* (RELAXED MUSIC) Tonight ` a young hustler has got angry customers asking questions. I think they've taken our money. We've been scammed. Is running a business child's play? And is a kid really responsible for this mess? No, no. You don't need to let a dog out. We're leaving. Plus, deceptive labelling. They're there to entice us to buy by telling us we're making healthy choices. But are we really? I don't think you should... trust labels... sacrosanct, no. And... hell on the high seas. I felt ripped off. Are bunks the kiss of death on a romantic cruise? I don't wanna sleep in bunks. I'd be pretty annoyed. A high-seas holiday turns into a hotbed of discontent. I think it's absurd. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2018 Kia ora. Welcome to the show. There are plenty of kids who've turned a bright idea into a successful business. Take Richard Branson, for example. He ventured way beyond the lemonade stand. He grew Christmas trees, he sold budgies, and he started a magazine at the age of 16. It's easy to reach into the wallet to support an ambitious young hustler, but be warned ` running a business isn't necessarily child's play. Here's Anna. (CHILDREN CHATTER) Who said school was just about reading, writing and maths? Not the kids at Waikite Valley School. They get a bit of time every week to dive into a big bag of Lego and let the creative juices flow. No, he` No, he doesn't. They're big fans of the little blocks, and so too are the older kids. They're in a team that engineers Lego-block robots. It flips... this over. Oh, the disc flips over. Cool. They're so good at it that they've won an entry to the International First Lego League in California. But getting these country kids to Legoland comes at a cost, and that's when the assistant principal decided to teach a lesson on fundraising. Well, if you wanna dig a few pieces out... Lisa Dinning thought a Lego theme would go down a treat. But in reality, it just went downhill. Pretty angry, pretty gutted... for the kids, and on a personal level, pretty embarrassed. She's seen these Lego-like figurines for sale on Facebook by a company called Cemented By H. Lisa thought it looked like the perfect fundraiser. I contacted them and said, 'Look, could you make 75 of these 'so that each child in our school could paint one up? And we could raise money that way for the kids.' She ordered one for every kid at school to take home. The money would go towards the cost of the trip to the Lego League competition. I just thought it would be a great... opportunity for the rest of the children to support the other students that are going. Now, what happened next we'll illustrate in simple terms. Lisa Dinning paid for 75 cement figurines. She's got... none. I think we've been scammed. I think they've taken our money and... pocketed it. Cemented By H claims to be the brainchild of 7-year-old Harrison. That's what the H stands for. He's even appeared in the news with his mum, Cali Kirkaldie, claiming her son makes all the items himself. He's the face of the company, but we're blurring his identity, because these problems are not his fault. It's Cali and her partner, Stu, who are giving all the excuses to customers like Lisa Dinning, who just wants to know where her goods are. She said, 'They'll be with you by a Tuesday.' I gave it till the Thursday and said, 'It hasn't arrived.' 'Oh, they've been sent back to us.' Told they're with Toll Couriers. So I rung Toll Couriers. 'Haven't got anything here.' And that was when I emailed them back and said, 'You need to give me a refund or a tracking number.' And since then, I haven't heard a thing. Lisa Dinning's not the only one. Fair Go's heard from dozens of customers dissatisfied with their Cemented By H orders. 39 people say they're still waiting for their order to arrive. 24 say they can't get hold of the company. Eight people say they've been blocked on the company's social media page, and another eight have only got part of their order. And seven people say they're waiting for a refund. One of them is Cassie Saunders. So, this one just has heaps of air bubbles and a chip off the hand. She did receive part of her order, but Cemented By H has refused to send the rest, claiming Cassie breached its terms of service. It's awful. It's no way to conduct a business. And she reckons what she has got isn't even worth giving away. What's happened to this guy? He was not well-packaged and has been broken. Cassie ordered 300 figurines to on-sell, and she did get them, but the way they were packaged meant many haven't survived the shipping journey. The other goods she got didn't match the description at all. Yup, Cassie's tea light candle holders don't fit a tea light candle. Cassie also ordered these pillow candle holders from the Cemented website. Here's what she got. And it turned out Cemented's