0:00:02 > 0:00:05I have to admit that nothing upsets me more than stories of doorstep crime.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08But you know what? There is an answer. It's known as people power!
0:00:08 > 0:00:11Rip-off rogues, conniving con-artists,
0:00:11 > 0:00:14we're showing them the door, with your help.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16And we're celebrating the work of award-winning police
0:00:16 > 0:00:18and trading standards teams,
0:00:18 > 0:00:23who make sure that the crooks end up behind bars, where they belong.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28Today, the incredible story of a doorstep rip-off
0:00:28 > 0:00:33which cost one man almost £150,000.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35To use a modern phrase, looking back now
0:00:35 > 0:00:40at the amount that I had to lay out, I feel gutted, utterly gutted.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43Plus, the rogue trader who got his comeuppance
0:00:43 > 0:00:46when the family of one of his elderly victims stepped in.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48I asked him to leave.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51Under no circumstances to come back to this house ever again
0:00:51 > 0:00:53to undertake any other works.
0:00:53 > 0:00:54And we take a close look
0:00:54 > 0:00:58at the five most common methods of doorstep con trickery.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01Every step of the presentation they make in your home
0:01:01 > 0:01:03is well scripted, well crafted,
0:01:03 > 0:01:06and designed to make sure you're off your guard.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09CAT SQUEALS
0:01:09 > 0:01:11POLICE SIREN
0:01:11 > 0:01:14Hello, I'm delighted you've been able to join us for the programme.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17Now, let's start with big money.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20£150 grand - I think you'll agree that is big money.
0:01:20 > 0:01:25Now imagine you'd paid all of that out for work that you didn't request or even need.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28Well, it happened to one unlucky man in south London.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30Prepare to be shocked.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37This incredible story takes place in the borough of Bromley.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40It's was so extreme, that it sticks in the mind of Rob Vale,
0:01:40 > 0:01:43the head of the local Trading Standards team.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47This was obviously an extreme case
0:01:47 > 0:01:50and probably one of the worst cases we've dealt with in Bromley,
0:01:50 > 0:01:53but it does demonstrate that anyone can be caught out
0:01:53 > 0:01:57by these individuals who are ruthless, professional and organised.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01Rob is referring to the case of Ian Blee,
0:02:01 > 0:02:06a 65-year-old former transport manager who lives in South London.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10So we go back to the beginning of April 2008.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12I came downstairs one Saturday morning
0:02:12 > 0:02:16and found a strange guy in the front garden.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19Ian went out to ask the man what he wanted.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22He claimed to represent the same company
0:02:22 > 0:02:25that Ian once employed to carry out some work on his house,
0:02:25 > 0:02:27and our man thought he seemed plausible.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31He claimed that his firm had taken over the rights of this company
0:02:31 > 0:02:35and they were offering a service to renovate that coating,
0:02:35 > 0:02:38at no charge to me.
0:02:38 > 0:02:43But as part of the deal, while they were in the property
0:02:43 > 0:02:46they would like to undertake any other building work I wanted done,
0:02:46 > 0:02:48which would be subject to a fee.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51But the work on the coating would be free of charge.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55Ian had a flat roof at the rear of his house which was leaking,
0:02:55 > 0:02:58causing damp in the back bedroom.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01It seemed a good opportunity to get this sorted,
0:03:01 > 0:03:03so agreed if the price was right,
0:03:03 > 0:03:07he would be interested in having some work done.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11He indicated it would all be very simple and straightforward,
0:03:11 > 0:03:16but that they wanted £500 up-front for materials.
0:03:16 > 0:03:21I got the money, they came back in due course and began to start work.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24Now you won't believe this.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26Instead of fixing the leaky roof,
0:03:26 > 0:03:29the builders started hacking the back bedroom to pieces.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33They stripped plaster off the wall, ruining the carpet in the process.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37By then, I was in a difficult position
0:03:37 > 0:03:40where I couldn't really go back or stop paying money.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43And it was at that point that they asked for the first tranche of money
0:03:43 > 0:03:46of £24,000.
0:03:46 > 0:03:47Which I paid.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51£24,000!
0:03:51 > 0:03:56At this stage all they'd done was to make a complete mess of Ian's home.
