The final item of business today is a members’ business debate on motion S4M-00695, in the name of James Kelly, on the nail the rogues campaign. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament believes that rogue traders have a significant impact on consumer rights and the informal economy in Rutherglen, Cambuslang and Blantyre and the rest of Scotland; notes, with concern, the recent figures released by the Office of Fair Trading showing that issues regarding home improvement work continue to be at the top of the list of complaints about rogue traders; further notes that, last year, Consumer Direct received more than 13,000 complaints concerning uninvited traders, almost half of which related to home maintenance work; is concerned that rogue traders have frequently been reported to offer services at what appear to be attractive rates and use persuasive sales techniques to pressure people into making hasty decisions; believes that older people and vulnerable groups are particularly exposed to the dangers of rogue traders, and commends the Federation of Master Builders Scotland, in conjunction with Trading Standards, for running the campaign, Nail the Rogues, in order to raise awareness of the dangers of rogue and dishonest traders, to offer advice for avoiding them and to provide information on how to find reputable traders.
17:15
I welcome the opportunity to speak in support of the campaign to nail the rogues. I thank those members from across the chamber who have signed the motion. It has attracted a good deal of cross-party support, including from Scottish National Party members—unlike the amendment that I moved earlier this afternoon. I am sure that the debate will be much more consensual than the earlier debate, and I look forward to members’ speeches.
I lodged the motion because of the level of concern that exists not just in my constituency and the communities of Rutherglen, Cambuslang and Blantyre, but throughout Scotland around the activities of rogue traders. Many members will have had people come to them with experiences of rogue traders. They might even have personal experience of a salesman appearing on their doorstep with a reasonable proposition to tidy up part of their roof or whatever and carrying out the work, trying to extend the work and maybe leaving part of the work undone. Often, their shoddy workmanship results in the condition of the building being worse than it was before they started. There are significant concerns about the problem, and Consumer Focus Scotland reports that more than 13,000 complaints have been raised about inappropriate activity and salesmanship by rogue traders.
In my constituency, unfortunately, many of the victims are pensioners. It is part of life—I see it in my own family—that, as people get older, they tend to worry more. They may have spent years paying for their house and worry about it not being wind and watertight. If somebody comes round and suggests that a particular area needs work, they are more inclined to accept what that person says. It is not only stressful when it does not work out for the person once they have handed over the money; older people, understandably, are more subject to stress and take longer to get over such incidents. The issue is, therefore, a matter of great concern. It is also unacceptable and we should condemn it.
I heard of a practical example yesterday, when I attended an event that was sponsored by Kezia Dugdale on installing carbon monoxide monitors in homes throughout Scotland. One of the people at that event told me that they had had some work done in their loft, from which there were carbon monoxide emissions. Fortunately, they had a monitor installed, which alerted them to the problem, but lives could have been at risk because of that shoddy workmanship and the results of a rogue trader.
The problem has an impact on the economy. Much of the work relates to housing repairs and takes a big amount out of the economy. Housing repairs account for £22 billion in the economy, and work that is done by rogue traders as opposed to properly recognised traders amounts to some £170 million of work that is not carried out appropriately. It is work that is stolen from the economy, as it has to be redone. Rogue traders do not pay VAT, and in these hard-pressed economic times, VAT receipts are important to the public purse if we are to maximise the amount of money that we have for public spending.
There is an impact on the economy and a real human impact. To move the issue forward, it is important to raise awareness of the problems. I pay tribute to the Federation of Master Builders, with which I worked closely on the motion and the campaign to raise awareness of the issues in communities throughout Scotland.
Consumers can take some practical steps to expose the activities of rogue traders. First and foremost, if anyone has been a victim of such activity, they should report it to the police if it is inappropriate and illegal. To stop rogue traders in their tracks, people could take references rather than go ahead with work that is to be carried out on their house. It is advisable for people to get three quotes so that they not only get the best value for money but can make a judgment about those who recommend that work be carried out.
I say this in an effort to strengthen the protection of the elderly and vulnerable in their own homes: could the principle of a cooling-off period that is applied when someone takes on a financial loan also be applied to a contract for a repair to one’s home?
Margo MacDonald makes a valid point. Salespeople can be very persuasive, particularly to pensioners. They are all too keen to put a bit of paper under people’s noses and get them to sign off. Sadly, there have been instances of people signing up to inappropriate loans with huge interest charges. A cooling-off period is a sound and practical suggestion.
Another idea is for the person to get a legally enforceable contract so that they know what work is to be carried out and can take action if there are any glaring omissions in the work that has been carried out.