website picture looked exactly the same as this one from international retailer AliExpress. Um, I sent her some photos, and she told me I was nitpicking. Nitpicking? Nitpicking. What'd you think of that? I just replied with more photos, and she didn't reply. I had more items that were supposed to come in the mail that haven't shown up, so I've been sending a lot of emails asking where they where. She eventually said that I've breached her terms of service and that she would not be sending them any more. Cassie hasn't got the rest of her goods ` or her money. And she can't get hold of Cali or Stu Kirkaldie to talk to her about it. So we thought we'd give it a crack. We tried calling, emailing and visiting the company's showroom. Don't think there's a showroom here. 'So we tried her home.' (KNOCKING ON DOOR) 'But it looks like she shifted out in a hurry...' Broken Mickey Mouse. '...and left plenty of stock behind.' Anyone missing a Lego man? 'We also tried talking to her family.' MAN: Doesn't live here, sorry. Oh, she doesn't live here? Get off the property before... Sure. ...let the other dog out. No, you don't need to let a dog out. We're leaving. 'But they weren't keen on helping us find her either.' Are you able to pass on a message for us, please? Cali did contact us after this with a statement. She tells us... But that's news to Cassie. Cali also says... ...for the missing part of the order. But Cassie's checked her bank account and says nothing's arrived yet. Cali says... ...as her and Harrison put out... With regards to the school order, Cali says... She says... Cali also says... She didn't say whether that would be a refund. We have heard from many customers that they've been able to get refunds by lodging complaints with PayPal or by persistently emailing Cali and Stu. We asked Cali if she was going to keep selling her cement items online. She didn't respond to our question. But there's a happy ending for at least half of this story. CHILDREN: Hi, Anna! Hi, everybody. And, 'Hi, camera man.' Hi, camera man! (CHUCKLES) When Lego ` that's the real Lego, nothing to do with the concrete imitation ` heard about Waikite Valley School's failed fundraising, it stepped in with a generous replacement. Lego are gonna give you guys... 20 boxes of Lego that you can sell... - (GASPING) ...to give your friends some money to take away with them on their trip. Isn't that good news? That's amazing! (CHILDREN CLAP, CHEER) Here you go, Lisa. Here's some... Lego to... That's awesome. Thank you so much. You're welcome. That is... unreal. Keep that one in the class. Here it is ` box after box of Lego, the real deal, $1500 worth, for Waikite Valley School to auction off. We're just so appreciative that they've given us this so that we can actually now make some money for the kids. So it's huge. Can't thank them enough. These little bricks taking the kids of Waikite Valley School a long way. (CHILDREN CHEER, CLAP) Oh, look, I'm happy for the kids but sad for me, cos I thought that Lego was gonna be for me. It was in the office all week. Looked very cool, actually. The kids from Waikite Valley School are off to the Lego First League tomorrow. So the fundraising has already started with the Lego auctions on Trade Me. And you can see our Facebook page for details. Coming up after the break ` is call-waiting really appropriate in times of trouble? On a scale of one to 10, how frustrated were you feeling? 11. She was in need of help, but police weren't answering. I just thought, 'This is ridiculous.' And sugar-coating the truth. They're there to entice us to buy by telling us we're making healthy choices. But are we really? I don't think you should... trust labels... sacrosanct, no. What I love about Nova is we make getting great value easy. Ashley, you're right. We're more than just Dawn Ocking and... ...Pam Flets! When people call us, we make their Bill! Easy. We make it easy to Joy Nup. Whether it's April, May, June... ...or the first... ...Dave Spring. So when you need energy to cook Stu! Mo. ...the lawn or manufacture... Polly! Esther. Socks. Great value made easy is our priority number... BOTH: Juan! Welcome back. Have you noticed it's getting harder and harder to get millennials to pick up the phone? The landline? I have noticed this. They love texting and Snapchat and Instagram, but good old-fashioned phone calls are disruptive, distracting and time-consuming. It is a serious problem for business and a major frustration for customers. Nobody likes to be kept on hold, especially in times of trouble. Here's Gill Higgins. # Call me on my cell phone. We're living in the age of communication. We can call from Everest... It's ringing! ...and even underwater. (GURGLES INDISTINCTLY) Yet calling the local police ` not so easy. On a scale of one to 10, how frustrated were you feeling? 