Dom Joly’s Complainers

Comedian Dom Joly presents the final instalment of the six-part series in which he and a crack team of ‘complainers’ set about tackling the myriad bugbears of daily life.

“Modern life can be really irritating,” says Dom. “Bad deals, bad laws, annoying people – they’re everywhere.” To redress the balance, Dom and his team of mischief-makers wreak comedic revenge
on everyone and everything that irks them – from persistent cold-callers to below-par cabbies, infuriating parking fines to public transport. Dom and the gang pledge to mock, undermine and generally annoy those who would irritate us.

So far this series, Dom has lifted the lid on CCTV by finding out about its uses and posing the question: who watches the watchers? He has investigated the hot topic of recycling and visited areas where specially trained ‘bin police’ inspect neighbourhood bins to make sure the right sort of trash is being thrown away. He has also taken up the cause of passenger rights, probing the country’s most complained-about railway company, First Great Western.

At the same time, Dom’s merry band of complainers have played all manner of tricks and stunts in the cause of fighting back against those typical daily annoyances. They have gained their revenge over wolf-whistling builders, clamped wheel clampers, tormented traffic wardens with the ‘Traffic Warden Warden’, cold-called the coldcallers and even tried to return junk mail to sender.

Along the way, the show has unearthed some unbelievable truths about life’s everyday annoyances and explored the true extent of people’s rights as citizens. This is the stuff ‘they’ really do not want you to know – and which you could not make up. “It’s a war out there,” Dom says. “And we’re on your side.”

Comedian Dom Joly presents this six-part series in which he and a crack team of ‘complainers’ set about tackling the myriad irritations of life.

“Modern life can be really irritating,” says Dom. “Bad deals, bad laws, annoying people – they’re everywhere.” To redress the balance, Dom and his team of mischief makers wreak comedic revenge on everyone and everything that irks them – from persistent cold-callers to below-par cabbies, infuriating parking fines to public transport. Dom and the gang pledge to mock, undermine and generally annoy those who would irritate us.

So far this series, Dom has lifted the lid on CCTV by finding out about its uses and posing the question: who watches the watchers? He has investigated the hot topic of recycling and visited areas where specially trained ‘bin police’ inspect neighbourhood bins to make sure the right sort of trash is being thrown away. He has also taken up the cause of passenger rights, probing the country’s most complained-about railway company, First Great Western.

At the same time, Dom’s merry band of complainers have played all manner of tricks and stunts in the cause of fighting back against those typical daily annoyances. They have gained their revenge over wolf-whistling builders, clamped wheel clampers, tormented traffic wardens with the ‘Traffic Warden Warden’, cold-called the cold callers and even tried to return junk mail to sender.

Along the way, the show has unearthed some unbelievable truths about life’s everyday annoyances and explored the true extent of people’s rights as citizens. This is the stuff ‘they’ really do not want you to know – and which you could not make up. “It’s a war out there,” Dom says. “And we’re on your side.”

Comedian Dom Joly presents this six-part series
in which he and a crack team of ‘complainers’ set
about tackling the myriad irritations of life.
“Modern life can be really irritating,” says Dom.
“Bad deals, bad laws, annoying people – they’re
everywhere.” To redress the balance, Dom and his
team of mischief makers wreak comedic revenge
on everyone and everything that irks them – from
persistent cold-callers to below-par cabbies,
infuriating parking fines to public transport. Dom
and the gang pledge to mock, undermine and
generally annoy those who would irritate us.
So far this series, Dom has lifted the lid on CCTV
by finding out about its uses and posing the question, who watches the watchers? He has investigated the hot topic of recycling and visited areas where specially trained ‘bin police’ inspect neighbourhood bins to make sure the right sort of trash is being thrown away. He has also taken up the cause of passenger rights, probing the country’s most-complained about railway company, First Great Western.
At the same time, Dom’s merry band of complainers have played all manner of tricks and stunts in the cause of fighting back against those typical daily annoyances. They have gained their revenge over wolf-whistling builders, clamped wheel clampers, tormented traffic wardens with the ‘Traffic Warden Warden’, cold-called the cold callers and even tried to return junk mail to sender.
Along the way, the show has unearthed some unbelievable truths about life’s everyday annoyances and explored the true extent of people’s rights as citizens. This is the stuff ‘they’ really do not want you to know – and which you could not make up. “It’s a war out there,” Dom says. “And we’re on your side.”