I urge the Scottish Government to support the formal economy—I am sure that it will—and those who work through appropriate channels to provide services to householders. It must tie up with organisations such as the Federation of Master Builders to be aware of, and to expose, the activities of rogue traders and to minimise their impact in Scotland’s communities.
I thank members for the support that I have received from all parties. The motion highlights an important issue that affects many people throughout Scotland. It is important that we advance the campaign, support the formal economy, support our householders and nail the rogue traders.
17:23
I am grateful to James Kelly for bringing the motion to the chamber and allowing us to debate this continuing and serious problem. I am sure that he expects much more consensus in this debate than there was in the previous one. I commend his fortitude in leading from the front bench in that debate while having this members’ business debate before him.
From my examination of the issue, I see that rogue trading has a fairly set pattern: it involves enticing people into spending money on work that is unnecessary, of poor quality or overpriced. We have known about this widespread problem for a number of years, probably mainly thanks to exposé television shows, which have a great track record in exposing the practice. There has been some action by the Scottish Government and the United Kingdom Government, but there is always room for improvement. That is for sure.
I know that James Kelly agrees with me that every member of the Parliament has an interest in tackling rogue traders. They are the cause of one of the more common complaints that we get from our constituents. It does not surprise me that home improvements—in particular, roofing—still top the list. They were the subject of 30 per cent of complaints about rogue traders in the UK to the Office of Fair Trading in 2010.
I have heard of one company quoting a cost of £5,000 for roof repairs that another quote said would cost just a few hundred pounds. Very few of us have the expertise to argue about the validity of a contractor’s claims. Of course, it is usually sensible to shop around and to look for a number of quotes—perhaps three—to avoid being ripped off. We must all give out that clear message, particularly to vulnerable people, who are more at risk from rogue traders.
As we have said, the elderly need to know whom they can and cannot trust when they look for key works to be done in their homes. Rogue traders are ruthless and make good money through profiting from other people’s misery. They must be stopped where we can do that.
Hard selling has become normalised in the sales culture. Sometimes, there is a fine line between a hard-nosed salesperson at the door who is a bit too pushy and inappropriate selling by rogue traders. I put in that mix energy companies that look for people to switch tariffs, which might fall into the rogue trader category—we must think about that. We must find a way of forcing the adoption of best practice and not just hope for it.
I thank James Kelly for securing the debate. Members’ business debates are important to awareness raising at large. Public vigilance can sometimes do much more than Government or local authority action can to stop rogue traders, so it is important to publicise what can be done.
We must be mindful that consumer protection is an important policy area that the Parliament does not cover fully and over which it does not have full control. I assure Mr Kelly that I will not use the debate as an excuse to talk about constitutional wranglings, but it is fair to say that not all the powers to improve the situation lie with the Parliament. I will leave it sitting at that.
We must raise public awareness. There is nothing legitimate about traders who are just after a quick buck, but there is everything legitimate about traders who just want to do business. That is why we must consider accreditation schemes. The existing ones are voluntary, but we must consider a compulsory accreditation scheme. I am not one for regulation for regulation’s sake, but we have moved to formal regulation of a variety of other matters, such as factoring and tenancy deposits, when the evidence has supported that.
I thank Mr Kelly for bringing the debate to the chamber. I might not be able to stay until the end, so I apologise if I have to nip off. I hope that the debate creates positive publicity so that consumers are better informed.
17:27
I echo James Kelly and Bob Doris in saying that the debate will be much more consensual than the previous debate in which James Kelly spoke. Look—my acknowledging that shows that the consensus has already started.
There is no doubt that rogue traders present an issue not just in Rutherglen, Cambuslang and Blantyre, as Mr Kelly acknowledged, but throughout my parliamentary region of Glasgow and throughout Scotland. The problem is not trivial. Trading Standards Institute figures show that rogue traders steal about £170 million from households across Britain every year—Mr Kelly brought that figure to our attention.
At the simplest level, traders might offer to do cash-in-hand jobs and thereby avoid VAT and a paper trail. The Federation of Master Builders estimates that the UK’s housing repair, maintenance and improvement budget is about £22 billion a year, but a further £9 billion of work is estimated to be done in the informal economy. That has a significant impact on VAT and damages the legitimate economy and honest traders’ work.
