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In this issue:
 An elderly couple who were plagued by
nuisance calls can finally enjoy some peace and quiet thanks to Coventry Trading
Standards
Trading Standards installed their
first-ever call blocker unit at the couple's Eastern Green home after
investigations revealed they had been bombarded by nearly 500 calls from scam
artists and marketers for two months.
The couple, in their mid-80s, are both
living with dementia and officers were shocked to discover that 73% of all
their incoming calls were classified as nuisance calls & were blocked by
the unit - the national average is about 50%.
Officers intervened after being contacted
by the couple's concerned son.
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Saadi
Barashi, who was involved in running of Albaraka Market, on Victoria Street,
Coventry was sentenced at Coventry Crown Court to six month’s imprisonment.
At an earlier hearing Mr Barashi had pleaded guilty to 4 offences under the
Trade Marks Act 1994 and 10 offences of breaches of the Tobacco Products
(Manufacture Presentation and Sale) Regulations 2002.
These
offences related to possessing for supply of 153 packs of counterfeit
cigarettes and 2765 illicit packs of cigarettes, hand rolling tobacco and
shisha tobacco. The illicit tobacco with a street value of approximately
£18,850 was forfeited by the court for destruction.
 If you receive an email or see social media postings about a parcel delivery
‘scam’ relating to a company called ‘PDS’ and an ‘0906’ telephone number please
be aware this information relates to a postal scam from 2005 which was shut
down quickly by the appropriate regulator.
Unfortunately warnings about this ‘scam’ have reappeared yearly in the
run up to Christmas since then although the price of the telephone call has
increased from £15 in 2005 to £315 in 2014.
If you receive an email relating to this or see this ‘scam’ being shared
by friends online please do not repeat this information as it only helps
to continue this hopelessly outdated and unnecessary warning.
You can let them know that the telephone number in the message is not in
service and is no cause for concern.
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Three people at the heart of a country-wide council tax
re-banding scam were sentenced on 27 November 2014 at Leeds Crown Court,
following a year-long investigation and prosecution by the National Trading
Standards Yorkshire and the Humber Scambuster Team. The scam involved claiming they could lower Council Tax rating and bills, for a fee of
between £145 - £185 and if re-banding was successful, the business would be
entitled to a percentage of the overpayment arrears refunded to the
householder. From February 2012, over 1,600 complaints were received by Trading
Standards throughout England about a number of businesses variously operating
under the names ‘Council Tax Review’, ‘CTR’, ‘Reband UK Limited’, ‘Household
Claims’ and ‘Smartband’.
Following the lengthy investigation Jack Darrell Henry and three of his
co-defendants were indicted for conspiracy to defraud and money
laundering. Jack Darrell Henry pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 5
years and 10 months imprisonment and was disqualified as acting as a company
director for 13 years. Wendy Ann Smith (a salesperson) was found guilty
of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering and sentenced to 2 years
imprisonment and John Charles Boon (the businesses accountant) was found
guilty of money laundering and sentenced to 6 months imprisonment suspended for
2 years. Asif Iqbal, the fourth defendant was acquitted. The total
criminal benefit of the fraud is estimated as over £250,000.
We have
received more reports from residents about calls they have received from people
claiming they were from the
Council. Calls have included asking things about resident’s home, such as
whether they have a conservatory or Sky TV and in one case a Walsgrave
resident reported being asked if they had a wood burner as if they were causing
any smoke they would be committing an offence.
Be on your
guard against telephone cons and never give out personal details and security or bank details to
anyone cold-calling.
Chapel Foods Ltd have recalled some
packs of its steak pies because they may have been packed with chilli bean pies. The chilli bean pies contain gluten, which is not mentioned on the label.
This means the product is a possible risk to anyone with an allergy or
intolerance to wheat or gluten.
The Product Recall applies to: Genius
Gluten Free Denby Dale Steak Pies (2 pack).
Pack size: 320g with ‘Best Before’
Dates: 31 October 2015, and 1 November 2015 and has Batch code: 41915 307.
If you have bought the above product
and have an allergy or intolerance to wheat or gluten, do not eat it. Instead,
return it to the store from where you bought it for a full refund.
For
more information on scams, visit: www.coventry.gov.uk/scams
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