Aberdeenshire Council Trading Standards Service today issued Bulletin No. 33 about doorstep crime and cold calling.

Trading Standards recently received a report from a vulnerable resident in south Aberdeenshire who was cold called by a roofer asking if they needed any work done. The resident engaged the roofer to make a small repair to tiles. While up on the roof the roofer claimed to have discovered a serious problem with another part of the roof which needed urgent attention. The resident, having agreed to the verbal quote of £7000, was then asked for a 50% deposit “for materials” in a forceful manner.

The roofer went back up on to the roof and removed the “faulty” tiles and other roofing materials, leaving them dumped on the ground. After the roofer had left for the day, on examination the resident could see no sign of the claimed damage or decay, surmising the tiles had been damaged deliberately. More seriously, daylight could now be seen through the area where the roofer had been working.

This was a classic case of the way that these rogue tradesmen operate. The vulnerable resident has now been left with a major headache which will cost thousands of pounds to rectify; all from a few tiles which should certainly have
cost less than a hundred pounds to repair.

Advice from Trading Standards remains the same: the risk of engaging cold calling tradesmen and ending up with this sort of result is just too great. Please be wary of offers of work from cold calling traders. Instead, do your own due
diligence and hire a tradesman with a proven track record, supported by reports from family, friends or neighbours. Consider placing “No cold calling” stickers at your front door, these can be provided on request by emailing Trading Standards at trading.standards@aberdeenshire.gov.uk

SCAMS

Further to a previous entry in Bulletin 31 regarding a Kennel Club investigation into lockdown puppy buying, Trading Standards have received a report of a puppy purchased recently via a sales website for almost £1000 and delivered to them. He had been assured the dog was being rehomed due to a family member being admitted to hospital but subsequently learned that the seller was a ‘breeder’, the dog was very ill, the implanted chip had not been registered and the vaccination card had been fabricated. Also, the vet bills incurred by the buyer have reached several hundred pounds… so far.

If you are considering buying a puppy, please do not buy from sales websites or social media, do not have them delivered to your home and do not meet the seller in an agreed neutral location for a handover. These are very common tactics used by illicit breeders and avoided by reputable breeders.

Instead:
• ask to see the puppy in its home environment, and with the mum to satisfy yourself that it is being cared for properly (some breeders will be wary about this due to covid, so try to work out an agreeable solution where you can see the home environment or delay the transaction).
• ask to see what kind of food the puppy is being fed as you may have to feed it the same if you buy.
• ask questions about the puppy’s health; its temperament, any inherited conditions from the parents etc. and gauge the clarity and credibility of the answers and how forthright the seller appears in answering.
• ask to see the paperwork for the puppy’s vaccinations, microchip, any medication and details of any check-ups. You may also wish to contact the vet practice detailed on the paperwork to verify the details provided.

From a Trading Standards perspective, if you do buy a puppy it should be in good health and free from illness, had all relevant vaccinations and proof of this provided with genuine paperwork. As a puppy qualifies as ‘goods’ and if it turns out to be different from agreed (not fit for purpose), you have 30 days from date of purchase to reject and seek a refund from the seller, although the buyer may have to demonstrate the lack of fitness of purpose. Trading Standards can provide guidance on all of the above

CONTACTS

For urgent Trading Standards matters, contact Aberdeenshire Council’s Trading Standards at 01467 537222. For non-urgent enquiries, please contact Consumer Advice Scotland at https://www.consumeradvice.scot/ or on 0808 164 6000.
Contact Police Scotland on 999 if you need urgent Police assistance or 101 for non-urgent matters.

For more information about scams please visit Friends Against Scams at https://www.friendsagainstscams.org.uk/ or Take Five at https://takefivestopfraud.org.uk/

All previous Trading Standards bulletins can be found at:
http://publications.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/dataset/trading-standards-crime-andscams-bulletin