Trading Standards - Gardening Scams

10th October 2024

There's been a recent increase in scams related to gardening and landscaping, where cold callers offer to cut trees, tidy gardens or clear gutters.

They often ask for money on the spot, either as a deposit or to pay for materials, but don't return to complete the work.

Here are some recent case studies:
A woman agreed to pay a cold caller who claimed to be a tree surgeon £500 to remove a tree from her garden. He cut down a couple of branches and threw them into her neighbour's garden before leaving, supposedly to collect a larger chainsaw. He didn't return and the woman didn't have his contact details. She later discovered he had done the same thing to others in the same street.

Cold callers were posting leaflets through doors advertising landscaping and maintenance work. One couple spoke to them and asked if they could replace some slabbing at the back of the house. The men quoted over £2,500, but then dropped the amount to £1,500, asking for a £500 deposit to buy materials, which the couple paid in cash. The workers only spent a few hours in the garden before heading off to pick up more materials, leaving the slabs in an unstable condition. They didn't return and haven't answered any phone calls or emails.
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.

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

Sign up for Neighbourhood Watch Scotland Alerts to stay up to date with what is going on in your community: www.neighbourhoodwatchscotland.co.uk

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
Police Scotland: www.scotland.police.uk/doorstep-crime-and-bogus-callers
Find traders in Scotland who have been vetted by Trading Standards: approvedtrader.scot
Trading Standards Scotland: www.tsscot.co.uk/priority-areas/doorstep-scammers