Following this attempt to extort £600 from an 80-year old Orpington man, Bromley Trading Standards has issued the following details:
"An 80 year old Orpington resident was recently approached by a man, described as medium height, well spoken, white male, who was waiting outside of the resident’s house on his return from shopping.
The male asked the resident if he would like his gutters cleaned, the cost would be £10. As the male was fairly persuasive the resident reluctantly agreed, the male promised to return the following day to carryout the work.
Later that evening the resident received a telephone call from a male (he thinks it was the same person) who gave his name as Mr Jenkins and who claimed that his gutters, soffits and fascia boards were rotten and would in fact need replacing at a cost of £1500. The resident initially said no but after a lot of badgering by Mr Jenkins and reducing the price to £600 he eventually agreed to have the work done. Jenkins said that he would send a courier to collect the cash that evening and the work would start the next day.
The resident did not answer the door and no money was paid. However this was a clear attempt to take money from an elderly vulnerable victim.
Jenkins gave his details as ABD Contractors 6 Station Road BR6 2HZ. Tel: 0208 400 8765. Mobile number 07405 705518. Subsequent checks show that this is an incorrect postcode for the address. The landline phone number is unobtainable and the mobile number goes to voicemail." (See below for information about being vigilant and protecting vulnerable friends and neighbours from rogue traders.)
In partnership with the Metropolitan Police and Bromley Adult Safeguarding, Trading Standards have initiated a campaign to raise awareness about rogue traders and mass marketing scams which are particularly affecting elderly and vulnerable adults in our local communities.
Rogue Traders are generally those who “cold call”, i.e. knock without an invitation and offer to carry out, often unnecessary, works on homes and gardens. They make untruthful statements and carry out shoddy work with the intention of obtaining as much money as they can.
Mass marketing scams are mass-produced letters made to look like personal letters or important documents, in the hope of tricking the recipient into sending cash, making money transfers or disclosing personal information such as bank details.
For further information, visit the website at www.bromley.gov.uk/scams. Download leaflet here.
To raise awareness there are new publicity materials urging family, friends and neighbours to call the Trading Standards Rapid Response number, 07903 852090, when they suspect vulnerable neighbours and relatives are, or could become, victims of doorstep crime. Most importantly, the advice, support and assistance helps victims to deal with the problems arising from these criminal activities and it will also allow Trading Standards to gain valuable information about rogue traders and scam mail criminals operating within the borough.
Trading Standards are asking for everyone's assistance in disseminating this information to friends and neighbours, particularly the elderly and vulnerable members of our community. This could be by delivering new leaflets to individual homes, sending messages via email or a combination of both. Further, local organisations which publish newsletters are being asked to include an article on this initiative highlighting the Rapid Response telephone number 07903 852090. In addition to this Trading Standards staff would be happy to come along to local meetings and give a short presentation.
Anyone wishing to help in spreading this message more widely and who would like some leaflets and posters, please contact
Beverley Nicklin at Bromley Trading Standards by telephone: 020 8461 7832 or email: [email protected]
giving the following information:
- Your home address to send the leaflets to
- Number of A5 leaflets required
- To which roads you are able to deliver
- Approximate number of emails you could send to your group members with a pdf document attachment
- Contact details for the editor of your organisation's newsletter
- Details of the meeting at which you would like Trading Standards to come along to speak