Crime:
19 February 2014
First
a message re the Floods from Supt Kate Ford:
Thames Valley Police and other partner
agencies have now relocated one of its operational bases back to Windsor
police station.
Wraysbury Primary School has now been handed
back to its management to allow them to prepare for the return of their
pupils next week.
Representatives from the police, fire
service, local authority, military and environment agency have
collectively worked from the school since last Tuesday (11/2), allowing
them to swiftly respond to any issues regarding the floods as well as
providing local residents an opportunity to pop in for advice or to talk
through any questions or concerns and provide community reassurance.
In addition, three multi-agency community
hubs have been set-up to provide temporary points of contact for residents
in the most affected areas of the floods.
The hubs, which can provide helpful
information and advice, opened to the public this morning (19/2).
They will be initially staffed by
representatives from Thames Valley Police’s neighbourhood policing teams
and Local Authority, as well as Environment Agency ambassadors. They will
be joined by other key partner agencies with the aim of helping
residents’ lives return to normal following the severe flooding in the
area.
One of the hubs is operating from Datchet
Parish Council offices, in Allen Way, with a second hub situated within
Wraysbury Baptist Hall, in High Street.
A third hub, which will serve people living
in the Bisham/Cookham/Hurley area, has been set-up in Cookham Parish
Council, High Road, Cookham Rise.
All three hubs will be open from 9am to 7pm.
The water levels in Windsor and Maidenhead
are now stabilising and will be dropping slowly over the next 24 to 48
hours. No further river flooding of properties is expected. We
are not expecting any heavy rain over the next five days which is also
good news as the local authority and partners starts the clean-and-repair
operation across the borough.
For the very latest information about the
floods, please go to the Borough’s website where the situation is
updated regularly:
http://www.rbwm.gov.uk/web/news_flood_update.htm
NEXT – SECURITY COMPANIES COLD CALLING:
Loads of calls over the last few days, to say you have been receiving
phone calls from a security company offering to come along to your home,
carry out a Home Security Survey and then discuss security possibilities,
with you. The first two questions are – do you own your own home
and do you live alone / do you have a husband ?
They go on to say their agents will be in the area walking about, making
appointments. The answer should always be the same – I
am not interested and simply put down the phone !
If you are worried about your security, simply email the Neighbourhood
Team at their group email below. They will be happy to come along
and carry out a Security Survey, completely free of charge. They
will leave you with a list of any recommendations they make, which will be
practical and fit your personal circumstances !!!
MORE COLD CALLERS, AFTER THE STORMS AND
FLOODS:
I have been receiving calls and emails, to let me know that there have
been ‘dodgy builders’ out and about cold calling and saying that they
have seen damage to roofs, chimneys, or flood damage they can sort out.
Please remember out NHW MOTTO:
I am sorry, I do not buy goods and
services at the door.
Close the door, firmly but politely and call the police, with a full
description of the person, any van they were driving and what was said.
I have had a flier from a resident in Ascot – a man offering to clean
out drains. The only telephone number on the flier is a mobile
number. Don’t touch any tradesman with only a mobile number.
Same for the phone number on the side of a van. No local number –
no deal !
If you are of pensionable age, or in receipt of any form of benefit and
you need any work done on your house, please contact Louise Tyson at
‘Repair With Care’ at Housing Solutions. She has a list of
checked and Insured builders/ contractors of all kinds. Her leaflets
are attached. It is a brilliant service and should always be your
first port of call for any work you need done:
http://www.housingsolutions.co.uk/SupportedServices/Repairwithcare.aspx
Tel: 01628 545 000
‘It can be hard to find a good, reliable tradesman today. But if you
live in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, there is help at
hand. If you are over 55 and a home owner, private tenant, or have a
disability, our Repair with care service can help you find a reliable
tradesman to repair and improve your home.
Repair with care can take care of those small jobs around your home, major
repairs or any improvements you may want to make. Our aim is to make sure
the whole process from start to finish is simple and stress free for you
and that the work is done to a high standard.
