call being recorded, or...? Well, I'm standing in a field, and there's a camera pointed at me, yeah. Right. DIAL TONE He just hung up on me. Later, one of Ben's staff got in touch ` a guy called Hamish McKnight, the guy who'd actually ordered the chemicals. He insists he was advised to add the oil by the chemical rep at a big rural supply company. So bye-bye Central Otago, hello Christchurch and the headquarters of Farmlands, who are being very cooperative by agreeing to meet me. In this case, we're not responsible. At all? At all. Peter Reidie denies his staff gave any advice to Michael or to Hamish McKnight, because, he says, if they had, it would have been documented. There's very thorough procedure on chemicals, cos there has to be, and, uh, we take that very very seriously. But he's asking us to take it on trust that they got this order spot on, including that oil. Was there actually a request for that oil, then? Uh, post` uh, from my understanding, yes. So` That oil was then ordered, yes. So the contractor ordered that oil? Yes. You know, is the paper trail there clear, from your point of view, that that's exactly what happened? No, it isn't. No, it isn't. Neither Farmlands nor Ben Sarginson has been prepared to show us their paperwork. That was only just as a` like, a <BLEEP> friendly gesture sort of thing, as far as getting the chemicals that he wanted, um,... Yeah. ...but then, uh` I mean, I was out of the country the whole time. I wasn't even here. I wasn't even in the country when all this went down. Do you think Michael's done anything wrong? The` The circumstances are pretty tragic. I can feel for the farmer. I mean, it must be pretty horrible losing your crop in the way he has, but, I guess, farming is around managing inputs on to the land and-and understanding the impact of those inputs, and I guess he's` in this process, it would appear, he's abdicated his responsibility in that regard. Canterbury Seeds have since let Michael out of the contract ` not exactly the first impression he was hoping for. Yeah, I don't believe people can just wreck someone's crop and just walk away, and go, 'Well, bad luck.' It doesn't quite work out. Yeah. Um, I don't know many farmers who would actually be too impressed when that happens. Michael maintains he only ever ordered two chemicals, yet three were applied, and neither the company responsible for selling them nor the contractor seems willing to step up. So the farmer loses out, through no fault of his own. You don't need someone else killing it for you, when, uh, you've done nothing wrong. I tell you what, it just doesn't seem right to blame the farmer to me. No. Look, Farmlands says if Michael had been one of it's 60,000 co-op members, it would have offered more extensive service fully documented, but it refuses any liability for his loss. Aurum Spraying is the company that applied the chemicals. They didn't even debate it. Their lawyer just sent a letter to Michael stating the company has been wound up. Ben Sarginson told us it was because of the dairy downturn, not anything to do with the crop. OK, according to the dictionary, 'dumb' is something that lacks intelligence. And that seems to accurately define dumb charges. Now, you've already singled out banks and airlines, but I think tonight's might be my new fave. Sue emailed us, pretty miffed with this dumb charge. I went with my 19-year-old son to book his driver's learner's test. He had his photo ID, his 18+ card, an expired passport, proof of address and his legal birth certificate. The lady said, 'No, that's not good enough. 'You will need a current passport or a current birth certificate 'that was issued after the 1st of January 1998.' Apparently a birth certificate is no good any more, as Births, Deaths and Marriages had decided to add a unique code to every one, so now he needs to apply for a new birth certificate at a cost of $26.50 for him to learn to drive in NZ. Whoa! So this is news to us. Does this mean that anyone over 18 now no longer has a valid birth certificate? Your birth certificate is still perfectly valid. Newer ones are linked to a database to help combat identity fraud, but it's up to individual organisations to decide whether they accept the old ones. The NZTA says it follows the advice of Internal Affairs by only accepting birth certificates issued post-1998, because they can be readily verified. The NZTA admits it can be frustrating, and they're not wrong. Make sure you double-check what ID is required beforehand, because you may find, dumb as it sounds, your pre-1998 birth certificate's not worth the paper it's written on. I'll tell you what, I have no idea where my birth certificate even is. No, I think I would always use my passport as ID. Mm. Well, that is the show. but we'll be on Facebook for the next half hour to answer your questions. Remember, our programme is all about your problems, your thoughts. Please do contact us. We're on Facebook. Email us ` Write to us ` Coming up next week ` Staying healthy can be a slippery slop fore 8-year-old Leo. Am I going fast enough? No. No?! What?! All right, let's go! Leo's a coeliac. The tiniest amount of gluten is dangerous. When he eats gluten, his stomach attacks itself, and it causes damage in his, um, intestine. No gluten is the rule. How does it make you feel? Really bad. Does it make you a bit cross? Yeah? But 'no gluten' doesn't mean 'no chance of gluten'. I gave him that product and made him sick, and that's not fair. That's next week. Goodnight.