If work needs to be done on your property, known and reputable traders should be used. Residents should be extremely wary of any doorstep caller looking to carry out gardening or building work.

This warning comes following reports of an Earlsdon resident who was approached by a trader at the door with a view to have guttering cleaned. After agreeing to this for a nominal cost, the resident then found that guttering had been removed and a claim made that there was evidence of rotten wood. The cost went up by £590 but the householder refused to pay. No paperwork was issued, and no clue left as to who this trader was.

Although it is not illegal for traders to go door to door, unless there are specific restrictions within that location, most agreements entered into must come with written cancellation rights unless the cost is under £42.

Our advice as always is not to deal with unexpected cold callers as this is a favoured approach used by rogue traders whose sole intention is to extract as much money from residents as possible.

If you do need work on your property or garden, use a reputable local trader who has been recommended by friends or family or someone who has been vetted and is part of the Age UK (Coventry) Trusted Traders Scheme, a partnership with Coventry Trading Standards. This service is available to people of all ages living in the Coventry area and can be contacted by phoning 024 7643 3982.

Sellers on Gumtree and other similar websites are warned to be aware of bogus buyers after a Cheylesmore resident was approached by email by someone interested in the car being offered for sale.

The buyer claimed to be working as a Marine Engineer and was offering to purchase the car unseen. Email information was requested from the seller in order to proceed. Thankfully, the seller became suspicious and withdrew from contact at this point.

Had contact continued it is very likely that the buyer would have gone on to say that collection would be by courier with full costs of the car plus the courier cost to be paid via PayPal. However, the seller would be asked to firstly pay the courier fee up front via a money transfer service.

This is a typical example of an Advanced Fee Fraud whereby fraudsters attempt to trick the potential victim into paying monies upfront for goods or services that never materialise.

We still receive regular reports involving phone calls from people falsely claiming that your PC has been hacked or that they have been notified that you have a virus or other issues. They claim they can fix it for a fee but will require remote access to your computer.

In the latest report from a Willenhall Wood resident, the scammer was allowed remote access to their PC and claimed   to have installed anti-virus software. The charge for this service was £235 paid by debit card.

Soon after this, the resident was made aware by his bank that his card details had been compromised, and shopping purchases had been made overseas.

Allowing remote access may let the caller install an anti-virus programme that you can often download for free from the Internet. They may also take the opportunity to interrogate your PC for personal information which could be used for fraudulent purposes. They could also install malware that may damage your PC.

Our advice as with any unsolicited call from someone offering a service is not to deal with them no matter what they say or claim.

Netto recalls all batches of its Rice Market Basmati Rice and Rice Market Parboiled Rice due to possible pest contamination at the packing site.

• Product: Rice Market Basmati Rice
• Brand: Netto
• Batch codes: all batch codes
• Pack size: 1kg

• Product: Rice Market Parboiled Rice
• Brand: Netto
• Batch codes: all batch codes
• Pack size: 1kg

Advice: If you have purchased any of the above products, please do not eat it but return to it to the nearest store for a full refund.

Baketime Ltd is recalling various branded biscuit, snack and confectionery products on a precautionary basis as they have been manufactured in unhygienic conditions. These products are sold by Aldi, Asvina, Booker and LBV.

Risk: All batches of the products listed below are being recalled as they may have been subject to pest contamination. 

Product and batch codes

Aldi Cheese Thins (10% Cheese)

L16026, L16027, L16055, L16056, L16057, L16073, L16074, L16075

Aldi Cheese Bakes

L16026, L16027, L16032, L16033, L16039, L16040, L16046, L16047, L16053, L16366, L16060, L16066, L16067, L16073

Aldi Oddbites Cheese

L16060

Aldi Oddbites Salt and Vinegar

L16061

Aldi Oddbites Smoky Bacon

L16061

Aldi Ginger Nuts

L16047, L16048, L16061, L16062, L16068, L16069

Bestway Mini All Butter Shortbread

L16034

Bestway Mini Brownies

L16035

Bestway Mini Cheese Thins

L16032, L16033

Bestway Mini Choc Chip Cookies

L16035

Happy Shopper Cheese Thins

L16026, L16027, L16032, L16053, L16366, L16060, L16066

Happy Shopper Fudge Brownies

L16041

Happy Shopper Choc Chip Cookies

L16041

LBV Potato Bakes Korma

L16034

LBV Potato Bakes Mild Thai

L16034

LBV Strawberry and Vanilla Biscotti

L16027

Advice: If you have bought any of the above product(s), do not consume it. Instead, return it to the store where purchased from for a full refund.