@WAR - Warwickshire Trading Standards alerts.

Please feel free to cascade this information to whomever you feel appropriate (including using the information in your newsletters/websites etc.). 27/08/2015 Electric blanket safety tests – phone lines now open! 25/08/2015 Telephone Preference Service scam 25/08/2015 ‘Free’ burglar alarm warning 25/08/2015 Prize gift hid expensive subscription! 25/08/2015 Bogus ‘Talk Talk’ cold call warning 24/08/2015 Beware scam websites selling high end TVs 24/08/2015 Council tax refund scam 27/08/2015 Electric blanket safety tests – phone lines now open! By Simon Cripwell on Aug 27, 2015 04:50 pm Find out more about our annual electric blanket safety tests Read in browser » 25/08/2015 Telephone Preference Service scam By Simon Cripwell on Aug 25, 2015 12:55 pm The Telephone Preference Service (TPS) is the official central opt out register on which you can record your preference not to receive unsolicited sales or marketing calls. It is a FREE service. However, some fraudsters are cold calling Warwickshire residents claiming to represent the TPS and asking for bank card details. The fraudsters claim that the consumer's card details on the TPS website have expired and need updating. But, the TPS is a free service and they do not take or hold credit or debit card information or ask for payment. NEVER reveal personal or financial information to cold callers. Read in browser » 25/08/2015 ‘Free’ burglar alarm warning By Simon Cripwell on Aug 25, 2015 12:47 pm Warwickshire residents are warned to beware of cold calls from traders offering to survey their property to install a 'free' burglar alarm. 'Free' security alarms may come with expensive 'monitoring' contracts that can cost consumers hundreds or thousands of pounds a year. In some cases the alarms may not even be suitable for the consumer's property or personal needs. Trading Standards advises consumers to seek advice from Warwickshire Police in the first instance. Read in browser » 25/08/2015 Prize gift hid expensive subscription! By Simon Cripwell on Aug 25, 2015 12:38 pm A Warwickshire consumer reported receiving an email to say that she had won a gift of skincare products. The consumer was asked to pay for postage and packing by debit card to receive the 'prize'. However, further payments totalling almost £200 were then taken from her account. Trading Standards advise consumers to be very wary if they asked to pay postage and packing to receive a free trial or a 'prize'. Never reveal personal or financial information to businesses you don't know or trust. Consumers who have experienced this problem should contact Warwickshire Trading Standards for help and advice on 0345 404 0506. Read in browser » 25/08/2015 Bogus ‘Talk Talk’ cold call warning By Simon Cripwell on Aug 25, 2015 12:11 pm Residents from across the County have reported receiving bogus phone calls from people claiming to be calling from Talk Talk. One resident reported that a fraudulent caller told him he had a scam on his computer and a problem with his router. The caller quoted the resident's Talk Talk account number and told him that £2000 would be placed in to his account. However, before this was to happen, the resident was asked to send £200 by money transfer to an address in Thailand! Another resident received a similar phone call and gave the bogus Talk Talk fraudster access to her computer. She was then asked to set up an account with a money transfer service on-line, revealing her bank details to the fraudster! Similar scam calls have also been made by fraudsters claiming to represent Apple and Microsoft! Never reveal your personal or financial information to cold callers. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter Read in browser » 24/08/2015 Beware scam websites selling high end TVs By Simon Cripwell on Aug 24, 2015 12:11 pm Warwickshire consumers are warned to beware of bogus websites selling high-end televisions. The fraudsters set up professional looking websites offering televisions for sale. They give false addresses and ask for bank transfers as the only acceptable form of payment. Trading Standards are aware of consumers who have lost almost £500 after TVs they purchased never arrived. All the bogus websites Trading Standards were aware of in relation to these incidents have already been shut down. Buyers Advice beware of traders offering goods that are considerably cheaper than those offered by other on-line traders. beware of traders that will only accept bank transfers as acceptable forms of payment. If possible always use an escrow service such as PayPal (thus protecting your card details) and remember, if you pay by credit card for goods worth more than £100 and they don't arrive, you can claim your money back from the credit card company under the Section 75 rules. always Google the name of a trader you have never heard of before your buy, other customers may already have reviewed them. businesses should give an address on their website. Why not look at the property on Google street view? Does the address look like a genuine business premise or is it a residential property? Perhaps it doesn't exist at all? bogus on-line traders may claim they have been operating their websites for years. However, you can find out when a .co.uk website was registered by searching it on Nominet Read in browser » 24/08/2015 Council tax refund scam By Simon Cripwell on Aug 24, 2015 11:19 am A Leamington Spa resident reported  receiving an unexpected phone call from someone who claimed that if he paid £69.99 they would get him a refund on his Council Tax of £3,000!  Beware of cold calls and never reveal your personal or financial information! Follow us on Twitter and Facebook Read in browser »   Recent Articles: 20/08/2015 Illegal tobacco retailers in Rugby have a ‘ruff’ time 14/08/2015 Beware of stop unwanted phone call offers 14/08/2015 ‘Fakes’ hotline is now ‘Anonymous’ hotline 14/08/2015 Fraudsters using Crimestopper telephone number 13/08/2015 Come and meet our illegal tobacco sniffer dogs

