Issued By North Yorkshire County Council

TRADING STANDARDS WARN OF TARMAC GANGS

TRADING STANDARDS officers in North Yorkshire are warning householders about teams of itinerant tarmac gangs operating in the county. 

A number of complaints have been made to officers. Thousands of pounds have been taken from householders for shoddy, poor quality and vastly over-priced work.  

Commonly, consumers are told by the gangs that they have spare tarmac left over from another job and that to re-lay their drive with this tarmac would only cost a couple of hundred pounds.  In reality the work is extremely poor quality and the end price is usually thousands of pounds which consumers are pressurised into paying.

In once instance a tarmac gang visited an 87-year-old farmer from the Harrogate area. They told him the job would cost just a few hundred pounds.  When they had finished they demanded £4,100 and pressurised the elderly gentleman into paying by cheque which was cashed at a local bank within 20 minutes. 

Trading Standards officers would in particular like to talk to 'gangs' who have operated under the names Nelson, Miller or Highways European NGB.  It is believed that all these operations are linked.

Stuart Pudney, head of trading standards and regulatory services for North Yorkshire County Council, said: “We have a major problem at the moment with tarmac gangs in the area. I would advise all consumers not to do business with any tarmac gangs who call at their property.

"If your driveway or yard requires re-tarmacing then you should contact a local contractor operating from a recognised base. There are no bargains to be had in dealing with itinerant traders, only problems and the likelihood of losing thousands of pounds.   We are trying to track the activities of these gangs through the county and would welcome calls from any members of the public who have seen them operating in their area."

People in North Yorkshire can contact trading standards on 01609-780780.