Coventry Trading Standards has received a report of a vulnerable resident in Allesley being targeted by a cold caller offering to jet wash the drive and weed the garden.

Whilst the jet washing was done, there was no weeding attempted, but the trader persuaded the resident into writing out a cheque for all the work. 

The trader did not provide any paperwork or contact details.

Two days later, the trader returned to the property accompanied by a female, and alleged the original cheque had bounced, and demanded another, which under pressure, the resident provided.

Although money had already been handed over, thanks to the prompt action of family members who became aware of what had happened, both cheques were stopped, and a significant amount was saved.

On another separate report that came via the police, a vulnerable resident in the Stoke area was also approached at the doorstep.

The resident was told that the gutters needed fixing and there were repairs needed to the front door. A price of £250 was agreed upon, and the money handed over in cash. The caller then made off at haste, and has not returned to carry out any of the promised work.

Rogue traders are individuals or groups of people who cold-call householders, often targeting vulnerable residents, claiming to be a bona fide business and purporting to offer services, most commonly buildings maintenance and repair, along with landscaping and gardening.

The current pandemic with a lot of people still working from home, or shielding, has provided a perfect opportunity for these rogues to catch more people at home and offer their services.

Our advice as always is not to deal with 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.

We would also ask that if you have any elderly or vulnerable neighbours that you keep a look out especially if you notice cold callers in your area or anyone acting suspiciously. It would also help if registration numbers of vehicles being used by the cold callers are noted down and reported.

If you have any information that may help us track down these unscrupulous cold callers or you wish to report any incidents involving a rogue trader or doorstep crime, contact us on 0808 223 1133.

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Coventry Trading Standards are urging members of the public to be vigilant following reports of fraudsters posing as people from the NHS Test and Trace service in Warwickshire.

The Test and Trace system is part of the government’s efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus, with contact tracers getting in touch with those who have had recent close contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19.

However, a number of fraudsters are using this to their advantage and posing as contact tracers to trick people into parting with their personal information. 

Contact tracers will:

• call you from 0300 013 5000 or send you text messages from ‘NHS’
• ask you to sign into the NHS test and trace contact-tracing website.
• ask for full name and date of birth to confirm identity, and postcode to offer support while self isolating.
• ask about the coronavirus symptoms you have been experiencing
• ask people to provide the name, telephone number and/or email address of anyone they have had close contact with in the two days prior to symptoms starting (as with your own details these will be held in strict confidence and will be kept and used only in line with data protection laws)
• ask if anyone they have been in contact with is under 18 or lives outside of England

They will not: 

• ask for bank details, or payments
• ask for details of any other accounts, such as social media

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Trading Standards have had a worrying report from the Potters Green area, where an elderly resident was verbally abused over the phone.

The caller had claimed to be from British Gas, and wanted to arrange a service for the boiler. 

When it was explained that this had already been done, the caller then became abusive and started shouting at the resident, at which stage the resident terminated the call.

OFCOM give the following advice:

Malicious, abusive or threatening calls, whether from people you know or from strangers, are a criminal offence.

If you receive such a call you should immediately call your phone company and ask for their nuisance or malicious calls team.

It doesn't matter whether you know the caller's identity or not.

Simply tell them what the caller said. In some cases, particularly if the caller is threatening, your phone company will advise you to call the police.

You may be offered ‘anonymous call rejection' from your provider which may prevent these kinds of calls in the future (ask your provider if there's a charge for this service).

Although this may stop abusive or threatening calls, you should be aware that such services may also block some calls you might want to continue receiving, such as some calls from overseas.

Read OFCOM guidance on abusive and threatening calls.

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