Urgent appeal on suspect equipment.

Moray Council’s trading standards team has issued an urgent appeal to householders following a significant number of calls reporting suspicious door-to-door sellers.

Over the past few days they have taken a steady stream of calls from concerned members of the public who have been approached by callers offering equipment for sale.

In each case, the seller has approached the resident with a story of having been at an exhibition or similar meeting and wanting to sell off excess stock before returning to Ireland.

Equipment offered for sale has included generators, pressure washers (pictured), pots and pans, toolboxes and knives. It is believed that the traders are using a number of different vehicles and have been reported in several areas of Moray.

Extravagant claims have been made regarding the value of the equipment and specification and the would-be vendors have been very persistent in trying to persuade people to buy.

They have also been describing the equipment as having been manufactured by quality brand names when in fact they appear to be lower quality lookalikes. In one case, there was a further concern that the trader became aggressive when told that the resident was not interested.

Trading standards manager Peter Adamson said: “We would always urge residents not to buy from cold callers or doorstep sellers and to buy goods only from reputable traders.

“We have concerns that some of this equipment does not comply with electrical or other safety regulations. Normally, equipment of this type has to pass stringent checks before being allowed on to the market. When you buy from itinerant traders on your doorstep you have no idea where they came from or if they are safe.”

Mr Adamson added: “We are making an urgent appeal to anyone who has bought one of these items in the last few days to contact trading standards for further advice. We are keen to speak to the persons involved in the sale of these goods and would also ask for any sightings to be reported as soon as possible.”

Anyone with any information or who is seeking further advice or information should contact trading standards on 03454 040506.