A cold-caller who may offer you a service you don’t really need. They may claim to have noticed something about your property that needs work or improvement, such as loose tiles on the roof. They may even cause some minor damage to convince you that you need work done, and offer to fix it for cash or at an inflated price. Usually these conmen will pretend to fix the problem, but we are aware of instances where they have done more damage to extort more money from you, this may include gaining access to the interior of your property to inspect a repair or to look for further problems. Once inside they may steal your money and possession or make a note of anything of value for a future crime. These criminals are always friendly and obliging and appear to be trying to help you.

Our advice is:

Do not buy goods or services at the door, or from an unsolicited phone call.  If you need work doing either contact a trusted tradesman, perhaps someone who may have done work for you previously and ask them if they can quote you for the work or use the Trading Standards BuyWithConfidance Scheme for traders you can trust                                                                        

If you have elderly relatives, try to persuade them to contact you before they ask anyone to do repairs or if they need work doing. Remind them not to allow anyone they do not know into their home, nor to hand over any cash for work undertaken

Trading Standards approved “Buy with Confidence” traders. These businesses are vetted and audited by Trading Standards Officers. To find a Buy with Confidence trader visit www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk or alternately a list of approved traders can be obtained from Wiltshire Council’s Trading Standards service..

Never pay cash for this type of job and never hand over money until the work is completed to your satisfaction.