DEPARTMENT FOR
BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM News Release (2008/121)
issued by The Government News Network on 18 June 2008
Rogue traders and
other con merchants in Scotland are set to be thwarted by a new
team of "Scambusters" backed by £811,000 of Government funding.
The specialist Trading Standards team will be based in two
locations - North Lanarkshire and Dundee. It will help local
authorities across the country and the Police to crackdown on
rogue traders, dodgy door-step salespeople, counterfeiters, cowboy
builders and many other scams.
Consumer Affairs Minister Gareth Thomas said:
"Rogue traders who con honest people out of their hard
earned money are a disgrace.
"This new unit will help to shut these conmen down and bring
them to justice. It will concentrate on the most serious scams
that cause consumers in Scotland the biggest problems, but are
often beyond the capacity of local councils to deal with."
Dave Roderick, Trading Standards Manager with North Lanarkshire
Council said:
"It's a fantastic opportunity to make a real difference
to the number of serious scam artists operating in Scotland. And
it's also a chance to extend working practices across new
partnerships and improve the way we operate as a result.
"This team will demonstrate new ways of working through
targeted, proactive, intelligence-led enforcement in a campaign
that also involves the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), HM Revenue
& Customs (HMRC), the Benefits Agency and other organisations
so that information is shared and unnecessary duplication of
effort is avoided.
"We will not only target scam artists - we will also be
targeting consumers to ensure they are aware rogue traders and
scams operating in their areas, and how they can protect
themselves from them."
Ken Daly, Trading Standards Manager at Dundee City Council added
"We are delighted to be able to co-host the Scottish
Scambusters team in Dundee. A two-centre approach will ensure
this initiative will cover the whole of Scotland, and result in
the most effective use of the resource to the benefit of Scottish
consumers and honest traders."
Consumers who feel that they have been ripped off by cold calling
traders or who wish to report scams or suspicious activity can
report the matter to Trading Standards via the national Consumer
Direct helpline on 08454 04 05 06.
Notes for Editors
* The Government's grant will be over three years to the
Society of Chief Trading Standards Officers in Scotland
* The
team will work in partnership with the 32 local authorities in
Scotland
* Local press office contacts:
- North
Lanarkshire Council Joan Grady, Corporate Communications Officer
Tel no: 01698 302312, Fax no: 01698 266709 E-mail:
Gradyj@northlan.gov.uk
- Dundee City Council Mike Boyle, 01382
434196, mike.boyle@dundeecity.gov.uk George Fraser, 01382 434194,
george.fraser@dundeecity.gov.uk
* The new team is part of a
nationwide crackdown. The Government is investing approximately
£7.5 million in new Scambusters teams so that Wales, Scotland and
each of the nine Government regions in England have a team
*
The national roll out follows the success of pilot Scambusters
teams in the Midlands, North East and a combined team working
across the South East, East and London. Since September 2006 their
work is estimated to have saved consumers £3million
* Larger
scams tend to work across local authority boundaries. This makes
it difficult for local authority trading standards teams to target
them. The cross border approach of Scambusters is helping to
tackle this problem.
* Case studies of successful action taken
by the pilot teams:
- On Thursday 31 January 2008 Phil Vyse
was sent to jail for 8months and Aqualine, a damp proofing
business, fined thousands of pounds after they ripped off a number
of elderly people across the Midlands. An investigation found that
Aqualine had conned householders by misdiagnosing damp so that it
could sell unnecessary work.
- In October 2007 a massive raid
involving Scambusters and three Police forces resulted in tarmac
trucks, work vans and three high value sports cars being seized
from a family of cold calling tarmacers. Hundreds of people were
ripped off after being charged up to ten times the original quote
for work. Six people have been charged with a number of criminal
offences as a result of this investigation.
- Stephen Bean, a
kitchen salesman from the north east, received a CRASBO (criminal
ASBO) which bars him from running a business or taking part in one
except as an employee. The action followed more than 100
complaints against the trader for charging for work that he did
not complete.
* The Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
helps UK business succeed in an increasingly competitive world. It
promotes business growth and a strong enterprise economy, leads
the better regulation agenda and champions free and fair markets.
It is the shareholder in a number of Government-owned assets and
it works to secure, clean and competitively priced energy supplies.
Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory
Reform
7th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET
Public enquiries +44 (0)20 7215 5000
Textphone +44 (0)20 7215
6740 (for those with hearing impairment)
http://www.berr.gov.uk