Trading Standards is warning residents to be on their guard against bogus telephone scams.

Via our colleagues at Age UK, we have been made aware of a scam phone call received by one of their Coventry clients.

The client had been called by ‘BT’ and advised that their email account had been hacked and access codes to the BT account and online banking accounts needed to be changed as a matter of urgency.

The call lasted for over an hour and unfortunately during this time banking information was disclosed and remote PC access allowed.

With this information, the fraudster was then able to withdraw £4,000 from the online bank account. Thankfully in this instance, the transaction flagged up as ‘unusual’ which alerted the banks Fraud Team and all monies were recuperated.

Last September, there was a national report of another victim who lost £30,000 to the same scam.

BT confirm they would not make this kind of approach to any resident and certainly would not ask for personal information to be divulged.

We would advise that if any resident receives a similar call, do NOT give out any personal information, and hang up on the call. We are anxious for people not to be caught out, so please be on your guard for this or any other bogus caller.

If you receive a suspicious call claiming to be BT do not give or confirm any personal or financial details, hang up, wait five minutes and then contact BT Customer Service on 0800 800 150.

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Residents are being warned to beware of persistent and unwanted phone calls from people claiming to be offering free boilers for householders on benefits.

This comes after numerous reports from other parts of the region.

Consumers are warned that these calls may be being made by people who actually want to sell you overpriced boiler cover or a boiler at a ‘discount’ which may not save you money at all!

Trading Standards advise people to always be very wary of any approach made in a telephone cold call and to never give or confirm any personal details or agree to someone visiting your home if approached in this manner.

Impartial advice on energy saving and accessing genuine grants is available from the Energy Saving Trust.

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National Trading Standards is warning consumers about a new scam targeting those looking for help with printer problems.

The ‘printer helpline scam’ differs from most scams as it sees consumers contacting the criminals directly, after seeing fake ‘helpline’ numbers in online adverts placed on search engines or social media.

Typically, users then allow scammers remote access to their computers.

They appear credible by claiming to have links with well-known computer and printer brands.

In one case, they tried to charge a victim £700.

Another user was told that their online identity had been corrupted and all their passwords had been stolen. The "fee" to correct it was £200.

One particular group behind these scams – which claims to be affiliated with a wide range of technology brands and printer manufacturers – holds victims to ransom by taking control of their computers before demanding payment to return control.

Trading Standards advise If you are seeking help for printer issues you should always use the official printer helpline details provided when you bought the product or consult the official website of the manufacturer for helpline details.

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The new 12-sided £1 coin is being rolled out from 28 March 2017 and the current round version will stop being legal tender (and so won’t be accepted in shops) on 15 October 2017. After that, if you still have any old £1 coins, you won’t be able to spend them.

Many banks and building societies have said they will continue to accept the old pound coin even after 15 October but only for their own customers.

The new plastic five pound notes are already in circulation, and the older, larger version has a withdrawal date of 5 May 2017.

Technically unlike the pound coin, the £5 banknote is produced by the Bank of England and not the Royal Mint. This means that, even after it’s been scrapped, the old note is covered by what’s effectively a Bank of England ‘buy back guarantee’ – old banknotes officially hold their face value “for all time”.

That means if you’re stuck with an old note after 5 May, you can still exchange it at face value with the Bank of England in London, in person or by post (at your own risk). However, while they’re under no obligation to do so, many banks and building societies say they will accept the old notes from their own customers.

Our advice is to check if you’ve got any old five pound notes and use them while you’re able to.

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Quorn Foods Ltd is recalling a batch code of its frozen Meat Free Mince because it may contain small pieces of metal. 

This product was only sold at Tesco.

Product: Quorn Meat Free Mince

Pack size: 300g

Best before date: 31 August 2018

Batch code: 136331

No other batches or Quorn Foods products are known to be affected. 

Risk: Product may contain small pieces of metal which could represent a safety risk.

Advice: If you have bought the above product do not eat it. Instead, return it to the store from where it was bought for a full refund.

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Pets at Home is recalling four lines of its AVA dry cat food products because there are lower levels of thiamine (Vitamin B1) present than specified in the recipe.

Product: AVA Veterinary Approved Grain Free Mature 7+ Cat Food Optimum Health

Pack size: 2kg

Product code (under the barcode): 7120400

Batch codes:

• 6165 - best before 14 June 2017
  
• 6181 - best before 30 June 2017
• 6295 - best before 22 October 2017
• 6363 - best before 29 December 2017

Product: AVA Veterinary Approved Grain Free Mature 7+ Cat Food Optimum Health

Pack size: 4kg

Product code (under the barcode): 712401

Batch codes:

6165 - best before 14 June 2017

• 6169 - best before 18 June 2017
• 6210 - best before 29 July 2017
• 6252 - best before 09 September 2017
• 6325 - best before 21 November 2017
• 7016 - best before 16 January 2018

Product: AVA Veterinary Approved Grain Free Senior 12+ Cat Food Optimum Health

Pack size: 2kg

Product code (under the barcode): 712402

Batch codes:

• 6161 - best before 10 June 2017
• 6166 - best before 15 June 2017
• 6229 - best before 17 August 2017

Product: AVA Veterinary Approved Grain Free Adult Cat Food Indoor/Neutured

Pack size: 1.5kg

Product code (under the barcode): 712407

Batch codes:

• 6165 - best before 14 June 2017
• 6166 - best before 15 June 2017
• 6188 - best before 07 July 2017
• 7006 - best before 6 January 2018

No other AVA or Pets At Home products are known to be affected

Risk: Thiamine deficiency in cats may impact a cat’s health. Three cats have so far been identified which became seriously unwell after switching to one of the affected products and exhibited symptoms ranging from sudden collapse, fitting, widespread twitching and general unsteadiness which are not the classic symptoms of thiamine deficiency.

Advice: If you have bought any of the listed products with the specified product codes, please return it to where you bought it for a full refund or call 0800 328 4204.

If you have concerns that your cat may be showing any of these symptoms after switching to one of the four affected products then you should stop feeding and seek immediate veterinary advice. You can also contact one of Pets At Home customer advisers on 0800 328 4204 for general advice.

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