The council's local neighbourhood wardens Dave Commins and Laura Wallace this week spotted and reported bogus gardeners working in the area - and had even conned one householder out of £50 for poorly executed work. They were planning to return the following day to complete a project priced at an extortionate £800 until Dave and Laura discovered their plan, took a note of the vehicle registration and called the police and trading standards.
They are now putting local residents on their guard by leafleting homes with advice from the council's trading standards on how to deal with cold callers who could be rogue traders in disguise.
Cabinet Member for Leisure and Communities Councillor Elias Mattu said: "I want to praise the work of our neighbourhood wardens whose quick-thinking almost certainly saved this vulnerable lady from losing a lot of money. The advantage of this community based service is the speed of its responsiveness to the needs of local people.
"We are very pleased with the work of neighbourhood wardens across the city."
Cabinet Member for City Services Councillor John Reynolds said: "This rapid response service that links neighbourhood wardens with trading standards is providing real protection for residents. We will be doing more of it in the future."
Meanwhile, the council's trading standards team advice to householders is:
- don't agree to any work by cold-calling traders unless they provide a written quote
- never agree to paying in full up front - any payment you make in advance should be only 10% of the full amount
- agree all the details of the work in writing - including a completion date before any work starts
- never agree to contract with doorstep sellers
- released: Friday 21 June, 2013