RESIDENTS across the Dudley borough are urged to be on their guard against rogue traders after a pair of gardeners targeted a home in Kingswinford.

Dudley Council's trading standards team has warned people never to buy good or services at the door following a report of rogue traders who called at a home offering gardening services.

The incident saw two men in a white van offer to cut down a bush in a front garden before charging £250 for 15 minutes work.

One of the male workmen then followed the resident into their house as they went to look for money to pay. But when the resident did not have enough money the men took the resident to the bank in their vehicle so they could be paid.

To make matters worse, the men only cut down the bush and left the roots and returned a couple of days later and charged the resident another £150 to remove the roots.

Councillor Nicolas Barlow, Dudley Council's cabinet member responsible for trading standards, said: "This incident must have been very upsetting for the people involved, and we do all we can to highlight these cases to protect others.

"I cannot stress enough how important it is to be vigilant and not buy goods or services over the doorstep. Reputable workers will not go door to door touting for business and will always give a customer a written quote. They should also outline the customer’s rights of cancellation for any work over the value of £42 before starting the work.

"And certainly, a reputable trader will never ever follow people into their homes while they look for money or take a consumer to the bank to get money to pay them."

The council produces a directory of reputable traders called Fix-A-Home packed full of services which can be found online at www.dudley.gov.uk/fix-a-home.

Any suspicious callers, going door-to-door, offering to carry out any sort of gardening or property maintenance should be reported to the Bogus Caller Hotline on 01384 812045.