10 August 2012
Press release number:PR1873
The Council is asking residents to take steps to prevent bogus
callers and report any suspicious activity that happens on their
doorstep. The call follows concerns from residents about an
increase in the number of potential bogus callers across the
Borough.
Report any suspicious activity on your doorstep
Residents are advised to refuse entry to all cold callers,
unless they have made an appointment and check any identification
before allowing anyone access. If you have any suspicions,
refuse entry and report it so it can be investigated.
Reports of suspected bogus callers are investigated by the
Council’s Trading Standards Team, who work closely with Police
Safer Neighbourhood Teams to tackle bogus callers and rogue
traders.
Councillor Shoaib Patel, Cabinet Member for Community Safety,
Planning and Enforcement, said,
“The Council and its partners work really hard to deter bogus
callers. As well as taking enforcement action and introducing
caller restriction zones, we work closely with partners to advise
more vulnerable residents to help prevent them from being a victim
of bogus callers.
We urge residents to let us know if they spot anything
suspicious so we can take action straight away. Even if you
have refused someone entry you suspect could be a bogus caller,
please report it as somebody else might not be aware.”
Steve Brown, London Fire Brigade Redbridge Borough Commander
and Chair of the Partnership said,
“Formed in 2006, the Bogus Caller Partnership has helped to
drive down incidents of bogus caller related crime, there are
currently 30 Caller Restricted Zones (CRZ) established with three
further zones being implemented in Fairlop, Barkingside and
Clementswood later in the year which will provide at least one CRZ
in each of the 21 wards in Redbridge. Further initiatives are
planned in the forthcoming months including a new sticker
initiative and the expansion of the very successful DVD training
provided to residents through the Age UK “forget me not service”,
which is supported by Victim Support.
We have seen the instances of bogus caller related crime
drop from 138 in 2006 to 32 in 2011, however we would remind
residents to remain vigilant to support their neighbours and to
continue with the guidance provided, “no appointment, no entry” and
finally, to report anyone that they think is suspicious.”
Redbridge Bogus Caller Partnership
The Redbridge Bogus Caller Partnership is made up of the
Council’s Trading Standards Team, the Fire Brigade, Police and a
range of Community, Charity and Healthcare Groups including
University of the Third Age and Victim Support work on a number of
initiatives to help educate residents to keep bogus callers
away.
If you have been visited by someone or spotted someone you
believe may be a bogus caller, call the Citizens Advice Consumer
Service for help and advice on 0845 040506 so it can be passed on
to the Council to investigate or find out
more information about bogus callers.
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