Building consumer confidence in East Renfrewshire
Cracking down on bogus traders with "Building Consumer Confidence" initiative.
Published: 5 December 2023
The project is run by Trading Standards and aims to tackle serious crime, with the team prioritising scam prevention, including doorstep home maintenance fraud carried out by cold calling organised criminals.
An identifiable scam prevention van was introduced in East Renfrewshire in November 2022, with daily monitoring of the home maintenance repairers active in the area.
Since this initiative was introduced there has been a significant decline in suspicious and fraudulent activity, sending a clear zero tolerance message to fraudsters.
The officers driving the vehicle help to protect the vulnerable whilst encouraging reputable traders to join the East Renfrewshire Trusted Trader scheme and build more trust in local tradespeople, whilst linking them to business advice platforms.
Due to large number of elderly people living in East Renfrewshire, the area often attracts a higher than average number of fraudsters and studies show that once a victim has been identified by unscrupulous traders they are more likely to be targeted again in the future.
We're reminding residents to always "say no" to un-verified traders offering home improvements, including gutter cleaning, roof repairs and landscaping work.
Following the success of this initiative, Police Scotland have linked with Trading Standards Scotland to launch similar vans patrolling other areas of Scotland.
Councillor Danny Devlin, Convener for Environment and Housing, said: 'It's reassuring that this initiative has disrupted the fraudsters and reduced suspicious activity. Unfortunately, cold calling home maintenance fraudsters leave a trail of misery in our community as they target the most vulnerable, perform substandard work, if at all, and charge exorbitant prices.
'Although the campaign has seen positive results, we need help from the community to support victims and prevent further harm. Scammers rely on us staying silent, so the biggest ally in the fight against scams are the people of East Renfrewshire. The more we talk about it the more people will say no to cold callers and report incidents. Remember to report a scam and prevent more harm.'
Trading Standards also gather intelligence on suspicious activity for investigation by Trading Standards Enforcement Officers and Police Scotland.
Residents are being reminded that doorstep fraudulent activity is a crime and must be reported to Police Scotland on 101, or 999 if feeling threatened. Ring and Report suspicious doorstep callers on 0800 013 0076, report potential scams to Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060 or contact Trading Standards on 0141 577 8487.
Neighbourhood Watch members are also encouraged to spread the message to local residents to be extra vigilant and report suspicious activity.
Read our self-help financial harm toolkit for advice on how to stay safe and avoid scams.
We're also looking for volunteers to help distribute "No cold calling" stickers to relatives, friends or neighbours.
Anyone who is able to help should phone 07818534455 or 0141 577 8487 or email tradingstandards@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk.
