No this is not about the Nick Leeson movie starring Ewna McGregor and Anna Friel, nor is it concerning the group who gave us ‘Voodoo child’, it is about a simple BBC program which brings helpful information to the general public.
Although the title may sound as though this show follows ... Read review
Advantages: tries to keep the general public informed Disadvantages: none unless you're a rogue trader of course
...it is about a simple BBC program which brings helpful information to the general public.
Although the title may sound as though this show follows some dodgy traders around whilst they go about their business of ripping people off, maybe glorifying them in some way, well let me inform you that is not… in fact it is the complete opposite.
==* What is it? I hear you ask.==
It is a fact based Consumer show ... ...and has become so popular it is now in its 7th series It is presented by Matt Allwright, an investigative journalist, and Dan Penteado, a private investigator, who travel around the UK, and even Europe, on a Honda Super Blackbird motorcycle, hoping to give awareness to the general public about the many ’cowboy’ builders/ plumbers/tree surgeons…well almost any conmen out there who are intent on conning the general public, usual the elderly, out of ... more
No this is not about the Nick Leeson movie starring Ewna McGregor and Anna Friel, nor is it concerning the group who gave us ‘Voodoo child’, it is about a simple BBC program which brings helpful information to the general public.
Although the title may sound as though this show follows some dodgy traders around whilst they go about their business of ripping people off, maybe glorifying them in some way, well let me inform you that is not… in fact it is the complete opposite.
* What is it? I hear you ask.
It is a fact based Consumer show which began its life on the BBC channel in 2001 and has become so popular it is now in its 7th series It is presented by Matt Allwright, an investigative journalist, and Dan Penteado, a private investigator, who travel around the UK, and even Europe, on a Honda Super Blackbird motorcycle, hoping to give awareness to the general public about the many ’cowboy’ builders/ plumbers/tree surgeons…well almost any conmen out there who are intent on conning the general public, usual the elderly, out of there hard earned cash.
It is a simple format which this show uses, bringing the ‘rogues’ to the house which Allwright and co. have rigged with camera, using an actor/actress to play the part of the bewildered ‘victim’, whilst the two investigators, and an expert on that particular job, hide somewhere around the house, watching the ‘conmen’ and their every move. Before the crew invite the ‘rogue trader’ to the house, with the intention of offering them work, the shows expert gives the ‘job’ the once over, then gives a report of what needs ’fixing’ and how much it should cost to ’fix it’… in some cases simply removing a connecter so the item seems broken, just to see how the ’rogue’ reacts to that… then the call is made and the show begins.
Over the many series on air the two crusaders have tackled everyone from Door to door salesmen, double glazing ’experts’, car dealers, roofers and plumbers and even tree surgeons, all with the intentions of earning easy money for doing little work. In later series Allwright was often seen in some form of disguise, ready to pounce on the dubious workers, with some rather surprising results and some very shocked faces.
* IN CONCLUSION…
What a brilliant ‘consumer’ show which does an excellent job in informing the watching public about the many dishonest ’rogues’ who can so easily chat hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds out of innocent people who simply need some work doing around their house. The program is well thought out and collects enough ‘evidence’ surrounding the ‘rogue’ workmen/sales people before Allwright and co decide to step forward to announce who they are, with many brilliant outcomes.
My blood boils when I see how these conmen make their living, especially when they are happy to take thousand of pounds from the pockets of elderly people for doing nothing more than pushing a broom around. So this has to be one of the few ‘useful’ shows on air at the moment, trying to help those vulnerable people who find it hard to say no to those unscrupulous salesmen and so called workmen. I know that the ‘victims’ in this show are only actors but there are hundreds of people out there that have actually been conned by all these salesmen/workers who appear on this show, so when Allwright springs into action I get a sense of satisfaction knowing that the faces of these ’rogues’ being aired on national television, with their company names splattered around for every one to see and avoid and the future. It is just a shame that these conmen can so easily change there business names and continue to ‘con’ people of their hard earned cash… I mean, I was always under the impression that deception was a criminal offence..? And at the end of the day these so called business people are basically deceiving people are they not? I say prosecute them to the full extent of the law to show that this form of ‘rogue’ act will not be tolerated.
Some episodes of Rogue Traders do come across as humorous, with some gags concerning the inaptitude of the so called traders, which helps keep the show from becoming too boring, or even too frightening, so the humour is well suited, although the ‘comedians’ are very wooden doing it, especially Penteado with his dodgy tone and way off timing. But, if you take the humour in the way it is supposed to be then you have to laugh at their attempts, considering the show is really meant to be looking at serious issues.