11. (CHUCKLES) Already? Yes. (LAUGHS) Yeah, no, it was very frustrating. It wasn't an emergency, but she had to get advice. I needed the help of the police to settle a personal matter down in North Canterbury. Did you expect it to be something that would be hard? Never. Never, no. From 9 o'clock, I looked up the phone number of the local station and rung. I got a recorded message giving me an option of dialling either 111 or, if wanted to speak to an officer, to press another number. I pressed that number, and then I would just get a recorded message. You are being transferred. And it would go nowhere. (RINGING TONE) Ringing for three minutes ` not just once or twice, but every half hour and always left hanging. (BEEP BEEP) I just thought, you know, 'This is ridiculous.' You should just be able to get someone to answer the phone. In desperation, she rang her lawyer for help. She got back to me, and she gave me the Papanui number and the Christchurch number. I then tried both of those, but that reverted back to the same recorded message. The police are answering about 36,000 non-emergency calls a week. But they're the first to admit there's a problem ` guilty as charged. We haven't been good enough. So, as we've mobilised our people and put them out on the streets through the use of mobile technology, we have to make sure our systems and the back end enable people to call us. We haven't been good enough in that space. That's police-speak to say officers are spending more time on the street, less time answering calls. But they know that's caused problems, so they're training more recruits for a new, centralised call centre. The service here is that we expect 90% of calls to be answered in 30 seconds. It's too late for Tina, but could make all the difference to people who often need to call, like at the local petrol station, where time and again, they've failed to get help. It sorta rings out, and then it goes through to a secondary number. Once it gets through to the secondary number, it just rings and rings and rings. Yeah, very frustrating when you've got a queue of people and you're trying to get through and just deal with a minor matter. Sometimes, it's just that you want them to come and show the flag. You've just got people milling around that might be causing a few issues, and then you've gotta hang up and dial the 111 number. Tina didn't want to but felt she had no choice but to ring 111 as well. I felt terrible. I was actually quite scared, cos I thought they'd tell me off. And the first thing I said was, 'This is not an emergency, 'but I just want to talk to a police officer. Anywhere in the country will do. 'Just a human police officer.' Much to her surprise, there was no ticking off. She was even advised to do it again. Oh, hi. And I said, 'Look, if a New Zealand citizen wants to ring the police, 'what are they supposed to do if they can't get through to their branch?' She said, 'Dial 111.' 'That's not the official advice.' We know that some people have been told to call 111 if they're not getting through. I'm thinking you don't think that's a good idea? That's absolutely not what we want people to do. 111 is reserved for those people that need police to respond to an emergency. So in those areas where they are still getting frustrated, what would your advice be? Keep calling us. We're in the process of improving, and you will see an improvement in our future. So patience, New Zealand. Auckland east and central districts should already have a rapid response. And for the rest of you, it's coming soon. Good on the police for owning up on this one. There are so many things you have to spend time waiting on the phone for these days, and the police should not be one of them. Good point, well-made. Right, can you trust what you buy? Supermarket shelves are lined with 'low-fat', 'low-sodium', 'low-sugar' products. But are those labels deceptive? (FUNKY POP MUSIC) Sugar ` white gold for some. For others, it's public enemy number one. Calls for a tax on sugary drinks are getting louder. Sugar is in the gun again ` this time in schools. That's why phrases like 'sugar-free' and 'no added sugar' are rapidly taking pride of place on product labels. Sugar-free? Absolutely. Definitely. That's a good thing. No added sugar? Yes, I like that. Yeah, I'd be aware of that. I'd take notice of that. They're there to entice us to buy by telling us we're making healthy choices. But are we really? Probably not, according to this expert. Sugar-free ` not always a good thing. 'Sugar-free' can often mean there's artificial sweeteners in there. The issue I often have with that is because it doesn't teach people to like less-sweet-tasting food. What about 'no added sugar'? 'No added sugar' is incredibly confusing for people, because I think that when you look at that, you think, 'Oh, that is absolutely a great healthy choice, and it's got next to no sugar in it.' 