NSW Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe is warning residents and businesses in the Blue Mountains, Richmond and Silverdale area that travelling conmen have been seen offering to do cheap bitumen work without a licence.
The following descriptions of five men engaged in this activity have been given by consumers who have been in contact with them:
• One male is aged between 50 and 60 years of age with greying hair and a 'beer belly'.
• Two males aged around 30 years of age both are said to have solid builds with dark hair and beards.
• One male looks to be around 23 years old with a slender build and has dark hair.
• One male looks to be 40 years old and is bald who looked to be ‘helping out’ was spotted with the group.
The men are said to have predominantly Australian accents but there are also hints of UK vernacular and inflections to the way they speak.
NSW Fair Trading can confirm that they are all Australian citizens and are associated with English Travelling Conmen operations. None of them hold licences to do bitumen work.
“Their spiel is to door-knock around residential areas and say they have left over bitumen and can do a cheap job,” said Mr Stowe.
Mr Stowe said Fair Trading was appealing to the public to be cautious about such approaches. The Australian Consumer Law stipulates that people door knocking or cold calling residents in NSW to offer work valued at more than $100 must tell consumers about their rights, including the right to terminate agreements and the existence of a 10 business day cooling off period for unsolicited agreements that result from cold call arrangements. Payment cannot be demanded during the 10 day cooling off period.
“We want to warn the community in the Blue Mountains, Richmond, Silverdale and the surrounding area that their community has potentially been targeted,” he said.
“We are also seeking any information people may know about this group or any others so that they can be positively identified.”
Anyone who has been approached should call the national Travelling Conmen Hotline on 1300 133 408.
“We recommend that people do not deal with itinerant conmen, no matter how tempting the deal is they are proposing,” the Commissioner said. “It’s just not worth it.”
Fair Trading recommends consumers contract with local, licensed tradespeople. You can check licences online at www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au or call 13 32 20.
The Australian Consumer Law prohibits contractors from intimidating or threatening consumers for payment. If consumers feel threatened they should call NSW Police immediately.
Visit the Stop Travelling Conmen Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/StopTravellingConMen.