Good neighbours stop rogue traders
Residents in Plymouth are being asked to keep an eye on their elderly and vulnerable neighbours as part of a campaign to keep rogue traders away.
National Consumer Week gets underway next week and this year’s theme is ‘Good neighbours stop rogue traders’.
A team from the Council’s Trading Standards, together with Devon and Cornwall police community support officers, will be handing out ‘No Cold Calling Packs’ and Buy With Confidence leaflets in the Co-Operative Store on Ridgeway and on Broadway.
They will be urging passers-by to think about how they can help look out for the more vulnerable in the street.
The locations have been chosen as the majority of reported rogue trader incidents occur in Plympton and Plymstock.
Officers will also be calling on previous victims of doorstep crime to check that they have not been targeted again.
Councillor Brian Vincent, Cabinet Member for the Environment said: “The practices of rogue traders sicken me. They con their way into homes of our more vulnerable residents, carry out shoddy work and demand cash payments, often behaving quite unpleasantly.
“We need to look after our more elderly or vulnerable. They are entitled to feel safe and content in their own homes.
“It’s heartening to hear that the number or rogue traders reported seems to have fallen – however we still think that only 10 per cent of victims get in touch with us. That means at least 300 possible cases a year. That’s too many.
“A greater awareness of rogue traders together with consumers being made more aware of schemes such as Buy with Confidence, is a huge step in the right direction”, he said.
The National Trading Standards Board survey found that 85 per cent of victims are over 65 years of age and 23 per cent of victims said it had affected their health.
Buy With Confidence is a nationally recognised scheme run by Trading Standards teams across the country. Businesses have to be vetted and approved to ensure that they operate in a legal, honest and fair way. So far over 200 businesses have joined the scheme.
Trading Standards officers and PCSOs will be at The Broadway today (Tuesday 4 November) from 9.30am until 3pm