0:03:56 > 0:03:57And worse was to come.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00The pair claimed that further treatment was required,
0:04:00 > 0:04:01because the damp was so severe.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04The flat roof would need completely replacing
0:04:04 > 0:04:07and the chimney stack, some urgent attention.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10Of course all of this came at extra cost.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12Ian was told to pay a further £22,000,
0:04:12 > 0:04:15and that still wasn't the end.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21Work continued and unfortunately Easter came at that time,
0:04:21 > 0:04:25and over the Easter weekend we had a violent thunderstorm.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27And whatever they had done to the roof
0:04:27 > 0:04:31had not made things better but had made it worse by that time,
0:04:31 > 0:04:35and so the water poured in, not only through that bedroom,
0:04:35 > 0:04:38but also the bathroom which is next door.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41For five days across the Bank Holiday weekend of 2008,
0:04:41 > 0:04:44Ian tried to call them.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46Each time, no answer.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49All he could do was watch his home suffer even more damage.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53When they finally came back, the rogues were most apologetic,
0:04:53 > 0:04:56and then they hit Ian with the next rotten trick.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01They went so far as to suggest that the property had a settlement,
0:05:01 > 0:05:06and they would need to dig up the back of the property
0:05:06 > 0:05:09to investigate the problem and solve it.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13At that point I said no, I don't think I want to have that work done,
0:05:13 > 0:05:17and furthermore I have buildings insurance anyway
0:05:17 > 0:05:19so I will be contacting my insurance company.
0:05:19 > 0:05:24They then said, "We'll deal with that, leave that to us."
0:05:24 > 0:05:26"And by the way we'll need another large tranche of money
0:05:26 > 0:05:30"to deal with this additional work," which I then had to pay.
0:05:30 > 0:05:35This time the doorstep crooks wanted £35,000,
0:05:35 > 0:05:42bringing the total that Ian had paid to a staggering £81,500.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46They were after his life savings and he was caught in their trap.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50We'll find out a little later how he fought back.
0:05:50 > 0:05:55Plus, news of a cold caller who preyed on residents in Hereford
0:05:55 > 0:05:59and charged extortionate prices for work that didn't even need doing.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03I thought it was a bit heavy, very heavy, actually,
0:06:03 > 0:06:06for what work had been done round the house.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09He ripped me off because he never told me the price.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11POLICE SIREN SOUNDS
0:06:11 > 0:06:13MILK BOTTLES CLINK
0:06:13 > 0:06:17It's clear how important it is to report crimes like this
0:06:17 > 0:06:20as soon as possible, to the police or Trading Standards.
0:06:20 > 0:06:25Doorstep crime comes in many forms, and some disreputable companies
0:06:25 > 0:06:29rely on salesmen who call with one thought in mind - to rip you off.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33So, we decided to investigate
0:06:33 > 0:06:36the most common methods of doorstep con-trickery.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40In 2011, a Government report found
0:06:40 > 0:06:45that we lose a whopping £6.6 billion each year to pressure selling.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49The Office of Fair Trading takes it so seriously
0:06:49 > 0:06:51that they've launched a campaign to stop it.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55But we can all make a stand against these chancers,
0:06:55 > 0:06:58by wising up to their five most rotten tricks.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04At number five, the shocking claims that some salesmen make.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07They're often outrageous and usually too good to be true.
0:07:07 > 0:07:13An expert who knows more about them than pretty much anyone else in the country
0:07:13 > 0:07:15is Steve Playle, of the Trading Standards Institute.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18He's been bringing them to book for 30 years.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23A salesman who comes round cold calling, knocks at the door,
0:07:23 > 0:07:25that's their opportunity to try and sell you
0:07:25 > 0:07:27what they're trying to sell.
0:07:27 > 0:07:28So they'll make some claims.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30They'll say the product does things
0:07:30 > 0:07:32which perhaps it won't strictly speaking do,
0:07:32 > 0:07:34but they'll try and impress you.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37And by impressing you they think that you'll buy it.
0:07:37 > 0:07:42To get to the heart of these sales tricks, we've spoken to two men
0:07:42 > 0:07:45who have first-hand experience of trying them out.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48Nick Carr has moved on from selling household cleaning equipment,
0:07:48 > 0:07:50but remembers it vividly.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56We'd always start talking up the product using facts and figures.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00Almost taglines that we had been given during training.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03Things like it had been developed internationally,
0:08:03 > 0:08:05millions of dollars had been ploughed into research.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07It was just broad, sweeping statements.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12Our second ex-salesman wants to remain anonymous.