Our mailing address is: Warwickshire County Council Shire Hall Warwick, Warwickshire CV34 4RL United Kingdom

@WAR - Free Electric Blanket Testing book soon

Free electric blanket testing and advice on faults to look for

FULL ARTICLE

August 27, 2015

If you are 50 or over, you can now phone and book your free electric blanket test, Warwickshire County Council Trading Standards Service have announced this week.

Warwickshire Trading Standards will provide electric blanket tests free of charge, for Warwickshire residents aged 50 or over, between Monday 5th October and Friday 9th October 2015.

Testing is by appointment only and only available to Warwickshire residents age 50 or over. There are limited appointments which are allocated on a first come first served basis. A two blanket per person maximum has been set.

• Rugby Library, Monday 5th October 2015
• Kenilworth Library, Tuesday 6th October 2015
• Leamington Spa Library, Wednesday 7th October 2015
• Nuneaton ASDA (Community Room) Thursday 8th October 2015
• Stratford Briar Croft, Friday 9th October 2015
• North Warwickshire residents, please ask about our collection service

To book an appointment, call the Trading Standards Service on: 01926 414016 (Monday to Friday) or email: ebtesting@warwickshire.gov.uk

If you are unable to take advantage of the testing programme you can check your own blankets by looking for the following warning signs:

• the fabric is worn or frayed
• there are scorch marks anywhere
• the tie tapes are damaged or missing
• the flex is worn or damaged
• any connections are loose

Remember older blankets in regular use are much more likely to have one or more of the above faults.

For a complete guide to checking your electric blanket, visit our website:www.warwickshire.gov.uk/electricblanket

@ALL - Scams from the government?

It seems that official looking emails appearing to be from a .gov.uk source can now be scams.

I recently received an email with attachment from

donotreply@dartford-crossing-charge.service.gov.uk

which turns out to be malicious.

For further reading on the ease with which scammers can set up fake websites to defraud people like you.

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/dec/20/dartford-crossing-toll-invitation-scammers

@WEL - Wellesbourne Safer Neighbourhood Team Report 34 – 25.08.15

 

This report from the Wellesbourne Safer Neighbourhood Team covers the wards of Snitterfield, Wellesbourne, Kineton and Burton Dassett.

 

The following incidents, for the period between 14.08.15 – 25.08.15 have been reported and the team are appealing for witnesses:

 

Snitterfield Ward

 

Snitterfield – The Green

Burglary – 24.08.15/347

Bolt cutters used to cut the  lock on secured garden shed and stolen a Boardman road racing bike.

 

Snitterfield – King’s Lane

Burglary – 20.08.15/067

A secured garage door was forced overnight and 5 bikes as well as other equipment, including a chain saw was stolen. One bike and a pressure washer was found locally. The bikes are valuable and have custom parts fitted. SNT visited and made house to house enquiries and gave advice. Images have been published on social media.

 

Wellesbourne Ward

 

Wellesbourne – Stratford Road

Theft – 24.08.15/150

Green recycling bin stolen from garden – not out for collection.

 

Wellesbourne – King’s Head

Concern – Drink driving 18.08.15/308

Reports were received of a suspected drink driver and police patrol cars were actively involved.

 

Burton Dassett Ward

 

Warmington – School Lane

Green recycle bin stolen from pavement outside house.

 

Independent Advisory Group (IAG)

 

IAGs offer impartial advice to the police on a range of subjects. Warwickshire and West Mercia police are looking for new members. Please see the attached leaflet for more information.

 

Reporting Suspicious Incidents or Circumstances

 

The team would like to express their appreciation for your reports of suspicious activities in the neighbourhood. If you wish to report anything, such as rogue traders, please telephone 101 to ensure that the incident is logged.

 

The SNT telephone or email box is not monitored 24/7 and therefore there may be a delay in the response or alert.

 

If you have any general concerns, questions or suggestions for the Wellesbourne Safer Neighbourhood Team please call this number: 01789 444600, or email: wellesbourne.snt@warwickshire.pnn.police.uk

 

Distribution

 

You are welcome to distribute the information in this newsletter.