The problem of rogue traders runs much deeper than just avoidance of taxes. As the previous two speakers said, such traders specifically target the vulnerable, the elderly and the infirm. They cold call and tell householders that their roof needs to be repaired or that their chimney needs to be repointed—always something that such householders cannot check for themselves. Rogue traders offer to fix the problem cheaply. If a home owner can be persuaded to cough up some or all of the money up front, the trader will often leave without doing any work at all; if not, costs often spiral during work, which lands the home owner with a large bill for what is at best poor work. That affects the bank balance of the person concerned and plays on the fear of householders in their own home.
Consumer Focus Scotland reports that about 13,000 complaints about uninvited traders are made annually, almost half of which concern home maintenance work. As I said, the most common complaints are to do with roofing, but other common issues are about tarmacking and, more recently, insulation. Regardless of the specifics of the work, the modus operandi is always the same: the rogue traders create fear on the part of vulnerable people by persuading them that the work needs to be done and then abscond, leaving behind either bad work or no work at all. It is estimated that that sort of rip-off affects about 89,000 people in Britain every year.
As the majority of rogue traders target the housing maintenance and improvement sector, it is good to note that, as the previous speakers have acknowledged, the Federation of Master Builders takes the problem seriously. I echo the praise for the measures that the federation is taking to try to stop the practice. There are measures that we can consider, such as proper identification of tradesmen and increasing public awareness, including community awareness of when rogue traders are operating in an area.
Members of the federation are in danger of being undermined by traders who leave with customers’ money after failing to do the work that they promised to do or doing a shoddy job that requires remedial work. Along with the Trading Standards Institute, and through the nail the rogues campaign, the federation is working to raise awareness of the problem. Information on how to avoid being scammed by rogue traders and how to find reputable ones is crucial in helping those who are most at risk.
I hope that the Scottish Government appreciates the significance of the issue that James Kelly has brought to the Parliament, particularly for vulnerable people, and will consider the steps that have been mentioned to prevent the theft in question. That is the appropriate word, because it is theft from householders, legitimate businesses and the economy as a whole.
17:31
I, too, thank James Kelly for bringing the debate to the chamber.
We have heard worrying statistics from the previous three speakers. My constituency of Strathkelvin and Bearsden has become a particular target for rogue and bogus traders. We have a large elderly population that is the fastest growing in Scotland. Elderly people are less likely to be victims of crime than people from any other demographic group, but they are particularly vulnerable to the crime that we are discussing.
In preparing for the debate, I spoke to trading standards officers in East Dunbartonshire Council, who confirmed that the national figures that we have heard apply in Strathkelvin and Bearsden. Worries about home improvement work and uninvited traders always come top of the list of complaints that officers receive from members of the public.
I praise East Dunbartonshire Council’s trading standards department for its good work. I know that its officers are constantly out and about throughout East Dunbartonshire, as I bumped into them at almost every gala day that I went to during the summer.
It is important that we educate the public on the problem and give people resources in the hope of preventing them from becoming victims of such crimes. East Dunbartonshire Council trading standards officers have spot days when they work with the local police to spot the white van man of popular myth. They stop people to find out whether they are registered to do the work that they are setting out to do.
One innovative approach that trading standards officers are taking is to go into schools to talk to children. We might ask why they do that, given that children will not be the victims of bogus and rogue traders, but they are the grandchildren of the people who are most likely to be victims. That is a wonderful way of working across the generations. Often, granny will listen to her grandchild when they proudly come home from school and say, “Granny, don’t let anyone into your house, because I’m worried about what would happen to you.” That is probably the best way to get information across, rather than through us preaching to older people. That said, East Dunbartonshire Council trading standards officers go into local day centres to ensure that the message is taken directly to the most vulnerable population.
Some of the practical advice on the Age Scotland website, which James Kelly mentioned, is very good. As we are all making suggestions, one thing that we could look at in conjunction with Age Scotland is a little card or sticker to put on the door to remind the old and vulnerable about the people that they should think about not talking to or letting in.
I hope that the debate will spur us all to work with local statutory and voluntary organisations and with our older neighbours so that we can end the scourge of bogus workers.
17:35
I concur with all that Fiona McLeod said in her speech about the good advice that should be offered to people who live in our constituencies.
With its predominance of retired and elderly people, the south of Scotland is obviously a target area for rogue traders. There are three levels to such trading. First, the no-tax economy—the avoidance of VAT and income tax—is theft from us all. It steals jobs and apprenticeships from the wider building community, and it gives no benefit, even in times of hardship, when the attraction of a so-called cheap job must be a lure to many people. All our experience should say that the likelihood of a good job being done in such circumstances is about the same as the likelihood of the tax being paid. We should learn from that experience.
