|
Following a recent incident involving a pensioner from South Whitley, police would like to offer residents some advice to protect themselves. In March two men knocked on the door of a 74 year old pensioner who lives alone in the South Whitley area. The men told the pensioner that they had taken over a firm that had previously carried out work at his property, and they needed to check on that work in relation to a guarantee for it. The men began looking at the roof and told the victim that it required work, saying that there were some broken tiles and that they would have to check the roof space as the felt may be wet. They said that they were able to carry out the work and that it would cost £25,000. When the pensioner said that he could not afford this, the men suggested that he could take out a loan, and they even drove him to a bank to arrange this. The pensioner paid the men £25,000 in cash, and they spent approximately one week at the property painting the roof tiles with acrylic tile paint and replacing a ceiling in a bedroom. This matter was reported to police in June after the pensioner had paid a total of £32,000 but was being asked for further amounts. These men identified themselves only using common names which could easily be false. Neighbourhood Specialist Officer PC Tim Sturgess said: "This incident demonstrates the need for householders to be vigilant and to carefully check the identity of people calling at their front doors. These men appear to have taken advantage of a vulnerable member of the community by charging him for work which was not necessarily required. Unfortunately incidents like this are being reported all over the UK." PC Tim Sturgess would like householders to heed the following advice: - Do not buy goods and services from people calling at your door
- Tell them that you are not interested and ask them to leave
- If they do not leave tell them you will call the police
- If they still do not leave, call the police - dial 999
- Never let anyone into your home unless you have confirmed their identity - always ask for proof of identity. Take it from the person through the letterbox and read it carefully
- Phone the company or organisation the caller claims to be from, using the number in the phone book to confirm their identity
- If you think that you may need work on your property, then seek out reputable traders and always get more than one quote
If a trader, or indeed any cold caller, is genuine then they should not mind people checking to ensure that they are who they say they are. For advice on rogue traders, call Trading Standards on 08454 040506; if someone is at your property and they don't leave when you ask them to then call the police. To speak to your neighbourhood policing team, and for further assistance or advice, please contact them via 0845 8 505 505 or go to http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/ and follow the neighbourhood policing link. |
