Episode 10 Doorstep Crime 999

All over the country, people are fighting back against crime that happens on our very own doorsteps

and we're here to celebrate their brave efforts.

Our most vulnerable citizens may find themselves at the mercy

of cold-calling conmen and rip-off rogue traders.

But there's no escape for the crooks

because you are working hard to stop them,

along with award-winning police and trading standards teams all over the UK.

It's time to show these criminals the door!

Today, I'm going back to school

to join a class of nine-year-olds for a gadget-packed lesson

on crime-fighting guided by Cambridgeshire Police.

You're going to warn them all, are you? Good girl!

Plus we find out how a rogue trader was brought to justice

after targeting elderly victims in West Wales.

Anybody that puts terror into an elderly person, I think, is despicable.

And the incredible story of a local hero councillor

who saved the day for one of his constituents

when she was ripped off by a door-stepping con man.

I couldn't believe the amount of money she'd actually paid.

It's only through his intervention

that we became aware of this particular crime.

Hello, and welcome to the programme.

Did you know that the Government advice website Consumer Direct

received more than 13,000 complaints

about uninvited traders just last year.

One way of fighting back, of course, against doorstep crime

is to get people used to the idea of spotting con tricks

before it's too late, and in Cambridgeshire,

they're starting with the consumers of tomorrow.

Today I've come to St Mary's School in Cambridge,

where nine- and ten-year-old children

are learning about doorstep crime.

These sessions are known as "Net Detectives"

and their teacher Janet King

hopes the children won't be the only ones to benefit.

The Net Detectives scheme

allows us to look at different areas of our social curriculum

and this afternoon we're looking at distraction burglary

and because we obviously don't take the children out

to experience it first-hand,

we're linking them with police constables and PCSOs

and we're setting up a scenario, so the children are actively involved,

they're making decisions, asking questions, answering questions

with a live online link and video clips

and so that's how they're learning about this topic.

So hopefully they'll be really involved and engaged in what they're doing

and take the messages to other people in the community.

At the other end of the internet link are local police officers

including Sergeant Gary Webb.

Basically, the police and PCSOs work in a makeshift control room.

The idea is that via the internet,

we communicate with the children in their own school environment.

We're there to answer questions they have about crime prevention

and about what crimes take place.

The reason we're involved today is to try and make sure

that distraction burglary and doorstep crime doesn't become a particular issue for us.

Our aim is to prevent the crime happening rather than cure it.

With everything set, it's time for me to join the class

and see for myself how this innovative scheme works.

So what have you been learning this morning so far?

-We've been learning about distraction burglary...

-Yes.

And they send messages to us

about burglary, and there's films sometimes

and there's votes and messages.

So what's this message saying today?

"The following film shows us

"what the words 'distraction' and 'burglary' mean."

'The children watch a series of short animations

'to help them understand how distraction burglars operate

'and how they can be sent packing.'

What's that showing us?

That's showing us there's an old lady on her own

and there's a man knocking on the door, and she goes to open the door

and then he might come in and he might want to borrow the toilet or...

-So he would make some excuse.

-Yes.

-Maybe he'd want a glass of water

-or something like that?

-Yeah, and steal something.

What's the philosophy behind teaching children so young

about burglary situations, about distraction crime?

Yes, some people might say it's too frightening for them

but the children live in the real world,

they look in the newspaper every day and see evidence of these crimes

and really, we're trying to get them to understand

that they can take an active part in their community,

helping protect vulnerable people.

OK, now, I've been asked to find Louis' table.

Are you Louis?

-Hi, Louis. Hi, everybody. What's your name?

-Francesca.

-Francesca, and...

-And that's Mosey.

-Mosey.

-Very nice to meet you all.

-Can you also send questions back to the police and so on?

-Yeah.

-What kind of questions do you normally ask?

-Well, like...

Or we answer those questions.

Can we put in any question, do you think?

So the question is,

what's the worst case of distraction burglary you've ever seen?

Let's see what they say back.

'These children are obviously whizzes when it comes to computers -

'something I have to admit I never quite mastered - but they're also

'becoming experts on doorstep crime.'

Over in the makeshift control room,

Sergeant Webb also seems very pleased with their progress.

The children appear to be interacting really well as a class

and certainly it feels as though they're getting good direction from their teachers.

