Save on Oil

WRCC launches new Community Oil Syndicate - great savings for buyers of domestic heating oil

Warwickshire Rural Community Council is delighted to announce the launch of a new venture that will be good for individuals, rural communities and the environment.

The Warwickshire Community Oil Syndicate will use the model of a local buying syndicate for domestic heating oil but will roll it out across the whole county. Warwickshire Rural Community Council (WRCC) believes there will be great strength in harnessing the purchasing power of the many rural communities who are without mains gas so that together oil-buyers will be able to make significant savings. 
Rural Warwickshire

Householders, community organisations and businesses will be able to join the oil syndicate and benefit from cheaper oil.  The oil syndicate brings together orders from across the county which are then added to other counties who operate similar buying groups to get the very best price, with an average saving per order of more than £50.

WRCC is keen to emphasise the environmental benefits too. Delivery tankers guzzle a lot of fuel and the more deliveries they can make in one place the less fuel they use, and the fewer tankers there are on Warwickshire’s small country roads the better.

As a charity that is rooted in local community action, WRCC wants the new venture to reflect this philosophy. Chief Executive, Kim Slater, says “The key to making this work will be having local people who will collate the local oil orders once a month and pass the information to us; and who will then let the local members know the cost per litre and the delivery date. That’s pretty much it. For undertaking this voluntary role they will get free membership of the oil syndicate – an annual saving of £20. Members of the Warwickshire Community Oil Syndicate will be able to order as many times as they like during the year and the price will be negotiated centrally.”

If you think this could be of interest to you or your community get in touch with WRCC on  01789 472611 or email oil@wrccrural.org.uk.

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POLICE OFFER ADVICE TO GHOSTS, WITCHES AND GHOULS THIS HALLOWEEN
WARWICKSHIRE POLICE OFFER CRIME PREVENTION ADVICE FOR CHRISTMAS.

Scamz-4-U

24/10/2012 Door to Door Bed Seller Warning: North Leamington

 A North Leamington resident reported to Warwickshire Trading Standards Service yesterday that he was approached on the doorstep by someone who claimed to be delivering beds to a house nearby, but ‘could not find the address’!

The trader then asked the householder if he wanted to buy any beds or mattresses. The caller was driving a plain white van.

Mattresses should meet UK fire safety standards, but it has been the practise of some unscrupulous traders to sell cheap imported mattresses that do not meet these regulations, door to door.

Consumers are advised to buy their products from reputable sellers to whom they can return the goods if there is a problem.

For more information on door to door sellers visit: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/scams

24/102012 Your Bank Account Has Been Compromised! Warning

Consumers should beware of unexpected phone calls from people claiming to be calling from your bank warn Warwickshire Trading Standards.

Bogus callers will claim that your bank card has been used fraudulently and may ask you to key in your PIN number as part of a bogus security check.

NEVER REVEAL YOUR PIN NUMBER OR YOUR CARD’S SECURITY NUMBER.

Fraudsters are also asking weary (sic) consumers to phone the bank back to ‘prove’ they are genuine.

Should a consumer do this the fraudster simply stays on the phone line, keeping it open. If the consumer does not realise, they end up talking to the fraudster again but think they are speaking to a genuine bank official.

The fraudster is then able to obtain other personal or financial information because the consumer is convinced they are speaking to a genuine member of bank staff.

Some fraudsters even play dialling tone sounds down the phone to convince the consumer they are phoning for real!

Consumers in this situation should either phone back much later (a fraudster is unlikely to stay on the line for a long time) or phone their bank using a different phone.

If you have any information you wish to provide to Warwickshire Trading Standards Service, either for our information, or to appear in future email alerts, please email me.

For more information on scams, visit: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/scams

Follow us on twitter: www.twitter.com/warkstss

Simon Cripwell
Trading Standards Officer
Trading Standards Service
Communities
Warwickshire County Council
tel. 01926 414039
mob. 07771 975570
email. simoncripwell@warwickshire.gov.uk
web. www.warwickshire.gov.uk
My normal working days are Monday to Thursday

Beware of a Penalty Charge Notice by Email

25/10/2012 Bogus Penalty Charge Notice Email

Drivers are warned to beware of bogus penalty charge notice emails which have been sent to thousands of email addresses. The notices, which are crude phishing emails, attempt to get the recipient pay a bogus parking fine by following a link in the email. Those who do risk losing their money and compromising their credit/debit card details.

The email mentions the Penalty Charge Notice website. There is more information here: www.penaltychargenotice.co.uk/phishing-email-scams/

Warwickshire Trading Standards advises consumers not to open phishing emails and to delete them.

