'Heartless' workmen con Eastbourne Woman!

At about 2pm on Thursday 17 November a man called at the 69-year old woman's house in Tollgate Gardens asking if she would like the gutters cleaned. The tradesman was very persistent and eventually she agreed. The tradesman was joined by a second tradesman who looked in the loft. They then quoted £80 for the work to be done, which she paid this in cash.

They went outside apparently to do the work, but were seen to drive off hastily in a white panel van. The woman was not convinced the work had been completed as she was unable to see any ladders and local workmen saw the two tradesmen picking up mud and throwing it along the ground directly beneath the guttering. She later found that a further £100 cash had disappeared from a bedroom in the house.

Both tradesmen are described as white. The first worker was between 18-22, slim build, 5' 8 to 5' 10", with short dark hair and was wearing a black jacket and dark colored jogging bottoms.

The second tradesman had a round shaped face, was in his late 20s to early 30s. and of medium build. He had short dark hair and was wearing a dark trench coat and blue jeans.

A third man who may be involved was seen nearby but no description is available.

The white panel van is possibly a Peugeot model and had pale blue writing on one of the side panels
Detective Constable Annie Nash said: "This was a disgusting crime committed against a woman in her own home by two heartless thieves. If you were in the Tollgate Gardens area on Thursday afternoon and saw these men, their van or you have any other information which may help, please contact us on 101 quoting serial 1056 of 18/11.

"Although this type of crime is infrequent, it serves as reminder to residents, especially the elderly, of the importance of keeping unannounced callers out of your property or parting with your money unless you are absolutely satisfied that they are who they say they are and that that they are there for a lawful purpose."

Rogue Traders Target Pensioner!

Rogue traders stole £900 from a home after offering to fix the owner’s guttering.

The pair of tradesmen turned up at the house in South Kilworth offering to carry out the work and asked the 67-year-old resident to hold a ladder on the pretense of one of them going up to have a look.

While he was distracted, the other cowboy tradesman walked into the house and stole £900 from a bedroom.

The incident happened sometime between 10am and 11am on Tuesday, November 8.

Now police are appealing for anyone else in the area visited by traders offering to carry out guttering or cladding work, to contact them.

Anyone with information of rogue traders is urged to phone 101 and leave a message for PC Read, badge number 4750.

What is Checkatrade?

When you need work doing around your home, finding reputable tradesmen can be difficult. Can you really trust them? Checkatrade is a free service that gives you the background information you need to make a confident decision.
 

We offer you a directory of trades and services that have been vetted to our high standards, for example by verifying their insurance, qualifications and professional memberships. Not only that, but we also monitor their work on an ongoing basis by collecting feedback directly from their customers.
 

Since 1998 we have collected 519,136 customer reports which give you the facts about the strengths and weaknesses of our listed companies. You know what you are getting. Recommendation, reputation, and a standard you can trust.

Rogue plumber's £700 bill!!

A rogue plumber charged more than £700 for a boiler job which should have taken two minutes, a court heard.
 
But Paul Forse, 39, had no idea he was being watched as part of a sting operation to catch cowboy tradesmen.
 

He was called out to a house to examine a faulty boiler and told the 'householder' - an undercover Trading Standards worker - he needed to fit a new circuit board.
 

He said the piece would cost about £215, which took his total bill for the work to £719.59, and set off apparently to buy a new circuit board.
 

But when he returned, he simply reinstalled the same piece. It had been marked with a unique scratch which meant it could be identified.
 

Buckinghamshire Trading Standards set up a range of simple household faults to test whether tradesmen called out to fix them were being dishonest.
 

Experts had tampered with the boiler, making it break down by loosening a wire. Video evidence showed Forse examining the boiler and spotting the wire.
 

Judge Roger Connor, at Aylesbury Crown Court, said: 'He was observed to note the loose wire connection which would have solved the problem, then pretended to note a faulty circuit board and pretended to buy a new circuit board.'
 

Forse, of Ruislip, North-West London, was ordered to do 120 hours of community service and pay costs of £6,893.

Read company profiles and customer feedback for Plumers working in your area at www.checkatrade.com.

Rogue builder warning as elderly lady loses over £5,000!!

South Ayrshire Council is issuing a warning to householders in the local area, as they suspect a rogue building and roofing gang is operating in the area.
 

The warning comes after one consumer was intimidated into paying over £5,000 in cash for the repair of just a few loose slates on her roof.

The elderly Ayr consumer, who lives alone, says she was ‘cold-called’ by the gang’s front-man who claimed to be working on another house on the same street. He advised her that her roof had ‘a few slates loose,’ but they could fix it that same day.

No price was agreed, but after a few hours work, the trader demanded £2500 in cash to ‘pay his boys’. The consumer felt she had no option but to pay, but when she was later informed that further roof sealing work was required - she refused.

She alleges the roofers then returned when she was not home and carried out further repairs and maintenance - this time demanding another £2,700.

The workmen allegedly surrounded her in an intimidating manner, and she felt there was no option but to return to the bank to again pay in cash.

The case is now being investigated, but the council is warning people, especially the elderly or vulnerable, to be on the look-out for the rogue outfit.

Read company profiles and customer feedback for Builders working in your area at www.checkatrade.com.

Checkatrade Reveals Revamped Website to Combat Rogue Traders!

Checkatrade (http://www.checkatrade.com), one of the first ‘anti rogue trader’ websites to open for business in the UK, is celebrating its growth as a champion of informed consumer choices by launching a revamped website today.