Ultimately, our aim is to prevent them becoming victims

and from what they're asking today,

they seem to be getting a good grip of distraction burglary

and what they can do to prevent themselves being victims.

Back in the classroom, we have a response to our question.

"What's the worst distraction burglary you've come across?"

So what's the answer?

"It was when I visited an old lady who had all of her..."

"Pension money stolen."

So all her money that she had been looking forward to collecting,

it all went, so that's very bad.

So that was good to get. See, that's great,

the fact you can send a message through to the police

and then they answer you straightaway. Very good.

My family will never get burgled by distraction burglars

because I will be telling them all about this.

You're going to warn them all, are you? Good girl!

'It's important that the children take home

'the information they've gleaned from today's lesson

'and I've been given an invitation to tea with Louis' mum and grandma

'to find out how that side of it works, and we'll join them later.

'But for now, it certainly seems as if the message is getting through

'to these bright Cambridgeshire youngsters

'that distraction burglaries must be prevented.'

Now, here's yet another example of doorstep crime.

Hello, Gloria. My name is Ann Mahoney.

In 2011, my godmother and I

were victims of a rogue trader who called at her door.

The police and Trading Standards officers have done a brilliant case

and have got a prosecution and they're now working on the fact that

we may be able to get our money back.

Thanks for that, Ann. We were intrigued by the story

and decided this contemptible cowboy

needed a bit of further investigation.

Take a look at convicted rogue trader Peter Gilmore.

He targeted a string of elderly victims,

charging them extortionate prices

for shoddy jobs that were often unnecessary.

He plied his trade in the beautiful county of Ceredigion

on the west coast of Wales.

These pictures show the appalling standard of his workmanship.

This so-called chimney repair was unsolicited, overpriced

and of shocking quality.

This was so often the case with Gilmore's work,

as Laurence Martin from Ceredigion Trading Standards points out.

I've been working with Trading Standards for five years

and this is definitely the worst case of rogue trading

I've come across, or at least that we've been able to prove

because its very hard to get a good dossier of evidence together against rogue traders.

The unfortunate customer in this case was 71-year-old Ann Mahoney.

As she just mentioned,

she handles the upkeep of her 91-year-old godmother's house.

I had a telephone call from my godmother

and her next-door neighbour was with her, and they were very concerned

because they could hear what appeared to be cement

falling down her chimney. She said there was someone working on next door's roof.

I said, "Well, can you go and ask him to stop whatever's happening?

"I'd like to speak to him."

So he came down off the roof and came in and spoke to me

and I said, "Can you explain what you're doing?"

He said, "I was working on next door's bungalow roof

"and the elderly lady here came out and asked me to check hers."

And I said, "That old lady can't walk outside.

I said, "Did she actually ask you to do the work?"

And he didn't answer me.

It seems Gilmore took it upon himself

to carry out the roofing work - a classic rogue trader trick.

I said, "Do you realise that I do all the repairs for this lady

"and see to all the running of her affairs?"

And I said, "You should really have contacted me first."

"Oh, well, I didn't realise that."

"Well, fair enough," I said, "but I'd like you to stop."

"Oh," he said, "but I've nearly finished.

"I can't leave it now, it won't be weather-proof."

Gilmore was now demanding payment of £350,

an amount which Trading Standards later discovered

was a complete rip-off. A job like that would cost around £200

if it had been done properly -

which, of course, it wasn't.

Gilmore had claimed that he'd re-rendered it,

he'd repainted it, he'd put a new concrete capping on top.

And so obviously, we got a surveyor along to have a look

and all the surveyor could say was yes, he definitely had repainted it

and he had put an extra layer of concrete on top of the existing cap,

but that was it. So for £350,

he'd just slopped a bit of extra concrete on and repainted it.

It is truly despicable behaviour

and although Ann stood firm, Gilmore wanted his money.

And he said he had to have cash

and I said, "I'm very sorry, I live 100 miles away.

"There's no way I can do that."

I said, "If I have a bill,

"a proper headed bill and itemised account,

"then I will pay it by return of post," but no way was he having cash.

Gilmore had met his match in Ann,

but when the bill finally arrived two weeks later,

she couldn't believe her eyes.

I was a little suspicious because

it was done in sepia, the printing, which is unusual,

and across the middle of it in the printing was "copy"

and I thought, "I've never seen that before."

Yes, you've guessed it.

The invoice was actually a proof copy from a local printer.