For more information on phishing emails visit: http://tinyurl.com/94zko73

Please feel free to cascade this information to whomever you feel appropriate (including using the information in your newsletters/websites etc.). Please ignore any Restricted Notices on the bottom of this page - this is automatically generated but is not meant to apply to the information in this email.

If you have any information you wish to provide to Warwickshire Trading Standards Service, either for our information, or to appear in future email alerts, please email me.

For more information on scams, visit: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/scams

Follow us on twitter: www.twitter.com/warkstss

Simon Cripwell
Trading Standards Officer
Trading Standards Service
Communities
Warwickshire County Council
tel. 01926 414039
mob. 07771 975570
email. simoncripwell@warwickshire.gov.uk
web. www.warwickshire.gov.uk
My normal working days are Monday to Thursday

22 & 23/10/2012 Trading Standards Update

22/10/2012 The Electricity ‘Saving’ Box That Costs You Money!

As winter approaches and consumers look to save money on their energy bills, Warwickshire County Council’s Trading Standards Service has found one device that will definitely NOT save you money!

Cavity wall and loft insulation, switiching your energy supplier and putting in double glazing are likely to bring your energy bills down. But plugging in a small device with a green light on it won’t and could be dangerous.

One Warwickshire consumer raised the issue with Trading Standards after her elderly mother had received a phone call from someone falsely claiming to represent her energy supplier. The caller offered to send her a device that they claimed would ‘save her money’. The call came from outside the UK.

An ‘electricity saving box’ then arrived in the post and after another phone call the elderly lady was scammed in to paying £99 for the device.

These devices, which consumers are encouraged to plug in to ‘save’ them electricity, have already come to the attention of Trading Standards Services in other parts of the UK. They appear to come from China, although the supplier details on the invoice are often given as New York. They have been tested and found to be unsafe as well as not delivering any tangible energy savings.

 The devices themselves come in boxes with instructions in broken English, including advice not to ‘be too rude’ when plugging the devices in!

 A safety recall has been issued but consumers are warned that these devices can still be purchased from outside the UK on the Internet and it is likely that fraudsters will continue to use the ‘energy and money saving’ ruse to sell them!


23/10/2012 ‘Police’ E-Crime Pop-Up Scam

Warwickshire Trading Standards has received a number of complaints from concerned residents who have received pop-ups on their computers demanding that they pay £100 ‘fines.

The pop-ups often suggest that the consumer has accessed a forbidden website or downloaded copyright material.
In some cases the consumer is told that their PC is ‘’locked’ until the ‘fine’ is paid.

This is a scam and probably an indication that your PC has been infected with a virus.

Consumers must not send any money (payment is often requested by paypal) and instead run your anti-virus software to deal with the problem.

For more information on computer security visit: www.getsafeonline.gov.uk

23/10/2012 Google Email ‘Lucky’ Winner Scam

If you have received an email from Google to let you know you are the ‘lucky’ winner then beware warn Warwickshire Trading Standards.

The bogus ‘WINNING NOTIFICATION FROM GOOGLE WINDOW LIVE INCORPORATION’ emails claim to come from the Google Security Department.

The email claims the recipient has won £750,000.00, simply for using Google’s search engine!

Like all bogus email of this kind it requests a range of personal information which can be used to commit identity fraud and recipient s who respond will be asked to send money to ‘help’ the transfer of the non-existent prize.

Further, the email even goes on to warn the recipient not to discuss the email with anyone else. This request is often included to help ensure they are not told by others that they are a scam victim.

Never open or respond to bogus emails.

For more information on scams visit: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/scams

Please feel free to cascade this information to whomever you feel appropriate (including using the information in your newsletters/websites etc.). 

If you have any information you wish to provide to Warwickshire Trading Standards Service, either for our information, or to appear in future email alerts, please email me.

Follow us on twitter: www.twitter.com/warkstss

Simon Cripwell
Trading Standards Officer
Trading Standards Service
Communities
Warwickshire County Council
tel. 01926 414039
mob. 07771 975570
email. simoncripwell@warwickshire.gov.uk
web. www.warwickshire.gov.uk

My normal working days are Monday to Thursday

Nominate a sports-person or team for a Stratford District Award

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MORE

Trading Standards Update - 17th October

Why not follow us on twitter? Visit: www.twitter.com/warkstss

In this issue:

    Pension Warning
    Bogus loan company
    Door to Door 'Builder' Warning in Warwick area 

17/10/2012 Pension Concern 

Warwickshire Trading Standards are warning consumers about recorded phone calls offering people the ‘opportunity’ to make £1000 from their pension! Treat all such claims with a great deal of caution and never provide personal or financial information to unexpected callers.

