Residents are being urged to be vigilant over who they let in their homes after a report of a man gaining access to a property in Margate after claiming he was from Southern Water.
The man managed to enter a property in Argyle Drive after saying the new tenant owed money and if it wasn’t paid, their water would be disconnected.
He then went on to ask ‘odd’ questions of the occupier and asked for her personal details.
He backed out of the property when the woman’s partner came down the stairs.
He provided an ‘old battered’ Southern Water card and told the couple that if anyone else attended the property, to say he had already been.
The man is described as being in his late 40’s or early 50’s, 5ft 7″, brown/grey short hair, small and overweight. He was wearing navy blue trousers and a blue body warmer and carrying a notebook.
A Kent Police spokesperson said: “Kent Police was contacted on Tuesday 31 January and it was reported that a man claiming to be from a water company had entered a house in Argyle Avenue, Margate at around 1.30pm that day.
“The homeowner became suspicious of the man and he left with nothing reported missing.
“Enquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident and homeowners in the area are advised to be vigilant.
“If someone knocks at your front door claiming to be from a company, first check their ID. If you’re not happy, don’t let them in.
“Never call the phone number on their ID card to check them out. Ask the person to wait outside, shut the door and find the company number on the internet. If they’re genuine, they’ll understand.”
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Well,I can’t be much help with this scammer but there are loads of similar types taking my money on the pretext of water supply and treatment. But, in fact, they don’t do either!
And these are official Southern Water. Maybe this bloak’s is taking the regional scam to another level
Come & see me, i wont regret it.
He should change his sales pitch-just tell them he is there to burst their pipes, cut their water supply off for days or weeks & defecate in their bathtub/shower-while demanding money & nobody would doubt he is really from SW.
On the news today: water charges are going up 7%!
And Therese Wossit is giving the water companies 27 years to get ther act together!
This is worth repeating. I was scammed by a couple of low life’s a few months ago after I contacted one of these trade agencies, Bark, for someone to clean the gutters from my bungalow. Someone phoned me that afternoon saying the agency had contacted them and they could come round that afternoon, and do the job for £99.00. I agreed and they came round and said I needed some roof work done, and they could do both jobs for £250.00. I agreed thinking 2 men, for a day and half thats about right. But 40 minutes later they came and asked for their money!
They were menacing, and I thought they would make a mess of my roof, or me if I didn’t pay them, which I did! I got straight back to the agency, and told them what happened and when I told them the name of the company, they said they didn’t have them on their books! It turned out the agency would contact a company on their books, but when they contacted a customer they used a different name! So, be careful, if you use a Trade agency,because they could be supplying crooks to you!