Now rather than Gilmore go and buy a pad of invoices,

he went to a copy and design shop

and asked them to make a proof copy for him,

actually design one for him,

and he just used that one copy to send to Mrs Mahoney.

Because he used that copy without the permission

of the copy and design shop, he also committed an offence

contrary to the Copyright Designs And Patents Act as well.

Breaching copyright as well as ripping off his customers?

This man really is the lowest of the low! But here comes the good news.

This doorstep criminal was arrested and convicted.

What's more, we have previously unseen footage

recorded by a policeman's CCTV camera

when they finally caught up with him.

Do you have an itemised bill

or any estimate that you've done for the work?

This particular incident didn't form any part of the case

that was eventually brought against Gilmore

but it demonstrates how when questioned,

his version of events changes from answer to answer.

Detective Inspector Dave Roberts led the investigation.

He started off by saying that the householder had approached him.

-So you knocked on this door?

-No, I haven't knocked on this door.

I was parked there and he come out and seen me and said,

"Could you have a look at the work?"

He then goes on to say that a written quote had been provided.

And you haven't given him a written quote?

Yes. I wrote all that out and he wouldn't take it.

Where have you put it, then?

It's gone. He wouldn't take it off me.

-Is it still in your van, then, or what?

-No.

He then changes it again to say that he can't read or write.

-Did you write it or not?

-No, cos I'm dyslexic, aren't I?

So you didn't write it for him?

-You didn't write it?

-Right, the original one...

-I know what you're trying to do.

-I'm just...

I know what you're trying to do.

I'm trying to find out exactly what's happening. That's all.

Just over an hour after this footage was filmed, Gilmore was arrested.

To bring this rogue to justice,

DI Roberts worked alongside Laurence Martin from Trading Standards.

Following the initial interview with Gilmore,

Laurence and I sat down and looked at all the evidence we had before us

and it soon became apparent

we had to form an alliance so that between the two lots of expertise,

we could make sure that no stone was left unturned

and that no offences went without being investigated.

A search of Gilmore's van revealed paperwork

which led them to other victims, including Ann Mahoney.

It soon became apparent

that many hapless people in the area had been left in his wake.

Our enquiries revealed that Gilmore had conned just over £4,000

out of five vulnerable elderly ladies who all lived on their own.

It just goes to show that this man wasn't a legitimate builder, but a con man.

Now, the good news is that on 17th February 2012,

Peter Gilmore pleaded guilty to eight offences

and was given a 22-month custodial sentence.

Trading Standards and the police will obviously keep a watchful eye

on this doorstep criminal.

What we have to ensure now is that when Gilmore is released from jail,

he isn't given the opportunity to go on and commit further such offences.

The heavier they can come down on these people,

not just this one man in particular, but on all of them,

brilliant.

I don't think they can come down heavily enough on them

because it's not just the monetary damage,

it's the psychological damage that they've done.

And anybody who puts terror into an elderly person,

I think, is despicable.

He may be off the streets for now,

but there are valuable lessons for all of us in Gilmore's story.

It just goes to show how important it is

that people get these quotes in writing

and to ensure they get a seven-day cooling-off period

so that other people can examine exactly what is being quoted for

and everyone knows exactly what is expected, not of the trader,

but also for the customer himself.

Still to come, the Staffordshire County Councillor

who swung into action when he discovered

that one of his constituents was being ripped off

I couldn't believe the amount of money she'd actually paid.

For a £400 or £500 job, she'd paid thousands of pounds.

As always, thank you very much for all your letters and emails,

I must say, they continue to pour in, which is great.

Gordon Archer from Warwickshire points out that using a door chain

requires a kind of discipline which doesn't come naturally to us

because we all have an inclination to simply hope for the best.

Now, he suggests that criminals will think twice

when faced by a resolute householder speaking from behind a door

which is secured by a stout, heavy duty chain.

I think that's really good advice, Gordon. I agree with you.

Now, let's see how the youngsters of Cambridgeshire have been getting on

with their crime-busting classes.

At St Mary's Primary School, this class of nine- and ten-year olds

are learning about the dangers of distraction burglary and how to prevent it.

It's an interactive lesson run in conjunction with Cambridge Council and Police Force

and gives the children a chance to ask questions via an internet link

which are answered by real police officers in a mock control room.

