Doorstep crime and rogue traders

The most common tactics used by rogue traders committing doorstep crime include:

• Knocking on your door and saying they have noticed a problem with your home that they can fix,
• Saying they have leftover materials from another job that they can use at your home, such as Tarmac for a drive,
• Hard selling - overstaying their welcome in your home or at your door until you agree to them doing the work.

Not all cold callers are rogue traders, but agreeing to have work done on your home by someone who knocks on your door could make you a victim of doorstep crime.

Rogue traders may:

• Charge unreasonable prices,
• Take deposits and not return to do the work,
• Do a poor job,
• Not give you information on your right to cancel work if you change your mind,
• Take consumers to banks or building societies to withdraw money to pay for work,
• Refuse to sort out problems,
• Offer no guarantees or warranties.