Operation Scaffold builds defences against rogue traders

​Skips, scaffolding and building materials in the garden are some of the items that could attract a visit from Havering Council Trading Standards and Havering Police as part of a continuing campaign against rogue traders.

​Operation Scaffold involves joint patrols across the borough with visits being made to properties where building work is taking place to check that the buyer knows their rights and that the builder is obeying the law, including giving written notice to the householder detailing their right to cancel the work. One in three of the visits in the last year led to action against the trader.

Since April 2013 85 visits have been made by the Operation Scaffold team with enforcement action being taken against traders on 26 occasions.  The visits are not all about enforcement but also through advice and assistance, help traders become aware of their obligations and trade fairly.

Operation Scaffold works to reduce doorstep crime and compliments other initiatives such as The Councils Banking Protocol which trains banks in the borough to be alert to unusual financial transactions on customers’ accounts, particularly in branch and if it is to pay construction related business alert police and Trading Standards so follow up checks can be made.

Havering Council Cabinet Member for Public Protection, Councillor Lesley Kelly said: “Operation Scaffold is proving a great success in helping protect local residents from traders who are not following the law. The best advice is to use traders who are members of Buy with Confidence as they are Trading Standards approved and will be following the law.”

Advice is available from 0845 404 0506 or emailtrading.standards@havering.gov.uk