Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2023 - Tonight ` a surprise flood and a surprise policy. Why did her insurance only replace parts of her kitchen? - It will end up looking like a patched up job and make a house which I've worked to make look really nice, look scruffy. - Plus ` the Kiwis feeling sidelined and singled out. - I asked them, 'Well, accessible ` what about the $20 tickets?' And they said, 'They're not for wheelchairs.' 'They're for general admission.' And I said, 'Well, this is wrong.' - And I'm in Taitoko Levin, to solve a sticky issue. - I've tried thinners, I've tried nail polish remover, I've tried meths, I've tried white vinegar, I've tried baking soda. None of it works. - Tena koutou. Welcome to the show. Our first story kicks off the start of our limitless campaign, where Fair Go puts the rights of New Zealand's disabled community in the spotlight. - Rights like buying tickets to a sports game or a concert at the same price, with the same ease as an able-bodied person. That's a given, right? Well, sadly, not yet. Here's Kaitlin. (LAID-BACK ROCK MUSIC) - Up here, Jack has the best seat in the house. - So I just feel free. It's just a totally different feeling. - Far from what he faces back on the ground. - Good land. Good land. - Where booking and getting to events is often more trouble than it's worth. - Up against a whole lot of different situations with venues, and also promoters and ticket sellers. - All because Jack uses a wheelchair. But it doesn't need to be this way. - It's not special treatment. It literally just being able to interact and engage in society like everybody else does. - All we want really is just a fair go. - It starts from the moment tickets go on sale, which many fans snap up online. Most accessible tickets, though, can only be purchased over the phone. - Booking tickets to events is a complete nightmare. You ring the specialist accessible line, and then you're generally on hold for a minimum, I would say, of at least 45 minutes, sometimes longer. - Three hours longer to talk to someone at Ticketmaster. - It said their ticket office was open 9 till 9, so I rang at 4.36 to get some tickets, and I waited and I listened to the music. - Your call has progressed in the queue. - Only no one was at the other end. While in Otautahi Christchurch, Jack was hanging on the line to Ticketek. - I had to wait an hour and a half. - He wasn't going to miss out on seeing the Tall Blacks in action. - My godson Ethan Rusbatch was playing in the team. - But after spending his time, Jack was told he'd need to spend more dollars ` three times as much for an accessible space. - I asked him, well, I says to him, 'Well, what about the $20 tickets?' And they says, 'Nah, they're not for wheelchairs.' 'They're for general admission.' And I said, 'Well, this is wrong.' - Ticketek doesn't set prices ` the eventholder does. So we threw the matter into Basketball New Zealand's court. 'We completely agree that accessible seating prices at any sporting event 'should not cost three times the amount of a general admission ticket.' 'That is unacceptable.' 'The prices for this Tall Blacks game were determined by the area that the seats were located in `' 'in this case, in a premium section of the arena.' 'We recognise now that this was an error on our part.' 'BBNZ will commit to improving the price point for all accessible seating prices' 'at our national team sporting events in the future,' 'and we thank Fair Go for helping to shine a light on this issue for us and for others.' And in a score for Jack... Basketball NZ wants to give you a free ticket to its next event. So now it's back to Sally, who moves from lengthy phone calls to being separated in seating plans. You have a son and a husband. - Yes. Yes. - But you can't all sit together. - No. Because most venues allow you an accessible seat and a companion seat, so one of us always has to sit on our own. - Like at the rugby, where she's been on one side of the stadium, her friends on the other. - So it's not very easy to get a beer at half-time with them, or move around, or... It limits the experience you can have. - It was hoped new legislation introduced to Parliament last year would remove access barriers for Kiwis. - The U.S. and Australia have had laws in place for 30 years ensuring equality for people with disabilities in many areas of life, including events. - Been to a baseball game in San Francisco. They just removed a chair from the back row and we` I was able to sit in the middle of my husband and son, which was great. - Or take the upcoming musical Hamilton, for example ` showing in Auckland, it can host up to 4255 guests each night. 