0:08:12 > 0:08:13He worked for a firm
0:08:13 > 0:08:16which sold expensive building products to homeowners,
0:08:16 > 0:08:18and saw some very sharp practices indeed.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23The way people talk up the product
0:08:23 > 0:08:26is by using research which has never been used on the product.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28It's been tested over in Holland,
0:08:28 > 0:08:31it's been tested over in France, it's had amazing results.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34The reality was, the product didn't work,
0:08:34 > 0:08:38the guarantee we promised wasn't right,
0:08:38 > 0:08:41the tests we had showed them weren't genuine,
0:08:41 > 0:08:46so the reality was the product they were buying wasn't up to scratch.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48There you have it, straight from the horse's mouth!
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Claims that sound too good to be true
0:08:51 > 0:08:53really should be taken with a pinch of salt.
0:08:55 > 0:09:00At number four, underhand tactics used by a salesman.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02One example that I've come across
0:09:02 > 0:09:05is where a trader went up into someone's loft,
0:09:05 > 0:09:08came down with a dead rat, trying to imply to the householder
0:09:08 > 0:09:10they had a rat infestation in the loft.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13The reality is of course that the dead rat was in the trader's pocket,
0:09:13 > 0:09:16went upstairs into the loft, then came downstairs and produced it.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18That is completely outrageous
0:09:18 > 0:09:21and just designed to scare the living daylights out of the poor consumer.
0:09:21 > 0:09:26If you think that's an eye-opener, our ex-salesman, Nick,
0:09:26 > 0:09:29spent four hours with a more experienced colleague,
0:09:29 > 0:09:32who tried to get an elderly couple to buy a costly cleaning gadget.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34When it looked like they'd failed,
0:09:34 > 0:09:36a new plan was cooked-up to clinch it!
0:09:38 > 0:09:40We got back to the car, as I got in,
0:09:40 > 0:09:43the salesman told me to get back out, we were going back in.
0:09:43 > 0:09:49It turned out he'd slashed his own tyres with a knife, or one tyre,
0:09:49 > 0:09:53so we could then go back the house and ask if he could use the phone
0:09:53 > 0:09:59to contact head office and a rescue service.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03We then spent two hours in the house trying to get the sale again.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07Thankfully, the homeowners were not taken in,
0:10:07 > 0:10:09despite the epic six-hour sales pitch.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12It's so common for salesmen to call their offices
0:10:12 > 0:10:16that the technique is at number three in our countdown.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18The technique of calling back to the office is one
0:10:18 > 0:10:20that I've come across quite regularly.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24It buys some time, it means you're in someone's home for much longer
0:10:24 > 0:10:26and it also bring an air of credibility to the business -
0:10:26 > 0:10:30it makes the consumer think that there's a big organisation
0:10:30 > 0:10:32behind this salesman, he's not acting alone,
0:10:32 > 0:10:36and also, of course, it's an opportunity for the person at the other end of the phone
0:10:36 > 0:10:37to try and continue the hard sell.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42The sales calls were a friendly chat
0:10:42 > 0:10:46with a little bit of friendly sales patter involved in it,
0:10:46 > 0:10:50which very quickly moved on to a fairly hard sales technique
0:10:50 > 0:10:51from head office.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56The customer was made to feel more at ease because they had somebody else to talk to
0:10:56 > 0:10:59who wasn't just knocking on the door, trying to ask for money.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06A sure sign you're being had is when the price suddenly drops
0:11:06 > 0:11:08by thousands of pounds.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11Number two is the great money-off con.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14Quite frankly, it's a rip-off - the huge amounts
0:11:14 > 0:11:17they try to scam us out of.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19Very often, the tactics used are highly illegal.
0:11:19 > 0:11:25I've come across cases where double glazing contracts have started off at £25,000,
0:11:25 > 0:11:28and consumers have finally settled for something like £3,000 or £4,000,
0:11:28 > 0:11:31so a tremendous discount but actually, ask yourself,
0:11:31 > 0:11:34was the £25,000 actually a fair price in the first place?
0:11:34 > 0:11:38We'd always start off selling the product at about a 500% mark-up,
0:11:40 > 0:11:43'and the least you we'd sell it for was a 35% mark-up.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46'Now, a lot of the sales we were doing, we were working on
0:11:46 > 0:11:48'between 100% and 125% mark-up.'
