Rip Off Britain: Series 18
Season 18 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of Rip Off Britain Season 17.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Episode Guide
Season 18 Progress Shield
Home improvement company lies cost me thousands
Apr 27, 2026 · 44 min
Gloria Hunniford, Julia Somerville and Louise Minchin investigate the case of the homeowner who paid a company nearly £2,000 up front for garden maintenance, but has nothing to sho
Fake loan repayments coming off my wages
Apr 28, 2026 · 44 min
How one man has been left battling to prove his identity after fraudsters took out a Universal Credit loan in his name, with repayments automatically taken from his wages.
Claim denied due to home’s past building work
Apr 29, 2026 · 44 min
Gloria Hunniford, Julia Somerville and Louise Minchin investigate the home insurance policies refusing damage claims if the cause can be linked to events that were insured under an
Fraudster cashed in my tax rebate cheque
Apr 30, 2026 · 44 min
In a special scams episode, the team meets the 20-year-old who was waiting to receive a tax rebate from HMRC, only to discover someone else had cashed the cheque weeks earlier.
Holidays: Our flight took off while the board still said ‘Please Wait’
May 1, 2026 · 44 min
Can you trust airport departure boards? The team meet one group of passengers who waited patiently in the departure lounge for their delayed flight, only to find out it had already
Your parcels lost, damaged or late
May 4, 2026 · 44 min
Gloria Hunniford, Julia Somerville and Louise Minchin investigate the courier company that customers say is still letting them down – despite past promises made on the programme.
Fake review sites peddling dodgy goods
May 5, 2026 · 44 min
The team investigate the fraudulent websites convincing shoppers to invest in a ‘best-buy’ home appliance and meet the woman who learned that her top-rated dehumidifier wasn’t up t
Scams: ‘Ghost’ MOTs for sale!
May 6, 2026 · 44 min
How much can you trust your MOT? The team investigate the so-called ‘ghost’ MOTs available for sale and hear from the mum whose second-hand car was far from roadworthy.
Insurer won’t help as our home falls apart
May 7, 2026 · 44 min
The team meets the couple who have been stuck in a battle with their insurer for more than three years over fixing damage to their home caused by subsidence.
Toy company bullied me into paying unlawful fees
May 11, 2026 · 44 min
Gloria Hunniford, Julia Somerville and Louise Minchin investigate how a firm providing equipment to children with special educational needs has let down dozens of families and char
Giant warehouses built at the end of our gardens
May 12, 2026 · 44 min
The team hear from the devastated homeowners who claim the warehouses behind their back gardens were built without proper consultation.
Bank devalued our house after approving our mortgage
May 14, 2026 · 44 min
The team investigate why a bank suddenly refused to let one couple re-mortgage because of the way their home had been constructed – despite approving the mortgage five years earlie
Spiteful scammer cancelled my flight
May 15, 2026 · 44 min
The team investigate how a scammer was able to cancel one man’s flight when he believed he was receiving customer support from the airline on social media.
Wet wipe blockage flooded my garden with sewage
May 18, 2026 · 44 min
The team investigate why some brands continue to label their wet wipes as flushable – despite the major drain blockages caused by wet wipes that cost millions to repair every year.
My timeshare is worth less than when I bought it
May 19, 2026 · 44 min
The team investigate the holiday timeshare company that members feel has moved the goalposts as they reached the end of their contracts – with their investments worth far less than
Family home on the line after being conned by festival fraudster
Aug 31, 2026 · 45 min
How a woman might lose her home after putting it on the line for a friend who turned out to be a serial con artist.
Scammers groomed my vulnerable mum for over two million pounds
Sep 1, 2026 · 45 min
The team investigate the massive £2.1 million fraud that left a vulnerable woman and her children reeling. Can they claw back any of the money the criminals stole?
My roadside rescue turned into a highway robbery
Sep 2, 2026 · 45 min
The team investigate the roadside rescue that ended up in a robbery. Also on the programme, how a mix-up at a breakdown company left a man's van a target for thieves.
Scammers wiped my teenager's account, and the bank won't help!
Sep 3, 2026 · 45 min
The team hear about the hard-working teenager who was scammed out of his savings by fraudsters pretending to be his bank. Why wouldn't the bank give him his money back?
Flying through a storm left me fearing for my life
Sep 4, 2026 · 45 min
The team hear from the passengers whose flight hit a storm so severe they feared for their lives. The airline said it was fine to fly, but the passengers disagree.
Scammers raided my aunt’s bank account after she had died
Sep 7, 2026 · 44 min
Gloria Hunniford, Julia Somerville and Louise Minchin investigate how scammers stole thousands from one woman after she had died. Why did the bank leave her account wide open to fr
The botched building job that has cost me thousands
Sep 8, 2026 · 44 min
Julia Somerville, Louise Minchin and Gloria Hunniford meet the homeowner left questioning a trusted comparison site after a builder's botched work on her home. The team also meet a
This town smells like bin juice!
Sep 9, 2026 · 44 min
The team investigate why residents living next to a landfill site are kicking up a stink. And the woman given a parking ticket while taking her neighbour to a wake.
My council is stopping me from charging my electric car at home
Sep 10, 2026 · 44 min
The team look into the postcode lottery behind electric vehicle home charging. Why one man says he had no option but to sell his EV because the council won't let him run a cable in
My holiday home left me needing stitches
Sep 11, 2026 · 44 min
The team meet the couple who say their stay in a holiday villa turned out to be a health risk. So why won’t the major travel company they booked with refund them?
I raised thousands for a scam dog shelter charity
Sep 14, 2026 · 43 min
How one man learned that the African dog shelter charity he had raised thousands of pounds for was in fact a scam, and that animals had been mistreated to encourage more donations.
Forced to pay finance on a car we do not own
Sep 15, 2026 · 44 min
The team are asked to help a couple struggling to keep up finance payments totalling £1,900 a month for two cars, even though one of them had been sold on.
We could not stop a developer felling local trees
Sep 16, 2026 · 44 min
The team investigate after a property developer chopped down a row of trees despite the council rejecting an earlier planning application that would have destroyed them.
Marketplace seller sold me a bed made of cardboard
Sep 17, 2026 · 44 min
The team investigate the online marketplace sellers who say they are local and seem trustworthy but turn out to be murky businesses selling dodgy goods.
Airport parking firm caused £11,000 of damage
Sep 18, 2026 · 44 min
The team help one couple left with an undriveable car, an £11,000 repair bill and an insurance claim against them after an airport meet-and-greet operator crashed their car.