Metropol

Not in the slightest bit interested in this show's presentation so I thought I'd stick this here...

Does anyone else absolutely detest this programme and its "all businesses are evil" attitude? Just watching the repeat and they're having a right flap about companies and councils selling personal data to other companies. I could understand their anger if it led to several kittens being slaughtered, but when in reality it means a couple of letters that can go straight in the bin if you're not interested, I can't really understand the fuss.

Now some rough-looking families are complaining that they didn't get their Nintendo Wii in time for Christmas, because they ordered them off some dodgy rip-off company. Well bugger me. It's a bit sad if the lack of a games console is deemed worthy of that infamous phrase "you've ruined Christmas", but there you go.

Yes, companies should be held to account if they do things they shouldn't but Christ, get a sense of proportion!

I think Watchdog is a very important show in prinicple, and sometimes they get it spot on, like their relentless efforts in holding Renault to account for the potentially lethal Clio bonnet catch fault.

But I agree that in recent years their editorial standards have become questionable at times. The recent feature about councils selling the electoral register to companies was spurious in the extreme, as it's an act of law which is to blame and the councils are only following this. The tone of the report implied that the councils are doing something wrong - which they're not. And it's not even a new story - the electoral register has been in the public domain since time began. Watchdog were blatantly trying to jump on the identity fraud bandwagon with this non-story.

And like Phil says, the upshot of the whole story is only a handful of extra junk mail - hardly something that wrecks lives.

I e-mailed them a year or so ago regarding what I thought was a major scandal involving one of Britain's biggest retailers. A researcher called me back and appeared very interested, but asked if I knew of any other customers affected, as they would need to feature two or three customers in any report they did. As it happened I knew a few dozen people on an internet forum who'd been affected. She then asked me to go off and contact them all and get their stories and contact info. While I was slightly vexed at being asked to do her job for her, I duly obliged as my priority was getting this story on the show. I spent the best part of 2 days e-mailing about 14 people, talking to some of them on the phone, and compiling a 24-page Word document which I sent to the Watchdog researcher. The little cow never contacted me again after that.

It isn't the fact they didn't run with the story that annoys me, but the fact they didn't have the courtesy to contact me and tell me so, or say thanks for my help.

The worst part of the show for me is Paul Heiney (that old relic from That's Life who they dusted off after finding him in a cupboard a few years ago) and his unbearably patronising and tedious introductions to reports.

For example, if it's a report about a holiday company, he'll first spend three minutes explaining what a holiday is, why we all like taking them, and the fact that we have to work hard to save up for them, interspersed with pictures of him flicking through travel brochures while Spanish guitar music is playing. No shit Sherlock. Now tell us about the fucking story.

They could squeeze an extra report into the show if they cut all the time Heiney spends talking to viewers like 6 year olds.