0:11:50 > 0:11:53At number one, scare tactics.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57"You're in danger and only this product will save you!"
0:11:57 > 0:12:00The fear factor is very effective in the salesman's toolbox.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04It preys on people's minds, it works particularly well on the elderly
0:12:04 > 0:12:05and vulnerable consumers,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08who are worried about what the salesman's telling them
0:12:08 > 0:12:10and they want to put right what they think is wrong.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12You'd tell them the house was so far in disrepair
0:12:12 > 0:12:14and needed urgent attention.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17Things were leaking, things were hanging off,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20when in fact they were absolutely fine as they were, perfect.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22'A lot of the time they were an elderly couple
0:12:22 > 0:12:25so they just took you on face value that what you were saying
0:12:25 > 0:12:27was correct, when a lot of times it was just made up.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31One of our salesmen was encouraged to look out for inhalers,
0:12:31 > 0:12:36in homes where they were trying to sell cleaning equipment.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39They'd tell the homeowner that their product could remove dust mites
0:12:39 > 0:12:42and other causes of asthma and thus help their breathing.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47One salesman used to carry about an empty inhaler
0:12:47 > 0:12:49and he didn't have asthma himself,
0:12:49 > 0:12:51but when he went into a customer's house
0:12:51 > 0:12:57he would fake breathing problems and hold his chest, breathe deeply,
0:12:57 > 0:13:01fumble for his inhaler and use it and breathe a sigh of relief.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06His sales explanation for it was that he used to have asthma,
0:13:06 > 0:13:09"I bought one of these for the house and never bothered with it
0:13:09 > 0:13:11"but I have to carry this when I go to customers' houses
0:13:11 > 0:13:14"because that's when my asthma starts back up again."
0:13:14 > 0:13:18Every step of the presentation they make in your home is well scripted,
0:13:18 > 0:13:21well crafted, and it's designed to make sure you're off your guard.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25'For the final thought on how to avoid doorstep cons,
0:13:25 > 0:13:28'the last word goes to our former doorstep salesman, Nick.'
0:13:28 > 0:13:31They're not trying to help you. They're trying to help themselves.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33If you want to spend a lot of money on a product,
0:13:33 > 0:13:36ask somebody else, ask a friend or a family member for advice on it.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39Find out what they've bought and what they're happy with.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42Don't be pressured into buying something like that from somebody you don't know.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49Your emails and letters are very thought-provoking, I have to say.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53Carol Doust of south London points out that not everyone at the door
0:13:53 > 0:13:57is a crook - sometimes legitimate companies make cold calls.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00But the thing is, they're trained so that they refuse
0:14:00 > 0:14:03to take no for an answer, and seem determined not to leave
0:14:03 > 0:14:05without your business.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08Carol feels this hard form of selling should be made illegal.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11So you may have a very good point there, Carol.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15Now let's return to South London, where Ian Blee has handed over
0:14:15 > 0:14:21the staggering sum of £81,500 to a pair of rogue builders.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24All he wanted were repairs to his flat roof and back bedroom,
0:14:24 > 0:14:26but thanks to their incompetence
0:14:26 > 0:14:30and manipulation, his house was severely damaged by rainwater.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34What's more, the rogue roofers hadn't finished with him yet.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37Every time something went wrong they wanted more money.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40They always tried to persuade me that if I paid up,
0:14:40 > 0:14:45they would get me the money that I would have got back from the insurance company.
0:14:46 > 0:14:52'By the time the work was over, Ian had coughed up £116,500,
0:14:52 > 0:14:56'and there was one last trick - a VAT bill of £27,000.
0:14:56 > 0:15:04'He paid that as well, bringing the total to a whopping £143,500.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08'Ian had paid out all this money in the full expectation
0:15:08 > 0:15:10'that his insurance company would reimburse him.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13'The workmen had told him they would handle the necessary paperwork
0:15:13 > 0:15:16for his claim, and he had taken them at their word.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19'In hindsight, it comes as no surprise
0:15:19 > 0:15:20'that the cheques failed to arrive.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24'At last Ian decided enough was enough.'
0:15:25 > 0:15:28At this stage, I began to realise that I was being scammed
0:15:28 > 0:15:30and that I wasn't going to get my money back
0:15:30 > 0:15:31and I had to do something about it.
