Ban on cold callers in 100 residential areas throughout Capital

cold callers have now been banned from 100 residential areas throughout the city.

Police are hoping to prevent Cold Calling. Picture; Neil Hanna

Following the launch of a campaign aimed at stamping out doorstep crime, thousands of Edinburgh homeowners have said they are now confident saying “no” to uninvited salespeople.

After a string of reported bogus workmen incidents, Police Scotland, the city council and trading standards came together to launch ‘No Cold Calling Zones’.

As a team, they installed street signs and sprayed stencils on pavements, clearly identifying the areas where uninvited traders are not permitted.

No Cold Calling Zones. Inspector David Happs is joined by local Resident Calum Wilson. Picture; Toby Williams

Just last week, a 90-year-old woman living in Clermiston was stripped of her life savings, when three conmen tricked her into thinking she needed her water checked and entered her home. They made off with more than £10,000 on Friday afternoon.

Police are hoping the launch of the “No Cold Calling Zones” will reduce this type of criminal activity.

Councillor Cammy Day, community safety leader, said: “Local residents have said they are getting sick and tired of people coming and harassing them at their doors, whether it’s cold callers or bogus workmen. It’s great to see the 100th ‘No Cold Calling Zone’ has been introduced.

“The feedback from existing zones indicated that 92 per cent of residents have noticed a drop in cold callers, and a satisfaction rate of 100 per cent.

No Cold Calling Zones. Inspector David Happs is joined by local Resident Calum Wilson. Picture; Toby Williams

“Traders identified as calling within a zone will be dealt with robustly by our Trading Standards team.”

Yesterday, Barnton Park Crescent became the newest zone to ban the predators.

One resident said her neighbours were now feeling more confident they won’t fall victim to fraudsters.

She said: “People are now more reassured that these fraudsters will not coming knocking on our doors.

“Our street is quite mixed, we have young families, elderly residents and people living on their own so it’s a big step forward for us.

“Some people in this area have had more than five cold calls over the past six months, which is quite a lot and we’ve had issues with cold callers shouting at people who have refused their services.”

Inspector David Happs, from Police Scotland’s prevention, intervention and partnership department, said: “Doorstep crime is something that can affect anyone and we want to equip our community in how to keep cold callers out of their homes and protect themselves against this type of crime.

“Those responsible, like bogus callers and rogue traders, are often extremely convincing in how they approach and interact with potential victims and these zones really send out a strong message that these criminals are not welcome in Edinburgh.

“Police Scotland is committed to continuing to work with our partners to tackle this unscrupulous crime.”