* (LIGHT MUSIC) Tonight ` fire destroys a family home. A heater was blamed, but there's been no recall, no compensation. Absolutely, the whole house was black. They lost everything. (SCREAMS, LAUGHS) Now, thanks to a wonderful act of generosity, they're lost for words. Plus ` a prized possession is smashed and trashed. I thought one of my flatmates may have taken my car for a little joyride without asking me. Thieves were to blame, but it's his insurance company that's fuelled the injustice. They've made some pretty serious errors in judgment. And a dad-sized dilemma. We bought some undies off Jockey, and within a few months, they had blown holes in them! What to do when dad's Jockeys blow out where the sun doesn't shine. Come on, Jockey. Please, come to the party. Copyright Able 2018 Kia ora, welcome to the show. Four years ago, a terrible fire tore through the Heta family's home. It destroyed their house and consumed a lifetime of memories and possessions. The cause, according to the fire service, was a faulty heater. But trying to get the manufacturers and retailers to accept responsibility has brought the family cold comfort. Here's Garth. That's enough, Te Winika. Spread it all out. Yeah. Here's a lesson we all need to learn early in life. Watch what you're doing. Fire can be a good servant and a terrible master. Tatari. Homai. Put the lid on that. Yeah. Nah. Angella is teaching her kids by doing. Use fire carefully... OK, take it off. ...when you smoke eels. We put it in there so it could make a good taste so we could eat it all and it could be all gone. All gone. Want some? It's nice. And it was all gone ` everything they owned, that is. But not because of a little fire like this one. It was something that was never gonna happen to us. You know, we weren't gonna be the family that had a house fire. This is the fire that could have destroyed their home and family in the deep of winter four years ago. We had gone out to drop a family member to the airport, and on our way home, we got a phone call from our neighbour at the back to say that our house was on fire. Usually, this is the bit where we name and shame an insurer, but they had no problems with Tower. The house insurance was fine. Yep. The house was re-instated totally back to normal. But you've probably noticed this is a big family. They'd only just been making ends meet, so they'd sacrificed their contents insurance. Some people might say you've gotta have insurance for contents. This is the problem. Being a single-income family with a mortgage, it was just one extra thing that we felt we just couldn't afford. With no cover, they had a fight on their hands, but they had one thing in their favour. The Fire Service was blaming the blaze on an earlier version of this heater. Hand on my heart, I think that we used it according to the manufacturer's guidelines. And the Fire Service investigation report is in plain English with one conclusion ` it was accidental. It melted the legs, and then the heater fell face-forward down, like that, and then burnt a hole in the floor. Smoke alarms had alerted the neighbours. The fire service had responded in minutes, saving the house, but the smoke and fumes went everywhere. Absolutely, the whole house was just... black. (FIRE CRACKLES) You just lose everything at the click of the fingers ` like your underwear, you know? (CHUCKLES) What will you do for underwear? Not just one person ` mum, dad, and all these kids. Like, we all need underwear, and we need it tomorrow! Friends and family pitched in as they struggled to salvage all they could. It was the kids that, you know, sort of felt the brunt of the fire, I think, you know? Cos it was their stuff that got all thrown out. All the while, the bills piled up for storage, cleaning and transport. Do you know what it cost you? Tens of thousands. Tens of thousands. You know, we don't have a lot of stuff still in our home, and that's because we just haven't really afforded to replace it. She's thankful they only lost things, not their babies. Hi, my name's Judy,... My name is Horatio. My name is Te Winika. My name is Mareikura. ...and I'm 11 years old. 9 years old. 7 years old. 5 years old. We're not... We don't hold anything against anybody, either. We just wanted Bunnings to say that they were` you know, that they were responsible for the fire. Because Bunnings sold them the heater. It was only three months old. They still had the receipt and that fire service report. And so we went into a time of mediation with Bunnings, and it looked really good for a long time. But with no insurance company backing up their contents claim, the family was in this fight alone. A year and a half after the fire, the Australian manufacturer of the heater, Arlec, disputed the cause. Bunnings' insurer denied the store was responsible. I've never bought not one thing from Bunnings ever again. Until they do the right thing, even though they're really well-priced, like, I still` I won't buy there. When a heater catches fire, you'd think they'd recall the lot or, at least, look into it quickly. Fire is a catalyst