Report to the Tyne and Wear Trading Standards Joint Committee 7 November 2019 Update on the Response to Rogue Door to Door Fish Sellers

Anneliese Hutchinson, Service Director, Communities and Environment, Gateshead Council

Purpose of the report

To update the Committee on the regional response to the important issue of Rogue Door to Door Fish Sellers

Context

One of the most identifiable issues related to doorstep crime for Trading Standards services/Environmental Health services and the Police Services, is the illegal activities of certain rogue individuals, going door to door targeting the most vulnerable and selling quantities of fish.

When buying fish from door to door salesmen, the consumer very often has no way of knowing how the fish have been stored and whether they are safe to eat. These types of businesses commonly use non-refrigerated vans, and there may be issues with the labelling, quality and descriptions of the fish.

It can also be difficult to know whether door to door traders are registered as a food business operator, which is a legal requirement, or if they are adhering to all food safety and hygiene regulations.

There are also concerns that the traders may pressurise residents to buy more than they actually need. The best place to buy fish is from a reputable fishmonger at an established shop or stall or even with a trader with a regular pre-arranged round.

Following concerns about these illegal activities both locally and indeed national the Regional Investigations Team hosted by Redcar & Cleveland BC and funded by the National Trading Standards Board continues to undertake a complex investigation into these illegal activities.

Case Study 1

In April 2019 at Teesside Crown Court, a fish salesman who used high-pressure sales techniques to dump bags of smelly seafood on elderly customers was sent to prison

Peter Carroll, 51, preyed on the elderly and vulnerable to sell them "excessive quantities of fish" - enough to fill a 6ft freezer in one case. His firm cold-called old people and charged exorbitant prices for far more produce than they wanted.

One customer asked for four pieces of haddock and ended up with two carrier bags full of fish, Teesside Crown Court heard. Another wanted £30 to £40 worth of fish, only to pay for five carrier bags stuffed with surplus seafood. Householders received smelly and slimy fish, two days before the use-by date on one occasion.

The company traded around the country as Pete's Plaice, P Carroll's Fisheries and P Carroll's Fresh Fish, cold-calling homes in refrigerated vans.

Prosecutor Jonathan Goulding said Carroll targeted the elderly in their homes and sold them unwanted fish. He said Carroll used "exploitative commercial practices" and a "deliberate strategy" for profit.

Carroll collected £1,000 orders from Hartlepool Fish Quay and knocked on doors of sheltered housing and bungalows, even where "no cold-callers" signs were displayed. He and salesmen under his "command" went to victims with serious health problems, one an 85-year-old woman with dementia who left the house once a month.

The business used high-pressure methods making victims feel uncomfortable and unable to say no. One elderly man felt trapped and intimidated after a seller moved to block his door after giving him a price.

Prices were hiked up, with some customers only learning the full inflated amount when a PIN machine was brought into the home. When customers said they did not have space for the food, they were told to get relatives to help out with storage. One seller said he would get the sack if he returned with unsold stock.

The Trading Standards investigation identified 27 victims who paid a total of £5,273 in areas including North and West Yorkshire in 2016 to 2017.

Customers felt upset, embarrassed, ripped off and anxious answering the door and blaming themselves. One said he "wanted the earth to open up and swallow him".

Proceeds of Crime

Victims of a dodgy fish salesman who dumped bags of smelly seafood on elderly customers are to be given compensation.

In September 2019 at Teesside Crown Court Peter Carroll was ordered to pay a fraction of his criminal gains to the state, most of which will be used to compensate victims.

Carroll appeared back in court, having been released from a one-year prison sentence, to be given the confiscation order under the Proceeds of Crime Act - legislation designed to strip criminals of ill-gotten assets.

Lawyers agreed the trader's benefit from crime was £103,182 and it was agreed Carroll, had £7,970 available to pay from his home, cash and two bank accounts. Recorder, Matthew Happold, ordered him to pay the sum in three months, or go to prison for another five months.

Case 2

In September 2019 Adam Brown, 30, from Chester-Le-Street, appeared before Newcastle Crown Court.

Brown travelled the country selling fish door-to-door, often to the elderly and vulnerable, using a variety of business names, including Shore to Door Fisheries, SSRS Fisheries, Scottish Coast Finest and Scottish Coast Fisheries.

Brown would pass off frozen fish as fresh, deliver excessive quantities of fish before charging an extortionately high price, operate an erratic pricing structure to exploit victims’ vulnerability, obtain higher payments through a card machine without consumers realising by obscuring the total or tilting the card machine away from the consumer.

He was sentenced to a 20-week custodial sentence, suspended for 18 months, at Newcastle Crown Court and ordered to pay £2,624.70 in compensation, which will cover the monies lost by all seven victims involved in the case.

Brown has also been issued with a Criminal Behaviour Order that prohibits him from selling fish and making unsolicited calls at people’s homes for the next five years. and will have to complete 180 hours unpaid work.

Brown earlier pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly or recklessly engaged in commercial practices which contravened the requirements of professional diligence and materially distorted the economic behaviour of his customers.

Recommendation

The Committee is asked to note the information as contained within the report.

Contact: David Ellerington. City of Newcastle on (0191) 2116119 david.c.ellerington@newcastle.gov.uk