No cold calling

Trading Standards officers in Carmarthenshire are urging people to stay safe in their own homes by saying a firm ‘No’ to cold calling doorstep traders.

Today (12 November) marks the beginning of the Trading Standards Institute’s (TSI) annual National Consumer Week.

Householders are encouraged to download a no cold calling ‘super sign’ from www.tradingstandards.gov.uk . It tells cold calling doorstep traders to go away – those who don’t are committing a criminal offence and consumers should report them to the police or trading standards.

Officers from Carmarthenshire are backing the national campaign to close the door on rogue traders and help end the heartache and financial loss that can be caused by unscrupulous cold callers, who often target the elderly and vulnerable.

More than 10,000 complaints are made nationally about cold calling doorstep traders every year, but this is likely to only be the tip of the iceberg –victims are often embarrassed and frightened so many incidents will go unreported.

Householders in Llanelli have been targeted by rogue traders and some have parted with significant sums of money.

House owners in Llanelli have been targeted by traders offering to do house painting, property maintenance such as gutter cleaning, tree felling and pruning.

Trading Standards officers have arranged for leaflets to be distributed to houses in the town following a spate of serious incidents.

The leaflet gives advice such as always asking for paperwork including the full name and address of the business, seeking alternative quotes, asking to see public liability insurance and if appropriate a waste carrier licence, and clearly sends a message that money must never be handed over before the work is complete. Customers must be given written notice of a seven day cooling off period.

More than 30 No Cold Calling Zones have been set up in Carmarthenshire and have been proven to make householders feel safer in their own homes.

County council executive board member for public protection Cllr Jim Jones said: “Our trading standards officers regularly deal with cold callers targeting vulnerable consumers for expensive, unnecessary and badly done home maintenance work.

“I would urge householders to take care when traders call at the door uninvited. The message is – do not pay when asked for money even for the smallest job.

“We want people to have the courage to refuse making on the spot decisions about buying costly home repairs that they may not need. They should always contact a reputable trader and obtain quotes.”