The second element is substandard work and those traders who are untrained and unsupported but who continue to purport that they can deliver work to householders. There is a deal of work to be done in identifying those rogue traders and in using the data and intelligence that is held by local authorities, trade organisations and the police to respond to the threat that they pose to householders who trust them to work on their roofs, chimneys, electrics, plumbing and so on. Too often they leave behind the kind of disaster that we see on television.
The final group comprises the criminal element. They have no intention of paying taxes, doing any work or providing a service to a householder. In truth, that can affect any generation, but it has properly been identified tonight that the elderly are a particular target.
I will add to some of the suggestions that have been offered tonight. It is vital that the elderly and retired understand that it is always dangerous to indicate the presence of sums of cash in their house with which they can pay for work. When work is offered, they should delay and ask either a relative or neighbour to come round and be part of the negotiation. That is always a good first step before deciding if work should be taken on.
I commend the work of the trading standards departments that was mentioned earlier. Even in these difficult times, I hope that local authorities can support their work. Those departments need to be able to link together in acknowledging who the rogue workers and substandard contractors are so that we can respond to them positively. We need to encourage the exchange of data between the police and trading standards departments in areas in which we suspect criminality.
Finally, I invite trade organisations to play their part and feed into the intelligence that is used by public authorities to stem the tide of this vile trade. I commend James Kelly for bringing the issue to Parliament’s attention so that we can advise people how best to defend themselves.
17:39
Thanks again to James Kelly for securing tonight’s debate. It is an important and serious issue, as many people across Scotland and the UK suffer because of rogue traders.
I declare an interest. I am a vice-president of the UK Trading Standards Institute and I spent many years as a professional trading standards officer, so I have some experience in this field.
From listening to members’ speeches, it is obvious that the problems are widespread. Quite a spread of members have spoken in the debate, which shows that the problems are spread across the whole country and all the constituencies.
Margo MacDonald made a point about cooling-off periods. There are cooling-off periods in place in relation to unannounced callers coming to people’s houses and getting them to sign up for things. If the value is more than £35, people have seven days to cool off. Perhaps not a lot of folk know that. That is the sort of information that we need to get out to people so that, if they feel that they have signed up for something that they do not want after an unannounced call—it is different if they invited the seller to their home—they should feel confident about cancelling the contract, if a contract is involved. Of course, in many cases, there are no contracts at all.
I commend the Federation of Master Builders, the trading standards departments and the Office of Fair Trading for mounting these campaigns. However, no amount of campaigns, codes of practice, laws and suchlike will be any good if we do not have proper consumer advocacy bodies to help people and proper consumer protection enforcement.
Unfortunately we have developed a situation in Scotland where the enforcement is not nearly as effective as it could be. In fact, it is non-existent in some areas. The phrase “enforcement deserts” is being used within the trading standards profession to describe areas where there is virtually no trading standards enforcement at all. The Consumer Focus Scotland response to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills consultation on consumer advocacy and enforcement said:
“trading standards services are often tiny, isolated and marginalized, leaving them struggling to deliver a full range of services to the public ... this creates ... a gap in enforcement. However, the Scottish Government has no legislative locus to require councils to collaborate ... We would therefore suggest an adjustment to legislative powers to give an administrative role here for the Scottish Government would add value for Scotland’s consumers.
At a national Scottish level a mechanism for the delivery of national consumer enforcement will need to be agreed that addresses the interests of government, trading standards and above all of consumers.”
I whole-heartedly agree with that.
Peter Peacock—a former Labour MSP and minister who spent many years with the citizens advice bureaux—also raised this issue in the previous session of Parliament. There is general agreement among the trading standards and consumer people in Scotland that something needs to be done about it. The big problem started with local government reorganisation. Prior to 1996, there were only 12 trading standards authorities in Scotland, with the regional and islands councils. After that, there were 32—they have been dissipated.
I have written to Fergus Ewing suggesting that, rather than abolish Consumer Focus Scotland, which is what BIS wants to do, we should strengthen it. It should be given the authority to become the co-ordinating board for trading standards in Scotland. I believe that local authorities would not be too worried about that. I know that there is strong agreement with such a move across the profession and within Scotland. I ask the minister to consider that seriously—I am awaiting a reply—because I think that it would be for the good of decent businesses and consumers throughout Scotland.
17:44
Like everyone else, I congratulate James Kelly on securing the debate. I, too, met Mr and Mrs Hansen yesterday, who spoke movingly about the tragic loss of their daughter as a result of carbon monoxide and highlighted their campaign, which has been so successful in New York. They have brought their ideas to Scotland and I believe that today they are taking them to the National Assembly for Wales.