0:15:31 > 0:15:36Ian did the right thing by contacting Trading Standards,
0:15:36 > 0:15:39and Rob Vale led the investigation.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42In many cases, we find that the work that has been carried out
0:15:42 > 0:15:45by these individuals is worthless
0:15:45 > 0:15:48and more often than not, it needs to be done again by a professional.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54In December 2008, Rob's team called in local surveyor David Connolly
0:15:54 > 0:15:59to examine the rogues' work, and his findings came as quite a shock.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02The first aspect I looked at was the roof
0:16:02 > 0:16:07and it was clear that they had not done much work at all.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10They were supposed to have recovered the roof altogether
0:16:10 > 0:16:15but what they've actually done is put a patch on top of the old felt.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19They've not done any of the sealing of holes around the windows.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22The chimney stack, which needed re-rendering is all cracked
0:16:22 > 0:16:23and loose.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25So not only did they not do work
0:16:25 > 0:16:27that they were supposed to have done,
0:16:27 > 0:16:30'they seem to have actually made it worse and made gaps
0:16:30 > 0:16:31'for water to get in.'
0:16:31 > 0:16:34I then came down here to investigate some work
0:16:34 > 0:16:38that they claim to have undertaken by way of underpinning the house.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40I didn't find any cracks in the property
0:16:40 > 0:16:42that actually suggested that it needed underpinning.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46I understand about £140,000 was paid for all of the work
0:16:46 > 0:16:50they claimed was necessary, which is absolutely astronomic.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53What work they did do was of nil value,
0:16:53 > 0:16:56and in fact in some respects they made matters worse,
0:16:56 > 0:16:58and I think it's absolutely appalling
0:16:58 > 0:17:00that contractors can get away with this.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03When we became aware of this case, our only line of enquiry
0:17:03 > 0:17:07was really to trace the money, and we have a financial investigator
0:17:07 > 0:17:11who set about tracing all the cheques.
0:17:11 > 0:17:17After a fairly long investigation, we carried out raids
0:17:17 > 0:17:20on two or three properties across London,
0:17:20 > 0:17:22resulting in the conviction
0:17:22 > 0:17:23of one individual.
0:17:23 > 0:17:28A further individual was brought to court but he skipped bail
0:17:28 > 0:17:30and he's now on the run,
0:17:30 > 0:17:32so there's a warrant out for his arrest.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35A third individual unfortunately passed away
0:17:35 > 0:17:37before we were able to get him into court.
0:17:37 > 0:17:43And there was an outstanding matter against another person.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45We've never been able to catch up with.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48'Ian had been the victim of organised criminals,
0:17:48 > 0:17:52'costing him the best part of £150,000.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55'As for that protective treatment he'd been offered for free
0:17:55 > 0:17:59'in the first place, it turned out to be a bog-standard masonry paint.'
0:17:59 > 0:18:04Well, to use a modern phrase, looking back now at the amount
0:18:04 > 0:18:08that I had to lay out, I feel gutted - utterly gutted.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12It's certainly affected the way in which
0:18:12 > 0:18:14'I treat people on this sort of thing in the future.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18'It's something I will never forget and not be easily able to recover.'
0:18:18 > 0:18:22An innocent, likeable, honest individual
0:18:22 > 0:18:27has lost over £140,000 to these ruthless criminals
0:18:27 > 0:18:31who prey on the most vulnerable people in our society.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35So I think the lesson from all that is never commit yourself
0:18:35 > 0:18:37to work on the spot, as I did.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39Get another quote
0:18:39 > 0:18:42and always find someone else to talk it over with,
0:18:42 > 0:18:46who you trust, before you commit yourself to having work done.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53I never cease to be amazed by the salesmen's tricks
0:18:53 > 0:18:56and funnily enough, Linda Tucker has written in to the programme
0:18:56 > 0:18:59with some great advice, I think, about how to deal with them.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03She says any unwanted caller at her door is told that she rents her home
0:19:03 > 0:19:06and that really they should talk to her landlord.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09She says, "Believe you me, that makes them run a mile."
0:19:09 > 0:19:11And she hopes that this might be of help to a few of our viewers.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13Linda, I'm sure it will.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21Now, let's consider another example of doorstep crime.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24This is a classic case of a rogue trader who thought he could take
0:19:24 > 0:19:27advantage of elderly people, here in Hereford.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29Thankfully, he got his just desserts.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32Our story begins in February 2011,
0:19:32 > 0:19:36when 50-year-old doorstep deceiver Tony Michael Small
0:19:36 > 0:19:40cold-called at the home of 85-year-old Bill Greenhalgh.
