Trading Standards is warning residents to beware of fraudsters offering fake council tax rebates to people in Coventry.

The warning comes after nationwide reports of unsuspecting consumers receiving a phone call from an individual regarding their current council tax bill and if they feel that they are paying too much. The caller then offers to investigate further for an up-front fee.

This scam has seen people hand over their bank account details to strangers.

Residents are advised not to agree to offers of this kind, and never to give out bank account or personal details to any callers who contact them under these circumstances

Find out how to appeal your Council Tax banding.

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We have had reports of door to door cold callers operating in the Hipswell Highway area offering to carry out gardening work such as cutting down and trimming trees and cutting back hedges.

In one report where work was agreed by an elderly couple, the cost was particularly high for the level of work that was carried out. No paperwork was issued, only a flyer which gave little information as to who they were.

Never deal with doorstep traders as this is the favoured approach used by rogue traders who will provide a poor service and charge more than a reasonable price. If they give any contact details this will invariably be an accommodation address where the traders will not have any physical presence.

Also, be wary of leaflets posted through your door offering services; this can be just another way an unscrupulous trader will attempt to persuade you to have work done.

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 offering a 14 day cooling off period unless the cost is under £42.

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A Westwood resident has reported receiving an email alleging to be from Yodel and claiming that a delivery had been missed. The email contained a link to open.

This link that is likely to contain malware which if opened may be downloaded and installed on your device. Malware can monitor the user’s activity to capture banking or other private information, which is then transmitted back to the criminals.

Yodel has confirmed that these emails are fraudulent and have issued information on their website.

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The following notice has been issued by the manufacturer:

Bosch Power Tools attach great importance to the quality and safety of its products. User satisfaction is our highest priority. We would therefore like to inform you of a voluntary safety-related measure.

In the course of our on-going quality controls we have determined that, due to a faulty component, the cutting or grinding disc together with the fastening fixture (spindle) could become detached during operation on a limited number of angle grinders. We therefore cannot rule out the possibility of cuts or bruises being incurred in rare cases.

To fulfil our responsibility to our customers, we have decided to recall all potentially affected devices as a precaution and, where necessary, to repair or exchange the devices. We will naturally exchange or repair the devices free of charge.

With immediate effect, the angle grinders involved may no longer be used or provided to others. Should you have meanwhile resold a potentially affected device or passed it on to others, we kindly request that you pass this safety warning on to the recipient as quickly as possible so as to ensure that these products are no longer used.

The following devices are affected: devices manufactured in Russia of Series GWS 20, GWS 22, GWS 24, PWS 20, PWS 1900, PWS 2000 from the production period June through to August 2016 and the model GWS 24-230 JVX Professional with brake from the production period February through to October 2016. They can be clearly identified by way of the country of manufacture in conjunction with the device and serial numbers.

Visit https://www.anglegrindercare.com/en_UK/form for more details.

For queries, please contact Bosch's 24 hour helpline on 00800 83 646 704

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