Door to door mattress seller warning

Warwickshire residents and particularly those living on new build estates are warned to be wary of door to door traders selling mattresses. The unexpected callers claim that the mattresses were originally destined for show homes before those properties were sold and are therefore surplus to requirement. Mattress fillings are required to comply with fire safety regulations but in the past Trading Standards Services have been aware of cheap imported mattresses that do not comply with the UK regulations. Sold door to door, the sellers usually disappear leaving consumers unable to seek redress if or when a problem arises.

Our best advice is not to buy from unexpected doorstep traders. Always buy from reputable traders with verifiable premise locations. If you are buying a mattress always check the labels to ensure that it complies with furniture and furnishing fire safety regulations.

Threatening ‘Notice of Enforcement’ letter

Warwickshire residents have reported receiving an almost identical threatening ‘Notice of Enforcement’ letter demanding that the recipient pay £86.50 to settle a unnamed debt by bank transfer. Recipients are warned that the amount owed will rise if they don’t pay up and enforcement agent action is threatened. The letters have all the hallmarks of a scam, including misspelled recipient names and addresses. Residents are advised to treat any demands for payment either over the phone or by letter with caution and to carry out checks. Spot a bogus bailiff

Bogus Health Lottery Letters

Bogus ‘Health Lottery UK’ letters are again dropping through the letterboxes of Warwickshire residents, Warwickshire County Council’s Trading Standards Service is warning. Trading Standards Officers have received complaints from concerned residents about a scam ‘health’ related lottery letter, falsely claiming that the recipient has won £420,000. The letter claims that the recipient has been randomly chosen by computer from an NHS database and asks the recipient to phone a ‘Dr Ruben Sanders’ to claim their prize. The letter is addressed ‘Bank St. Canary Wharf London’ and is signed ‘Dr D. Hoff’.

Bogus ‘Health Lottery UK’ Letter Scam Hits Warwickshire

‘Free’ energy assessment warning

Warwickshire Trading Standards has received a lot of complaints about unscrupulous companies offering ‘free’ home energy assessments in order to gain access to resident’s homes so they can use high pressure sales to sell products and services that might be overpriced and unnecessary.

High pressure sales people know that they can more easily make a sale if they are able to gain entry to a person’s home and can often spend hours at the property, grinding down to homeowner in order to get them to sign on the dotted line

They will usually phone the resident unexpectedly and make false claims in order to scare or hurry the consumer in to making a quick decision and agreeing to a home visit. They may falsely claim to be working for the local authority, may claim to be offering free services that are not free or even suggest that energy assessments are compulsory for all properties. Once in the home, they may attempt to sell you products such as loft insulation, cavity wall insulation or solar panels, even if you have adequate insulation.

Never buy goods or services from cold callers or invite them in to your home. Keep your door closed.

Warwickshire Trading Standards

• Make a scam/rogue trader complaint to Trading Standards via Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 040506.
• Warwickshire Trading Standards Website Facebook Twitter
• Sign up to scam alerts at http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/scams
• Avoid rogue traders. Use Warwickshire Trading Standards No Rogue Traders Here approved trader scheme
• Please feel free to pass on or re-publish these alerts