0:19:40 > 0:19:46He came to the front door and I went out to talk to him
0:19:46 > 0:19:51and the he said, "I notice you've had your path done."
0:19:51 > 0:19:55I said, "Yes," and he said, "What's it like round the back?"
0:19:55 > 0:19:58I said, "Oh, it's flat paving stones."
0:19:59 > 0:20:01"Could I have a look?" he said.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03'The cheek of it all.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05'Now, Bill is a nice man and not wishing to be rude,
0:20:05 > 0:20:08'he obliged and took Small round the back.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10'It didn't take long for the opportunistic rogue
0:20:10 > 0:20:13'to start fishing for more work.'
0:20:13 > 0:20:19He offered to clean the steps for me and I said, "How much will it cost?"
0:20:19 > 0:20:23"Oh," he said, "don't worry about the cost. We'll sort that out later."
0:20:23 > 0:20:29He said, "It doesn't cost much, because you supply the water
0:20:29 > 0:20:33"and I supply the machine, just to put the pressure on the water
0:20:33 > 0:20:36"and clean the flags."
0:20:36 > 0:20:39'But Tony Small didn't stop there.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42'He said, "I'll tell you what you want to do -
0:20:42 > 0:20:45"on the drive it looks quite nice now
0:20:45 > 0:20:50"but you should put some sand on it, on the cracks."
0:20:50 > 0:20:55I said, "Oh, all right. I've got a bag of sand in the shed
0:20:55 > 0:20:58"that they left for me to do that."
0:20:58 > 0:21:00"Oh," he said, "well, I'll do that for you."
0:21:01 > 0:21:04'Within minutes of opening his door to the con man,
0:21:04 > 0:21:07'Bill had been coerced into having several jobs done,
0:21:07 > 0:21:10'including jet-washing the patio,
0:21:10 > 0:21:13'fitting trunking to the exterior electrical cables,
0:21:13 > 0:21:16'and re-pointing some of the brickwork.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18'But there was one thing Small wasn't so keen to discuss.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22I said, "How much is this going to cost?"
0:21:22 > 0:21:25"Oh," he said, "don't worry about the cost.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27"It's not a costly job."
0:21:28 > 0:21:31And I said, "All right."
0:21:31 > 0:21:35Bill had been well and truly sucked in, but it took a few days
0:21:35 > 0:21:38for him to realize what he'd got himself into.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43"Anyhow," he said, "Let me get started with the job."
0:21:43 > 0:21:45So I said, "All right."
0:21:45 > 0:21:48'And then he came later.
0:21:48 > 0:21:53After the first week, he asked me could I give him £1,000 cash.
0:21:53 > 0:21:58'£1,000 - all starting from an offer to jet-wash the patio.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00'It's a tried-and-tested con trick,
0:22:00 > 0:22:05'as Tim Thorne from Hereford Trading Standards knows only too well.'
0:22:05 > 0:22:09The method this rogue trader used is typical of all rogue traders.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13You start with something minor and then add more and more work onto it.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16You avoid telling them the price until the end
0:22:16 > 0:22:19and then it's too late for the elderly resident -
0:22:19 > 0:22:20they've got to pay up.
0:22:22 > 0:22:26Bill was in just this situation but there was a final sting in the tail.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30Some two weeks later, with barely any work done whatsoever,
0:22:30 > 0:22:32Tony Small asked for another payment
0:22:32 > 0:22:37'of £1,000, plus £400 more for VAT.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41'The grand total? £2,400.'
0:22:42 > 0:22:45I thought it was a bit heavy. Very heavy, actually,
0:22:45 > 0:22:49'for what the work had been done round the house.'
0:22:49 > 0:22:52He ripped me off because he never told me the price.
0:22:53 > 0:22:58'Reluctantly, Bill paid up, but he kept the whole matter to himself.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01'It was only when his daughter and son-in-law found a note
0:23:01 > 0:23:03'from the builder, requesting payment,
0:23:03 > 0:23:05'that the scam came to light.'
0:23:05 > 0:23:08'Obviously very concerned, they asked Bill to explain.'
