A CARE worker is desperately urging elderly Rhos on Sea residents to beware of cold-callers after a client was convinced to hand over thousands of pounds.
Susan Mortimer of Primecare domestic care services was outraged when wall and roof coating firm signed up a 90 year old woman to a £2,500 contract.
She said: “They knocked on her door and she let them in.They got her to sign an agreement for a £1,000 deposit with the rest later - about £2,500 in total.
“She is so vulnerable she wouldn’t have known she was doing it. Within just one sentence of talking to her you would know that - she can’t remember what has just been said. She wouldn’t remember our carers if we weren't wearing our uniforms.”
The woman, who cannot be named due to a confidentiality agreement, is the second of Ms Mortimer’s clients to be targeted in the space of a week, with an 80 year old man also convinced to hand over money for work to his property.
She added: “I was really angry. We care about the people we look after and this is just atrocious.”
A spokeswoman for Conwy County Borough Council said that a number of cold calling controlled zones have been set up across the County Borough, including parts of Rhos on Sea, where signs have been placed on the streets.
These included areas in Marlborough Drive, Bryn Eglwys, Rochester Road and others.
Councillor Philip Evans, Conwy’s Cabinet Member for Corporate and Regulatory Services said: “It’s often the vulnerable in our communities that are targeted. Trading Standards officers and police are often only made aware after a person has handed over large sums of money. Victims feel embarrassed and humiliated and incidents go unreported.”
Age Cymru spokesman Iwan Rhys Roberts said: “If an unexpected caller knocks on your door, remember to ‘stop, chain, check’ - stop and think before you open the door; check who it is by using the door viewer or window; put the chain on if you have one before you open the door.
He added that elderly residents shouldn’t feel pressured into signing up for purchases or services, and that they should rely on the rule of “if in doubt, keep them out”.
Anyone wanting help or advice about cold callers should contact Conwy Trading Standards on (01492) 575220 or North Wales Police on 101.
For further information log on to the website at www.conwy.gov.uk/coldcalling