 

Please reply directly to this email for any amendments or additions to this mailing list.

 

Wellesbourne SNT Website

 

https://www.warwickshire.police.uk/article/2273/Wellesbourne

 

C7678 Barry Saunders

Police Support Volunteer

Stratford Police Station

Warwickshire Police

@SOA - Shop Front Grants Scheme

The District Council is pleased to announce the launch of its Shop Front Grants Scheme aimed at enhancing shop fronts.

 Qualifying businesses are invited to apply for one-off grants of up to £500, towards the cost of external painting and decorating. The Scheme is open to applications from independent shops and businesses within the District, with the exception of the major Market Towns of Stratford-upon-Avon, Shipston-on-Stour, Alcester and Southam.

Cllr Maurice Howse, Enterprise, Housing and Revenues Portfolio says: “The Shop Front Grants Scheme is intended to assist businesses in ‘sprucing up their shop fronts’ in an effort to improve visual appearance, help with better promotion, kerb appeal and footfall.” This is also a great chance for as many qualifying businesses as possible to use this as an opportunity to get ready for Small Business Saturday which takes place on 5th December 2015.

Full details of the grant scheme and application form can be found by visiting www.stratford.gov.uk/shopfrontgrant  or by contacting the project officer, Lana Long on 01789 260609/01789 260803, email:lana.long@stratford-dc.gov.uk.   Please note that the closing date for applications is 30 September 2015

You may also be interested to know that we produce a bi-monthly e-newsletter ‘Business Matters’ aimed at updating businesses in the district on matters that may affect them and are important to them. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please visit: https://www.stratford.gov.uk/businessmatters

Lana Long

Business, Enterprise & Tourism Officer and Rural Cinema Facilitator

Business, Housing & Revenues

Stratford on Avon District Council, Elizabeth House, Church Street, Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 6HX
Switchboard +44 (0)1789 267575, Direct +44 (0)1789 260609, Mobile 07974 702318  Fax +44 (0)1789 260676 email lana.long@stratford-dc.gov.uk, webwww.stratford.gov.uk

@WAR - CSW Broadband progress update August/September 2015

CSW Broadband progress update August/September 2015

The CSW Broadband project continues its rollout and in August enabled the 200^th superfast cabinet. Almost 40,000 properties are now able to connect to the fibre network. To check if you are able to achieve superfast speeds go to http://www.dslchecker.bt.com and if you can now order superfast broadband then look around for the best deal that suits your needs. A good source of information is at the Money Saving Expert website: http://tinyurl.com/ob92z6m

It is recognised that this information will be extremely frustrating for those who are living in areas that have not yet been upgraded. To find out if upgrades are planned in your area, check out the CSW Broadband map: http://tinyurl.com/npfsqpe

If you are in an area that is due for upgrade under Contract 1, then this should be complete by mid-2016. If you are in an area that is due to be upgraded under Contract 2, Part 1, then the rollout is due to commence in mid-2016, although discussions are taking place to try to bring this forward.

If you are in an area that is shown as white on the map, and is awaiting additional funding, then we do have some funding that has not yet been mapped, and we are actively seeking more money from a variety of sources.

For those who will not achieve superfast speeds by 2016, we understand that there are discussions between BT and BDUK (the Government body overseeing the scheme) to provide vouchers for satellite connections as an interim measure. We do not have details of this scheme yet and will publicise these once they are available.

Finally, for those running a business there is the Business Broadband Connection Voucher scheme, which covers a range of technologies. More details can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/okze38v

The CSW broadband project is making great progress, but we are not resting on our laurels and are doing all that we possibly can to move towards improved broadband speeds for all.  For more information please visit http://www.cswbroadband.org.uk/

@SOU - Southam/Feldon Community Forum, 9th September in Southam

@WAR - Trading Standards Alerts

Warwickshire Trading Standards alerts. Please feel free to cascade this information to whomever you feel appropriate (including using the information in your newsletters/websites etc.). 20/08/2015 Illegal tobacco retailers in Rugby have a ‘ruff’ time 20/08/2015 Illegal tobacco retailers in Rugby have a ‘ruff’ time By Simon Cripwell on Aug 20, 2015 04:59 pm A tip off from a Rugby resident has led to the immediate seizure of a large quantity of illegal cigarettes and potentially fake alcohol from a shop in Rugby. Find out more  Read in browser » Recent Articles: 14/08/2015 Beware of stop unwanted phone call offers 14/08/2015 ‘Fakes’ hotline is now ‘Anonymous’ hotline 14/08/2015 Fraudsters using Crimestopper telephone number 13/08/2015 Come and meet our illegal tobacco sniffer dogs 31/07/2015 Warwickshire Trading Standards is now on Facebook

Our mailing address is: Warwickshire County Council Shire Hall Warwick, Warwickshire CV34 4RL United Kingdom

@NAT - Beware website selling non existant TVs

Message sent by

Action Fraud (Action Fraud, Administrator, National)

Fraudsters have created a high specification website template advertising flat screen televisions for sale which are below market value and do not exist. Payment is being requested via bank transfer and will offer no protection to the consumer when the television does not arrive.

