Don’t fall for mouldy deal

SC AMMERS are innovative and immoral when it comes to conning people out of money – especially the elderly

The latest scam could cost you anything between £50-£250 even though it sounds legitimate and claims to be a Government approved operation

Trading Standards teams are now getting repor ts of rogue tradesmen calling on home owners claiming their proper ty may be plagued by ‘toxic mould’

The Hear t of the South West Trading Standards Ser vice says that there have been a number of instances in the Devon area of scammers attempting to dupe householders into handing over money for fake ‘toxic mould’ sur veys.

There have also been repor ts of cold callers targeting residents and offering ‘free sur veys ’ of homes to check for signs of mould.

Mould can be extremely harmful, and scammers are tr ying to take advantage of the public’s concerns following the tragic death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak. The toddler died as a result of exposure to toxic mould in his family’s flat in Rochdale in 2020

In some cases, the scammers will then use high-pressure sales tactics to trick the householder into paying an ‘admin fee’ of £50-£250, which they say is necessar y to secure a government energ y-efficiency grant.

Often they fail to return to carr y out work, and victims are unable to contact them to get their money back

And if they do return the work is often poor quality or unnecessar y, as one couple discovered to their cost, can make things worse and even damage your home

The young couple , fboth with underlying health conditions, fell foul of a business that promised that they could solve ‘all their damp and mould’ problems with spray-foam

“We were concerned the damp was putting our health at risk, so we had to get something done , ” she said “We believed their promises

“They quoted us more than £5,000 but said they could reduce that to half if we signed on the dotted line there and then, and once they walked out that door, we would have to pay the full amount. We felt really pressured.”

They went ahead with the work but within a shor t time they realised something was wrong:

“Instead of our home becoming more insulated the walls in the house were wet to touch and mould was appearing ever ywhere It’s taken six months, but we have finally got it removed and thanks to Trading Standards we have got our money back

“I just don’t want anybody else to go through this. We are still waiting to see if there is any lasting damage to our home . ”

Scammers are also attempting to arrange sur veys by text and phone call and in one case a retired teacher was almost scammed out of £7,000 by cold callers who told her they had found toxic mould in her attic

Fakir Osman, Head of the Hear t of the South West Trading Standards Ser vice , said: “Scammers are tr ying to make money out of people’s legitimate concerns following the tragic death of a toddler and that’s despicable . “They are exploiting elderly residents, parents, and anybody they think they can trick into handing over money under false pretences ”

Our Advice

There are several steps you can take to avoid falling victim to a rogue trader

Don’t engage with anyone at the door, and never invite a cold caller into your home

Never respond to offers of home repair work you receive via text or phone – in most cases these are sent by scammers seeking to steal money or personal details.

If you are thinking about installing energy- efficiency or anti- damp measures in your home we always advise you get recommendations from friends and family.

Always use a trade association recommended by your local trading standards as these will hev been carefully vetted.