Balham conmen foiled in pensioner roof scam (From Wandsworth Guardian)

Balham conmen foiled in pensioner roof scam

5:30pm Thursday 18th October 2012 in News

Trading standards officers have issued a warning to older people in Balham after reports that rogue builders and doorstep con artists are currently targetting the area.

The alert comes after one pensioner nearly handed over £5,000 to builders on Monday after they convinced him that he needed work done to his house.

Fortunately staff at his local bank spotted the scam and raised the alarm when he tried to withdraw this large sum of money in cash.

The officers checked the would-be victim's house and found there was absolutely no need for any building work.

The following day three smartly-dressed men with Irish accents tried to trick another Balham pensioner into handing over £4,200 after claiming that his house was about to be flooded with sewage.

While one of the men distracted the homeowner, his accomplices disappeared into other rooms and one even poured water onto the kitchen floor to back up their story.

However, their attempted raised his suspicions and he told them to leave.

An inspection of his drains and also his neighbour's revealed they were all working fine.

To raise concerns of scammers to the council's trading standards team on (020) 8871 7720 or by emailing tradingstandards@wandsworth.gov.uk.