Taking the fight to rogue traders (From Oxford Mail)

Taking the fight to rogue traders

6:00pm Monday 26th July 2010 in

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TRADING standards officers have vowed to take the fight to rogue traders, after launching a new operation to tackle them in the act.

The initiative, launched in the Vale of White Horse on Thursday, sees police officers and Oxfordshire County Council’s trading standards officers searching for dodgy workmen who prey on the most vulnerable pensioners.

Using automatic numberplate recognition (ANPR) cameras and challenging builders working out of unmarked vans, officers visited every part of the district – which includes Abingdon, Wantage and Faringdon – to hunt down rogue traders, and send out a warning that they are not welcome.

The sting operation was one of about 10 patrols carried out by the council and police every month across the county.

Doorstep crime team leader Martin Woodley said in the past year, the public had become more aware of the risks and the amounts conned out of pensioners had fallen.

He said: “For the first time in four years, I think we are getting on top of this. We are not reducing the complaints that we receive, but that is a good thing because the message is getting out there.

“But we have substantially reduced the amount of money that has been reported to us as having been paid to rogue traders.

“Usually, by this point in the year, we would expect a figure of £180,000 or £200,000 across Oxfordshire. This year, it is only £40,000.

“We have saved or got back £16,000 after the event because we have been there early on.”

He said the criminals deliberately sought out people suffering dementia to con them out of all their savings.

PC Jayne Newman, who works with the county’s trading standards officers, said: “This work is extremely worthwhile – we are preventing people who could otherwise become victims of major fraud.”

During Rogue Traders week at the end of June, they checked 103 people and made two arrests.

ANPR technology alerts the team to any vehicle known to officers which is seen cruising the streets.

The telltale signs, said Mr Woodley, included builders with no tools, unmarked workman’s vans, and employees that seem underage. Anyone suspicious is stopped, asked for proof of their address and to prove their legitimacy.

l Anyone wanting to get in touch with trading standards should contact 0845 051 0845 or Thames Valley Police on 0845 8 505 505. In the past three months the service has also launched an online system to report bogus traders and loan sharks which can be accessed by visiting oxfordshire.gov.uk/tradingstandards or emailing trading.standards@oxfordshire.gov.uk