Householders warned of waste scam

Hambleton District Council has been alerted to a scam in the Great Broughton area where householders have received a letter claiming to be from the council’s ‘heavy waste collection’ service.

The letter offers help with the removal of heavy waste from refurbishments and home improvements.

“This letter brands itself as being from the district council – but from a service we do not have,” said operations manager, Paul Staines. “Householders are offered help to remove large items and [this firm] seems to target people who have recently moved into a house or have undertaken refurbishment work. We do not provide this service – we believe these unscrupulous people are looking to find valuable scrap to sell. And the remainder of the materials they will flytip.

“This is an alarming scam both for residents being targeted and us as an authority. Householders could be letting undesirable people into their homes – and for us the good name of the district council is being used illegally.”