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Slough mounts day of action to tackle rogue traders (1 June 2017)

Date: 01/06/2017
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, Slough mounts day of action to tackle rogue traders

Slough Borough Council, Thames Valley Police and their partners have participated in a joint operation, which saw 41 homes visited across the borough on Wednesday 10 May, as part of a national crackdown on rogue trading.

A 34-strong team of officers from Slough Trading Standards, the local police team, Home Office Immigration Enforcement and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) targeted homes where building work was being carried out, in a bid find rogue traders operating in the area.

The council said that no rogue traders were found operating in Slough during the day of action – however, four building firms were warned about not having issued 14-day cancellation notices, which are required by law to give customers a cooling off period before committing to building work.

Immigration Enforcement checks also found 11 men from India and one from Pakistan who had no legal right to be in the UK. All of the offenders were granted temporary release while their cases are being progressed and must report to the Home Office routinely during this time.

A further man was arrested and charged by Thames Valley Police and appeared before Slough Magistrates’ Court on Friday 12 May for possessing a fake identity card.

HMRC also gathered information about possible income tax avoidance.

A residential property in which trade waste was being burned in the garden was also discovered – and was reported to the council’s neighbourhood enforcement team for further investigation.

The council’s Cabinet Member for regulation and consumer protection, Councillor Arvind Dhaliwal, said:

“Rogue trading often goes far beyond a bit of dodgy dealing – there are organised crime groups who go out touting for work, preying on elderly or vulnerable people and charging extortionate amounts of money for simple home improvements, like laying driveways or roofing repairs.

“Joint operations like this allow us to take a more co-ordinated approach to disrupting rogue traders, tackling many different issues at once – whether it’s poor workmanship, minor breaches of the law, or organised crime.

“We continue to remind local residents of the need to be vigilant when it comes to picking someone to do their work – you can never be too careful.”


Inspector Chris Shaw from Thames Valley Police added:

“This has been yet another successful year for carrying out enforcement activities, in partnership with other agencies, to disrupt criminals masquerading as legitimate traders to target vulnerable people.

“This is a particularly disgraceful crime that can have a devastating impact on victims’ lives, both emotionally and financially.”


Operation Rogue Trader is now in its twelfth year – last year’s crackdown saw 271 people arrested, £2.9 million-worth of property recovered and more than 5,900 vehicles inspected.

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