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ADVICE ON BUYING SECOND-HAND CARS Consumer Direct have reported once again that second hand cars have topped the list of most complained about purchases. Consumers should be aware of some basic steps they can take to help ensure that the car they purchase is satisfactory but also to ensure that if there are problems there is someone to deal with:
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TRADING STANDARDS ADVICE
The role of Trading Standards is to provide advice and guidance to consumers and businesses. Amongst other tasks we try to disrupt the activities of doorstep criminals. If necessary we can prosecute the worst offences provided we have sufficient evidence. Please take the time to report doorstep criminals to us via Consumer Direct on 0845 404 05 06. The information we receive is valued. Consumer Direct can also give you information on your rights as a consumer. Visit our website at www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/kent to find out more about what we do.
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| E/MAIL SCAM |
Trading Standards has seen an increase in reports of unsolicited telephone calls being used to fraudulently get people to give them money, which is particularly worrying in the cases of those who are susceptible to this.
Recent examples include callers regarding government grants, offering savings on council tax and, topically, the reimbursement of bank charges.
A warning was also issued by the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and the Office of Fair Trading about lottery criminals based in Jamaica, http://www.oft.gov.uk/news/press/2009/142-09, targeting the UK.
If you are in any doubt as to the nature of a call, then please don’t be afraid to end the call.
If the caller is claiming to be from a well known business or organisation, then check with the business/organisation itself first.
Trading Standards implores anyone not to give out their telephone number, or personal details, to people they do not know and to be especially careful about giving information away in response to unsolicited letters or emails.
The Telephone Preference Service (TPS) can stop sales and marketing calls from companies who abide by the law, and you can register free on 0845 0700707 or at www.tpsonline.org.uk. But always be mindful that the type of calls highlighted in this message are made by criminal gangs – usually based abroad, who have no regard for the rules.
If you want to report a scam, and especially if you or someone you know has been a victim, please contact Consumer Direct on 08454-040506 or visit http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/watch_out/Scams where you can report it online.
E/MAIL SCAM Kent Trading Standards have seen an increase in the number of complaints about to bogus websites purporting to sell tickets for well known music artists, bands, concerts, festivals and sports events. The tickets do not arrive and the trader ignores a request for a refund. Consumers are losing £100’s to the fraudsters.
Kent Trading Standards has reason to believe that the majority of the bogus websites are hosted outside the UK. If a business is based outside the UK there is very little you can do to pursue the trader to get your money back. If you have paid by debit card, switch, solo, electron or cheque it is unlikely you will see your money again. However if you pay on credit card and the cash price is over £100 then your credit card company may be liable for the cost of the tickets if they do not arrive.
We strongly advise consumers to check a website before they commit to buying goods or services. Search on the internet to find out if other people have used the website and are happy with it, even then take care. Check with the promoter or venue to find out where the tickets are to be sold and try to buy from official agencies. Always pay using a credit card.
For advice on how to deal with scams please call Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06.
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E/MAIL SCAM Kent Trading Standards has recently been in receipt of a number of complaints relating to unsolicited emails offering consumers the chance to make additional income by having money transferred into their account which they then forward to another account after taking a cut themselves. This then allows the scammer to access the consumer’s bank account, which can result in the loss of large amounts of money.
Kent Trading Standards strongly advise consumers to steer clear of adverts offering additional source of income, in particular involving the transfer of money between third parties, as this is likely to be linked with large scale fraudulent scams.
For more information on these type of scams, please see http://www.met.police.uk/fraudalert/419.htm
For advice on how to deal with scam emails please call Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06. |
TELEPHONE SCAM A PC user in Maidstone had a phone call claiming to be from the company he was expecting his new computer to be delivered from later that day. They said that there was a virus in his computer and asked for personal information including his bank account details.
The consumer become suspicious and hung up.
Trading Standards are aware of the same company also calling consumers and telling them that their details have been given to them by Microsoft or the consumer’s internet service provider. They then tell the consumer that this is because the consumer has a computer problem that they will solve, for a fee.
Kent Trading Standards would urge consumers to be extremely wary of calls from companies that they have no connection with especially if they are asking for personal details. Do not be fooled into parting with any information as they will do their best to persuade you that they are legitimate and to gain your trust. If you need any assistance with problems that you may have with your computer it is best to go to a reputable business.
Once these companies have your details they may be able to withdraw money from your bank account or open new accounts or contracts in your name.
For advice on you rights as a consumer please call Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06. |
“It’s a devastating psychological trick…”
This is how one woman described the effect postal scams have had on her family and in particular her 89 year old mother who lives in Kent. For the last five years, the elderly lady has spent around £200,000 sending money to conmen in the belief that she will win fake competitions. She is now deluged every day by sacks of bogus scams and her telephone number has had to be changed.
