Consumer Alert from Lancashire County Council
4th of September, 2024
Consumer Alerts – September 2024
Bogus health & safety survey
Residents in Lytham are warned after a
householder was targeted by two men
who cold called stating that urgent
roofing work was required, and they
could do this remedial work for £1500
cash. When the resident declined, the
men said that they were in the area
doing a health and safety survey relating
to dangerous properties, and that they
would be back the next week to see if
they had changed their mind. They
made out that they were official when
they were discussing the survey but did
not say where they were from.
Beware aggressive cold callers
Residents are being warned about rogue
traders cold calling around the Thornton
Cleveleys area. In one case the traders
cold called on a householder claiming
they were contracted to do roofing work
for the neighbour and would sort out
some loose slates on the householder's
roof cheaply, using left over slates. The
traders were pushy and aggressive and
offered to take the householder to the
bank to get cash to pay for work done.
The men also made threats to a
neighbour who tried to help.
In another case cold callers advised a
householder their roof would soon be
leaking due to a small crack in their
chimney, and again falsely said that they
had been working on a neighbour's roof.
The householder asked for some
thinking time but was put under a lot of
pressure to agree there and then by the
very aggressive traders.
No paperwork was given, no legally
required cancellation rights provided.
Beware false claims on flyers
The Service has received a spate of
complaints in relation to flyers for
property maintenance work displaying
logos to help give the impression of
authenticity when this may not be the
case. Claims that the trader belongs to
an online trader platform, a trade
association, or has the approval of the
NHS or a local council should not be
relied on. Always make your own
independent checks with the
organisation. Be wary of flyers, use local
known traders, ask family and friends for
recommendations.
DVLA scam
Beware receiving an official looking
email or text pretending to be from the
DVLA claiming your car is not taxed and
to click on a link. The link asks for
payment and may also be designed to
steal personal information. Be
suspicious, the only place to access
official information on DVLA and its
services is www.gov.uk. The DVLA will
never ask for bank details over email and
never sends text messages about
vehicle tax or similar.
Contact the Trading Standards
Service via the Citizens Advice
Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133.
For information on current scams see
www.facebook.com/StanleyDards/.
Trading Standards advice is to always
say no to cold callers. The Safetrader
scheme can help you find a trader in
your area, contact 0303 333 1111 or
go to www.safetrader.org.uk.