Gardai urge Kilkenny householders to beware of dodgy door-to-door scammers
KILKENNY gardai have urged householders to be aware of dodgy door-to-door sales people who are ‘cold calling’ to private homes offering trade services.
The warning was issued after an elderly woman, who lives alone in a rural area, was “pressurised into paying an extortionate price” for 12 chainsaws, 11 generators, seven power washers and “assorted tools for which she has no use”.
Shortly after the warning was posted on the Kilkenny-Carlow Garda Facebook page, a local woman complained she was recently badgered by a group of men who called to her home uninvited to provide “guttering” and other roofing services.
Kilkenny gardai warned: “If a person calls to your door offering you professional trade services or selling goods and you are worried they are not bona fide, tell the caller that you never employ trades people or buy goods from people who ‘cold call’ to your door.
“Ask for a brochure or documentation so you can carry out checks and verify their credibility. This should include a contact number and a VAT-registered number. Be careful of documentation that only displays mobile contact numbers or incomplete addresses.”
Gardai also warned householders not to engage anyone who insists on a cash payment, and never to leave strangers “unsupervised in your home”.
