Trading standards officers in Swansea have urgently warned senior citizens to be on their guard after reports that local pensioners have been targeted by cold calls from a company claiming to be undertaking crime research in the area.
The scam starts with an unsolicited phonecall offering an incredibly cheap or free burglar alarm.
The caller may mention that there’s a charge for monitoring and servicing the system but this will turn out to be thousands of pounds.
The salesman then makes an appointment to call at the consumer’s home where illegal, high pressure techniques are then used to secure sales.
Reports have been made that salesmen typically stay in homes for several hours and often till nearly midnight.
The company will try to fit the alarm as quickly as possible and ignore a consumer’s legal right to cancel within seven days.
Superintendent Phil Davies of South Wales Police said: “As a service South Wales Police is committed to rooting out and pursuing individuals or companies who use unscrupulous practices against the most vulnerable members of our community.
“I would urge anyone who is concerned about the business ethics of a company or individual to contact Trading Standards or their local police before they enter into any arrangement for a service to be provided or installed.
“Anyone who is considering having an alarm installed should obtain written quotations from a cross-section of approved companies and preferably those who are members of a regulatory body.”
Consumers have a legal right to cancel any contract within seven days when it is signed at home, at someone else’s home or at their place of work- even when they have agreed for the salesman to call. The seven-day cancellation right cannot be revoked.
Only where goods or services are being provided to meet an emergency such as a burst water pipe can the consumer give written permission for the contract to start work before the end of the seven-day cancellation period.
Consumers can still cancel but they are liable for any reasonable costs stated in the contract and actually incurred by the trader during that time.