The Repair with care Service is operated by Housing Solutions. For a small
hourly fee our Handyperson Service can take care of your small jobs around
your home. For those larger jobs, renovations and home improvements, we
have a unique Contractor Service, taking you from start to finish with
trusted contractors at competitive prices.’
NEXT.
PC Michelle Race has been to see me with a photo of a stolen bike.
It is quite distinctive. If you see it, please phone it through to
the PEC for the attention of PC Race. – photo attached
FROM THE TRADING STANDARDS TEAM AT
THE BOROUGH:
Car clocking leads to community order
for Maidenhead man
A Maidenhead car dealer who fraudulently sold
a vehicle knowing it displayed a false mileage has been sentenced to 90
hours of community payback.
Shakeel Awan, who traded as Valley Trading,
was sentenced at Slough Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 18 February. The
90 hours penalty was reduced from 120 due to Mr Awan’s guilty plea at an
earlier hearing.
In addition he was ordered to pay £2,495
compensation to the car buyer, prosecution costs of £1,400 and a victim
surcharge of £60.
Mr Awan, owner of Valley Trading, Malvern
Road, Maidenhead, had already pleaded guilty to three trading standards
charges, all under the Fraud Act and all committed in November 2012:
- committing
fraud by false representation in that he sold a vehicle with an
incorrect mileage reading on the odometer contrary to Section 2 of the
Fraud Act 2006
- committing
fraud by failing to disclose information about the mileage on a
vehicle which was in his possession and sold contrary to Section 3 of
the Fraud Act 2006
- committing
fraud by possession of a vehicle with an incorrect mileage indication
contrary to Section 6 of The Fraud Act 2006.
The charges all related to the sale of a VW
Golf by Awan to a postgraduate student from Birmingham. The car was stated
by Awan to have travelled 93,000 miles but it had, in fact, travelled more
than 150,000 miles. Although Mr Awan did not alter the car’s mileage, he
knew the true mileage of the car when he bought it and failed to reveal
this when he subsequently advertised and sold it.
Mr Awan also refused to offer the buyer any
compensation, initially denying the car had been clocked and only
admitting this when later confronted with the evidence.
Cllr Carwyn Cox, cabinet member for
environmental services, said: “This is a great outcome thanks to the
hard work and determination of the Royal Borough’s trading standards
team.
“It is the culmination of an investigation
that began in November 2012 and while car clocking has become less common
it is pleasing to note that the bench took the matter very seriously –
repeatedly reminding Mr Awan that he could well have gone to prison for
the offences concerned. It sends a clear message to all would-be car
clockers that this is fraud, you will be punished and you could get a
custodial sentence.”
MAIDENHEAD CENTRAL:
maidenheadcentralnhpt@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
Your
Neighbourhood Page on TVP's Website - Click Here
NO CRIME TO REPORT
RIVERSIDE & BELMONT:
maidenheadcentralnhpt@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
17/2 – 18/2 Monday 6.30 p.m. / Tuesday 6.45 a.m. North
Town Moor. Grey BMW 530D index YE ** TUO stolen from the
driveway. The owner still has both sets of keys and there is no
broken glass. Was it winched
onto the back of a flatbed ?
MAIDENHEAD WEST
BISHAM, COOKHAM, HURLEY, THE WALTHAMS, LITTLEWICK GREEN &
KNOWL HILL:
Your
Neighbourhood Page on TVP's Website - Click Here
11/2 – 19/2 Tuesday 11 a.m. / Wednesday noon. Terry’s
Lane, Cookham. Car keyed and wing mirror damaged – a
parking issue !
PINKNEYS GREEN & FURZE PLATT:
maidenheadwestnhpt@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
18/2 Tuesday 7.40 p.m. Whurley Way, Furze Platt.
Egg thrown at front door.
MAIDENHEAD SOUTH
BOYN HILL, COX GREEN & WOODLANDS PARK:
maidenheadsouthnhpt@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
Your
Neighbourhood Page on TVP's Website - Click Here
14/2 – 17/2 Friday noon / Monday 8.30 a.m. Boyn Hill
Avenue. Front garden gate damaged.
