Trading Standards - Housing Repair Scams

6th March 2025

There has been a recent increase in phone and doorstep scams related to housing repairs. A cold caller says they work for the local council or a housing maintenance department and asks if there are any outstanding repairs to be carried out on the resident's property.

In some cases they ask if there are issues with dampness or mould in the property.

One caller phoned a couple who told him they had problems with damp in their home. He asked them to take a video of the problem areas in the house and to send it to him via WhatsApp. At this point, they felt suspicious and ended the call.
They later phoned the council, who confirmed that the caller was not working for them.

There have also been cases where a caller says they work for a 'social housing repairs forum'. They say they're offering free housing repairs and have obtained the resident's details from the social housing repairs portal. They offer to arrange for a surveyor to visit the property.

The aim of these calls is to obtain householders' personal details and ultimately to gain access to their homes.

How to Avoid
Don't deal with cold callers. If you receive an unexpected phone call purportedly from your local council or housing association, hang up, clear the line and call the council or housing association using a publicly listed number to verify that the call was genuine.

Don't give any details to a cold caller and don't agree to make any payments over the phone or to transfer money.

You can sign up to the Telephone Preference Service for free by calling 034 070 0707 or online at www.tpsonline.org.uk.
Many home phone providers offer services (some of which are free) to block unwanted calls.

There is also a range of standalone devices that can be used to block/ monitor calls such as trueCall Secure call blockers.

Find out More
ScamShare PDF on phone scams: www.tsscot.co.uk/Phone-Scam-Information.pdf
ScamShare PDF on Council Impersonation scams: www.tsscot.co.uk/Spotlight-Council-Impersonation.pdf

Scams
In Scotland, report all scams to Advice Direct Scotland by calling 0808 164 6000 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm) or online at www.consumeradvice.scot

Fraud
If you have been the victim of fraud, report it to Police Scotland on 101 or 999 in an emergency.

Suspicious Emails
You can forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk and send links from websites which you think are trying to scam the public to the National Cyber Security Centre's scam website reporting service at www.ncsc.gov.uk/section/about-this-website/report-scam-website

Suspicious Text Messages
If you receive a suspicious text message you can forward it to 7726. The free-of-charge ‘7726' service enables your provider to investigate and take action if malicious content is found.