Bogus doorstep callers include
- Rogue builders and roofers who charge high prices for poor work that is often unnecessary.
- People offering to tarmac your drive with “left overs” claiming to work for the council or the highways department. They often quote you one price and then demand considerably more once it has been laid.
- Jobbing gardeners who disappear soon after starting the job if paid in advance, or do a poor quality job not worth the money demanded.
- People selling "leather" three-piece suites, who take hundreds of pounds for a poor-quality, non-leather product that often turns out to be unsafe.
- Fish sellers who pressurise people into buying large quantities of over priced fish that is often of a poor quality.
Staying Safe Tips
LOCK: Make sure your door is locked when you’re at home and don’t unlock it until you’re sure who is on the other side.
STOP: If someone appears at your door, and you’re not expecting any visitors, check that all the doors are locked. Look through the spy-hole or the window to see who it is.
CHAIN: If you decide to open the door, put the door chain or bar on first. Keep the bar or chain on while you are talking.
(Normally, when the door is shut and locked, leave the bar or chain off, in case you need to get out in an emergency)
CHECK: Ask for, and double check, their identity card. And if you’re still not sure, look in the phone book for a number you can ring to confirm their identity. If they can’t show you any identification, don’t let them in.
You should never be pressurised into agreeing to buy something or have work done, and a bona fide trader will always provide you with a document setting out your rights to cancel the contract. Always seek alternative quotes from established local traders before making your decision to proceed with any work.
"At the end of the day, the simplest advice is always the best - if in doubt, keep them out."
Distraction Burgulary
Distraction burglary has generated considerable public concern during recent years due to the predatory way in which elderly and vulnerable people are targeted by bogus callers.
Darlington Partnership’s Sustainable Community Strategy, One Darlington: Perfectly Placed, identifies the ‘Safer Darlington’ theme as being critical to the delivery of One Darlington. Darlington Borough Council Trading Standards Service, together with it’s partners, is working towards stamping out doorstep crime and making vulnerable Darlington residents feel safer in their own homes.
A key element within our doorstep crime prevention strategy is to focus attention on raising awareness of the issues with those people identified as more likely to become victims, as the transient nature of offenders can sometimes make offences extremely difficult to investigate after they have occurred.
Darlington Trading Standards Service is re-launching it’s Action Pack with the aim of raising awareness of doorstep crime and to provide elderly and vulnerable Darlington residents with simple steps to follow on how to deal with callers at the door. The Action Pack also includes information on dealing with various scams and the use of home security measures.
The Action Packs are available from the Trading Standards Reception at 11 Houndgate, Crown Street & Cockerton Libraries, Age Concern and the Citizens Advice Bureau.
The Action Packs will complement Darlington Trading Standards already established work in running training sessions on the ‘Beware the Bogeyman’ programme.
If you would like an Action Pack to be sent to you, or if you are an organisation which would like more information on the ‘Beware the Bogeyman’ training then please contact Darlington Trading Standards on 01325 388799.
NOTES:
The Beware the Bogeyman is a training package that aims to give support agencies a tool to raise older people’s awareness of doorstep crime issues and encourage safer doorstep crime behaviour. The package can be presented to an individual or to groups and is built around the Beware the Bogeyman dvd.
Make sure you have a Doorchain fitted and always use it when you have a visitor to your door.
Always ask for and check any visitors ID before allowing them in to your home.