Watchdog in warning to householders over rogue gardening gangs

Homeowners in both Whitby and Scarborough have been approached in the last week by doostep callers arriving unannounced to offer to tackle overgrown gardens following the winter months.

But North Yorkshire County Council’s trading standards officers have stressed householders should not take up the offers and should only book reputable firms to carry out the work.

The council’s head of fraud and financial investigations, Ruth Andrews, said: “Our message is clear, consumers should not deal with doorstep callers. In addition, we would like to hear from anyone who has been cold-called and been offered gardening services, particularly from consumers who traded with the callers.

“At this time of year, the number of cold callers offering gardening services increases, and we would encourage anyone who needs gardening work doing to contact local, reputable firms to get work done. Dealing with doorstep callers can lead to shoddy work, over-charging and to residents being unable to contact traders subsequently if problems arise.

“We know that doorstep callers deliberately target the elderly and vulnerable and would request that family members, friends, neighbours and others in the community report doorstep callers to us or the police immediately, to help us protect the most vulnerable.”

The Yorkshire Post revealed last month that a nationwide network of rogue traders is preying on dementia sufferers in the region amid warnings the campaigns of exploitation will become more wide-spread as mental illness among the elderly is expected to soar. Criminal gangs have turned their attention to the rising number of pensioners who are suffering from mental illness in a callous attempt to avoid detection due to their victims’ failing memories.

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