Trading Standards - Doorstep Scams - Driveways

18th April 2024

There have been several recent reports of cold callers offering to carry out work on properties including gardening and driveway cleaning.

One man paid cold callers £700 in cash to clean his slabs. They took the money but left after only doing about 10 minutes of work. A couple of days later, one of the men returned and claimed that the money was fake and they were still owed £300.

When the homeowner refused to pay, he said he would drop it to £150. The homeowner then told him he would contact the police, at which point he left the property.

In another case, a woman was in her garden when a man came down the street and told her that he was in the area doing power washing. She agreed to have her driveway cleaned and three other men appeared almost immediately with tools.

The cold caller charged her £850 and asked her to pay when they were halfway through the job. After she gave them the money, they left, supposedly to pick up more tools, and said they would return later that afternoon. They left the driveway in a mess and didn't return.

We have published a video featuring a case study from a Scottish consumer who was cold called by rogue traders who said they had been working for the local council and had some tarmac left over with which they could resurface his driveway. Although they said the materials were free, they ended up charging him £9,000 for labour costs. Watch it here: https://youtu.be/bSOdXRUH_aM

How to Avoid
Any unsolicited trader who offers to carry out work on your property must give you their business name and address.
Don't agree to let a cold caller start work straight away - do plenty of research into their company and, if something doesn't look right, don't deal with them.

If a trader starts work on your property without being authorised and then demands payment, report them to Police Scotland.

Rather than dealing with cold callers, find traders who have been vetted through a national or local authority approved trader scheme at approvedtrader.scot

Report any suspicious behaviour to Police Scotland on 101 or 999 in an emergency.
Report scams to Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 164 6000 or via scamwatch.scot.

Find out more
Find traders in Scotland who have been vetted by Trading Standards: approvedtrader.scot

Police Scotland: www.scotland.police.uk/doorstep-crime-and-bogus-callers

Trading Standards Scotland: www.tsscot.co.uk/priority-areas/doorstep-scammers