To reinforce what they're learning, the children are given the task

of designing and making their own posters

to remind relatives and friends what they need to do

to stop themselves from becoming victims.

"Not sure, don't open the door." Good slogan!

-"When in doubt, keep them out."

-I like that one as well.

Right, "It's up to you - open the door or not, but don't forget to stop, chain and check."

Very good. That is excellent. I like your big "Stop" here.

I think that's very good.

So you stop and you think, and you keep the chain on.

And then you check and if you're not very happy, don't take the chain off at all.

I think every elderly person in St Neots will get a poster

for the back of their door by the end of the week!

It's the starting point to a conversation.

So if they're going to a neighbour and saying,

"We'd like to give you this for the back of your door."

And then, obviously, say why.

It's a starting point then for their communication.

Now, do you think that this type of technology and this type of lesson

helps you learn about this?

ALL: Yeah.

-Do you think others schools should have this?

-ALL: Yeah.

Cos it gives you a good idea, like what methods they use, to like, steal stuff.

Well, I have to say I've never seen this idea before,

I think it's a brilliant idea. And it's great for us to be able to feature it on our programme,

so that young people like you can teach older people a lot of very good advice.

'To see how effective this scheme is beyond the classroom,

'I'm going home with Louis and his mum, Claire, to meet his grandma, Julia.'

So this is where you live, Louis, eh?

-Yeah.

-Excellent!

So Claire, it's pretty impressive. What do you think about this type of teaching at the school?

I think it's brilliant. It's really good for them to learn that.

I think it shows that they can, you know, hopefully prevent

things like that happening in the future, really.

Now, Louis, tell me the truth.

What did you say about Nan at school today?

Erm, forgetful, and... THEY LAUGH

-Well done!

-And too forgiving.

Now that you know all the details from the police,

what advice would you give your nan now?

Erm, don't open the door to who you don't know.

Right. I'll remember that.

You have hidden about your person something for your nan.

That you made at school today. Do you want to show her that?

-And I've...

-Yeah. Hidden them under the stool here.

Erm, that one is a poster. "Think before you open the door."

Good one. So you hang that on your door, or inside. Good one.

This one, "Stop, chain, check."

-Very good.

-Did you design those yourself? At school, yes?

-With two or three other people.

-They're brilliant!

-They're gorgeous. I think they're lovely. Brilliant.

You've made this lovely present for Mum,

it's a good reminder from school today. So where are you going to hang it?

-Up here.

-I think that's very good. Excellent.

That can be your job from here on in, make sure the chain is on.

Excellent! Louis, you've done a wonderful job. Congratulations!

You should be proud of yourself. And Mum will have that now forever, won't she?

-As a good reminder at the door.

-Yeah.

-Good. You happy?

-Yes. Very happy.

-Good. Well done, Louis!

Our thanks go to all at St Mary's Primary School

for a really enjoyable day and making us feel very welcome.

Now it's time to celebrate a councillor who became a bit of a hero,

when he came to the aid of a consumer in need.

'Now, we all love to have a knight in shining armour should the need arise!

'Staffordshire County Councillor John Wells assumed that role,

'when one of his constituents was targeted by a doorstepping con artist.

'He was so incensed when he heard she had been ripped off

'by a rogue trader, that he felt he had to step in and see that justice was done.'

'The 76-year-old victim of this scam is keen to share her story,

'but she wishes to remain anonymous, so I'm going to call her Mary.

'In October 2010, and recently widowed,

'she needed some minor repairs to her kitchen ceiling.

'She was given the telephone number of one Mark Duggan.'

He said it would cost me £1,000,

but he'd have to get the money before he started work

because he's got to buy the material.

I said, "What about a receipt?" He said, "Oh, don't worry about a receipt."

'Mary was unaware that Mark Duggan was a real scoundrel,

'who had already preyed on at least one elderly victim in the county.'

I think Duggan,

like a lot of these rogue traders, is very plausible.

And they're just there to initially gain the confidence of the victim

and then at a later stage, exploit them.

'Before she even realised it, Mary handed over £1,000 to Duggan for materials,

'but not only did he fail to fix the leak in her kitchen ceiling,

'his shoddy workmanship caused another leak in her garage.'

'Of course, Duggan wasn't interested in the chaos that he'd caused.

'All he wanted was more of Mary's money.'

Duggan would take cheques, but he preferred cash.

He would take his victim to the bank.

