Should your sink clog up, your pipes burst or your drain block, you will almost certainly need to get a plumber or drainage expert out in a hurry, but who would you call? The phone books are full of plumbers promising a rapid response to such problems, but choosing the wrong one could be costly.
We received complaints about one such firm, JPL Plumbing Ltd, and decided to investigate. There are several businesses sharing a similar name so let's be clear - the firm we investigated is called JPL Plumbing Ltd, their company number is 05946294, their registered address is 156 BLACKFRIARS ROAD, SOUTHWARK, LONDON, SE1 8EN and the company's director is from Dorset. They also call themselves JPL Drains, Southampton Plumbers and Bournemouth Plumbers.
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Trading Standards has won an Enforcement Order against Mr Brian Davies of New Dawn Events, following a string of national complaints about his failure to provide refunds to consumers after music events were cancelled at the last moment.
While this doesn't guarantee refunds for consumers new advice from the Trading Standards Service is to consider seeking redress through the Courts where they are still in dispute with Mr Davies.
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Buying a used car can be daunting, and if a recent investigation by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is anything to go by, you've a right to be wary. Last year, there were 72,000 official complaints to Consumer Direct about issues with second hand cars.
One problem often complained about is clocked cars. A car is "clocked" if someone interferes with the odometer (the mileage reading). It's not illegal to do that, but if you sell the car, and don't tell the new owner that the mileage is inaccurate, it's a serious offence. Cars are often clocked to increase their value and the OFT estimates that car clocking costs consumers £580 million a year.
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