Trading Standards Warn Against Faulty Energy Saving Plugs
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December 1, 2011 TheFreshOutlook  |
Trading Standards have warned that rogue traders are selling dangerous faulty “energy saving” plugs for £99, mainly targeting the elderly.
The Guardian has reported that trading standards have issued a warning against rouge traders selling what they claim to be “energy saving” plugs.
Elderly people are the main targets for the salesmen, who are selling the plugs for £99.
The claim is that the plugs reduce energy consumption by 40%.
Tests conducted by Trading Standards have found that the plugs do not save money on electricity bills. In most cases they do not even meet basic electrical safety standards.
Ron Gainsford, Trading Standards chief executive, said: “Unscrupulous criminals are using the rising energy prices as an opportunity to lure in cash strapped consumers.”
The plugs involved in the scam have the model number SD 001. They have been manufactured by Marcoplus, B1208 City Square, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Over 200 complaints have been made to the Trading Standards Institute. Mr Gainsford says that “this is bound to be only the tip of the iceberg”.
The City of Westminster Trading Standards Service has been investigating the scam.
The callers have been giving their customers a London, W1 Oxford Street address. But there is no evidence to suggest that any of the companies supposedly operating are based there.
Sue Jones from Westminster Trading Standards Service said that they think the call centre used by the rogue traders is based abroad and that the sellers themselves are UK individuals.
“Often consumers do not realise that they have been defrauded until they receive the dodgy looking device with instructions in broken English and the accompanying invoice which names an unknown supplier and often gives an American address,” Mrs Jones said.
The rouge traders are described as appearing credible and seem to know many private details about their customers. The Trading Standards Institute has not discovered how the fraudsters have obtained these details.
To date, four different suppliers have been named; 1 Stop Marketing Solutions, ITC Development Corp, Power Saver and Athico Ltd.
It is suspected that some of the rouge traders could also be operating under a different company name. Trading Standards have warned that some of these names could be similar to real companies. They state that Power Saver Ltd, based in Tonbridge, Kent is not involved in the scam.
The director of one of the bogus companies, Athico Ltd, has already been caught. He cooperated with Trading Standards and his company was shut down.
Anyone who has been a victim of this scam is urged to report the incident online via Action Fraud’s website or call 0300 123 2040.
By Louisa Guise
[Image courtesy of Micah Sittig]