On one occasion, her took her to the bank and left her there,

and told her to get public transport back home because he was too busy.

Um...

I think they used, or Duggan used,

whatever methodology they could

in order to get cash money out of victims.

'The pressure put on Mary by Duggan was becoming unbearable.

'In a matter of days she had handed over almost £4,500 to the trickster.'

He kept saying he needs some more money to buy the material."

That's all he would say, "We need some more money to buy materials."

He bought the material, then he started doing the work, which was shabby.

I was concerned about the work, so I contacted Clifton.

'Mary's community leader Clifton Nicholson saw straight away

'that she was being duped by the heartless rogue.'

I think the builder realised that the lady had recently

lost her husband and was in a vulnerable situation.

And thereby took advantage of that.

'Luckily for Mary, strong links throughout the community

'meant that quick-thinking Clifton knew exactly who to call. That's right -

'it was time for Staffordshire County Councillor, John Wells, to swing into action!'

I actually went round to her house. I asked her if she'd got a ladder,

so I could actually look up on the roof at the work that had been done.

And I couldn't believe

the amount of money she'd actually paid

for a £400 or £500 job. She'd paid thousands of pounds.

'It was clear that Mary had been the victim of a ruthless scam.

'She had paid Mark Duggan using cheques,

'and John realised that he had to act fast to have them cancelled.'

Everybody knew me at the bank, so I actually went to see the bank manager with her.

And we actually showed him the cheques

that had been made out.

He went through the stubs with us,

and cancelled about £4,500 worth of cheques.

'What a good result, John, well done.

'Mary also told the courageous councillor that Duggan

'was bullying her into paying a further £6,000 to fix the garage.

'You're right - it's the garage that he'd damaged in the first place.

'And that he would be returning the next day for the money.

'Quite simply, Duggan had to be stopped.

'The final link in this impressive chain of community co-operation

'was the team at Trading Standards.'

John happened to become aware of the problems the victim was suffering at the hands of Duggan.

He intervened, erm,

decided to contact us.

We went to see the victim,

and it's only through his intervention

that we became aware of this particular crime.

'I'm sure Duggan was looking forward to getting his hands on the six grand,

'when he returned to Mary's house. Instead, he found Trading Standards

'and the police lying in wait for him!'

The surveyor found poor quality work,

work that wasn't really necessary.

And the most significant thing

was he'd charged the victim £6,900

for a job that was only worth just over £1,200.

Duggan was arrested and bailed.

He gave a "no comment" interview.

Following that, charges were laid against him

and the court case went ahead.

'Greed had finally got the better of Mark Duggan.

'In March 2012 he was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for fraudulent trading practices.

'The sentence took into account another scam to which he'd pleaded guilty the year before.

'With Duggan safely behind bars,

'everyone agrees who is the real star of this story.'

'I think John's a real modern-day hero.

'I'm very grateful to John for the work that he's done for this lady

and what he does within the community and Trading Standards.

And I think it's a real example for anyone

who would be in such a position to come forward with confidence

that not only Trading Standards, but people like John are out there who are willing to help.

There are a lot of people who do keep their eye on the community,

Neighbourhood Watch people,

but if you've got elderly neighbours,

people who potentially can be exploited,

I think that there's no reason why you can't intervene.

We're only a telephone call away.

'Meanwhile, John is very modest about the crucial role he played

'in saving Mary many, many thousands of pounds and bringing Duggan to justice.'

The whole department of the county council

reacted to this particular problem, which I was rather pleased about,

and it stopped him taking advantage of other people, which I was rather pleased about as well.

'Now, he might play down his part, even so, John has made quite an impression on Mary.'

He was my knight in shining armour.

He was a great big hero.

John was a big hero.

He'll always be in my thoughts.

Well, it's certainly a relief to know that the rogue got his just desserts.

Now Barry Taber swears by the A4 laminated sheet by his front door

which wards off cold callers with a very polite notice.

He says it's 99.9% guaranteed

and the only surprise is when he gets the odd caller who says they can't read!

and he thinks to himself, "Yeah, a likely story(!)"

I think I agree with you, Barry.

We're here to fight back against doorstep criminals

and we'd love to hear more about how you've stopped them ripping you off.

You can find all the details about how to reach us at:

And that's just about it.

Thanks very much indeed for watching and your company and I hope you'll join me again, next time.

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