for immediate investigation; there's no two ways about that. One fire is enough? One is enough. We're at the headquarters of the Kiwi company that makes Goldair heaters. Let's be crystal clear ` they didn't make Angella's panel heater, but they have had a few problems, yet they're happy to talk to Fair Go about it so we can see how a recall works. Nobody's ever totally happy to have to recall a product, but you do what you have to do to keep consumers happy and to protect the brand that you own. Last year, the company had been testing its products as usual and tracking a fault. Out of nearly 100,000 heaters sold, 31 had popped a fuse. Some caused scorch marks on Gib-board walls in people's homes. We've seen the paper trail, and everyone, including New Zealand's safety regulator, was convinced it couldn't lead to a fire,... until it did. Within, I would say, a week of understanding that fire, we had our recall notices issued. In six months, he says they've replaced tens of thousands of heaters with new, improved models ` for free. Which brings us back to the competition. What about Angella's heater from Arlec and that fire? What did Arlec do? We tried to ask them. WOMAN ON PHONE: We are not making any comment at all in relation to it. I understood from talking to the customer that at Arlec you've done some of your own testing, and you disagreed with the conclusions of that re` Garth, you're not listening to me. I'm not making any further comment. I have nothing further to say. I'm sorry, all right? I need to leave it at that. And they did. We dug deeper. The Fire Service says it warned Bunnings the day after the fire, and Bunnings stopped selling the heater. Then it gets messy. Fire safety experts started contradicting each other, but, in the end, the report stood. The family were still out in the cold. But what happens next has warmed their hearts to Bunnings. (WARM ACOUSTIC MUSIC) It's good news. (ANGELLA SCREAMS, LAUGHS) I hear we're celebrating. (EXCLAIMS) I know! Awesome, eh? This is less than a week after we called Bunnings, four years on from the fire. Angella explained on the phone she'd just come from a private meeting,... Mwah! ...and it went a lot better than expected. Pretty happy, then? Oh, we're ecstatic. It's awesome. Awesome! Well, you couldn't ask for a better outcome, could you? The meeting was with Bunnings' new local boss. Horatio was there with me today, and a bit of a bucket of tears and a lot of hugging, but really personal, sort of, korero. He also said sorry. For a company, you know, that is seen as a big machine, there are all these little people that just were like us, you know? And I really felt just so humbled today by their gesture, by their presence. Be honest, what sort of money are we talking about? Well, does anyone want to say? $90,000. EXCITEDLY: $90,000! (LAUGHS) It's just, like, amazing. Just, like, it's unbelievable. Just... Yeah. Means that we can give back to the people that gave to us. You said that to me. You said that there were all these people that helped you along the way. Yep, and you know who you are. (CHUCKLES) Yeah. Aww. That is so lovely. Such a great family too. Yeah, and Bunnings, well done. That is the true definition of customer service. Yes, absolutely. Look, if you have a wall panel heater, stay calm. They're not all the same. You can check the recalls website for more information. That's it on the bottom of screen. Hey, and while you're checking your heater, why not check the batteries in your smoke alarm too? Because you can never say, 'It won't happen to me.' Right, time now for our True or False challenge. Nothing fuels a motorist's rage like getting clamped. No. It is a controversial practise and the focus of tonight's question. (RELAXED MUSIC) There's some good-looking transport in Christchurch, and, today, a bit of a transport-related question. The government's banned wheel clamping ` true or false? False. False. False. False. False? I don't know. (LAUGHS) I'll say false. I'll say false. Not too sure on that one. (CHUCKLES) I saw just a flicker of doubt in your eye. I think it's false. I'm not sure. (CHUCKLES) You're on the fence? Choose one. Maybe false. OK. How are you coming up with such easy questions? (CHUCKLES) Oh! You got last week's wrong! Oh, well, that's true. It's false! Well, either it's false, and everyone's right, or it's true, and you're all out of the money. I doubt that. I'm in the money. Coming up after the break ` how long is too long to wait for an insurance settlement? I just want closure. His car was smashed and trashed by thieves,... ...but it's his insurance company that's accused of being unjust. I'm extremely frustrated that I'm still paying premiums for three months for a car that I can't see; I can't use; I can't drive. And Haydo's Mailbag is back with some bite-sized problems. When is a sausage roll not a sausage roll? When? When it's a spinach and feta roll. That's not funny. I know, right? . Damp homes are harder to heat, so air it out by opening windows and doors regularly to let fresh air circulate, use externally vented fans