People are urged to be on their guard after reports that older and vulnerable residents across Derbyshire have received unsolicited calls claiming to be from a community alarm company.
Trading Standards officers at Derbyshire County Council have been made aware of several instances where the caller attempts to get people to make a payment over the phone by telling them their existing alarm company has gone bust and they’ve taken over the contract.
Other examples of calls have claimed the residents’ community alarm will be disconnected unless they pay up immediately or asking to update card payment details.
Councillor Carol Hart, the county council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Communities, said: “These calls have nothing to do with Derbyshire County Council or any company associated with us.
“The county council would only ever communicate with people who have a community alarm by letter and would never ask for payment over the telephone.
“The advice from our Trading Standards team is not to deal with anyone that phones you out of the blue.
"Do not be afraid to simply hang up if you are unsure about the legitimacy of a call and please be completely sure who you are dealing with before sending any money.”
Community alarms provide a monitoring service where the user wears a wristband or pendant to summon help if an alert is triggered.
For reassurance that their community alarm is working properly, users can press their pendant button or the green button on the alarm unit.
Anyone who believes they may have already received one of these calls, have sent money to a company in these circumstances or hear from them in the future should contact Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 2231133.
People are also encouraged to sign up to the Telephone Preference Service, which allows them to opt out of unsolicited live sales and marketing calls. They can do this by contacting the telephone number above or via the TPS website at https://www.tpsonline.org.uk/
Residents can also report any suspicious activity to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or on their website at https://www.actionfraud.police.uk
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