Neighbourhood watch have been asked to forward the following message
from Trading Standards at Bromley Council and will be grateful if you could give
it the widest circulation among your membership.
Trading Standards are warning residents to
be on their guard for bogus builders following 2 attempts to scam older residents.
A
70 year old man reported he was cold called by a male who he described as aged
about 40, overweight, over 5’9” tall who said he was from a company which was an
off shoot of Dynorod. The man told the consumer there was a problem with sewers
at the rear of his property and gained access to the back
garden to check a manhole.
The man then produced a mobile phone and
told the resident to speak to “the boss”. A man named David Pearce told him to
check his toilets. On doing so, the consumer found one of the toilets was
almost overflowing with clean water and there was a lot of toilet paper round
the top of the bowl. At this point, the resident realised he was being scammed
and told the man to leave. It was evident someone had gained access to his home
while he was in the garden.
A second report came from Natwest in Bromley
when a 78 year old Shortlands woman went into the branch looking to withdraw
£5,800 for building work. When bank staff asked her about the work, the
customer said she was stopped in the street by a man who said he was digging up
the pavement in her street and needed to check her drains. She allowed him into
her house to check the drains and on being asked to check her toilet she
discovered it was blocked. The man said he needed to hire a machine to clear
the blockage and asked for £5,800 in cash, which he said, would be refunded when
the work was complete.
These two reports are similar to ones reported in October 2015 and can be seen by clicking on this link October trading-standards-scam-warning.
Trading Standards are urging residents to
report any incidents of cold calling for property repairs and to keep a look out
for any vulnerable neighbours.
Referrals may be made via the
Trading Standards Rapid response Number on 07903 852090.
Kind regards,
Bromley Neighbourhood Watch Association
Find us on the Web at: www.bnwa.co.uk
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