Comedian Dom Joly presents this new six-part
series in which he and a crack team of
‘complainers’ set about tackling the myriad
irritations of modern life. In this week’s instalment,
Dom takes on First Great Western in an attempt to
find out why they are the most complained-about
rail company in Britain; traffic wardens and estate
agents get their comeuppance; and Jenny sees
how long it takes people to complain about her
reading over their shoulders.
“Modern life can be really irritating,” says Dom
Joly. “Bad deals, bad laws, annoying people –
they’re everywhere.” To redress the balance, Dom
and his team of mischief makers plan to wreak
comedic revenge on everyone and everything
from cold-callers to cabbies, parking fines to
public transport. Dom and the gang pledge to
mock, undermine and generally annoy those who
would irritate us. Along the way, Dom Joly’s
Complainers unearths some unbelievable truths about life’s everyday annoyances. “It’s a war out there,” Dom says. “And we’re on your side.”
This week, Dom addresses a complaint that blights most people’s lives: crowded trains. “How much do I pay for this, and I don’t even get a seat?” he rants. “Why do we put up with this?”
Last year, the British public collectively spent 26 years waiting for late trains – and paid more for the privilege than anyone else in Europe. To find out more, Dom focuses on the most complainedabout
rail company in the UK, First Great Western, hoping to solve some of the problems that make its customers so angry.
Dom’s first stop is a meeting run by protest group More Train Less Strain, where he corners First Great Western representative Andrew Griffiths. “We’re not hugely popular,” admits Griffiths. “I’m the first to accept that.” Dom later joins the protestors on a demonstration at Bath station, where they stage a fare strike and brandish pictures of cattle to make the point that the law actually treats livestock on trains better than human passengers.
At the demonstration, Dom speaks to a protestor who believes he knows what lies behind the company’s frequent lament that their troubles are down to lack of rolling stock. The man tells Dom that he has heard rumours of lots of usable carriages gently rusting away at a disused MOD base. To find out if there is any truth to these claims, Dom heads to the base in search of trains and answers. Will he manage to get inside?
Elsewhere this week, Dom arms himself with a natty scarf and a French accent to see how far he can push his luck in a trendy estate agent’s office.
As many of these establishments look more like bars and cafés than places to find your next home, ‘François’ and a couple of hungry friends attempt to convince the perplexed staff that they have mistaken their office for a fashionable eatery.
After unsuccessfully demanding steak frites and beers, it is not long before Dom and his companions are escorted off the premises, muttering about the terrible service.
Also in this week’s programme, Jenny and Ben expose a rule that tired taxi drivers would rather keep quiet: they are obliged to take fares anywhere within 12 miles, or risk a fine. Jenny also sees how far she can push café customers by reading over their shoulders, some traffic wardens are bemused when they receive tickets from the ‘Traffic Warden Warden’ and a coldcaller gets more than she bargained for.

Comedian Dom Joly presents this new six-part
series in which he and a crack team of
‘complainers’ set about tackling the myriad
irritations of modern life. In this second
programme, Dom investigates recycling policies
in Exeter, Oxford and Barnet; Ben finds out that
parking tickets are not always as cut-and-dried as
they seem; and the world’s worst minicab driver
tests the public’s patience.
“Modern life can be really irritating,” says Dom
Joly. “Bad deals, bad laws, annoying people –
they’re everywhere.” To redress the balance, Dom
and his team of mischief makers plan to wreak
comedic revenge on everyone and everything
from cold-callers to cabbies, parking fines to
public transport. Dom and the gang pledge to
mock, undermine and generally annoy those who
would irritate us. Along the way, Dom Joly’s
Complainers unearths some unbelievable truths about life’s everyday annoyances. “It’s a war out there,” Dom says. “And we’re on your side.”
This week, Dom is investigating local policies on recycling. With millions of tonnes of domestic waste being buried every year, the government has given councils the power to set and enforce their own policies – including the right to inspect bins and fine offenders. Dom heads to Exeter, where a radical recycling policy has been implemented. ‘Bin police’ check waste when it is collected, and report households which are not recycling properly. Dom meets recycling enforcement officer Peter Delaney, and is surprised to discover that despite the strict policy, the council has not yet fined anybody for violating it – and neither has any other council in the UK.
In Oxford, an even more radical policy is in place. Bins and recycling are collected fortnightly, on alternating weeks, in an attempt to encourage householders to recycle more – but not everybody
is happy about the £2.1million plan, with residents complaining about overflowing bins and stinking waste. Local protester Annie Skinner suggests that Dom talk to Oxford councillor Jean Fooks at the town hall to ask her about the policy, but when Dom turns up armed with an 11-day-old box of rubbish, the interview is mysteriously cancelled.
Dom also visits Barnet, whose council was the first in Britain to introduce compulsory recycling.
Local resident Dr Kent Deng is furious about the policy, complaining that the council do not make it easy to avoid a £1,000 fine, and likens the situation to life under a Stalinist regime. Dom decides to find out if the Barnet councillors are abiding by their own rules, and heads out under cover of darkness to inspect a few bins.
Dom’s quest to find out more about recycling in Britain also takes him to Exeter’s recycling centre, where he meets cleansing services manager Mike Trim and has a tour of the plant. What happens to the recycling once it arrives?
Also this week, complainer Rich finds out that getting a parking ticket does not always mean you have to fork out and pay a fine. He meets Barry Segal, who has been waging a one-man war against the wardens and has successfully contested over 2,000 parking fines. Barry presents Rich with a huge book of traffic codes and regulations, and explains that if a parking bay is not correctly marked, a ticket for parking in it is not enforceable. When Rich’s car gets a ticket in a
wrongly marked bay, he explains the situation to an unconvinced traffic warden – but will his efforts be enough to get the ticket cancelled?
Elsewhere, Dom returns some junk mail to sender; a cold-calling double-glazing company gets a taste of its own medicine; and Ben turns minicab driver as he tries to provoke three passengers into partaking of that most un-British of activities: complaining.