Door to Door Sales Scam

Police Scotland have circulated information about a door to door scam that is being carried out in the area.

A resident in Bieldside  paid £200 for a set of pans that could be sourced for only £20 online.  The resident was targeted by a gang of smartly dressed young men driving prestige Range Rover and Mercedes cars. in a door-to-door selling scam.

They told the unsuspecting householder that they were from Switzerland and were selling top of the range kitchenware to upmarket hotels.  They said the pans were left over from an exhibition before offering them a deal at a big discount against a full price.

They told the resident that the goods were manufactured by a big kitchenware brand and were professional quality pans. When he got the pans out of the box, he realised he’d been sold bargain basement items at an inflated price.  By this time the seller was long gone.

The resident had not been left any cancellation rights or means to contact the trader.”

Trading Standards and Police Scotland say, that, in law, consumers are entitled to a 14 day cancellation period when they have bought goods and services more than £42 in their own homes. Door-to-door traders are required to provide paperwork including their contact details and a cancellation form.

Consumer protection regulations also make it a trading offence for sellers to mislead consumers in their sales pitch. Making false statements about recommended prices or other supposed discounts, or falsely suggesting goods were manufactured by a trader would also fall foul of the regulations.

Where a consumer has no means of contacting the seller to raise a complaint, it means returning misdescribed goods, cancelling a contract or getting a refund can be practically impossible.

Trading standards officers advise anyone approached by door-to-door sellers to politely say they are not interested and report the matter to trading standards by phoning 03454 04 05 06