In all, Rogue traders in a well thought out and very informative show indeed. It is an all round entertaining/consumer issue show which does aid in the process of letting the many ‘dodgy’ businesses out there that they are being noticed. That they may be the next faces which are being shown on national television with Allwright and Co. in hot pursuit as the ‘rogues’ try to hide their faces with a piece of paper whilst fleeing to their cars in the hope of not being recognised. It is nice to see these scum get their comeuppance, giving some form of justice to those that have lost out.
If you have not yet seen this then I advise tying to watch a few episode if you can, you never know, that man who came knocking on your door telling you he could re-surface you drive to a professional standard for a few hundred quid may have starred on ‘Rogue Traders’
Advantages: It shows some of the tricks of rogue traders Disadvantages: It is only 30 minutes
...meet the standards. And the BBC seems to be doing something about this. “Rogue Traders” is one of the latest watchdog-type programmes. For quite some time, “Rogue Traders” has been on BBC 1 - every Friday evening at 7 p.m.. The program is conducted by Matt Allwright and his team of specialists and chasers. The plot is very simple. Each week the watchdog team focuses on one category of professionals (such as electricians, plumbers, double-glazers, ... ...last especially). Matt and his team set the plot in a few houses (mainly in the London area) where the rouge traders are invited to "perform" their tricks. A fully qualified specialist / expert sets the “trap”. For instance if the programme is about rogue electricians, then the expert causes a little problem to the sockets or the boiler in the house. To fix the problem a well-qualified trader should spend a few minutes and the whole job should cost ...
Montenegrin 21.03.2002 (11.01.2003)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of BBC 1 Rogue Traders
Advantages: Names and Shames real companies - so you know who to avoid Disadvantages: Never seems to cover my area - Norfolk!!
...complaint letters received at the BBC by disgruntled customers who feel that they have received poor service from individuals or companies, the intrepid two interview members of the public to get the full rundown on what had happened to them. The keen to find proof of ill-work themselves, the BBC set themselves up in a house along with an expert in the field of the trade of the particular "Rogue". They then make very minor changes to the set up of ... ...main Fuse out of the Fusebox, or for a Plumber they might loosen the u-bend on a loo!!), and then call on the reportedly bad traders to carry out what should be minor repair work to the property.
Under the watchful eye of the presenters and the expert, the house is wired with many different cameras and microphones, so that all actions carried out by the workers can be captured. If a trademan leaves the house for any work-related reason, Matt and ...
TeenyB 11.07.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of BBC 1 Rogue Traders
Advantages: Highlights traders who are not honest or following the rules Disadvantages: Makes them all look so bad.
Rogue traders is a very good programme, if you live around London, it would be good if they were able to visit the West Country.
The programme is able to identify people who claim to have valid training and qualifications mentioning CORGI and NICIEC. The Electricians have to work hard and pay for qualifactions and registration, NICIEC are not the only approved registered bodies, this is NEVER mentioned in the programme. Our local electrician is ...
LizVaughan 10.12.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of BBC 1 Rogue Traders
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Quick review of BBC 1 Rogue Traders
as someone who works in media is sad to see programs desperate to make programs sensationalizing the most minor of problems and on occasion trying making things up and editing to make problems - we all know TV ratings are falling but come on its almost 2010 only the oldies are fooled ... the programs a bit of a laugh, but not for the right reasons sorry x x
D- must try harder ...
EdwinEverard 20.10.2008
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of BBC 1 Rogue Traders
Quick review of BBC 1 Rogue Traders
great show would love to be able to give these people the opportunity to investigate a certain person I know, as they have been trading for years and over charging to a outlandish amount ..I can't give anymore details as yet, because I would like the BBC team to investigate this person, who thinks that they are safe and can hide behind their trade and rip their friends and customers off by 200% minimum on repairs when it is quite hard to check what they have done to the normal person who brings their vehicles( yes it's the motor trade again) and as I had been in this trade for over 45 years, is a bad apple in a barrel of good fruit. An inside exposure of people is all for the good of the poor suffering public and I'm sure they wouldn't like it done to them, as it never normally is, some how. ...
carlsson 27.09.2007 (26.09.2007)
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of BBC 1 Rogue Traders
