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- wSerie
- TV Shows
- Rip Off Britain
- Season 16
- Episode 26
The missing person ads that transform into scams
Rip Off Britain - S16 - E26
How fraudsters are using social media posts about missing people and pets to hook their victims into scams.
Rip Off Britain: Season 16 - 30 Episode s
16x1 - They sold me a written-off car
May 20, 2024
The team investigates the seriously written-off cars patched up and put back on the road, and asks why e-bike batteries, withdrawn for being a fire hazard, could still be on sale.
16x2 - Blacklisted because of my surname
May 21, 2024
When an algorithm banned one woman from opening an online account because her surname was McManus, she asked Rip Off Britain for help!
16x3 - Where’s my £300,000 whisky gone?
May 22, 2024
The team meet one man worried that the £300k he spent on rare whisky might have vanished after the investment firm went bust.
16x4 - Paying £1 per mile for car insurance
May 23, 2024
Priced off the road: the young drivers handed a car insurance price hike in the middle of their policy.
16x5 - My four-star holiday deal was anything but
May 24, 2024
The team investigates the holiday deal websites whose offers were very different to what was advertised.
16x6 - Energy Special
May 27, 2024
From shockingly incorrect bills to broken smart meters, bad customer service to impossible debts, the Rip Off Britain team challenge the energy industry and the government.
16x7 - Help – my home’s infested with beetles
May 28, 2024
The team meets a couple at loggerheads with a developer after finding soaked plaster and a beetle infestation in their new-build home.
16x8 - The phone, the thief and the worthless insurance
May 29, 2024
How one tech giant’s phone insurance will only pay out if thieves don’t switch off the tracking software on your handset. And the people forced to pay for items that never arrived.
16x9 - Cut off from my landline
May 30, 2024
Could the biggest change to landlines in generations leave you without a phone or broadband? And the new plans that might bring private parking operators into line.
16x10 - Help, they’ve hacked my holiday hotel
May 31, 2024
The hacked hotel emails that could cost you your holiday. Also, the team meets a woman who felt abandoned by her cruise company when illness struck on board.
16x11 - I became a money mule by mistake
June 3, 2024
Gloria Hunniford, Angela Rippon and Julia Somerville hear from the young people who thought they were dabbling in investments but instead ended up unwittingly money laundering.
16x12 - ‘Lose a stone in a week’ – the pamphlet peddling porkies
June 4, 2024
The team tackle more bad practice, including debunking the claims of a slimming pill magazine that says you’ll lose a stone in a week.
16x13 - Help, I don’t owe the debt you’re chasing me for
June 5, 2024
The dogged debt collectors who won’t give up – even when you don’t owe them anything. And the missing mail causing huge headaches and leaving you out of pocket.
16x14 - £89,000 down... and my bank won’t listen
June 6, 2024
Life savings gone and no refund – why your choice of bank could make all the difference if you lose out to scammers.
16x15 - My holiday coach crash nightmare
June 7, 2024
The tour operator that one couple say really let them down when their coach transfer took a turn for the worst.
16x16 - No payout pet insurance
November 11, 2024
Gloria Hunniford and Julia Somerville are joined by Henry the Blue Peter dog, as they hear about the chihuahua owner from Oldham whose pet insurer refused to pay out.
16x17 - Out-of-control bamboo is destroying my driveway
November 12, 2024
Gloria Hunniford learns how the 1990s fashion for bamboo in our gardens is causing expensive problems for some homeowners 25 years later.
16x18 - Help, my £45,000 pension is missing!
November 13, 2024
With millions of pounds sitting unclaimed in dormant or misplaced accounts, the team sets about helping a former bank worker track down her pension pot, which has been missing since the 1990s.
16x19 - Crumbling concrete wrecked my home
November 14, 2024
Gloria Hunniford and Julia Somerville get to grips with the lightweight construction material RAAC. Installed decades ago, it’s ended up decimating housing estates across Scotland.
16x20 - Wrong flight landed us in Lithuania!
November 15, 2024
Julia Somerville and Gloria Hunniford present a sun-drenched holiday edition, featuring airline passengers who were supposed to be travelling to Barcelona but got put on a flight to Lithuania.
16x21 - Bank account switch left me broke
November 18, 2024
Gloria Hunniford and Julia Somerville hear the story of a woman from Bolton who staged a protest at the local branch of her bank after being left penniless and with no access to her money.
16x22 - Floored by ground rent demand
November 19, 2024
A 90-year-old is shocked by a £17,000 ground rent bill on the flat he’s owned for 50 years. Plus the online marketplace being abused by scammers.
16x23 - No win, no fee cost me £27,000
November 20, 2024
Gloria Hunniford, Julia Somerville and the team hear how the promise of a no win, no fee legal action left a man from Burnley with a £27,000 legal bill after a firm of solicitors went bust.
16x24 - Thieves charged hundreds to my phone bill
November 21, 2024
How mobile phone theft victims are facing huge bills when crooks’ purchases are charged to them.
16x25 - Airport security delays left my holiday in ruins
November 22, 2024
The travellers seeking answers after their getaway plans were wrecked when huge security queues at a major British airport caused them to miss their flights.
16x26 - The missing person ads that transform into scams
November 25, 2024
How fraudsters are using social media posts about missing people and pets to hook their victims into scams.
16x27 - £226,000 crypto scam left me homeless
November 26, 2024
How a recently bereaved widow from Lancashire was conned out of the £226,000 proceeds of a house sale by fraudsters who claimed she was investing in cryptocurrency.
16x28 - Help, someone stole my house!
November 27, 2024
The team investigate the homeowners who’ve found their homes targeted by scammers who steal personal information to try and sell their homes from under their feet.
16x29 - Fake weight-loss drug almost killed me
November 28, 2024
We reveal how fraudsters are selling counterfeit versions of a well-known weight-loss drug and the potentially devastating consequences for one woman who suffered a seizure after injecting it.
16x30 - Ripped passport wrecked our holiday
November 29, 2024
In a special holiday edition, Gloria Hunniford, Julia Somerville and the team ask how much damage is too much damage when it comes to your passport.
Rip Off Britain: All seasons
S0: Specials
260 Episode s
S1: Series 1
5 Episode s
S2: Series 2
31 Episode s
S3: Series 3
28 Episode s
S4: Series 4
28 Episode s
S5: Series 5
20 Episode s
S6: Series 6
20 Episode s
S7: Series 7
20 Episode s
S8: Series 8
20 Episode s
S9: Series 9
20 Episode s
S10: Series 10
20 Episode s
S11: Series 11
20 Episode s
S12: Series 12
20 Episode s
S13: Series 13
20 Episode s
S14: Series 14
20 Episode s
S15: Series 15
40 Episode s
S16: Series 16
30 Episode s
S17: Series 17
5 Episode s