Trading Standards have been made aware that some residents have been contacted by telephone and advised that the caller can offer valuations, council tax banding and area comparisons of their property with promises of saving them money.

The caller states they are calling on behalf of The Valuation Office Agency (VOA).

However, these will be private companies who will charge an administration fee of anything from £55 upwards.

Whilst it is not illegal for a company to offer this service, you can appeal yourself for free by contacting the Valuation Office Agency 

The Valuation Office Agency, who are responsible for determining the council tax band for your home, have provided some useful information about Council Tax scams and what you can do to avoid them. 

This is available via their website.

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Trading Standards has recently issued warnings about scam emails claiming the recipient is due a Council Tax refund.

We have now been made aware that some residents are now having similar text messages stating that ‘you have a pending Tax Refund from your council’ and supplying a link to ‘proceed with your application'.

These text messages are not genuine.

It is possible several variations of this message could be circulating with different web links.

If you receive this, or a similar text message, delete it without clicking on any links.

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Trading Standards is warning about telephone cold calls regarding loft insulation.

This follows a report from an Upper Eastern Green Lane resident who received a cold call claiming to be the ‘local conservation officer’. The cold caller then asked several questions about the properties’ insulation in an attempt to pressure the call recipient into making an appointment for a ‘surveyor’ to visit.

Previously a variety of claims and approaches have being used during these types of calls including:

• That a ‘compulsory insulation survey’ is required
• That your insulation ‘needs to be checked’ and they can send an ‘insulation expert’ to do this
• That ‘old’ or ‘fibreglass insulation’ is now ‘illegal’ or ‘unsafe’, sometimes stating this is due to ‘fire safety’
• That ‘council grants’ are available so it is at no cost.

If any resident would like to know what schemes or funding may be available, they can look at the Council's website where full information is offered:

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) explains the full criteria for free grant work, and what may also be available if you do not qualify.

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Asda Stores have issued the following warning:

Date Code: 08 Dec
Price: £1.45
Barcode: 505717201012

What’s happened?
As a precautionary measure, we are recalling Asda meatball marina meal with date code 08 Dec, due to a supplier packaging error that means the product may contain milk protein, which is not declared on the label. This means the product is a possible health risk for anyone with an allergy or intolerance to milk or milk constituents.

No other date codes or products are affected.

What you should do?
If you have purchased Asda meatball marina meal with date code 08 Dec, please bring it back to your nearest store where you will be given a full refund. You do not need your receipt.

We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused and will ensure this doesn’t happen again. If you would like any further information please contact:

Asda Customer Relations – 0800 952 0101

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