'No Cold Calling' zones set up in South Tyneside to help protect vulnerable people
Special zones designed to stop rogue traders and cold callers taking advantage of vulnerable families have been set up in 16 areas of South Tyneside.
Bosses South Tyneside Council at South Tyneside Council, which has led the ‘No Cold Calling’ zones initiative, insist the scheme is intended to stop those who cause ‘harm, distress and financial detriment’, not ‘legitimate traders.
And the programme appears to be working, with a recent survey showing 100% of people asked felt safer since it had been introduced to their neighbourhood.
“We welcome legitimate traders but there are those who will deliberately flout the law and creating these no cold calling zones does help,” said Judith Shewan, of the South Tyneside Trading Standards Service.
“It [cold calling] does cause distress to elderly, vulnerable people, so we will always target our resources to deal with that.
“There’s no law which prevents cold calling and the majority of cold callers might be legitimate, but there are those who are not.”
Shewan was speaking at a meeting of the council’s Licensing and Regulatory Committee on November 29.
Before establishing a no cold calling zone, bosses consider recent reports of doorstep crime, the age and vulnerability of families living in an area and whether it would be feasible to install signs warning potential offenders.
The latest to be set up is in Thomas Drive, Hebburn, and it performance is due to be reviewed later this year.