A campaign is being launched this week warning residents about the dangers of rogue doorstep salesmen.
Your Doorstep, Your Decision will encourage old and vulnerable people to be cautious before buying products from door-to-door sellers.
Some doorstep sellers may use bogus endorsement of DIY programmes to coerce consumers into buying expensive repair work their homes do not really need.
Instead, residents are encouraged to use the Safer Sutton Trader Scheme – a list of reliable council-vetted local traders, from plumbers to gardeners.
Councillor Colin Hall, executive member for the environment, said: “Home improvement shows are gaining in popularity and rogue doorstep sellers are cashing in on this.
“We want to warn residents about doorstep traders who prey on the vulnerable and produce costly, shoddy work that they may well not need.”
National trading standards figures show more than 7,000 complaints were made about uninvited doorstep sale approaches in January to July 2009.
For more information visit sutton.gov.uk or call 020 8770 5070.
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