Her daughter said: “My mother is very mentally able but is defensive about her independence and the idea that we are interfering. We didn’t appreciate what was happening at the start but she soon had around 70 envelopes arriving every day and phone calls at all hours. It is a serious problem which has had a major effect on my mother and our whole family.”
Kent County Council’s Trading Standards Service is joining with 80 other local authorities across the country to try to raise awareness and encourage people to join the fight against scams which cost the UK an estimated £3.5billion and Kent around £80million, a year.
An estimated 3million people annually become victims to paying money to mass marketed bogus lotteries, deceptive prize draws and fake psychics sent by post as well as by email or over the phone and yet the Office of Fair Trading believes only 5% of victims ever report these scams to the authorities.
Mike Hill, KCC Cabinet Member for Communities, which includes Kent Trading Standards said: “Older people and particularly those living alone have more time to go through their mail and can become fixated with sending regular amounts of money in the hope of winning something. It’s important to respect people’s privacy but we are encouraging everyone to be aware of this issue which might be affecting their own friends or relatives. “
Many victims feel embarrassed when they discover they have been conned and may find it easier to talk to someone outside the family. KCC Community Wardens can play an important part in offering help and support. To contact a local Community Warden call 01622 694681 or visit www.kent.gov.uk and search ‘community safety’.
From February 2-15, during Scams Awareness Month, all Kent’s 102 libraries and selected Waitrose and Morrisons stores will be hosting a special ‘Scamnesty’ collection or bin and local residents are being encouraged to bring in any suspected scam mail they have received which will be used by Kent Trading Standards and the Office of Fair Trading as part of their investigations.
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SCAM EMAILS Those on email are currently being swamped by scam emails requesting bank and credit card details. These are all SCAMS, please delete them and do not respond. |
FLYTIPPING - WE WATCH, WE CATCH AND WE PROSECUTE |
Welcome to the tenth email distribution of news regarding the proposed Lorry Park on the Aldington–Smeeth borders.
I draw your particular attention to the request for further letters and emails set out in large bold print below.
Dear All,
Many Lorry Park Alliance (LPA) members will not have seen this week’s Hythe and Romney Marsh edition of the Kentish Express and consequently will have missed Michael Howard’s excellent report on Operation Stack and the proposed Lorry Park under the Our Man in Westminster byline. Michael draws attention to the need for an alternative to be found to implementing Operation Stack whenever the Channel Tunnel or the cross-Channel ferries are out of action – a sentiment that is echoed by the Lorry Park Alliance.
Michael goes on to say that:
“One of the difficulties is that there is no agreement on what action should be taken. The recent proposal to build a lorry park between Aldington and Sellindge led, understandably, to widespread and vociferous local opposition. People rightly wanted to know whether every alternative had been fully considered and precisely why this site was thought to be the only answer. This information has not been forthcoming and in its absence I have fully supported the objections of local residents. Another difficulty is, predictably, cost. This is a national problem and the cost should be met by central government. But there have been no indications that this help will be made available even if there is agreement on what the solution should be. This is a very frustrating state of affairs.”
Michael’s words so accurately reflect our position that they could almost have been written by an LPA member. That said, and for the avoidance of doubt, Michael Howard is very much his own man and is not an LPA member, but he nevertheless has taken a keen interest in the issues.
This well measured assessment of the situation from a very experienced politician of Michael Howard’s standing is in sharp contrast to the biased and logically flawed letter from Paul Carter, Leader of KCC, that is also published in this week’s Kentish Express.
Mr Carter’s letter appears under the heading “Moveable barrier not the solution” and starts by stating the blindingly obvious that “the Quick Moveable Barrier (QMB) is not, and was never intended to be, the long-term solution to Operation Stack and overnight lorry parking ….”. He goes on to say that “Extending it [the QMB] ….. does not solve the problem of lorries parking overnight in our villages and lay-bys.” To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever seriously suggested that the QMB could, would, or even should, solve the problem of overnight lorry parking. The LPA has always maintained that the problem of overnight lorry parking and Operation Stack are separate issues that require separate analysis and resolution – they are two distinct, separate problems. This is where we differ radically from Mr Carter who, seemingly, takes the view that both issues relate to lorries and therefore it must be one problem that requires one ‘big bang’ solution – his grand vision of the Aldington–Smeeth lorry park.
