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| Issued By Northumberland County Council |
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| Issued By Northumberland County Council |
COUNCIL ISSUES "COWBOY BUILDERS" WARNING
NORTHUMBERLAND
County Council
Trading Standards Watchdogs and Northumbria Police today issued an urgent
warning to householders to be wary of any traders calling at their home offering
to carry out building work.
This
follows a number of instances in the Cramlington area where elderly, vulnerable
residents have been conned out of large sums of money in return for shoddy,
substandard repairs to their properties.
County
Trading Standards Officer, Mick King said: “Think
before you agree to employ an unexpected caller to carry out any work for you.
If you have any doubts at all then just say “No thank you” and close
the door. If the caller refuses to
leave, dial 999 and ask for the Police.”
Inspector
Alan Brown of Northumbria Police advises householders to adopt some simple
security measures.
“Fix
a security chain to your door, and make sure you use it every time someone calls
and never let a caller into your home if you are at all suspicious of them,” he
said. “If so, contact your local police
station.
“There
have been people operating in the area whose work is substandard, but unless we
get to know about it, we can’t assist.”
Further
information is available from:
Tel:
01670 534251
Email:
noutterside@northumberland.gov.uk