FFRREE EE IN INSSIIDE
ABINGDON EDITION Oxfordshire pays its respects this week: to freedom fighter Mandela p5
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CONVICTION ‘SHOULD ACT AS WARNING TO OTHERS’ Man tried to con elderly woman, 79
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A MAN who tried to con a 79-year-old Abingdon woman was successfully prosecuted by Oxfordshire County Council’s Trading Standards team on Monday. James Cassidy, from Kettering, admitted at Oxford Magistrates’ Court that he didn’t alert his victim to a cancellation fee relating to a jet-washing job at her property in Austin Place on October 4. Cassidy knocked on the woman’s door and offered to jet-wash her driveway, patio, back pathway and wall, plus fi ll in gaps and apply sealer to them, for a total of £800. But he never gave his victim Bu any written notice that she had a seven-day se cooling off period, and then he tried to charge £250
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for terminating the job without informing her beforehand that the fee would apply. No money ever changed hands during the process. At the hearing, Cassidy was fi ned £400 for not giving written notice and £500 for trying to charge a cancellation fee. He was also ordered to pay £1,000 in costs and a £50 victim surcharge. Oxfordshire Trading Standards manager Richard Webb said: “This conviction should add as a warning to anybody else who is thinking of trying to dupe anybody in Oxfordshire on the doorstep. “Cold-calling crime is not tolerated in this county and we will do our best to bring cases to court and secure a conviction, as we have done here.
Cllr Louise Chapman, cabinet member with responsibility for Trading Standards, was pleased with the outcome. She said: “This is another example of Trading Standards getting a great result in court against somebody who failed to give a resident the correct notifications relating to a doorstep job. “Anybody can access our Buy with Confidence scheme, which lists local fi rms who have been thoroughly checked to ensure that they are reputable.” The Buy with Confidence website allows people to see businesses that have been thoroughly checked by Trading Standards, and is available at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/ content/buy-confidence. Anyone wanting to report a problem they have experienced with a doorstep seller can call Oxfordshire Trading Standards on 08454 040506.