News from Lancashire County Council
Polling will open on Thur 1st May 2025, for our Lancashire County Councillor.
A full list of candidates will be published after the 2nd April. While you’re waiting, check that you are registered to vote, and that you have valid photo ID ready for polling day.
Lancashire County Council have published some useful advice on safety – click here to download the leaflet.
In today’s consumer-driven society, we rely on many products to enhance our lives and make daily tasks easier, more convenient and support our well-being. From lawn mowers to vacuum cleaners and from children’s car seats to cosmetics, the market offers endless choices, but not all products are made equal in terms of safety.
By choosing safe and reliable products, we can avoid unnecessary accidents, injuries, and even fatalities. Consumer product safety encompasses a range of considerations, including manufacturing standards, labelling, testing, and packaging. The good news is that product safety laws exist that aim to ensure that goods available on the market are safe, reliable, and conform to the required standards. While the internet has made it very easy to get a product delivered quickly and directly to your door, if bought from a seller based outside the UK there is a chance it may not meet the standards you expect
But there are practical steps we can all take before buying products online, from shops, new, second-hand, and even if someone is giving you an item for free. Can you see any safety markings or warnings? Are the instructions easy to understand? Can you see the address of the manufacturer or importer? If these are missing, it may not be safe to use.
If you are thinking of purchasing second-hand, ask how old is it and could something of happened to it over its lifetime, has it been damaged which now makes it unsafe to use?
There is much we can do to safeguard our own well-being, the safety of our loved ones and our wider communities by making informed and careful purchasing decisions.
If you are interested in attending an online presentation or a visit to your community group (location dependent) to find out more about Consumer Product Safety contact Heather Booth at Lancashire County Council at scientificservices@lancashire.gov.uk or telephone: 01772 721660
You can also find out more about Product Recalls and Safety Alerts at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/office-for-product-safety-and-standards
Beware cold callers knocking on doors in the Lancaster area offering to spray your driveway to kill weeds and/or power wash your drive. One resident paid £250 and suspects no weed killer was used. Another resident paid £200 upfront as part payment for the job, the traders did not return to carry out the work.
Trading Standards advice is to always say no to cold callers. The Safetrader scheme can help you find a trader in your area, contact 0303 333 1111 or go to www.safetrader.org.uk.
A Lancashire resident lost £6,000 after meeting someone on a dating site who claimed to be a stock trader. After a number of conversations, and a future plan to meet, his date convinced the complainant to go into business with her, asking him to take out a loan in his name, which they would pay back together. The money was to be used to invest in stocks to generate additional profit which would then be invested into the business.
However, when it came time to pay the loan back, the scammer vanished with the money. This was a very professional scam, with an untraceable website and a plausible back story. Never send money to someone unrecommended, who you do not know, no matter how good the business opportunity sounds.
Be suspicious and use caution if you receive a text or What’s App message from a family member or close friend from a mobile number you do not recognise asking for money. Typically, the message can allege it is from your son or daughter saying this is their new number and the request for money will sound urgent.
Beware receiving a scam call from Virgin Media. One householder, on answering the phone call, stated they were not with Virgin but the caller managed to convince them they were carrying out improvement/ modernisation work for all internet providing companies. The caller managed to obtain personal information and shortly after tried to obtain money via the internet users Paypal account.
Another similar internet related scam call claims to be checking internet speeds, claiming the speed the user is getting is much less than they are paying for. This then leads to the caller advising they need to connect your hub to the main server and ask you to download an App to your phone, potentially enabling the caller direct access to your computer.
Report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or via www.actionfraud.police.uk.
Scam emails can be reported via report@phishing.gov.uk. Suspicious text messages can be forwarded to 7726.
For information on current scams see www.facebook.com/StanleyDards/. Contact the Trading Standards Service via the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133.
A South Ribble resident was cold called by roofers offering to carry out repair work. Shortly after, the traders stated the repair work was done and took £400 from the householder in payment. No work has been carried out; in hindsight the householder does not believe they even went onto the roof.
Trading Standards advice is to always say no to cold callers. The Safetrader scheme can help you find a trader in your area, contact 0303 333 1111 or go to www.safetrader.org.uk.
