Rogue Trader Alert!

I have been alerted to a rogue trader incident in Helsby earlier in the week. Two men have charged a vulnerable lady £250 for 30 mins work. They stole nothing, she agreed fairly readily they told her how much in advance but gave no written estimate or receipt. They drove a white flat bed.

A Rogue Trader is a person or persons who call uninvited to your home to sell goods and services but have no regard for the law. They generally target more vulnerable people.

Doorstep selling is a preferred approach of many rogue traders. Rogue traders target their victims and provide poor quality, unfinished and often unnecessary work.

Claims made about investments may also be untrue. Some rogue traders will not take no for an answer and may try to stay in your home until you sign a contract.

It is also often linked with distraction burglary-where a resident is drawn out of the house, for example to look at their roofing and while they are occupied another person enters the home and steals valuables.

PCSO Neil