vunerable old people

[Lyn Ed]

Had a phone call this morning at 6.40 from an old gentleman who I cut hedges for, (I don't think he realised it was so early) I've been slightly concerned about him before when he's been slightly confused, I only charge him £40 to do his hedges, but this morning he kept telling me on the phone that he had the £800 ready to pay me, the thought of some low life happening to call with him and ripping him off is worrying me, ive tried ringing him back to tell him not to leave any body in or do work for him, but I don't think his hearing aid is on, I am working today so i I will have to call with him this evening to ask him if he's got any relitives I could contact,

[Stubby]

It is a worrie . My old Dad is 88 . I remember his Muim ( my Gran ) being conned by door to door scum bags who gave her £50 for 2 chairs that were worth £400 - £600 when they had been valued . She thought she had a bargen !

[Gary Prentice]

I've lost count of the occasions that I've dealt with the aftermath of the low lives who target the vulnerable.

 

I've been back to a client this week who has been caught twice. The first time, we had an inquiry to quote for some leylandii removals. Each tree had a paint mark at four foot on the bare stem. I asked what they were for.

 

The tree surgeon had marked them as the finished height, which then grow back into a nice manageable sized hedge:lol:, took a £500 deposit and disappeared back under his rock.

 

He actually returned while we were on site, in the back garden, knocked at the front door and inquired how 'his lads' were getting on, requested another £200 for the skips we were going to need (despite the chipper parked on the drive).

 

This confused the old lady and she asked him to wait while she went out back to talk to me, he'd scarpered by the time she explained the situation to us, I don't think she even initially realized it was the same fellow.

 

We made the police aware of the situation, but I doubt even if they had caught anyone the old girl wouldn't have been much good as a witness.

 

Similar thing this week, hacked some trees, piled branches up all ready for the skip, took the money and run - barstewards.

 

Can't really describe my feelings for people who do this, preying on the most vulnerable percentage of our society, have they no morals or feelings at all. Well obviously not.

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

I've got a 93 year old lady in a big old house in the middle of nowhere, completely on her own. Often thought she's a sitting duck for scumbags and as above gets easily confused.

[Daniël Bos]

My 84 year old neighbours told me they'd had a "tree surgeon" in to quote for some pruning.

He'd tried to convince them they needed about £5k worth of work doing (big house, big garden) and said he could start next week if they'd pay him a 20%deposit, "a cheque would be fine...)

 

So my neighbour went in, turned a video camera on in an upstairs window, got his wallet and came out again.

The worm got eager and greasy as soon as he saw the wallet and started grinning foolishly.

Neighbor then got £5k of Monopoly money out, and told the bloke if he didn't want to try if his "get out of jail free card" really works, he'd best be off sharpish whilst pointing at the camera.

 

Needless to say the man was off, rather quickly.

Police were informed but no further action taken we know of.

 

 

I like my neighbours.

[Spruce Pirate]

I like my neighbours.

 

I like your neighbours too.

[RobRainford]

There's a lady near me who lives on her own and I've done a couple of jobs for her and will probably get a few more in the future. Could quite easily be taken advantage of by the wrong people but I don't think she will answer the door to just anyone

[Gus McWilliam]

I do free work for a 92 year old and she often mistakes me for her grandson. It would be very easy for somebody to take advantage.

[Gnarlyoak]

Had a phone call this morning at 6.40 from an old gentleman who I cut hedges for, (I don't think he realised it was so early) I've been slightly concerned about him before when he's been slightly confused, I only charge him £40 to do his hedges, but this morning he kept telling me on the phone that he had the £800 ready to pay me, the thought of some low life happening to call with him and ripping him off is worrying me, ive tried ringing him back to tell him not to leave any body in or do work for him, but I don't think his hearing aid is on, I am working today so i I will have to call with him this evening to ask him if he's got any relitives I could contact,

 

Your concerns and misgivings are totally understandable. Can also appreciate you are busy today with work on etc. But, perhaps under the circumstances might it not be better if you could actually try to squeeze in a visit to the old boy to check that he is ok, rather than a phone call later today?

 

It will probably also be a lot easier to communicate with him face to face that he does not owe you any money, especially if he is having trouble with his hearing. That way, if you are unable to find out anything about any relatives that could help him, you could at least perhaps contact a neighbour and ask them to keep an eye on the old boy and report to the police if they see any undesirables on his doorstep who look they might be unwanted or uninvited.

 

All the best.

[StephF]

Can you call the police and ask if there is anyway they could help out without scaring the old boy!