In his letter Mr Carter states “I have been personally involved in the search for the site.” This is a somewhat curious claim, as Mr Carter had held the KCC Education Portfolio from his election to KCC in 1997 until he became Leader of KCC in October 2005, and yet all of the 40-odd potential Operation Stack lorry park sites examined by consultants acting for KCC and the Highways Agency were identified and evaluated between 1999 and mid-2005. Indeed, the Aldington–Smeeth site was first put forward by consultants Parsons Brinckerhoff, acting for the Highways Agency, in November 2000. As reported in LPA email newsletter No. 9, that proposal was soundly rejected by a joint committee of Ashford Borough Councillors and Kent County Councillors in January 2001.
Mr Carter goes on to say, “We have looked far and wide at all the alternative options, eventually assessing 10 other sites ….. before reaching a decision.” This statement by Mr Carter is at complete odds with the statement made last week by one of KCC’s most senior Highways Officers, and put into the public domain by KCC’s own legal department (see LPA email newsletter No. 9), where it was stated that “….. there was far less information available than the requester would suppose and that the Council [KCC] did not want to cause concern regarding alternative sites when they had not been fully considered.” [my emphasis added].
Finally, Mr Carter states, “Naming the other sites will unnecessarily blight those areas and serves no useful purpose.” But as Michael Howard MP has astutely identified and robustly stated (see above) “People rightly wanted to know whether every alternative had been fully considered and precisely why this site was thought to be the only answer.” Of course, we now know that it has nothing to do with blight on other sites, but, as KCC Officers have admitted, it boils down to the fact that “alternative sites ……….had not been fully considered.”
There are several other points with which I could take issue in Mr Carter’s letter, but I’m confident LPA members can spot them themselves.
I think it’s important that LPA members should make known their views on Mr Carter’s letter, and indeed on the other Lorry Park items, in this week’s Kentish Express by writing to the Editor of the Kentish Express and that your letters and emails should be copied to both Michael Howard MP and Damian Green MP (contact details below). I have resisted suggesting that you write to, or email, Mr Carter, as we know from past experience that he never seems to receive most of your letters/emails. Incidentally, as a related aside, until very recently Mr Carter, in all seriousness, claimed not to be aware that Ashford Borough Council was opposed to his proposals for Aldington-Smeeth.
By way of political balance, I note that the Kentish Express also has a letter from Hazel and Steve Dawe of the Kent Green Party in which they state “Kent can do without the proposed lorry parks for Aldington ……... given the limited size of the Aldington site”. They, like many others, have spotted that, even given conservative freight growth estimates, from its first day of operation a Lorry Park at Aldington-Smeeth would be too small to cope with capacity requirements for either overnight lorry parking or Operation Stack.
Finally, a brief word about the work being done by Cllrs Susan Carey and Charles Findlay at KCC. Both Susan and Charles have made their opposition to the current Lorry Park proposals very clear and are using their positions as KCC Councillors to full advantage. At the last Highways Advisory Board on 16th September, Susan challenged the KCC Director of Highways to tell the Board, and local people, just what was happening with the Lorry Park scheme. The answer given was that KCC is commissioning consultants to prepare a business case for the Lorry Park proposal. You’ll note that they are not commissioning consultants to look at:
No, KCC simply want the consultants to make a case for the 'solution' that has already been selected.
The KCC Highways Advisory Board is webcast, and you can see the full question and answer session at: http://www.kent.ukcouncil.net/site/player/pl_compact.php?a=17559&t=&m=wm&l=en_GB . You can jump to the relevant part of the meeting by clicking on the “Index Points” tab, then scrolling down to 26.35 minutes into the meeting and clicking on “Miss S Carey”. Susan poses four questions, of which the Lorry Park is the final one, but I think you will find all four questions and answers of interest.
I will continue to keep you fully informed as matters progress. If you are aware of anyone who wishes to be kept in touch, but who has not received this email, please ask them to contact me by email so that their details can be added to the distribution list.
I must again stress that my colleagues and I are not opposed to a solution for either Operation Stack or for overnight lorry parking. However, we are opposed to these current proposals, which are ill-conceived and hastily cobbled together with inadequate evaluation of alternatives and without consultation. We also consider that KCC is seeking to impose a wholly local solution to a problem that is in fact a national and pan-European issue.
Thank you all for your continuing support.
Regards,
Peter
Cllr Peter Wood Saxon Shore Ward Member of the Executive Ashford Borough Council and Chairman, Aldington & Bonnington Parish Council
Please reply to: peter.wood@ashford.gov.uk or peter@copperhurst.com
Contact details for your letters and emails regarding this week’s Kentish Express:
The Editor, Kentish Express, Express House, 34-36 North Street, Ashford, Kent, TN24 8JR.
Email: kentishexpress@thekmgroup.co.uk
…………. The Rt Hon Michael Howard QC MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA.
Email: howardm@parliament.uk
…………. Damian Green MP, House of Commons,
Email: greend@parliament.uk |