Scam call warning

The Council is warning about potential scam calls following a number of concerning reports from our community alarm clients.

Some people have received an unsolicited call from a representative of a company claiming to be an alarm provider. Examples of the calls received are where the caller attempted to get the client to make a payment, telling them that their alarm company was going bust, that they were taking over and needed payment now, that their alarm was going to be disconnected unless they made a payment to their company immediately or that they needed to update his credit/debit card number details.

Please be aware that these calls have nothing to do with South Derbyshire District Council, or any company associated with us.

The Council will always communicate with you by letter if there are any changes made to your service and will never call and ask you to make a payment in this manner.  

Whilst these instances have been infrequent, it is important that people are aware so that you can be confident in dealing with any such call.  We are working with our Trading Standards colleagues and their advice 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, be completely sure who you are dealing with before sending any money.

If you believe you may have already received one of these calls, have sent money to a company in these circumstances, or hear from them in the future please contact Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 2231133. 

It is always recommended that you sign up to the Telephone Preference Service, which allows you to opt out of unsolicited live sales and marketing calls. 

You can do this by contacting the above telephone number or via the TPS website at https://www.tpsonline.org.uk/ You can also report any suspicious activity to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or via their website at https://www.actionfraud.police.uk

1 July 2022