'No added sugar' just means they haven't added lots of white sugar in there. There are a heap of different names for sugar. Sometimes it feels like you need a chemistry degree just to understand the back of a label. Yep, that's sugar. So is that and that. These are just a handful. But it's worth being mindful of various syrups and words ending in '-ose'. I wondered if you could flick through those and tell me if you know what they are? Coffee. It's a type of coffee? Never heard of that. No. 'Muska-vaydo'? Some health product? I do know this one. Fructose ` sugar... within fruit. And all this makes you wonder ` is the truth getting ` excuse the pun ` sugar-coated by food and drink companies? I don't think you... should trust labels... sacrosanct, no. So if there are some key triggers and we go, 'Oh, I actually do want to eat less fat,' or, 'I do want something lower in sugar,' and you see those words, then that's a shortcut for you. Shortcuts ` or bite-size bits of information we consumers latch on to. But should we? There definitely needs to be far more rigour around what we actually can and can't say on labels. The Commerce Commission agrees. It's just launched a new campaign telling traders... And it says claims relating to food products are a priority. I think people that label incorrectly ` essentially, they're lying, the opposite of the Fair Trading Act ` should be held to account, because the consumer should be able to believe what's on the front of a box of cereal. What's so special about her? 4.5 stars. She's like a galaxy. One label we see all the time and one that shoppers should be able to trust is this one, the health star rating. Put simply, the star rating is based on a mathematical formula. You get positive points for your fruit, fibre and nuts, negative points for saturated fat, salt and sugar. But walk down certain aisles in the supermarket, and it'd be fair to raise an eyebrow at the number of stars some products have. The main thing to remember is it's only considered one category at a time. So cereals are judged against each other, cans of tuna against each other. So you can't compare stars across categories. And that's why it's really confusing. You might get a can of plain tuna that is 3.5 stars. You're like, 'That's really healthy.' And then a biscuit that's 5? I mean, that seems so crazy, doesn't it? Uh, yes, it does. But MPI defends the health star rating, telling us the system was designed to make it easier for shoppers to choose healthier options within similar foods, not between dissimilar ones. It does not replace common sense and actually thinking about the bigger picture of whole food. And that's... There's no ideal system. One of the biggest criticisms of the rating is the 'as prepared' rule. That's when stars get calculated for products that get made to the packet's instructions rather than as they're sold. Milo's a good example of this. Make it with trim milk like it suggests on the packet, And it scores 4.5 stars. But the powder itself gets just 1.5. After some very public panning, Nestle is pulling the 4.5 health star rating from Milo packages next month. MPI says the 'as prepared' rule is being looked at, and a decision about whether they'll remove it should be made this December. Pictures of real fruit. Yeah, there you go. The best tool you can use is your common sense. I think it's really important to interpret the labels correctly, because at the end of the day, food is business, and food manufacturers are there to sell product. So there will be things on the label to encourage you to buy them. It might mean your weekly supermarket shop is a bit longer, but in the end, you'll be pleased you took the time. Here's a little bit of advice from me. Yes? Learn to read the nutritional panels on the back of packets. Who's got time for that? I know. Just even one, one a day. All right. Coming up after the break ` a queen-sized letdown. Yes, I'm Lily. You probably remember me. I used to shout at you about New Zealand's biggest and best furniture sales. If Lily can't sell bunks to romantic couples,... Your wife could be up here, and you could be down here. (LAUGHS) No! ...why does P&O Cruises think it's OK? I think it's absurd. A family cruise turns into a hotbed of discontent. I felt ripped off. Many homes have ceiling insulation, but none underfloor. Insulation in ceilings and floors is the most effective thing you can do to keep the warmth in and the cold out. Check out the three essentials for a healthy home on our website. Welcome back. Lazy days with the wind in your hair ` what's not to love about cruising? Well, quite a bit, actually, if this next couple's high-seas story is anything to go by. Their romantic getaway has turned into a queen-sized nightmare. Here's Gill. (RELAXED MUSIC) With a