Con artists target elderly Cottingham couple

“@harryofdock and mimi. harry, a good friend of mine suggested that he go and call upon this dirt bag who, by the way, is called Liam Scott and lives of hawthorn Avenue (name and shame, since HDM didn't) and speak very sharply to his nether regions but after being tempted for a while, I thought that that would bring us down to his level so we allowed the courts to deal with it. How bloody stupid was that? As for the care company, they have accepted that their duty of care to me was breached and we are in the process of getting the payments directed to their bank account and then they will pay me the £440.00 in advance in full. It took some negotiation and threats of legal action but we got there, thanks.”

“Shouldn't the care Company be held joint responsible for employing this scroat? Couldn't they perhaps pay you the cash back and get it back of the 'carer'?”

“froggy39,
Sorry to hear of your run-in with this dirtbag. Don't you have any relative who could go around to see this piece of excrement, and ( how can I put this) mete out some justice and get you your money back a bit sooner?”

“I agree with everything said on here about making sure that anybody visiting your home on a preofessional basis, such as tradespeople or carers is a fit and proper person to do whatever it is they are doing for you. Excellent advice until you get a situation like mine. I am 72 years of age and in pretty poor health and I need assistance in various aspects of my everyday life including bathing. I needed somebody to assist me in and out of the bath and employed a local care company to provide me with a carer to do that. One day the carer decided that my wallet would look better in his pocket than mine and stole £440.00 from me plus he drew £500.00 from my bank account. My bank paid me the money back straight away but the £440.00 was the subjectof a prosecution which took 11 months to come to court. This man denied his guilt right up to appearing at Hull Crown Court and then he changed his plea to guilty. He received, in my estimation, a slap on the wrist. He was given 4 months prison suspended for 2 years and ordered to repay my £440.00 AT £10 PER FORTNIGHT. So no matter how careful we are about who we employ someone will get it wrong. In this case the care Company and the idiot judge who thought the sentence fitted the crime. So dontwo is right....no punishment or deterrent for scum.”

“How about a description of the suspects or would that be too much to ask in this news article.”

“work4aliving

I hope you have someone looking out for you in your old age as this is not the case for many vulnerable people. Your experiences seem to have twisted your view of the world somewhat, your mother is right to trust the 90%+ of honest people she comes into contact with and of course should be vigilant against the small % of people who may try to target her. Educating potential victims about the dangers is one part of the solution, but pulling together as a community and looking out for your neighbours (which I am sure your mother could tell you all about from bygone days) is equally important - especially as a good percentage of us will suffer mental illness/impairment at later stages of life. dontwo is also spot on that the legislation needs to catch up match that afforded to child protection so people can get the appropriate sentences for abusing vulnerable people. Just look at the other vulnerable adult abuse cases regularly reported in the HDM, including the pick pocket story from todays paper. I don't subscribe to the theory that we are all doomed due to the actions of a few people on the fringe of society, and I certainly don't agree to your suggestion that vulnerable people are 'dum' (sic). Vulnerable people are targeted because they are vulnerable, and there will always be vulnerable people in need of protection. If you are actually bothered then visit the websites of the Hull or East Riding Safeguarding Adult Boards or Age UK and become part of the solution”

“Where is the description of the couple in this article HDM ?”

“i know i will be old one day but please why do old people not learn ?they are told if it seems over priced it is usually a con. for goodness sake contact a family member, or a friend and ask them if they think this is a fair price for work to be done. don't just go to a newspaper as if your shocked. my mum is so like old people she thinks every ones nice till she finds there's no money in her bank account never agree to anything regardless of there demands if they say they have already done the work call someone before handing any thing over and if they start to become aggressive. you ring the police/of someone. how dum are some people !”

“Just a pity there is no deterrent or proper punishment when caught for these con artists.”