An elderly woman was conned out of £1,000 by rogue traders last month, prompting a warning from Hampshire police.
The 79-year-old, a resident in Cliddesden Road, received a cold call by a group of workmen who offered to do maintenance work at her property for £1,000. She agreed and paid them the money and when they returned a few days later they returned and asked for an extra £500. The woman refused and the man left when she threatened to call the police.
Enquiries have found no work was required on the building and it has now been left in a worse condition. One man was described as white, stocky build and 5ft 6ins tall while the other was white, aged in his late 20s with short, dark hair.
Detective Constable Dan Leese, from Basingstoke CID, said: “These people have targeted a vulnerable member of the community and conned her out of £1000. The work that was carried out on her house was unnecessary and actually worsened the condition of the property.
“I would like to advise people that it is a lawful requirement for door t door tradesmen to provide a seven day cooling off period before doing any work to seek verifiable references before agreeing to anything and handing over any money. In this case, the offenders left a business card and I would like to hear from anyone who received something similar, or has any information that can help our investigation.”
Anyone with information can contact Basingstoke police station on 101 or by calling the Crimestoppers charity anonymously on 0800 555 111.
