THE HEALTH of residents is being put at risk by people selling unlabelled fish door-to-door.
Worcestershire Regulatory Services is urging people to avoid the cold-callers who are flogging discounted fish which could contain harmful ingredients.
The scam, which involves salesmen using high-pressure tactics to offer bulk amounts of the product at discounted prices, could still cost residents hundreds of pounds.
Trusted sellers will usually have identity cards, ask for no up-front payment or signatures and will not have any fish with them on the doorstep.
And one incident in Worcestershire involved a householder being told the fish they were buying was filleted but they later found out it was full of bones and was an unknown species.
Coun Bronwen Behan, WRS Joint Committee vice chairman, said:
“Our advice is to turn away cold callers you don’t know who are trying to sell you fish like this.
“Unlabelled fish from an unknown source could make you very ill, as there’s no way to know if it has been stored hygienically.
“It could be out of date, or of any species, and what’s more you can’t track the scammers or their product afterwards.
“Even cheque payments may go to someone completely unrelated.”
“Protect yourself by only buying from sources you can trust.”
Peter Holmes, WRS senior trading standards officer, urged anyone approached by the sellers to make a note of any vehicle makes and registration numbers and pass the information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, or the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 04 05 06.
“If you have recently bought fish like this on your doorstep, we would also invite you to pass on your experiences to the same agencies to help the investigation of any issues,” he said.
