ROGUE traders have been targeted by Cornwall Council’s Trading Standards team in an attempt to disrupt their activities and promote awareness of the financial harm and misery they can bring.

Led by Cornwall Trading Standards, with assistance from Devon and Cornwall Police, officers conducted patrols targeting suspects known to be operating in the county, as well as residential patrols in areas where vulnerable people live which are frequently targeted by rogue traders. 

Activities ranged from training the Royal Mail sorting office in St Austell on how to identify postal scams, to identifying vehicles used by criminals through automatic number plate recognition (ANPR). 

Evidence suggests that rogue traders share information to repeatedly target the vulnerable. They will often travel long distances to commit offences and have been known to employ slave labour to carry out their work.

Rogue traders often offer gardening work or maintenance services at attractive rates but the quality of work is substandard, unnecessary or overpriced. They often use persuasive sales techniques to encourage people into making hasty decisions.

The message from Trading Standards is a simple one – genuine traders DO NOT call door to door without an appointment. If you aren’t sure who they are, don’t open the door.

People should report cases of rogue traders or uninvited doorstep callers to the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0345 04 05 06.