This is a message to all Watch members and Key Individuals from Harborough Police. Please see the below warning from Coventry Trading Standards, regarding rogue trader offences in Warwickshire. We are unaware of any reported incidents of this in Leicestershire, but it is certainly worth noting just in case.
It has been reported in Warwickshire that schools, churches, and community centres, have been approached by door-to-door traders offering cut-price line painting on roads outside their buildings or in their car parks. They claim to be working on behalf of the council or its contractors, with lots of spare yellow paint. If work is carried out, it is likely to be of a poor standard and over-charged, costing even more money to put right, turning what seems to be a cheap deal in to a very big mistake.
In Warwickshire these rogue traders send a smartly dressed representative in to schools, community centres and churches, offering cut-price line painting. Neither the council nor its contractors would participate in door-to-door selling and certainly would not carry out any work without prior agreement through the necessary channels and would only use reputable companies.
It is worth noting that any work carried out on the public highway can only be done with express permission from the local authority.
To reiterate, we are unaware of any incidents in Leicestershire but if you or anyone you know of has been approached by traders offering this type of work then please contact Trading Standards by calling Consumer Direct on 08454 040506 as this information would be very useful for intelligence purposes. If you have any CCTV of the visit please retain this for future use.
Henry Whatley (7729)
Community Initiatives Coordinator
Harborough Police
