Rogue traders on doorstep put older people on path to misery

She and her husband, who suffers from Parkinson's Disease, had for a while been discussing having the uneven flagged path down the side of their house and the patio behind it relaid. Out of the blue, they'd received a cold call from a patio paving company, offering them a survey and quote.

The surveyor came and quoted a whopping 5,894 for the work, which was to include "sophisticated foundation work" beneath. Margaret's mother had a feeling this was an inflated price, and after quibbling with the company the quote was reduced to 4,394. She paid a deposit of 659, but quickly got cold feet, feeling the paving firm was taking advantage.

"At that point we came home from holiday, and my mother was both angry and embarrassed with herself. She also knew I would be angry that she'd allowed it to happen, and hesitated to tell me," said Margaret.

The elderly couple had signed a contract for the work, but had not been offered a seven-day cooling-off period.

Margaret had only a couple of days to try and stop the work happening. "I consider myself quite a strong person, one who gets things done, but it was extremely difficult," she says. She rang the firm and tried to invoke the cooling off period, to be told that this could not happen because the company had already incurred costs (ie the survey). She told them she was unhappy with the price, and the company suggested meeting to renegotiate.

"I needed time to get advice and rang Consumer Direct, who told me that legally I could invoke the cooling off period, and I wrote a letter to them, also asking for the return of the deposit. The company said they had 30 days to do so, but after that period the money had not been sent back. Several phone calls had no effect, and at one point someone said they had no record of the deposit .

"I was being treated like an idiot, so I went to the Trading Standards people and they took the company to court for failure to display their business address and phone number on their letterhead, making it very difficult to contact them. The company and directors were fined and directed to return the deposit."

All of this took 11 months, and in the meantime a local workman made a very good job of relaying the unsafe paving stones for 1,400.

Margaret feels certain unscrupulous companies share information about the addresses and phone numbers of elderly and vulnerable people, targeting them with cold calls by phone or turning up on the doorstep offering services for household improvements at inflated prices.

"I think younger people in the family need to keep in close contact with elderly relatives and step in very quickly if anything like this goes on. They also need to counsel against signing anything without talking to the family. It's very difficult because you want to be protective towards your parents, but at the same time you don't want to treat them as children, taking away their independence."

Older consumers have been warned by the Office of Fair Trading to be wary of rogue doorstep traders offering winter home improvement services. The OFT and the charity Age UK said such traders often targeted those who were older or vulnerable, with many consumers concerned about home maintenance following last year's severe winter.

While canvassing on the doorstep is not illegal, and many legitimate businesses operate in this way, rogue trading is an ongoing problem in the UK, the OFT said.

Advice service Consumer Direct received more than 5,300 complaints about traders offering home maintenance work on the doorstep last year, a 16 per cent rise from the previous year.

Age UK spokeswoman Helena Herklots said: "With last year's freezing temperatures still fresh in people's minds, we want to raise awareness of rogue doorstep traders offering services to prepare homes before bad

weather sets in.

"Although crime against older people is less likely than other age groups, rogue doorstep traders often target those who are older or more vulnerable, so it's important to be aware of the risks."

OFT spokeswoman Michele Shambrook said: "If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. Work or service carried out by these traders is sometimes unnecessary, of a poor standard, much more expensive than originally quoted or not done at all."

The OFT advised consumers to avoid agreeing to or signing anything on the doorstep, be wary of special offers or warnings that the house is

unsafe, and avoid snap decisions. Signs of possible rogue trading include gifts to the consumer, offering of a "special discount" and pressure selling, telling you that must sign up quickly or you will miss a "good deal".

Age UK – advice free on 0800 169 65 65. Age UK has produced a free brochure called Protect Yourself From Scams. It warns of the most common tricks and gives practical steps to ensure older people are not

taken in.

Consumer Direct advice line: 08454 04 05 06