17/10/2012 Loan Warning

Consumers looking for a loan are advised to beware of bogus texts warn Warwickshire Trading Standards.

 A consumer who had been looking online for loans received a text from a ‘loan company’ and then a phone call. The caller offered him a 12 month loan and agreed monthly payments. The caller then asked for these in Ukash vouchers. The first payment was not deposited and another amount requested.

 Never provide personal or financial information to unexpected callers.

17/10/2012 Door to Door ‘Builders’

Warwickshire Trading Standards is warning consumers to beware of door to door ‘builders’ after a report of someone driving a blue pick-up truck door knocking in the Norton Lindsey/Warwick area . The caller claimed the householder’s roof needed work and the chimney needed repointing.

Such claims from door to door traders should be treated with extreme caution. This is a typical approach used by rogue/cowboy builders. It is very difficult for a householder to verify whether their roof/chimney really needs work or not.

 If you believe your roof or chimney need work, seek advice from a local builder and wherever possible, go on recommendation.

 You can’t tell a good builder from a poor one on the doorstep. Keep your door closed!

Please feel free to cascade this information to whomever you feel appropriate (including using the information in your newsletters/websites etc.). 

If you have any information you wish to provide to Warwickshire Trading Standards Service, either for our information, or to appear in future email alerts, please email me.

For more information on scams, visit: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/scams

Simon Cripwell
Trading Standards Officer
Trading Standards Service
Communities
Warwickshire County Council
tel. 01926 414039
mob. 07771 975570
email. simoncripwell@warwickshire.gov.uk
web. www.warwickshire.gov.uk
My normal working days are Monday to Thursday

Superfast Broadband Progress Update

Latest News

And yet more

Recent scam reported to Warwickshire Trading Standards Service

11/10/2012 Plumber prosecuted for Misleading Consumer

A plumber who misled an elderly Leamington Spa resident has been successfully prosecuted by Warwickshire County Council’s Trading Standards Service.

Mr Timothy Barnes who trades as T Barnes Plumbing and Heating, Barton Drive, Knowle, Solihull was found guilty of two consumer protection offences.

 These offences related to Mr Barnes carrying out and charging for unnecessary work and failing to carry out work to a professional standard.

 For more information visit: http://news.warwickshire.gov.uk/releases/2012/10/11/plumber-prosecuted-for-misleading-elderly-leamington-spa-consumer/


11/10/2012 Businesses Warned to Beware of ‘Parliamentary’ Approach

Warwickshire businesses are warned to beware of approaches from high pressure sales people selling advertising space in reports and yearbooks linked to Parliament.

The cost of the adverts in these publications can run in to thousands of pounds and Trading Standards Officers are concerned that businesses may think the approaches are being made by people who are working for or on behalf of Parliament or Government Departments.

But these approaches are instead coming from private traders with no official remit what so ever.

Before agreeing to advertising, businesses and other organisations such as schools should ensure that the publication is legitimate and will be printed and distributed in quantities large enough to make the advertising worthwhile.


For more information visit: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/scams

Please feel free to cascade this information to whomever you feel appropriate (including using the information in your newsletters/websites etc.). Please ignore any Restricted Notices on the bottom of this page - this is automatically generated but is not meant to apply to the information in this email.

If you have any information you wish to provide to Warwickshire Trading Standards Service, either for our information, or to appear in future email alerts, please email me.

Follow us on twitter: www.twitter.com/warkstss


Simon Cripwell
Senior Information Officer
Trading Standards Service
Communities
Warwickshire County Council
tel. 01926 414039
mob. 07771 975570
email. simoncripwell@warwickshire.gov.uk
web. www.warwickshire.gov.uk
My normal working days are Monday to Thursday

Trading Standards Update - 08/10/2012 More Scams

08/10/2012 ‘Financial Reward’

 A Wellesbourne consumer contacted Warwickshire Trading Standards to alert them to a letter she had received from someone in Hong Kong advising her she was due a financial reward of £8,730. All she had to do was to send £15.95 in advance to receive the cash!!!

 For more information on advanced fee fraud visit: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/scams


08/10/2012 ‘Police’ Magazine Scam

 An Alcester based trader called Warwickshire Trading Standards after receiving an unexpected phone call. The caller claimed to be phoning from Warwickshire Police and said the trader has supported a police campaign on drink and drugs awareness a year ago and did he want to support the campaign again?

 The trader asked for a telephone number from the caller who provided him with one. This turned out to be the phone number of the local Aldi Store!

 The caller had a Liverpool or Northwest accent.

