Surrey council warns residents of new type of scam taking place
Tandridge District Council is asking Council tenants to be on your guard if someone visits your home or calls offering to check for repairs.
Tandridge District Council is asking Council tenants to be on your guard if someone visits your home or calls offering to check for repairs.
How it works:
The way the scam works is someone will cold knock on a door claiming to be from a private law firm who can get you money through a housing disrepair claim
Councillor Deb Shiner is from the council, and her partner had someone attempt to scam him using this method
"He received a knock on the door 1 morning. A very presentable elderly man introduced himself. He was wearing an ID badge, claiming that he worked for a charity who were working with the council with regard to abolishing the mould and damp.
He appeared to do a thorough job, went through every single room, every single cupboard, every single outdoor cupboard, and his damp meter was showing there was damp throughout the whole of the bungalow, which we knew wasn't true at all.
After the surveyor had left, incidentally, he did ask for my partner to just sign a declaration to say that he had surveyed the property and he was happy to proceed further.
He rang me and because I sit on the housing committee I wasn't aware of this particular company being one of those surveyors, so I immediately flagged it up as something that was a potential scam.
Next day he received an e-mail from this particular company to say that they were actually a firm of solicitors working on a no win no fee basis
But if that compensation wasn't forthcoming, they would pursue the tenant for their legal and other costs. With the e-mail was a long legal documentation asking for all sorts of information, including household insurance details, bank details and goodness says what else immediately.
It was confirmed it was a scam."
Who it's targeting:
Although anyone who is in council tenancy is targetable by this scam, Shiner says she fears there is one group that is more at risk than others.
"I'm particularly concerned that they are targeting elderly people. Some elderly people can get extremely concerned if they've got a little bit of damp in their kitchen or their bathroom will leap on it and think, Oh yes, they're going to help me get rid of this.
They then sign up and not realise that it's a scam."
What to do if you're targeted:
Shiner had some very simple advice on what to do if you feel slightly uneasy about someone at your door
"All I would say to people is please, please be very wary if somebody knocks on your door saying they're working for a charity or they're working with the council to alleviate damp and mould.
Ask for identification. On the council's website there are a list of the genuine contractors. They will have ID and they will have proof that they are working for the council."