0:23:08 > 0:23:13Bill was a bit upset because he felt he'd brought it on himself,
0:23:13 > 0:23:16'so we had to explain to Bill it wasn't his fault that these
0:23:16 > 0:23:19'sort of people are going around ripping old-age pensioners off,'
0:23:19 > 0:23:22and not to feel guilty in any way.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24Steve was so incensed
0:23:24 > 0:23:27'that he took matters into his own hands.'
0:23:27 > 0:23:30'I rang the builder up myself and I asked him'
0:23:30 > 0:23:34to explain and also to give me an invoice
0:23:34 > 0:23:36for the works he'd undertaken.
0:23:36 > 0:23:37This he held back from -
0:23:37 > 0:23:40he didn't really want to commit himself to giving me an invoice,
0:23:40 > 0:23:46but he agreed to pay me £400 of the £2,400 back straight away.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50Then I asked him to leave and under no circumstances to come back
0:23:50 > 0:23:53to this house ever again to undertake any other works.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56Although he had clawed back some of Bill's money,
0:23:56 > 0:23:58Steve wasn't satisfied.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01He decided to get in touch with Hereford Trading Standards,
0:24:01 > 0:24:05who were keen to take a look at Small's handiwork.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08'What we have here is the poor quality work'
0:24:08 > 0:24:11on the patio slabs at the back.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14The rogue trader has power-washed them, which he should not have done,
0:24:14 > 0:24:18because it's blasted some of the bedding out from under the slabs
0:24:18 > 0:24:21and that has caused the slabs to wobble and be uneven,
0:24:21 > 0:24:24and this could be a tripping hazard for Bill and his wife.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27This is the first part of the re-pointing
0:24:27 > 0:24:30that the rogue trader coerced Bill into agreeing.
0:24:30 > 0:24:35It's where the extension on the bungalow met the original brickwork,
0:24:35 > 0:24:39and obviously, over time, there'll be a slight crack,
0:24:39 > 0:24:42so the rogue trader focused on that and then led Bill into agreeing
0:24:42 > 0:24:45to having re-pointing done all the way around the bungalow,
0:24:45 > 0:24:50round the bottom, which was of course done in an appalling manner.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52It follows the typical rogue-trader practice
0:24:52 > 0:24:57of doing unnecessary, over-priced and very poor quality work.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59But thankfully there's good news.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03Not long after ripping Bill off, Tony Small was caught red-handed
0:25:03 > 0:25:07by the authorities, in the middle of conning his next hapless local.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10Our investigations into this rogue trader led us to another victim
0:25:10 > 0:25:16in Hereford. A 75-year-old, who had been cold-called again,
0:25:16 > 0:25:18was told that asbestos guttering needed replacing
0:25:18 > 0:25:25when it simply did not, and he ripped the guttering down immediately
0:25:25 > 0:25:29so the elderly lady had no opportunity to cancel.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33We managed to intervene and stop any money being handed over.
0:25:33 > 0:25:38At Worcester Crown Court on 19th February, 2012, Tony Michael Small
0:25:38 > 0:25:42was sentenced to a term of seven-and-a-half months' imprisonment,
0:25:42 > 0:25:44for three unfair trading offences.
0:25:44 > 0:25:45Justice had been done,
0:25:45 > 0:25:49but Bill is still very annoyed with himself for being taken in.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52He was a smooth man
0:25:52 > 0:25:57and, fair enough, he must have measured me up
0:25:57 > 0:26:01and sorted me out mentally and thought,
0:26:01 > 0:26:05"Well, I think I can push this fellow a little bit further."
0:26:05 > 0:26:08My advice to anyone, including the elderly and vulnerable,
0:26:08 > 0:26:13to avoid becoming a victim of rogue trading, is very simple indeed -
0:26:13 > 0:26:16do not deal with anyone who cold calls you,
0:26:16 > 0:26:19either at the door or on the telephone,
0:26:19 > 0:26:21and that way you will not get stung.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25Virtually all rogue trading activity comes from cold calling.
0:26:25 > 0:26:31I'd be very careful if anyone came to me, wanting to do work for me.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34I'd be very, very careful with them.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42As always, we'd really love to hear more about how you've fought back
0:26:42 > 0:26:44against rip-off merchants at the door,
0:26:44 > 0:26:45so I hope you'll drop us a line,
0:26:45 > 0:26:47using the contact information on our website.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53So at this point, may I just say I've really enjoyed your company
0:26:53 > 0:26:56and I hope you will join us again next time.
0:26:56 > 0:26:57From us, bye-bye.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd