Consumer news and scams

[SteveH]

Meleri: you should appeal the parking ticket. On the 'phone call, you can see from this site that it's a common scam

Absolutely appeal Meleri, no kerb marks, no ticket, best of luck, let us know the outcome please.

[Hugo]

Meleri, by any chance were you less than 10 metres from a corner?     The Traffic Wardens in Llandudno were booking people a few years ago who did this and it does mention it on the Blue Badge
For some reason CCBC then stopped booking individuals and if anyone wanted their fine repaid then they had to write in requesting a repayment

[Hugo]

I have a Tomtom sat nav that is well over 10 years old and my friend said that I should get the uk street map updated and that it would cost nothing to have it done as it was free

So I went on my lap top this afternoon and found the link for the Free Tomtom upgrade and clicked on it.     I followed the link and started the upgrade with the  help of one of Tomtom's advisers,   he found out a number of issues on my lap top and said that they could be sorted out by their technical side.
I asked him if this would cost me anything and he said yes so I declined the offer as I preferred to use my regular IT guy
He then said that I needed to register the upgrade and the fee for that was £79.99 to which I replied that the link for the upgrade said it was free so I didn't want or expect any hidden charges and refused to pay anything
His reply was that I expected everything for free ( AVG,  C Cleaner etc )  and before I had time to wish him a pleasant afternoon he hung up on me

The guy was a wizard on the computer but it is frightening to think of all the attacks that are regularly made on computers by a hostile source
Anyway I checked on Amazon and a new Tomtom can be bought for as little as £79.99 complete with the latest street indexes so Tomtom can put the registration fee where the Sun don't shine

[Meleri]

Thank you all for your interest, I will indeed appeal & keep you posted as to the outcome. I really think they should paint in the yellow kerb lines then people wouldn't park there, on the other hand nice little earner for them if they don't. No Hugo nowhere near a corner, in fact we parked between two other cars who also had blue badges.
As for the telephone scam I have blocked the number, but can't understand how it got through the TPS. I do feel so sorry for vulnerable people living on their own at times like this, as they could very easily be tricked.

[Ian]

It's because the number the scammer used was almost certainly not a 'real' number;  they call from web sites, using spoofed numbers, so blocking has little effect.

[SteveH]

Not reported in this area yet !

Residents are being warned about salesmen going door to door trying to persuade people to buy fresh fish.

Both Trading Standards and North Wales Police have received reports in the last week of traders selling in North Wales
 “We have concerns regarding the matter, especially as to whether the fish sellers are registered as a food business operator which is a legal requirement for all food businesses.

"And indeed if they are adhering to all food safety and hygiene regulations which applies to such businesses, including the display of the relevant food hygiene rating for the business.

“As with any doorstep caller we would urge people not to be tempted to buy and ask them to leave. If you feel that you are being pressured into buying the fish or the trader won’t leave when asked, then contact the police immediately.

“We would advise that you only buy fish from a reputable fishmonger at an established shop or stall or even with a trader with a regular pre-arranged round.”

Anyone wanting advice on doorstep trading, or to report an incident, can contact the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 2231133 (08082231144 for Welsh language) which gives free, independent and impartial advice on all consumer issues, or the police on 101.

[SteveH]

Scammers now using Welsh accents to target victims in North Wales
The voice on the end of the line had a South Wales accent, potential victim said.

An automated call from someone with a Welsh-sounding accent claiming that her BT.

The scammers then advised her to press one to connect to a service advisor to correct the account issues.   ref DP

[DVT]

Usually have Asian accents and a British name - be interesting to hear them pronounce Welsh place names!

Sometimes, I play along with them.  One guy with a very Asian accent gave his name as David and asked if he was speaking to Mr Thomas - I replied that he was.  He asked for my first name so I said "it's David, the same as yours".

He then asked me to spell it !!!

[Meleri]

A catch up on the Penalty Charge Notice we received at Ysbyty Gwynedd. I did send in an appeal against the PCN but a letter came back that told us it had been correctly issued. Apparently it is clearly signed at the entrance to the hospital all vehicles must be parked within a marked bay. Also we were informed the Blue Badge booklet clearly states " you are not entitled to park on yellow lines in off-street car parks". However due to the circumstances we had mentioned if we sent evidence of the appointment they would review the case again. This meant calling the hospital to send a copy of the appointment to us, as we had handed in the original. In the end they accepted our explanation & let us off this time. Needless to say we have learnt our lesson & won't be doing that again in a hurry 

[Ian]

Well done, Meleri;  challenging a notice is always worthwhile.

[Bri Roberts]

Well done, Meleri.

What you say about your appointment letter is interesting.

I have had a few of those in recent times but there is never anything in the letter requesting you take the letter with you.

I raised this recently at reception in YG and nobody could give me a reason for it.

I understand why here in Llandudno because at reception they usually write on it and instruct you to place your letter in a wall pocket.

Apologies for wandering off. 

[Hugo]

I have had to go to Yspyty Glan Clwyd a number of times this year and when I hand my appointment letter in the receptionist keeps it so consequently I have no record for myself.
What I have done now is to copy each letter and hand in the original to the receptionist and that way I can keep track of everything.
It's important to do something like that as you need phone numbers, reference numbers etc

[Bri Roberts]

I totally agree, Hugo.

I now do exactly the same and my file was invaluable to me when I found it necessary not too long ago to submit a complaint to BCUHB.

[Meleri]

That's a very good idea to make a copy of the appointment letter & something I will be doing from now on.

[Ian]

There are a number of scams circulation from the usual evildoers concerned with Covid. Here's a roundup:

"One we’ve seen is an email that claims to come from the World Health Organization. It’s short and sweet, asking that you click on a link to what it says is a PDF offering advice on how to stay safe during the outbreak.

Security firm Sophos has a detailed breakdown of what happens if you click on that link, but broadly it shows you a pop-up in front of what looks like the WHO’s actual website asking you to input your email address and password so that you can receive the non-existent PDF.

Action Fraud has warned that emails purporting to be from organisations including the US Centers for Disease Control and the WHO are being sent with the aim of tricking you into opening malicious attachments or giving away your passwords.

Another email we’ve seen is full of doom-laden warnings that ‘There is no vaccine for coronavirus’ and that ‘the US government, like the Chinese government, isn’t telling us the truth about how many are infected’.

That email is full of links. While we’ve only seen screenshots of this, it seems likely that these links will lead you to either phishing sites or, worse, sites that can infect your computer with malware.

We’ve also seen reports of particularly nasty scams where criminals are taking advantage of older people by knocking on their doors. One scam has the criminals offering to take their temperature – thus allowing them into the house, where residents can be robbed or worse.

Other potential scams include criminals claiming to sell you things like protective face masks and even hand sanitiser. The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau says that it has already identified 21 reports of fraud where the coronavirus was mentioned – costing the victims a total of more than £800,000."