The Isle of Wight Council’s Trading Standards team are warning island residents to be vigilant when answering the door to cold calling traders.
Don’t engage at the door
Never engage with traders on your doorstep who offer to do work. Do not engage no matter how persuasive they may seem, or how worried you are about your property.
Even if it is something small like offering to jet wash your drive, genuine traders do not often cold call for business, and rogue traders can leave your home in a worse state than when they found it.
Finding a trader safely
If you need work carried out on your property, then do the following:
- Contact somebody on the Isle of Wight Council Trader Approval Scheme. These are local traders who have gone through a strict vetting process by Trading Standards Officers to be on the Isle of Wight Council’s approved list.
- Use a recommendation from a friend or family.
- Get more than one quote and don’t necessarily go for the cheapest.
- Always make sure you get the traders full name and address – you will need this information if anything goes wrong and you need to pursue them in court.
- Be wary of using schemes for companies that match you with a trader – you can post an advert on their site and the traders respond. These, generally, don’t carry out any vetting procedure and will not help you if an issue arises. Anyone skilled or not can respond to your request – these are NOT trader approval schemes.
- Use a No Cold Calling sticker – available from [email protected]
- Ensure that any waste collection, whether household waste or garden waste, is carried out by a registered waste carrier. You can verify this by asking for their waste carrier licence number and ensuring you receive a waste transfer note for any waste that is collected or removed.
Do not engage, no matter how persuasive the trader seems.
If you spot a rogue trader
If possible to do safely, and without putting yourself in any danger, get any registration numbers of vehicles and/or description of the traders and report to Trading Standards on 01983 823371 or [email protected] and Hampshire Police on 101.
Reporting a scam
- For advice on scams call – Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline: 0808 250 5050
- To report a scam call – Report Fraud: 0300 123 2040
For more information visit: Doorstep traders – Isle of Wight Council
News shared by Isle of Wight council press office, in their own words. Ed
