Following the recent strong winds, Hertfordshire Trading Standards are reminding residents to be cautious of traders going door-to-door offering to undertake gardening and maintenance work.

A typical tactic of rogue traders, who often seem genuine, is to claim there is damage to your roof, such as a broken tile. If given access, the rogue trader will then claim the damage is worse than they first thought, and requires urgent attention. The rogue trader may then claim the roof is in danger of collapsing, causing panic and giving the impression that work needs doing immediately. In the past, Trading Standards have received complaints of this very nature where it has later been discovered that the value of the ‘repair’ is far less than was charged, and in some cases the work did not need doing in the first place.

Please check for any damage to your neighbour’s property, particularly older persons and those that are more vulnerable, as rogue traders may target them. Remind them to be cautious of traders going door-to-door. Any suspected rogue traders can be reported to Police via 101 or to the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 04 05 06.

If work needs doing, the advice from Trading Standards is to source a reputable trader and say no to any cold callers, whether at the door, on the telephone or email. Seek recommendations from family or friends, or you can find a list of Which? Trusted Traders here: https://trustedtraders.which.co.uk. Traders with a ‘Hertfordshire Trading Standards approved’ logo have been assessed by Trading Standards and DBS checked.

For more information about consumer rights for contracts agreed to in your home visit https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/

Police Contact Advice

Telephone 999 in an emergency where there is a danger to life or a crime is in progress. Telephone 101 for non-emergencies where police attendance is required, to report a crime or to report any other incidents. Calls to 101 have a fixed cost of 15p per call. Alternatively, visit www.herts.police.uk/contact to report a non-emergency crime online or chat to a police operator live via our web chat service. If you are calling about the above, please tell us that you are responding to a message from OWL Neighbourhood Watch.