OLDFIELD & BRAY:
maidenheadsouthnhpt@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
18.2 Tuesday 9.20 a.m. / 12.30 p.m. Hastings Close,
Bray. Burglary. Rear patio door forced – house
searched – nothing appears to have been stolen.
MEMBERS’ ADVICE:
I get loads of scam emails and phone messages from you.
Hi Jeff,
Have a look at this one; its about a US scam which encourages mobile users
to ring back to find out who called,
Its not here yet, but give it time.........
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/172-5.shtml
Hoax-slayer is an excellent site updated twice monthly.
All the best,
Pete
Jeff,
I have just had an elderly resident see me, whose 84 year sister from
Ascot, has just been fleeced for £1,500.
Groups of shady individuals, are going around, knocking on doors and
targeting the elderly, telling them they need urgent repairs to their
houses, as a result of the recent storms.
A big burly chap and his 3 other gang members, came to her front door.
She was scared and intimidated by their presence, so agreed to have the
work done. She was quoted £4,000 for chimney repairs, she told me
"I got them down to £1,500" !
They completed the so called "repairs". They then took her to
the bank, where she withdrew the money.
As you know I am a Special Sergeant with Thames Valley Police and have
seen this happen on far too many occasions. With the recent bad
weather, many of these gangs will be out and about, targeting the senior
members of our community.
Can I urge everyone to be extra vigilant, if you see a vehicle outside an
elderly neighbour’s house, note the vehicle index and call the police
straight away.
Regards
Clive
Excellent advice – Many thanks
Clive.
INLAND REVENUE SCAM EMAILS ARE ON THE
INCREASE:
Hi Jeff,
I have received yet another Inland Revenue Scam email:
Refund_Form.html(22.9 KB)
The text of the message is addressed to 'Dear Applicant', and suggests
that they have investigated my tax payments and latest tax returns over
the last 7 years, and their calculations suggest an overpayment of GBP
281.95.....etc. etc. blah blah.
I printed off the message, rather than indulge their invitation, to
download the 'Tax Refund Form' attached to this email.
These are not generally sent to you as a named individual. If this
is from the Inland Revenue to you, offereing you a rebate – you would
think they would know who you are – rather than ‘Dear Applicant’ !
Bin them and never open an attachment form – however urgent they say it
is. There is always a reason you should do it immediately or........
Many thanks Celia.
BIN THEM
PHONE CALLS TO SAY YOU HAVE WON THE
LOTTERY !
Hi jeff,
I am following an incoming call through out of interest.
I had a phone call on 18th Feb. “You have won £32,500,
in our in-house lottery”.
They had records of all my spending on Lotteries (average £10/month) and
knew that my biggest win ever, was £10.00.
They will deliver the money by courier and require an ident such as my
card (here we go).
I told them the only thing they will see, is my driving licence. So
far, there has been no demand for money (and they will get none).
They gave me their cheque number and their telephone no 0203 2900941; Post
code SE1 1NF. Head Office in Vancouver.
All very innocent so far. The caller said they did not want money !
Interesting to see at what point, they will want money, or cards.
I will keep you in the picture.
Mike
SAME AS ALWAYS – IF YOU HAVE NOT
ENTERED A COMPETITION – YOU CANNOT WIN IT !
BANK SCAMS STILL FLOODING IN:
It does help if it comes from a Bank you don’t bank with !
Hi Jeff
I am presuming this is a scam. It relates to an email from Barclays
(I don't bank with Barclays), informing me that a deposit of over £8,300
has been deposited into my bank account. Attached to the email is a
zipped copy of what they have described as the 'receipt'.
I am not expecting such a windfall, so haven't opened the attachment.
Is this a new scam or am I just a bit late in being targeted?
Cheers
Mary
First – if you don’t bank with
Barclay’s, you know instantly it is a scam. If you do – a phone
call should settle it. In either event – YOU
NEVER OPEN THE ATTACHMENT !
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