and dry clothes outside when you can. Check out the three essentials for a healthy home on our website. Welcome back. We've all experienced the mind-numbing boredom of waiting. Is it my turn to talk now? Yes. I hate waiting in line. I hate waiting on the phone. I hate waiting, in general, full stop. The end. Can't stand waiting. Waiting can be very frustrating, but it can also hard on your pocket when your insurance company is to blame. Here's Anna. If you want to learn some life lessons early on,... $20 million for you. ...Monopoly's a pretty good teacher. You're the car. (CHUCKLES) Pick-up truck. OK, I'll be the computer, cos that's how people get in touch with us. Luke Chammen's always careful with the way he plays, but Lady Luck hasn't been on his side lately,... Your car breaks down on Arthur's Pass. ...because Luke's car really is broken, after being stolen, ransacked and locked up, and it's going to cost him quite a lot of cash to get it back. If I was to pick this car up, as we speak, it would be between $2200 to $2500. And do you have that sort of cash just lying around? Unfortunately not. In February, Luke's car was stolen from outside his house. I thought one of my flatmates may have taken my car for a little joyride without asking me. Not the flatmates, but some light-footed thieves, looking for a joyride from Flat Bush to Favona. Luke notified the police and filed a claim with his insurer ` Trade Me. 10 days later, the car was found. Locks broken, gearbox destroyed, stereo missing, a strong smell of fuel and a gas can sitting in the back. And when we visited Luke, it had been sitting in the tow yard for nearly four months, racking up more than $2500 in storage fees. I've made it well known to them that I'm extremely frustrated that I'm still paying premiums for three months for a car that I can't see; I can't use; I can't drive. So I just want closure. Luke's had 10 phone calls with Trade Me Insurance to try and find out where his claim's at,... I just want to understand what's happening at the moment. ...but each time he's been told it's still being assessed. They said that they were waiting on the report. I asked for an estimation on how long it would take to complete. They could not provide me with one. So I just kept on waiting. A further two weeks later, I called them up, and they were still waiting on that report. At one point, Trade Me asked Luke to go and collect the car himself and take it for a repair quote. Even the tow company was surprised at that one. They had never seen an insurance company send the customer down to pick the car up. They said they always send down a tow truck driver. Which would make sense, because the car wouldn't even start. After another wait, the insurance company did send an assessor. And, finally, after three months of being stonewalled, Luke got this email... This was a surprise to Luke. I don't know who they were, how they assessed the car, how they evaluated the damages or the costs. Luke's car was stolen on February 5th. It took Trade Me insurance seven weeks to get a report on the theft. It took another eight weeks after that to decide the claim was denied. And Luke ` he's been paying his premiums the whole time, but he's been left to foot the bill for the repairs, and the recovery company's storage. It's more than his car is even worth. I'm left with a broken car, sitting in storage for three months. I now have to pay up to $2500 to collect the car, for a car that's still broken and for what I know is not driveable. Trade Me Insurance is underwritten by Tower, but the website is branded Trade Me. If you want to make a claim, it's through a Trade Me portal. When you ring up, you speak to the Trade Me insurance desk team. But, if you're a journalist, you deal with Tower. Here's what they told us about Luke's claim. Now, the police listed the gearbox, console, stereo and passenger lock as damaged. Tower's own investigator listed the gearbox, console, stereo and passenger lock as damaged, but Tower says the only damage it accepts is the centre console ` a $184 repair. They've made some pretty serious errors in judgment. We asked why the damage listed in the report wasn't included in Tower's assessment. They referred us to their original statement. But we did get some good news for Luke. Of course, it doesn't go, so Fair Go paid for the car to be dropped off. Luke's also moved ` his insurance, that is ` to another company. Shockingly poor, in terms of communication. So, throughout the process, I feel like I've been left in the dark. He's considering taking his case to the insurance ombudsman on the off-chance Tower ` or maybe Trade Me ` will cough up with the cost of all the repairs. Oh, that's unbelievable. Yeah. No good. I mean, what is the feedback you get on Trade Me when it's been a bad`? Oh, the red face. The red face. I think Tower and Trade Me get a big one of those for this. Yeah. All right, now, coming up after the break, we get our teeth into a bite-sized problem. When is a sausage roll not a sausage roll? When? When it's a spinach and feta roll. That's not funny. I