Online shoppers and sellers are warned about a Vinted scam, after a Lancashire resident who tried selling an item on Vinted for the first time, was then asked to put their bank details in the app so that the buyer could transfer the payment and was kept hanging on while the scammer took first £430, then a total of £5000, from her bank account.
Be on the alert if you get a message appearing to be from Vinted asking for your login details or other personal information, such as credit card or bank details. Vinted will never ask for your password or bank details via an email. Beware messages with a link to click on, it may take you to a spoof site.
Tesco customers are being targeted by a phishing email scam, which claims to offer shoppers the chance to claim a £500 gift card. However, following the links in the email will take victims to a malicious survey website. The questions will reveal your personal and financial information which can then be used to steal your identity.
Action Fraud is warning people to be alert to fraudsters trying to catch out people wishing to purchase tickets for popular and sold-out events. www.actionfraud.police.uk/ticketfraud. To protect yourself from ticket fraud: –
For information on current scams see www.facebook.com/StanleyDards/. Contact the Trading Standards Service via the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133.
A householder in Bacup was cold called, the trader stating the trees in his garden were diseased and needed cutting down. The trader threatened to report the matter to the Council if the householder did not agree. The work was done, which only took a few hours, costing £500 which the trader would only take in cash.
In a similar incident in Colne a householder was cold called and agreed to work to cut down some shrubs. The traders were there no more than 20 mins and charged £400.
Trading Standards advice is to always say no to cold callers. The Safetrader scheme can help you find a trader in your area, contact 0303 333 1111 or go to www.safetrader.org.uk.
A Burnley resident posted a leaking roof job on an online quoting platform. When the trader arrived, further work was alleged costing £700 which included using a liquid treatment. The householder was told the treatment took 24 hours to dry. After 24 hours the leaks were still there, and the trader was no longer contactable.
Use caution if using online platforms and always make sure you have business contact details for any traders you deal with.
Schools, churches and any business with a car park are being warned about a line-painting scam that has left a school with a bill of £1000. A Lancashire Primary school believed the traders were working for the council. In a twist on the traditional cut-price driveway asphalt scam, the school was told that council workers had white paint left over and could repaint their line markings for a discount price of £9 per metre. All the negotiations were done verbally, it was only when an invoice was later received for a substantially inflated amount that the school realised the workers had not been sent by the council.
Trading Standards have heard of similar incidents in the past focussed on churches and village halls, but any public space with line marked areas needs to be wary and not deal with unsolicited calls from businesses.
A resident in the South Ribble area received a phone call from a person claiming to be calling from HMRC stating the resident owed money. The caller was very convincing and managed to get personal details from the resident, but luckily the scam was realised before any money was paid. Please remember HMRC will never contact you threatening legal action or arrest. Suspicious phone calls, emails or messages can be reported to the HMRC, see www.tax.service.gov.uk for further details.
For information on current scams see www.facebook.com/StanleyDards/
Contact the Trading Standards Service via the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133.
Please see below, notification of works letter for some woodland management works at Junction 35 Carnforth. It is necessary to close the M6 southbound entry slip road as part of these works – dates and time of the closures are listed on the letter.
If you haven’t used your Nowcard recently, don’t forget you can enjoy free travel with your concessionary pass. From visiting cafes and garden centres to shopping trips and evenings out, the opportunities are endless your free bus pass.
Find out more at www.lancashire.gov.uk/publictransport
Get out and about with great value bus fares or your free bus pass
If you haven’t caught the bus for a while, why not take advantage of the great value bus fares, which are available all day every day. And those over 66 can travel for free with a Nowcard
It’s just £2 maximum fare for a single trip and only £1 after 7pm, ideal for nights out. Plus, if you buy a bus ticket for Saturday you get Sunday free with the new weekender bus ticket. These offers are available until end of December 2024.
If you haven’t used your Nowcard recently, don’t forget you can enjoy free travel with your concessionary pass. From visiting cafes and garden centres to shopping trips and evenings out, the opportunities are endless your free bus pass.
Find out more at www.lancashire.gov.uk/publictransport
