Door step scams
If you need to speak to someone about a suspicious doorstep visit, contact the Trading Standards Service on 0116 252 6577.
Doorstep salespersons do provide a valuable service, bringing shopping facilities and services to people's home. Unfortunately, not all callers are genuine, some use pressure selling tactics to rush people into a decision which may end up with shoddy work and a large bill.
Be mentally prepared for visits from these people so that you do not fall victim to the conmen.
Remember One, that the best advice is to never agree to have a job done on the spot by people who call without an appointment. Ask them to come back when you've had a chance to think things through, to talk to friends and neighbours or us at the City Council.
Remember Two, doorstep sellers are experts at getting people to buy. They will be extremely persuasive. Once you have let a doorstep seller into your home, they will be expecting a sale - and they won't give up easily.
Case Studies - It could be you next!
A 63-year-old Preston man signed a contract after more than four hours' high pressure selling from a double-glazing salesman. He was able to cancel the contract the next day, having obtained cheaper quotes from other glazing companies....
"It didn't matter how many times I refused to sign the contract, the salesman just wouldn't go. In the end I gave in because I was exhausted and it was the only way to get him out of my home. I would advise anyone not to sign, and always to get alternative quotes."
Salesmen persuaded a Lancashire woman to sign a contract for a £3,000 burglar alarm after telling her that her dogs could be blinded or even poisoned by intruders. She later cancelled the contract when she realised the company had misled her.
"They scared me into buying an alarm by making me feel unsafe in my own home . Thank goodness I checked up on them."
A stranger knocked on the door of an 87 year old Hampshire man and told him his chimney looked dangerous, offering to give a price for the work he said was needed.....
"I knew he was talking rubbish because I used to work in the building trade and I know my bungalow is well maintained. I told him, "You may frighten some people but you don't frighten me." I run the local Neighbourhood Watch scheme and often hear about conmen like this."
Two pensioners from Haverhill, Suffolk received a phone call saying that they had won a free holiday. When a representative of the company called at their house, he persuaded the couple to buy a vacuum cleaner for £1,600. They later got their money back after complaining to their local trading standards officer.....
"We didn't need or want a vacuum cleaner but he was so persuasive we didn't know what to do. The whole experience has made us very wary of doorstep sales. Now we simply say "no thanks" and shut the door."
Cowboy builders persuaded a Yorkshire pensioner to part with £300 for home repairs, £100 more than the price he thought he had verbally agreed with them....
"I felt intimidated into giving them the money. I wrote asking for a refund but the letter was returned with "address unknown" stamped on it, so it's clear they were a bogus firm."
A 79-year-old Sunderland man parted with £665 after a doorstep salesmen persuaded him to have a small patio built for a total fee of £1,300. They demanded half the money up front, and even drove him to his bank so he could withdraw the money. His son has tried unsuccessfully to cancel the contract and retrieve his father's money...
"My father gets confused sometimes and didn't realise he was being massively overcharged for a job I could do for £500."
Useful Internet publications
Age Concern, Bogus Callers (Distraction Burglary, Factsheet 33
Help the Aged, Security in the Home, Internet leaflet no 19
Neighbourhood Watch, Bogus Callers, The Knock at the Door
Energy Watch, Doorstep and telephone selling: a guide for gas and electricity consumers
Doorstep salespersons do provide a valuable service, bringing shopping facilities and services to people's home. Unfortunately, not all callers are genuine, some use pressure selling tactics to rush people into a decision which may end up with shoddy work and a large bill.
Be mentally prepared for visits from these people so that you do not fall victim to the conmen.
Remember One, that the best advice is to never agree to have a job done on the spot by people who call without an appointment. Ask them to come back when you've had a chance to think things through, to talk to friends and neighbours or us at the City Council.
Remember Two, doorstep sellers are experts at getting people to buy. They will be extremely persuasive. Once you have let a doorstep seller into your home, they will be expecting a sale - and they won't give up easily.
Case Studies - It could be you next!
A 63-year-old Preston man signed a contract after more than four hours' high pressure selling from a double-glazing salesman. He was able to cancel the contract the next day, having obtained cheaper quotes from other glazing companies....
"It didn't matter how many times I refused to sign the contract, the salesman just wouldn't go. In the end I gave in because I was exhausted and it was the only way to get him out of my home. I would advise anyone not to sign, and always to get alternative quotes."
Salesmen persuaded a Lancashire woman to sign a contract for a £3,000 burglar alarm after telling her that her dogs could be blinded or even poisoned by intruders. She later cancelled the contract when she realised the company had misled her.
"They scared me into buying an alarm by making me feel unsafe in my own home . Thank goodness I checked up on them."
A stranger knocked on the door of an 87 year old Hampshire man and told him his chimney looked dangerous, offering to give a price for the work he said was needed.....
"I knew he was talking rubbish because I used to work in the building trade and I know my bungalow is well maintained. I told him, "You may frighten some people but you don't frighten me." I run the local Neighbourhood Watch scheme and often hear about conmen like this."
Two pensioners from Haverhill, Suffolk received a phone call saying that they had won a free holiday. When a representative of the company called at their house, he persuaded the couple to buy a vacuum cleaner for £1,600. They later got their money back after complaining to their local trading standards officer.....
"We didn't need or want a vacuum cleaner but he was so persuasive we didn't know what to do. The whole experience has made us very wary of doorstep sales. Now we simply say "no thanks" and shut the door."
Cowboy builders persuaded a Yorkshire pensioner to part with £300 for home repairs, £100 more than the price he thought he had verbally agreed with them....
"I felt intimidated into giving them the money. I wrote asking for a refund but the letter was returned with "address unknown" stamped on it, so it's clear they were a bogus firm."
A 79-year-old Sunderland man parted with £665 after a doorstep salesmen persuaded him to have a small patio built for a total fee of £1,300. They demanded half the money up front, and even drove him to his bank so he could withdraw the money. His son has tried unsuccessfully to cancel the contract and retrieve his father's money...
"My father gets confused sometimes and didn't realise he was being massively overcharged for a job I could do for £500."
Useful Internet publications
Age Concern, Bogus Callers (Distraction Burglary, Factsheet 33
Help the Aged, Security in the Home, Internet leaflet no 19
Neighbourhood Watch, Bogus Callers, The Knock at the Door
Energy Watch, Doorstep and telephone selling: a guide for gas and electricity consumers