Doorstep crime getting worse as crooks target elderly and vulnerable people

Doorstep crime is getting worse. Older and vulnerable people in particular are being targeted by unscrupulous crooks who knock on their doors and pressure them into paying extortionate prices for unnecessary jobs or goods.

Take the case of Elizabeth Arnold who lives in north London. She was targeted by serial conman Adam Rafferty. He turned up at her house offering to do a minor repair in return for her agreeing to have an advertising board outside her home.

But he told the 89-year old she needed to spend £15,000 to repair a damp problem. The scam only came to light when concerned bank staff raised the alarm when Mrs Arnold turned up in the branch to collect the cash to give to the crook. He was jailed for 18 months this summer.

Or what about builder John Jenkins who fleeced a pensioner out of her life savings, which totalled half a million pounds. She had wanted a little work done but he persuaded her to do more and more unnecessary work – and charged the earth for it. In fact it was estimated he had done £60,000-worth of work on her bungalow and charged her some £530,000.

He was given a six year jail sentence earlier this year but it’s a sad fact that the crime was only discovered when his victim was forced to ask a neighbour for money to buy food.

Such stories emphasise why we all have a responsibility to look out for elderly neighbours. It’s the theme of this year’s National Consumer Week, which runs until Friday.

The ‘Good Neighbours Stop Rogue Traders’ campaign is being run by Trading Standards Institute, National Trading Standards and Citizens Advice to encourage citizens to look out for signs that a neighbour or someone in their community may be being targeted by doorstep criminals and to step in and alert the authorities.

“Doorstep crime continues to blight our communities and leaves many of our most vulnerable citizens scared, scarred and bankrupt,” warned Lord Toby Harris, chair, National Trading Standards. “Our teams are working around the clock to find the crooks and bring them to justice, but many cases go unreported and often by the time we apprehend a gang they have done a lot of damage.

“We need to catch these people early and that’s why we need communities to get involved and look out for anything suspicious. Don’t worry about appearing nosey – interfere and call the Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06.”

Signs an unwanted doorstep caller may be visiting a neighbour include the sudden appearance of a workman’s van or ladders or scaffolding on their property.