 Rogue publishing firms often claim to call on behalf of local emergency services in order to trick businesses in to buying advertising or publications with little or no circulation. The publications are often safety related but they are almost never produced.

 For more information on publications scams, visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/scams


08/10/2012 Doorstep Charity Warning

 A Leamington Spa resident telephoned Warwickshire Trading Standards after receiving an unexpected visit from a bogus St Johns Ambulance charity worker. The doorstep caller tried to gain entry to the house after the resident refused to give a donation.

 Residents are advised to check the ID of anyone who claims to be collecting on behalf of a charity. Never provide your personal or financial details to unexpected callers.


08/10/2012 Scam BT Caller


A Wellesbourne Neighbourhood Watch member contacted Warwickshire Trading Standards after receiving two unexpected phone calls from people claiming to be from ‘BT technical support’.

 The callers both claimed to be phoning to offer services including, online security and the removal of junk and corrupted files.

 Both callers gave English sounding names – David and Anthony, but these are thought to be bogus as such calls are typically made from outside the UK.

 In reality, these calls are often made from India or the Far East where people in call centres are employed to phone consumers (often claiming to be from Microsoft or BT) and trick them in to allowing them access to their PC’s. Once gained, the fraudsters charge the consumer for unnecessary work or for placing unnecessary programmes on their PC. Further, some may use this opportunity to steal personal or financial information or place viruses on the PC.

Consumers are strongly urged not to allow any unexpected callers access to their computers. Microsoft will not make unexpected phone calls to consumers and BT technical support staff are equally unlikely to. If you are a BT customer and think a call from BT is genuine, ask to phone the person back on a publically listed number (for example in a telephone directory or on a genuine website).

For more information on bogus computer callers, please visit: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/scams

For advice on computer security, visit: www.getsafeonline.org.uk


For more information on scams, visit: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/scams

Follow us on twitter: www.twitter.com/warkstss


 Simon Cripwell
Senior Information Officer
Trading Standards Service
Communities
Warwickshire County Council
tel. 01926 414039
mob. 07771 975570
email. simoncripwell@warwickshire.gov.uk
web. www.warwickshire.gov.uk
My normal working days are Monday to Thursday

National Personal Safety Day 2012

www.suzylamplugh.org

Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Elections - 15th November

WATCH VIDEO

Election Explained

On 15 November 2012, for the first time ever, the public across England and Wales will elect a Police and Crime Commissioner who will be accountable for how crime is tackled in their police force areas.

READ MORE

The Role of the PCC

Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) will aim to cut crime and deliver an effective and efficient police service.

Police and Crime Commissioners will ensure community needs are met as effectively as possible and will improve local relationships through building confidence and trust.

READ MORE

Info above from policecrimecommissioner.co.uk

There is a fear that the turnout for the PCC Elections will be very low, some estimates are in the region of 18%, which means about 110 votes  in Fenny Compton from the population of 600. Supposing a roughly equal vote for the three candidates the winner could be elected with as few as 6% of the votes, that is a massive 94% not voting for the winning candidate. For someone charged with the safety of the population of Warwickshire this is hardly democracy in action.

Casting your vote takes a few minutes  - not casting your vote could mean four years with a PCC whose views are fundamentally at odds with your own.

Read what you can so that you can make an informed decision on November 15th.

The candidates for Warwickshire are:

Ron Ball

Independent

http://www.ronball4pcc.co.uk/

(Andrew Moss has now stood aside for Ron Ball as the sole Independent Candidate)   

Independent

http://andrewmoss4pcc.webeden.co.uk/

Fraser Pithie

Conservative

http://www.fraserpithie.org.uk/

James Plaskitt

Labour

http://www.jamesforwarwickshire.co.uk/index.html

MORE ABOUT PCCs

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/police/police-crime-commissioners/

In Fenny Compton polling will be in the village hall from 7:00am until 10:00pm on Thursday 15th November or beforehand by post for those registered to do so.

Thank you for your emails and calls re Doorstep Callers

HW WK Thank you for your emails and calls re Doorstep Callers, two have been reported by summons and their goods seized

Following last weeks message about Nottingham Knockers operating in the County, the response that we have had from Watch members has been fantastic.

As a direct result of Watch members calling in from Claverdon, Langley and Hampton on the Hill, two males have been checked by Police officers, found not to have the required Pedlars certificate and have been reported by summons.

Officers also seized their bags of goods. It is hoped that word will soon get back to their leaders in Nottingham that the people and Police in Warwickshire are working together and are fighting back!!

Well done and thankyou to all of you, a great result and hopefully the first of many. Keep calling in if you have doorstep callers at your home.

Julie Dale
Watch Co-ordinator
Community Protection