Protect yourself:

• Payments made via bank transfer are not protected should you not receive the item.
• Always make payment via a credit card or PayPal where you have some avenue of recompense should you not receive your product.
• Conduct some online research on the website, company name and business address to identify any poor feedback or irregularities.
• Check the authenticity of websites before making any purchases. A ”whois” search on the website will identify when the website has been created, so be wary of newly formed domains. This search can be conducted using the following website - https://who.is/
• If the item advertised seems too good to be true, it probably is

If you believe that you have been a victim of fraud you can report it online at http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud or by telephone on 0300 123 2040.

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@SD - Age UK Warwickshire Web Wise Project

Age UK Warwickshire Web Wise Project

@WAR - Posts from Warwickshire County Council for 16/08/15

Warwickshire Trading Standards alerts. Please feel free to cascade this information to whomever you feel appropriate (including using the information in your newsletters/websites etc.). 14/08/2015 Beware of stop unwanted phone call offers 14/08/2015 ‘Fakes’ hotline is now ‘Anonymous’ hotline 14/08/2015 Fraudsters using Crimestopper telephone number 13/08/2015 Come and meet our illegal tobacco sniffer dogs 14/08/2015 Beware of stop unwanted phone call offers By Simon Cripwell on Aug 14, 2015 10:42 am Warwickshire consumers are warned to beware of unexpected phone calls from fraudsters offering to stop unwanted phone calls! The callers ask for a payment of £2 a month and request bank details. Some of the Warwickshire residents who received these calls were already on the Telephone Preference Service Never reveal personal or financial information to unexpected callers, whoever they claim to be or represent. Read in browser » 14/08/2015 ‘Fakes’ hotline is now ‘Anonymous’ hotline By Simon Cripwell on Aug 14, 2015 10:08 am Trading Standards automated 'Fakes' hotline is now the 'Anonymous' hotline and its telephone number has changed from an 0845 number to 0300 303 2636. You can phone to provide information about the sale of illegal goods, scams or supplying age restricted products. Otherwise, please use their on-line form  Read in browser » 14/08/2015 Fraudsters using Crimestopper telephone number By Simon Cripwell on Aug 14, 2015 09:10 am Crimestoppers discovered that a group of scammers are falsely using their 0800 555 111 number on telephone displays in a bid to make calls seem genuine. The scammers are calling people, saying they are “Crimestoppers at the Home Office” then asking for personal details. Crimestoppers are not calling people. Crimestoppers do not and cannot call people from 0800 555 111. Crimestoppers would never ask for personal details like this. Never give out your personal information. Read in browser » 13/08/2015 Come and meet our illegal tobacco sniffer dogs By Simon Cripwell on Aug 13, 2015 11:40 am Illegal tobacco sniffer dogs will be demonstrating their skills at locations across Warwickshire in the coming week (commencing Monday 17th August) with the support of Public Health Warwickshire and Warwickshire County Council Trading Standards. In the past few months, these sniffer dogs have assisted Trading Standards Officers to locate and seize thousands of illegal cigarettes being sold across Warwickshire. Come and meet the illegal tobacco sniffer dog team at the following locations: Monday 17th August 9 am to 3 pm Stratford Town Waterside Tuesday 18th August 9 am to 3 pm Warwick Market Square Wednesday 19th August 9 am to 3 pm Nuneaton Town Centre (Harefield Road) Thursday 20th August 9 am to 3 pm Rugby Town Centre (Clock Tower) Friday 21st August 9 am to 3 pm Leamington Town Hall (outside) Read in browser »    Recent Articles: 31/07/2015 Warwickshire Trading Standards is now on Facebook 28/07/2015 Holidaymakers – beware bogus holiday etickets and flight boarding pass emails 27/07/2015 Alarm sounds on rogue home security companies 27/07/2015 Ipad ransomware virus warning 27/07/2015 Bogus ‘grant’ phone calls

Our mailing address is: Warwickshire County Council Shire Hall Warwick, Warwickshire CV34 4RL United Kingdom