| Angus Council and Trading Standards issued the warning after an 88-year-old woman was taken in by dodgy operators.
They cold-called at her home, where she lives alone, offering to re-surface parts of her garden and driveway.
Her furious son, Alan Richardson, contacted authorities after he visited his mother and found a potentially dangerous botched job.
He said the rogues demanded a cash payment and his mother was forced to go to the bank to fetch the money.
“Two cowboys turned up at her door and offered to tar her drive and then took her for £650,” Mr Richardson said.
“It’s a complete mess. They haven’t done near enough work to and it is already breaking up. My mum has to constantly sweep her hall because she’s dragging bits of tar in every time she goes back indoors. It is so poor it would have been better if the work hadn’t been done at all.”
Mr Richardson said the cowboys ignored signs that doorstoppers were not welcome
“She is an 88-year-old woman and has a ‘No doorstoppers’ sign on her window, so they knew they shouldn’t have called,” he said.
“The authorities are still looking for them. They may have been scared out of the area, but I didn’t want to take that for granted. What I want is for people to be aware of this. At the end of the day the work they’ve done is dreadful and it will take a lot of fixing and cost a lot more before it is put right.”
The case is being investigated by Trading Standards.
An Angus Council spokesman today warned residents they should always say no to cold-callers.
“Angus Council trading standards service receives many complaints of this nature throughout the year,” he said. “It is often older citizens or the vulnerable who are targeted, which is why we have introduced the Doorstoppers initiative and have established ‘No Cold-Calling’ areas in partnership with Tayside Police and Neighbourhood Watch.
“Householders wishing to carry out improvements to their property, including driveways, should obtain quotes from several tradespeople, through word of mouth or schemes such as the Angus Reputable Trader Scheme or the Dundee Trusted Trader Scheme.”
For further advice contact trading standards officers on 08452 777778. |