24 of those seats are accessible ones which are found in two parts of the arena. But under Australian law, there would need to be double that ` 50 seats in a variety of places. In the U.S., it'd be 31 seats, and those purchasing an accessible ticket can also buy up to three additional seats for their companions in the same row. - Spark Arena says it ensures accessible seating is located in areas with an optimal view, as well as having good access to fire exits. People can choose between three price points, and when accessible seats sell out, the venue says it tries to accommodate guests in other areas that provide a similar experience. As for our own standards here in Aotearoa, advocates say the current ones before Parliament are toothless. - Until that happens, Fair Go is calling on the events industry to put accessibility centre stage, including ticket sales. - The ideal situation is that... if we could just book directly online. - Ticketmaster already has its website set up for this, but not all events are using the service. The option's there at Eden Park for Pink's upcoming concert and the FIFA Women's World Cup. Spark Arena's another venue committing to more online ticketing in the future. As for those still stuck on the phone... (GENERIC HOLD MUSIC) Ticketmaster says it gets swamped when major events go on sale, and recent bad weather affected its contact centre operations. When it comes to seating alongside whanau and friends, a spokesperson for Eden Park told us it has a number of accessible seating areas dotted throughout the venue to give people choice in where they sit. It's just built specially designed, accessible spaces, which will include better sightlines, heating and TV screens. When it comes to accommodating groups, the venue says because its stands are sloped, access to seating areas that are not dedicated wheelchair spaces can be tricky, because of the need to use stairs. Spark Arena says it offers limited seating for a companion, but has taken this feedback on board, looking at ways to better accommodate families of wheelchair users in the future. - Yeah, it would just be... be like treating me like a normal person. I am normal. I just do things in a different way. - As much a part of the crowd as anyone else. - This is awesome, and we need to put a spotlight on this sort of thing. Overseas, they do this really well ` here, we've got some catching up to do. - E haere ake nei ` coming up ` what does your insurance cover and could it leave you with a mismatched kitchen? - It will end up looking like a patched up job, and make a house which I've worked to make look really nice, look scruffy. - Plus ` the sticky issue of getting the labels off jars. - I've tried thinners, I've tried nail polish remover, I've tried meths. - I get most of the label off, and then I've got a sharp knife that I'll run up and down, up and down. - Tweezers. - I'll reveal my winning method. - Hey, Toyota, what do I get for that? - You mean the price? - Yeah. - Well, that's the Toyota Driveaway Price, so pretty much everything. - Like everything everything? - Well... - Oh, yeah. That's not bad. - Ooh! I'm not done. Plus all on-road costs, like registration, a full tank of fuel and floor mats. - (BLOWS RASPBERRY) That's heaps. - Don't forget you also get the car. - (CHUCKLES) That's a bonus (!) - Kia ora. Nau mai, hoki mai ` welcome back. - Now, in the next story, we're going to meet Cynthia from Waihi who flooded her kitchen, made a hell of a mess ` but being a long-time insurance customer, she thought it would be an easy fix. - But it turns out Cynthia wasn't covered for everything she expected. Here's Alastair. - We've all been there. - Where are my keys? Goodness me. - We all get a little forgetful sometimes. - Well, I can do one better. I forgot my kitchen tap was still running in the sink. - It was this time last year. - I was really not well, and I got up to wash the dishes, turned on the tap, wandered off, went to sleep in the chair. Woke up quite some time later. What's that noise? And it was running everywhere. I had emptied the entire contents of my hot water cylinder on to the kitchen. - An easy mistake. - It was heartbreaking, and it was entirely my own fault. Nobody to blame but me. - But one that did a lot of damage to the floor, cupboards, pantry and benchtop. - In the time, the bench has moulded out. So there was water under the bench which I didn't even know was there. - Cynthia cleaned up as much as she could. - Burst into gallons of tears, phoned the insurance company. - She's got a home and contents policy with AA insurance. Since putting her claim in, AA has sent out at least five contractors to give quotes. After some back and forth about the scope of works, all up, the repairs will cost around $11,000. - They'll do the floor. Thank you, I appreciate that they're going to do the floor. Really do. They're going to deal with the skirting boards, which are quite clearly damaged. - Some of the walls behind the cupboards are being replaced too. - All of which is fine and great, as long as it matches and looks good with the rest. - And that's the crux of Cynthia's issue. Insurance will only repair or replace parts of some things ` the parts that are damaged, which sounds about right, but... - Will end up looking like a patched up job, and make a house which I've worked to make look really nice, look scruffy. - So ` what needs repairing? - The insurance is proposing to repair the bench from this seam here... to this seam here. And so that piece... And then according to them, if I want it to match, I have to do this piece myself. This one... this one... and this one. And... (SIGHS) on the pension, I don't have the money to do that. - She says one builder told her it would cost about $6,000, and the benchtop option she has to choose from... - There is nothing there that is anything like what I've got at the moment. - Aside from the bench, three of Cynthia's laminated cupboard units will also be replaced. The new ones will be painted and heat cured to produce a laminate finish. It's not clear to Cynthia whether the material will match the original cupboards. - I think that they should all be laminate. Laminate is what's there. - But what is clear is that the paint colour doesn't match. The builders showed up to Cynthia's with the paint... - And it didn't match. The only way that would be acceptable to me is if we painted all of the cupboards. - We asked the builders about the paint matching ` they sent us to AA. It says... - And then there's the pantry. - The pantry is a bit of a problem. - But as far as Cynthia knows, insurance is only replacing the left-hand side of it. - And that can't look good. - Cynthia's policy doesn't cover an entire kitchen renovation, and clearly states that undamaged property is not covered. - I said to them, I said, 'Well, if I spilt red wine on the middle of my carpet, 'would you just cut a hole in the carpet and put a new piece in?' - 'Carpet's a little different.' If the carpet is damaged beyond repair... 'and the same type is no longer available,' 'according to AA Insurance, they'll try to replace it with the nearest equivalent.' But only in the room where the damage occurs. So what does the nearest equivalent mean? So that's like Cynthia's bench, cupboards and pantry. - And I'm thinking, 'Really?' - Yes, really. Insurers have no obligation to replace anything that's undamaged. - But the Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman says insurers will aim to match repairs as closely as possible. - They might not be able to get the same tiles or the same carpet or whatever, but as near as possible to the original is probably what they will be aiming for. - Do aesthetics count for anything in a home? - With the cases that come to the Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman scheme, we would look at the aesthetic of the house, and whether or not that the match was going to be totally mismatched, if you like, and suggest to the insurer that possibly they might want to pay towards an improvement, and sometimes, too, that can involve the insurer saying, 'We'll pay for this, 'but if you want to have this, then you pay for that bit.' - It's also about being realistic about repairs, and knowing exactly what you're entitled to. - Rather than talking to relatives, rather than talking to people who have had things happen before, start with the insurer, because then you will get the absolutely clear picture of what your entitlement is under the policy. If you're not happy with the scope of works, or whatever it might be, that's the time to talk to the insurer. - And that's exactly what Cynthia did. Cynthia was told that because of the age of the original benchtop, a match will not be possible. Cynthia and AA disagree on what caused the mould. Cynthia says the flood, AA says it may not be, but will still repair that part of the bench. So what are Cynthia's options now? - There is a third option. - If they're still not satisfied, and their complaint hasn't been resolved internally, they can bring it for free to the IFSO scheme. - AA's been in touch with Cynthia to talk through her next steps. - I just want them to fix it. I just want it to look nice. - Something we can all relate to. - Man. Interesting. As someone is probably going to do that in the future with the sink, I really paid att` Who knew they didn't do the whole lot? I just assumed they did the whole lot. They don't do the whole lot. - Just try and remember to turn the tap off then. E haere ake nei ` coming up ` I visit a farm in Levin to try and solve a sticky problem. - Come on, girls. Come on, Sally Bally. - Kia ora. Nau mai, hoki mai. Welcome back. Now ` pickling, bottling, canning. Some of the oldest methods of preserving food. And lately, they have been making a comeback. - Sure have. But with this has come a pesky problem. How do you get the labels off used jars? Well, I've got one of our viewers Steph up ` she wrote to us for help. So I headed to Levin to get her out of a pickle. - Come on, girls. Come on, Sally Bally. Come on. - On a goat farm... - Come on. There you go. (GOATS BLEAT) - ...15 minutes out of Levin... - Oh, they're very friendly. Who's my silly? - Steph Cook's got a problem. - This is ridiculous. - A former Wellington City councillor... - 18 years... for my sins. It was great. - She even did a work experience stint on Fair Go. - I'll never forget it. It was a load of fun. - The story she worked on ` a Fair Go classic. - Putting plastic bottles full of water on your front lawn, and that would stop dogs coming along and pooing on your front lawn. In theory, but it turned out to be a bit of an urban myth. (GOATS BLEAT) - Needless to say, Steph's used to solving sticky situations. But this one ` well, it's proving a little more challenging. - These blinky jars. Now, you know, I live in this lovely place, and I've got produce that I like to pickle and relish, and things like that. And you get given jars, or you have jars that you've used, and so on. But honestly, the hardest bit of the whole thing is getting the labels off. Well, not so much the labels ` the labels will soak off quite easily ` it's the glue. I've tried thinners, I've tried nail polish remover, I've tried meths, I've tried white vinegar, I've tried baking soda. And it just` None of it works. - What's your go-to method at the moment? - Boiling water, dishwashing liquid. Let it soak for, I don't know, 10 minutes or so, and then just scrub it like mad with a wire` You know, Goldilocks thingy. - It's not quite doing the trick, so we took to the streets of Taitoko Levin to see if we could find an answer. There is a cameraman there. He is shooting. - I soak them in really hot water. - Tweezers. - Store-bought adhesive remover. - Put hot water in a sink, and you put that in there with the soap, and then you wipe it off. - And then I've got a sharp knife that I'll run up and down, up and down. And then one of those scourers. - Lots of lovely people... - Ka kite from Levin! Taitoko! Outs! (LAUGHTER) - ...and lots of helpful suggestions. So it's time to relive my glory days of high school chemistry. This is feeling like a fail, I think. It does not smell good. This just feels like a waste of good peanut butter. And while we're talking peanut butter, we should mention these guys. - Reusing jars is wonderful. - ...because they've gone above and beyond by including label removal instructions on their jars. - I just looked into it, and I realised the easiest way of getting the labels off was to soften up the glue, and you can do that by just filling the jar with hot water. And that makes the label relatively easy to come off. - And sure enough... Wow. That's really impressive. Yup ` a tick for Pic's trick. Unfortunately, it doesn't work on all jars, but fear not, because here it is, folks ` the Fair Go tried and true method for getting the gunk off jars. Time to share our wisdom with Steph. - We'll do a Jamie Oliver and just chuck a bit of this and a bit of that. - So the theory here is the oils help loosen the adhesive. - OK. - And then you get a little bit of abrasion... - Yes. - ...from the baking soda. - I think that's working. And not having to use toxic chemicals and things like that, because it kind of just doesn't go with the whole notion of recycling, and, you know, pickling your own and things like that. - Well, that's exactly right. - So the side that we've done is all sparkly and shiny. Look, it looks great. - This might be a career high for me, Steph. (BOTH LAUGH) - I need to work out whether this beats the plastic bottles on the lawn. (LAUGHTER) - And that is it from us tonight. But if you only caught part of the show, you can catch all of it on the Fair Go page on TVNZ+. - Yeah, my mum watches the reruns many times over. Why don't you at home? Because our program is about putting your consumer headaches in the spotlight. We can fix them. Get in touch. - Yes. We're on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok. You can go to our webpage ` tvnz.co.nz Email us ` fairgo@tvnz.co.nz Or you're still very welcome to write to us at P.O. Box 3819, Auckland 1140. - Thank you for watching. Send your preserved fruit in ` we will happily accept it, because Pippa brought none back. Until next week ` - BOTH: Po marie.