Episode 18

He promises his customers they can “live the dream” in a converted campervan. 

But the experience for many customers of Llanelli based Vdub passion has been very different. Large numbers of complaints prompted Trading Standards to launch a major investigation into owner Paul Lloyd’s practices.

“Customers complained they had either lost their vehicle or their money or been promised something that was never delivered”, explained Roger Edmunds from Carmarthenshire Trading Standards. “He became quite aggressive in some instances. His business practices were aggravated by the fact that he supplied some vehicles that were unsafe. We're talking about bald tyres down to the wire. When you consider the weight of these vehicles that is really serious safety implication.”

And Paul Lloyd’s track record isn’t pretty. His other campervan business, Race Passion, which he ran from the same premises, had eighteen county court judgements against it. To date, £110,000 worth of fines remain unpaid. Race Passion has now gone bust, but VDub Passion is still trading.

Paul Lloyd says he’s put those practices behind him, but we have evidence which throws that into doubt. 

We know that just two months ago, Paul Lloyd lied to a customer about the ownership of a van he was selling. Lloyd claimed it was a private sale, on behalf of an employee called Dean. When the customer asked for his surname, he says Lloyd looked at a paint chart before replying "Dean Cobalt". But when X-Ray asked him about this on the phone, Lloyd admitted he’d made it up.

Earlier this month Paul Lloyd appeared in Swansea Crown Court and pleaded guilty to eleven breaches of consumer law. He was given a four month suspended sentence and was ordered to pay more than £41,000 in compensation and costs.

Paul Lloyd told X-Ray that he has many satisfied customers. He says he deeply regrets any wrongdoing and says the offences he pleaded guilty to in court happened when the company was in its infancy – but he didn’t explain why he lied to a very recent customer about the name of the person selling him a campervan.

Next week sees the biggest shakeup of pensions for decades. 

From 6th April, many over 55s with private pensions will have unrestricted access to their pension pots for the first time. Instead of having to buy an annuity to provide you with a regular income, you can withdraw your money and spend it or invest it in whatever you like.

If you want to get advice on your options, Citizen Advice Cymru has been appointed by the Treasury to give free face to face impartial guidance. 

Call the Pension Wise contact centre on 0300 330 1001 to arrange an appointment in a location of your choice. 

You can also call in to any bureau in Wales to make an appointment to see someone after April 7th.

If you prefer to seek help over the phone call The Pension Advisory service on 0300 123 1047 or for more information click here to visit their website.

You can also find more information on the Pension Wise website