Four incidents of suspicious callers or bogus traders were reported to police in West Kent on Thursday 19 January.
A householder from Benenden reported that two men had come to his door offering to lay tarmac left over from a previous job. The price they quoted was £1000. When told by the householder he could not afford this they left.
A relative of an Edenbridge man reported that he had been visited by two men who offered to put compost on the garden for £90. The man paid the money but the relative’s concern was that he had not made arrangements for the work to be done and may have been conned into handing over the cash.
In Tonbridge an elderly woman contacted police to report that recently she had two men call at her door. When she answered they gave a story about getting the address wrong and were meant to be going to a neighbour’s house to do some decorating. When the woman checked with her neighbours they knew nothing of this.
Also in Tonbridge a woman was visited by two men who said they had off-cuts of carpet from another job. She agreed to buy some and one of the men took her to the bank so she could get cash out to pay them. Shortly after being given the money the men disappeared leaving the woman with some carpet. She does not know if it will fit and when she went to check with the organisation where the men said they had been working they had no knowledge of them.
On Friday 20 January a woman from Wrotham Heath contacted police to say that a man had just called at her house saying he needed £450 for fencing between her property and an adjoining premises. The woman was suspicious and said she would not pay him anything and would be checking with her neighbour at which point the man left. From his description police believe this man is linked with some 4 or 5 other suspicious incidents (not related to those listed above) across the West Kent area.
The man is described as: white, approximately 6’, 30 – 40 years old with short black hair.
Sgt Simon Terry, said: “It is good news that people are reporting these callers to the police. The more information we have the better our chances of stopping vulnerable people being exploited.”
He added: “The message is definitely reaching people that it is important to be very wary of anyone offering to do gardening or other household work.”
Police advice is when a doorstep seller calls on you, do not sign or commit yourself to anything until you have had time to think matters over and compare prices with other companies. It is always more sensible to employ someone you know to be reputable. |