busy job selling alarm systems, plus two bundles of mischief and another on the way, Josh was holding out for his family holiday. For the last three months, we've been looking forward to it. They chose a P&O comedy cruise ` leisure, laughs, with a little bit of love. But what happened once they booked wasn't funny. I felt ripped off. When Josh booked, he thought he was getting this. What he got was this ` two sets of bunks? I think it's absurd. So how'd this happen? Two adults. Two children. Josh booked online. Their room for four shows this picture. We went for the Oceanview. Very clearly a queen bed. So Josh happily booked what he thought was a room with a queen bed, until a booking confirmation email three months later came, saying they all had bunk beds. He rang P&O immediately. To ask if this was a mistake and figure out why this has happened. is the only Oceanview option for four people. Did they admit that there was anything wrong with what they were doing? Nothing at all. P&O might think they're in the right, but public opinion tells a different story. I'd expect to get a double bed. I'd expect to get two double beds if it's a four-person room. A double bed and two bunks or two extra beds. Would any couple be happy with bunk beds? We don't think so, so we got the very best in the sales business to give them the hard sell. Yes, I'm Lily. You probably remember me. I used to shout at you about New Zealand's biggest and best furniture sales! We've got her to use all her best lines to convince customers who want a queen bed that bunk beds are just as good. And I'll just show you something else which might be an option for you. What about a bunk? Your wife could be up here, and you could be down here. No. (LAUGHS) Very good price, saving lots on space. Yes, you'll sleep separate. Not a good idea? You're after a queen? Yeah, OK. I just thought I'd try. Little bit different? Oh, not surprisingly, no one was interested ` and neither was Josh. Absolutely not. P&O's solution ` for Josh to pay an extra $900 for an upgrade. The next day, he tried head office. I eventually got a call back from someone in Australia who explained to me... essentially that there was nothing they could do about it apart from offer me a refund. So why not just take the refund? We've got two other parties who've booked and paid for their cruise in full, cos we booked it as a whole family. We put his case to P&O, but they refused to budge, saying... What's displayed there and then is what you would expect to receive, not to have to go fish it out under a 'more info' tab. There's a disclaimer. Yeah. So, it says, 'Room images are for illustration purposes only.' So if you tap on 'more info', what's that show you? A picture of a queen bed comes up. Another picture of a queen bed, which is a different layout now. Yeah, yeah. The window's behind the queen bed. Yes. And here we go. Here's the bunk beds. But there's nowhere on the text here to say that this is our configuration of bed. No. And then the last image is, of course, a queen bed. You know what this means. We're gonna have to take this to the court of public opinion. I would have thought it's misleading. 'We did point out the first picture was just for illustration and the room layout could vary. 'Despite this, people clearly expected...' A double bed. You've got the picture of the bunks there, so maybe you'd have a bed and then the other bunks. Yeah, so I'd be probably trying to get my money back. I don't wanna sleep in bunks. (CHUCKLES) Especially if you're paying 400-and-something dollars a night. Pretty annoyed. (CHUCKLES) Because that's not what's advertised. I just think that it's a deceptive sales tactic. They know that if they display a picture of a bunk bed after you've selected you're travelling with four people, people are gonna get put off. They'd really like a room with the bed they thought they were booking, but P&O won't be helping. Unable to abandon ship, they'll reluctantly set sail, leaving with a warning for others. Be really careful when you're booking online. If you have to ring them and spend 15 to 20 minutes on hold to get through to them to find out about your sleeping configuration, then go that extra effort. Ooh, now, stick with me on this. No expert on romance, but this sort of double-bunk thing ` you want the beds together for romance, is what I've been told. Yeah, I don't think bunks are right up there in romance. That is the show. But we're always here to help. Our programme is all about you, so if you've got a wrong you want made right ` even double bunks ` or feel like you're not getting a fair go, drop us a line. Yes. We're on Facebook. Or you can email us. Or write to us. Thank you for watching. I've gotta go. It's my wife's birthday, and I've got a romantic bunk-bed holiday for her. Until next week... BOTH: ...po marie.