know, right? And neither is this dad's dilemma. Now it's winter. My bum's cold, and I've run out of undies. Why has this dad been left to hang out in the cold? Come on, Jockey. Please, come to the party. Yes. Welcome back. Gripes, grumbles and grievances are our DNA. There are many things that tick people off. Some involve huge sums of money, and others, not so much. So, in keeping with our 'no problem is too small' philosophy, we are pleased to announce the return of what's fast becoming a regular occasional series, Haydo's Mailbag. Ah, here we are. Welcome to Haydo's Mailbag in beautiful Pukekura Park. We start tonight down below, where Joe has a problem with his underwear, his jocks, his smalls, his, uh, delicates, if you know what I mean. Well, we bought some undies off Jockey, and within a few months, they had blown holes in them! He actually bought four pairs of undies, and they all blew out where the sun doesn't shine. Jockey said they'd replace them. So I sent them back to Jockey, and I didn't hear anything, and now it's winter. Joe says he tried emailing them ` three times. Now he's desperate. I've run out of undies; my bum's cold. Even Charlotte agrees. Come on, Jockey. Please, come to the party. Yes. We did what Joe did and emailed Jockey ` nothing. So we called them. (RINGING TONE) WOMAN: Welcome to Jockey. (MUZAK PLAYS) We then called their owners in Melbourne, who put us on to their PR company in Sydney, who sent us back to Melbourne, where we finally got this. Hey, Joe, we agree ` four pairs of Jockeys is a serious investment. No man should have to go commando while awaiting a response, and we're sorry that we left you hanging in the cold. We're taking it seriously; we're investigating what happened, and why your Jockeys weren't up to the task. In the meantime, we understand that you need some protection, so Jockey is going to make sure that we've got you covered front and back. We've got a pack of our best gear on its way, and we've also thrown in some mini-Jockeys for your little ones. Ronda from Taupo has a joke for you. How do you make a sausage roll? WOMAN: I don't know. Push it. What wasn't as funny was the pretty important thing missing from her McLagans sausage roll. When is a sausage roll not a sausage roll? When? When it's a spinach and feta roll. That's not funny. I know, right? The answer was in the fine print. So, that says sausage roll, and if you look down here, that says 'spinach and feta', but you can't see that when it's in the pie warmer. McLagans sausage rolls not only have no sausage, they have no website, no phone number. And after quite some search, we found their owner, who says... McLagans are promising to change their packaging ` all because of Ronda. MAN: Hello, Hadyn. Have you noticed that your dishwasher is getting smaller? Finally tonight, Owen Dibble from Hamilton recognised Active's dishwasher tablets were shrinking. They're exactly the same product, but then when you look at what comes out of one box, there is a big difference. The older one is bigger. This confused Owen, because if the new tablets are smaller, how come on the box... ...the weight is the same? Active says Owen's original tablets were oversized. We had an isolated problem whereby some batches of tablets were overweight. Given the customer was receiving more than the advertised weight, we allowed the product to go to market. Barry's sending Owen some free product as a thank you for his eagle eye. That's Haydo's mailbag for this week. I'm gonna celebrate with a sausage roll. This one's a bit peculiar. It's got a sausage in it. Mmm. Have a good week. A sausage roll with sausage ` that's unusual. The undie thing has caused quite a bit of a debate around the newsroom. Has it? Has your husband's`? Like, does his undies blow out in the same spot? No, no. That's never happened. Wow. Personal question. I can't believe I asked that. Wow, OK. Shall we move on? Time now ` let's move on ` for the moment of truth. If you've been following our True-False challenge, you'll know a landlord can only increase rent after the first 180 days of the tenancy, and there has to be at least 180 days between rent increases. Time to head back to Christchurch now to find out the answer to round two. (RELAXED MUSIC) So, today's quiz question asked ` the government has banned wheel clamping. True or false? That'll be false. False? Yes. And everyone got this one right. The answer is false. Come on, say the words. You were right, Haydo. (LAUGHS) Ah, yes! $20? No. You were wrong last week. Sorry. GROANS: Oh. This contest is terrible. That is the show tonight, but we're always here to help. Our programme is all about you, so if you've got a wrong you want made right, or you feel like you're not getting a fair go, please, drop us a line. And remember, as we've proven tonight, no problem is too small. That's right. We're on Facebook, or you can email us ` or write to us ` Thank you for watching. I'm gonna let you in on a little secret ` I'm off to check my undie draw. You should as well. Until next week,... BOTH: ...po marie. Copyright Able 2018