Callers at Your Door
Not Sure? Don’t Open the Door!
Doorstep crime is exactly what is says, a crime committed by someone calling at your home. You may be visited by someone claiming that work needs doing to your home, (e.g. roof or guttering repairs), or they may offer to tidy your garden or clear rubbish away. One thing is for sure, rogue builders or gardeners often trick people into paying very high prices for unnecessary or shoddy work. We call these people rogue traders.
Rogue Traders
If someone calls at your door and offers to do repairs to your home or asks to come in so that they can discuss the matter then don’t let them in. If you do want to open your door then remember to use your door chain. If you are interested in the callers offer then arrange an appointment when convenient to you and inform them that you will have someone with you when they return. Speak to a trusted friend or relative and ask them if they would be with you at the arranged time.
Remember that you do not have to open your door. You can simply inform them that you are not interested and ask them to leave. If you feel that you have been a victim of a rouge trader please contact the police.
Bogus Callers
Bogus callers are people who claim to be someone they are not. They can appear in a number of guises, often dress appropriately for the role they are playing and usually have a story to get your attention. Most are very convincing and extremely persuasive. When a crime has been committed using this method we call this distraction burglary, as they will have an accomplice with them who will steal your property as the bogus caller distracts you.
These people often pose as an employee of a gas supplier or from “the water board”. The Water Board has not existed since 1998 so this is an easy way to spot that they are lying. Yorkshire Water serves our region and like most utility companies operates a password scheme to benefit older members of the community. This is a free service and registration is simple. To contact Yorkshire Water and request details of this scheme please ring: 0800 138 78 78
Listed below are contact details of other service providers that you can contact and request details of their own password protection schemes.
British Gas
Home Energy Care Register
0845 955 5404
N Power
Warm Response Service
0808 172 6999
EDF Energy
Priority Services Department
0800 269 450
Sainsbury’s Energy
Password Scheme details
0800269450
All employees of service providers carry identification, which you can ask to check to establish their identity. Service providers such as Yorkshire Water, British Gas, N Power etc rarely call without making an appointment. If a representative has previously arranged to visit you, before you open your door ask them to place their identification through your letterbox or hold it against your window. You can then check the identification without opening your door.
If your business or your partner agencies visit vulnerable people you can view more information on how you can help raise awareness of doorstep crime.