Norfolk County Council Trading Standards, Adult Social Care and Norfolk Police have received several reports of cold callers in the King’s Lynn area selling mobility aids, beds and mattresses. These traders may be moving onto other areas of Norfolk in the future.
The items sold tend to be cheap inferior products and are sold at inflated prices. In some cases the items are sold on a long term lease agreement which consumers believe are hire purchase agreements. This means the consumer would be paying monthly rental charges for many years.
The callers are also claiming to be representatives of or connected to either the NHS or Social Services, it is extremely doubtful that these cold callers have any connection with either organisation.
Trading Standards advises all residents to be very wary of any offer made during a cold call and not to buy items or commit to visits if you are approached this way.
If you have received one of these cold calls and need further advice contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline via their online reporting form or telephone 08454 04 05 06
Email Scam – 16 May 2012Norfolk Trading Standards are warning residents to be cautious after a Suffolk woman received an email allegedly from the Metropolitan police claiming that her computer had been used inappropriately and had been frozen. The laptop would not respond to any commands once the e-mail had been opened. The message asked her to pay £100 in Ukash vouchers for the computer to work properly again. The victim did this but realised that the email was not genuine.
The Police or other agencies would not contact people in this manner or ask for money.
To read more about this scam click here to visit the East Anglian Daily Times Website
If you receive a scam call like this you can report it to Action Fraud via their online fraud reporting tool or to Citizens Advice consumer helpline via their online reporting form