States Unite To Stop Travelling Con Men
Victoria and New South Wales have joined forces to tackle travelling con men and groups who rip off consumers with dishonest offers of home improvements and repairs.
A new national travelling con men hotline has been launched in Albury-Wodonga by the New South Wales Fair Trading Minister, Anthony Roberts and Victorian Minister for Consumer Affairs, Michael O'Brien.
Each year, fair trading agencies across Australia receive hundreds of reports about travelling con men ripping off consumers with cheap and dodgy home repairs. A New South Wales Fair Trading taskforce is leading a new national strategy against travelling con men. Information from the new national hotline will be fed directly to the taskforce for investigation and follow-up.
In the last five years, there has been an increase in the number of reports of Victorian consumers affected by travelling con men.
Consumer Affairs Victoria achieved a significant decline in the number of reports, from a travelling con men campaign that ran over the summer of 2009-10, as well as a statewide inspection program in September and October 2010.
"When Consumer Affairs Victoria and Crime Stoppers worked together last year, the reports of travelling con men dropped, as they knew we were onto them and they moved on," Mr O'Brien said.
Signs that an offer of home repairs may be suspicious include:
- someone posing as a trader knocking on your door uninvited
- the quote on home improvement or repair work is cheap, cash-only, today only and you are pressured into accepting it immediately
- the person demanding payment for the job before any work has begun.
Warn your family, friends and neighbours so they are not fooled by travelling con men.
To report travelling con men, call the national hotline on 1300 133 408 or visit the Consumer Affairs Victoria website for more information.