Mrs Shirley Hedworth, a former BBC Radio News and Current Affairs Journalist, unwillingly became the victim of a rogue operator and is campaigning on a one-woman-band-on-a- shoestring basis for better protection for consumers.
Her particular horror story: she put her lifetime possessions into storage, with others, on relocation from London to Devon and then lost the lot when they all went up in smoke in a fire "of doubtful origin" at the premises in Dawlish in December 1995.
After the fire, Mrs Hedworth discovered that, despite the "fully insured" claims, the remover and storer was not insured - neither were the storage premises, owned by his property developer father, which turned out to be an old, leaking, "squash club" due for demolition in a redevelopment scheme.
She traced the other victims, founded an action group, and set about compiling an inventory; burned photographs, retrieved from the debris, helped. This involved her and a firm of loss assessors in a three months’ pricing exercise. She took out a summons for breach of contract against the removals and storage firm in the County Court. Conducting her own case, she obtained judgement within seven months of the fire - but the remover and storer petitioned for bankruptcy.
Shortly after discovering that there was no insurance Mrs Hedworth reported the matter to Devon Trading Standards who prosecuted the proprietor under section 14 of the Trade Descriptions Act of 1968 for "knowingly or recklessly making false statements about insurance while trading as a remover and storer". He is serving 200 hours community service.
Her investigations have revealed that there are no regulations which cover the removals and storage industry. This leaves the public wide open to abuse and exploitation.
Her campaign for legislation and efforts to make others aware of the pitfalls that she and fellow sufferers have encountered have received a sympathetic response locally and nationally. Mrs Hedworth has written several times to Nigel Griffiths MP, The Consumer Affairs Minister at the DTI, who told her in June that he was instigating a an urgent review into rogue traders, including furniture removers and storers, which she describes as "at least a step in the right direction".
The most recent reply, dated 13th August, from the DTI says, "the Director General of Fair Trading will shortly be presenting to Ministers detailed proposals on how the law can be strengthened to enable effective action to be taken against rogue traders, including those in the removals and storage industry. Ministers will wish to consider these carefully and then consult widely on specific recommendations for change".
This is not a new problem in the removals and storage industry. Mrs Hedworth points out that criminal activity in this business was highlighted in a BBC investigative programme 15 years ago and action promised then.
Her advice is:
Do not rely on personal recommendation from estate agents. In her case the estate agents who recommended the firm closed their local offices.
Ask to see the remover and storer’s insurance policy and check what it covers and that the premium has been paid. In her case there was a default on a goods in transit policy, which the firm admitted was for only £5,000 cover and a goods in storage policy had never been arranged.
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