Recently nominated for a ‘Sussex Enterprise Business of the Year Award’, the West Sussex based company protects consumers against rogue traders by making public reports received about its members (trade and service providers) – now numbering 1,660 across the British Isles. All member traders have agreed to be vetted, as well as agreeing to a code of ethics, and are continuously monitored for quality and service.

The new-look Checkatrade.com has an expanded set of features that helps traders and the public alike. Thanks to the upgrade, Checkatrade can automatically provide each of its members with their own website, free of charge. These micro sites will include all the information Checkatrade holds about the trader, such as previous customer comments and scores out of 10 across eight elements of workmanship and service. In the past, traders were charged for this facility.

Meanwhile, the home page clearly shows the current number of members and the number of feedback cards received from consumers reporting on members in the previous month. New member company names are displayed, as well as examples of recent public feedback.

Consumers can easily search for vetted and monitored traders in their area, based on the reports and scores published on the members’ profiles. Details of a trader’s qualifications, public liability insurance, experience and membership of trade organisations are also shown to help the consumer make an informed decision.

Furthermore, site users can view footage of Checkatrade’s Kevin Byrne explaining the system, as well as videos of selected Checkatrade members (none of which are posed by actors!). Additionally, the site features a report produced by ITV Meridian about Checkatrade in July 2006.

Kevin Byrne, founder and managing director of Checkatrade, says: “Just about every day, we hear and see reports of people being ripped off by rogue traders. The public’s obvious need for a resource to help combat this problem has fueled our expansion during the last few years.”

He adds: “Our previous website served us well when Checkatrade was a small company operating out of a shed at the bottom of my garden. Now, as we have grown into purpose-built office premises with a staff of 40, over 1,600 members and website hit rate of 45,000 unique visitors a month, we have recognised the need for a clearer, more informative site that will benefit the public and our members.”

Why the UK needs Checkatrade and how it Works!

www.checkatrade.com the consumers champion is fast becoming the No 1 free information site to use when looking for a tradesperson or service provider.

Taking the time to check out a company to a sole trader prior to employing them is extremely important.  Do they have the correct and up to date Public Liability Insurance, the right qualifications, where they are based, how much work they have carried out in and around your area, do they have a good history of customer satisfaction?

Checkatrade.com have checked and display all this information and more.  A few minutes spent at the beginning could save hours of heartache for you at the end.  So make sure you are not the victim of a rogue trader and visit Checkatrade.com.

Two members of Checkatrade.com - Safe Gas Plumbing and Mr Trax feature in the write up about Checkatrade.com.

One in six families in Scotland falls victim to cowboy builders!

SCOTS are among the biggest victims of cowboy traders, a new survey shows today.

More than one in six householders north of the Border has suffered from dodgy workers botching jobs over the past five years.

The damage caused has cost a total of £737 million a year to fix across Britain, with 6.2 million people being affected.


Plumbers were the greatest cause of complaint, followed by roofers and builders, electricians, and painters and decorators.

Those who have suffered have paid out an average of £2,077 over the last five years, along with nearly £600 for repairs or completing unfinished work.

The poll showed just one third had sought several quotes or received a written quote first.

It found 17 per cent of those polled in Scotland had been victims, compared to 13 per cent across Britain. Only Londoners fared worse, 20 per cent of whom had lost out.

The Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland warned people against agreeing to unsolicited offers.

Chairman Neil Coltart said: "When a tradesman appears at your door offering to replace the missing tiles on your roof or cutting back the trees in your garden, it may end up costing you more than you bargained for.

"Not all doorstep tradesmen are criminals but consumers should be on their guard when conducting business on their doorstep.

"Always ask for some form of identification from the trader, also get a quote and then compare their price with at least two other local businesses.

"Ask for a testimonial from other householders in the area."

Ben Tyte of Sainsbury's Home Insurance, which commissioned the survey, urged homeowners to use only reputable traders.

He said: "We're concerned so many homeowners have to rectify poor workmanship carried out by people they've employed in good faith to work in their homes. It's completely unacceptable the remedial costs are exceeding £700m."

Read company profiles and customer feedback for Builders working in your area at www.checkatrade.com.

Warning over Falkirk bogus builders!

Conmen took a 67-year-old Falkirk man to the bank to withdraw more than £1,000 for work on his house that was never even started, police have said.

Three bogus builders called at the house in Marchmont Avenue and persuaded the owner to have the work done.

Central Scotland Police said householders should not pay for jobs until they are complete, unless a contract has been signed.

The force has appealed for information about the trio.

One is described as being about 5ft 7in tall with short blond hair which was spiked into the centre. He was wearing a black top with multi-coloured logos or badges and blue jeans. The second man was described as being about 6ft and was wearing a dark hooded parka-style jacket. The third was said to have brown short hair and was about 5ft 8in tall.

The trio called at the house between 3 and 8 October.

A Central Scotland Police spokeswoman said: "One of the men even took the elderly man to the bank to withdraw money. We strongly urge householders to turn cold callers away.

"If you are needing work done to your house then get quotes from reputable tradesmen and don't rely on those who cold call.  Check out recommended, vetted and continuously monitored trades & service providers at www.checkatrade.com

"No reliable tradesman will take the customer to the bank to withdraw funds. Under no circumstances should payment be made until the job is completed - unless by prior arrangement when a contract has been signed."

The spokeswoman also said that by law there was a "cooling off period" after agreeing to work to allow people to change their mind.

Read company profiles and customer feedback for Builders working in your area at www.checkatrade.com.