It comes as Trading Standards and police officers stage action days targeting doorstep tradesman operating in the county, using intelligence gathered from investigations and complaints.

The days are part of the national initiative 'Rogue Trader Day', Wednesday 19th October, which aims to send out a clear message that traders who do not operate legally will be targeted by the authorities.

Ahead of the annual national day, Trading Standards Officers patrolled areas in Oxford on Thursday 13th October, to identify rogue traders following ongoing intelligence and in particular, a complaint from an 89 year old man who had been conned out of £2,500 to have his lawn returfed.

False address

The 89 year old, who lives in the city, called a landscape gardening company he found in the yellow pages. They were listed as a local company with a local address and claimed to be a family business. Believing them to be legitimate, he asked them to replace his lawn with good quality, slow growing grass. He was quoted £1,500 and although they made a verbal agreement, no paperwork was produced.

Workers turned up and carried out work for two and a half days, during which time they claimed they couldn't get the grass he had asked for, but could get a better type and needed more money. He was bombarded with calls until he paid £2,500 in cash. In reality, the lawn they put down was poor meadow grass. He tried to contact the company, but was told it was a false address. He then contacted Oxfordshire Trading Standards.

The victim, who does not wish to be named, said: "I wanted the front lawn returfed and although I was originally quoted £1,500, the price went up bit by bit. The turf itself was not real turf at all. It immediately started growing weeds and in one section, weeds grew to about two feet high. The work was badly done and there were gaps in the turf which could cause elderly people or children to trip. I wrote a letter to the two addresses I had for the company, but it transpired that both were false. It was only when officers from Trading Standards got involved, that I got my money back.

Officers went to a couple of known addresses to investigate the complaint. As a result, this prompted the offender to revisit the victim and repay him £2,400.

He added: "I was delighted to receive almost all my money back and now I can have the job done properly. Money like this is not something I can dispose of."

Buy with confidence

Martin Woodley, Oxfordshire County Council's Doorstep Crime Team Leader, said: "It is obvious that those involved become aware that Trading Standards Officers were looking into this complaint. This may have prompted him in to repaying most of the money back to the victim. This is a great result, although there are still other people who have been caught out by this and similar companies. Gloucester Police has also arrested another rogue trader who is based in Oxfordshire and who we have been trying to locate for nine months. Officers from the Service went to Gloucester to continue their investigations by interviewing the offender while he was in custody.

"People should be aware of rogue traders operating in and around Oxfordshire. Not all doorstep traders are rogues, and some offer a good service. But you should be particularly aware of people offering to carry out services involving gardening, tree work, roofing and driveways. Always ask for a quote in writing and obtain two further quotes. Do some checks to make sure the name and the address is legitimate. Any contract should explain in writing your seven day cancellation rights. You can also visit the our Trading Standards pages and look for a tradesman on our Buy With Confidence scheme."

Officers will spend a further two days patrolling other areas in Oxfordshire. They will be in Cherwell and Banbury on Tuesday 18 October and Henley and South Oxfordshire on Wednesday 19th October. The team will approach anyone who is operating in the area and ask questions to gather intelligence as well as door knocking suspected addresses.

Councillor Judith Heathcoat, Cabinet Member for Safer and Stronger Communities, said: "These action days have clearly been a resounding success. The national rogue trader day recognises the impact this criminal behaviour can have on everyone in the community, particularly the most vulnerable. The days help to reinforce the message that we will not tolerate this kind of activity. The team at Trading Standards work exceptionally hard and I would like to offer my thanks and appreciation to them for carrying out such thorough and positive work in helping to protect people living and working in Oxfordshire."