The Office of Fair Trading has expressed concern that itinerant traders who recently targeted the Island, may be planning to return.
A warning has been issued following reports of traders illegally touting for work by knocking on doors in the hope of persuading householders to have work done on their property. This is known as ‘cold-calling’ and is illegal in the Isle of Man.
Traders have been known to cold-call anyone but often target the elderly and vulnerable in particular. The OFT has reiterated its previous advice which encourages the friends, neighbours and relatives of those most vulnerable to make them aware:
- Do NOT use traders who call at your home without an appointment offering to do work
- Do NOT be pressurised into having unnecessary work done
- Do NOT fall for patter such as ‘We were just in the area and noticed a problem’
- Do NOT part with a significant amount of cash up front
- Put one of our ‘We do NOT deal with uninvited traders’ signs in the window of your porch or front door. These can be obtained from the OFT office or website
Anyone being pestered by a rogue trader should call the police or Trading Standards for advice. People that are concerned they have already fallen foul of a rogue trader should contact the OFT’s Trading Standards team by emailing iomfairtrading@gov.im or calling +44 1624 686500.
John Wannenburgh MHK, Chair of the OFT, said:
‘Our advice to householders is simple. Do not deal with traders who turn up uninvited on your doorstep touting for work. Report such occurrences to the police or Trading Standards. The adverse weather at this time of year and over the coming months will leave householders more susceptible to being conned by rogue traders touting for roofing work in particular.’
