TRADING Standards Officers have been working with the National Trading Standards Scams Team to return payments made by Essex residents to a US sweepstake scam. In one case it was discovered that the Essex resident, who has since sadly passed away, had also been targeted by a rogue trader (and ex-cage fighter) who did some gardening and repairs to her property after knocking at the door.

A little over a year after the initial doorstep call, the resident had ‘sold’ her £280,000 house for £70,000 to the doorstep trader, ‘given’ him jewellery worth at least £60,000 and her savings had fallen from around £150,000 to practically nothing. Property and cash totalling some £500,000 had gone. The local resident died and her property, registered in the trader’s name, was now on the market for £425,000. This resulted in a court case concerning undue influence, which deals with a situation when one party in a relationship has acquired a measure of influence, or trust and confidence and then taken unfair advantage by abusing that trust for their own interests.

Ultimately the High Court set aside the transaction. Officers at Trading Standards are liaising with the family solicitor to return the money paid to the sweepstake by their elderly relative. For further details please see the National Trading Standards press release here.

Whilst this is an extreme example of what can and does happen when you contract with someone who just knocks on your door with an offer to do work, it does demonstrate how important it is to use a reputable trader as listed on Buy with Confidence.