Consumer Alerts August 2025
15th of August, 2025
Scam gardening services offered
Beware cold callers offering garden services knocking on doors in the West Lancashire area. In one incident the elderly householder agreed to the traders, described as two males in their 20's, both with dark hair, tidying up the garden and taking away some cuttings. The traders were only there 10 to 15 minutes, did very little work and did not take the cuttings away, took £500 from the householder and tried to bully them into giving a further £700.
In another incident in the Chorley area, a resident agreed to cold callers pruning a medium sized a tree. The householder agreed as she initially believed she had used the trader before, but this was not the case. The traders charged nearly £1000 for the work which was very poorly done. The following day they returned trying to get further work agreed to, luckily the householder refused.
Bogus fencing work
A Hyndburn resident looking for some fencing work to be carried out took the recommendation of a friend of a friend. The fencer came to look at the job and asked for £500 up front for materials which was provided in cash, but did not return. The householder was provided with no paperwork and had no address details to contact the trader.
Always do your own research before agreeing to work. Be wary if traders ask for money upfront. Remember, if you agree there and then in your own home the trader should give you paperwork informing you of your 14 day right to cancel, which should also include a business address. If you are struggling to find a known local tradesman, The Safetrader scheme can help you find a trader in your area, contact 0303 333 1111 or go to www.safetrader.org.uk.
Trading Standards advice is to always say no to cold callers.
Scam parking penalty notice text
Beware receiving a text claiming that you've been issued a parking penalty notice (PCN). The text tells you that you must pay a £20 parking fine and says that this is your final notice. The text uses a spoofed mobile number and email address. It goes on to scare the recipient by claiming that legal action could be taken against you if you don't pay and includes a malicious link to follow to make the payment.
TV Licence scam
Genuine emails from the TV Licencing organisation will be sent from either donotreply@tvlicensing.co.uk or donotreply@spp.tvlicensing.co.uk. Do not trust any emails that look suspicious or unusual. Hover over the email address bar, sometimes a scam address can be hidden, and check what address appears between the < > symbols.
Report scam emails by forwarding them to report@phishing.gov.uk. Report scam texts by forwarding to 7726.
Contact the Trading Standards Service via the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133.