For most home owners, a house is a home rather than an asset. That said, it is usually their most important asset. Planned maintenance is the best way to avoid major repairs, and owners must be able to find reputable traders. That is why the nail the rogues campaign is to be thoroughly commended. There are many reputable traders in Scotland and there is support to help people to find them, too. The Scottish Government encourages owners to use traders who are members of trade associations. Services such as the Federation of Master Builders’ find a builder service, the construction licensing executive’s reference service, the buy with confidence scheme that is currently being introduced in South Lanarkshire, which I am sure James Kelly will be aware of, and other local authority trusted trader schemes are to be commended for helping home owners to find reputable traders. James Kelly and Graeme Pearson mentioned the police in that regard as well.
Low bids might tempt some home owners to use rogue traders, but the lesson from tonight’s debate is that they should be warned that an offer that sounds too good to be true probably is. Again, advice is available from local authority private sector housing teams and trading standards officers.
Along with the Federation of Master Builders, the Scottish Government has called on the UK Government to reduce the rate of VAT from 20 to 5 per cent on home repair and maintenance works. We believe that that would not only stimulate the economy by providing an incentive for home owners to carry out essential repair works, but be a useful tool in tackling the prevalence of rogue traders by helping to make reputable firms more competitive in the repair and maintenance sector. Many members have spoken about the importance of that.
The Scottish Government is prioritising support for small businesses. Many in the construction sector form that cohort of important businesses and are benefiting from the support that the Scottish Government is giving. In addition to continuing with the small business bonus scheme, we are taking forward a range of policies to help small and medium-sized enterprises to grow and, through Skills Development Scotland, make it easier for SMEs to hire staff and take on apprentices—Graeme Pearson made the point that one of the benefits of having good traders is that they bring with them apprenticeship opportunities and contribute to the wider economy in that way. We should not lose sight of that.
The role of trading standards in local authorities is crucial in helping to protect citizens and ensuring a fair market in which business can flourish. I thank trading standards officers for their important contribution to combating rogue traders in a range of sectors. Fiona McLeod mentioned specifically the East Dunbartonshire trading standards officers and their innovative approach to highlighting their work.
As Bob Doris mentioned, we should recognise that consumer matters and trading standards are reserved and that the UK Government is planning to change the delivery landscape.
I particularly welcome Dave Thompson’s points about the challenges facing trading standards, which have arisen as a result of the UK’s work in this area. He is particularly well placed to offer an expert perspective on the matter. I welcome his views on what we might do to make trading standards services much more effective if the relevant powers were devolved to this Parliament. The UK Government has published plans to restructure the consumer landscape, and the Scottish Government is keen to negotiate a transfer of powers and funding—the two are inextricably linked. For now, however, we await a response from the UK Government. If that is positive, we will work with all stakeholders and examine all the options to devise an efficient and effective structural model that delivers for Scotland’s consumers and for Scotland as a whole.
In terms of devolved powers, we should acknowledge how the Scottish building standards system protects the public interest. Home maintenance can include repairs but can also entail significant alterations and building work. A home owner must ensure that work that is done to their house meets building regulations and that, when required, a building warrant is granted. Competent people, such as approved certifiers of design or construction, provide the owner with assurance that work is done properly.
Cutting the cost of doing work might cause structural defects and increase the risk of fire and electric shocks. It can also lead to poor air quality, creating an unhealthy living environment. The Scottish building standards system sets minimum standards for building work and local authority verifiers check that building designs are compliant and are inspected during construction and on completion. However, the home owner must still ensure that the work is being properly done.
With regard to the protection of the most vulnerable members of our community, particularly the elderly, Bob Doris, James Kelly and Ruth Davidson mentioned the need to get references and mentioned that the most vulnerable suffer at the hands of hard-nosed salespeople as well as the rogue traders whom we have been discussing.
The Government is keen to do all that it can to support legitimate businesses in the construction sector. That is why ministers continue to engage with this core sector of the economy. I recently heard from local businesses in Inverness when I attended the north of Scotland construction summit and, last week, I met the Chartered Institute of Building to discuss a broad range of issues, many of which have been mirrored in the debate.
In these challenging economic times, the ideal would be for legitimate businesses to secure these contracts and prosper, because that is what is good for the economy as a whole and such businesses will provide families and householders with the quality building services that they need.
The debate will continue to raise awareness of the dangers of using rogue traders and of the efforts being undertaken to drive those people out of business. I again congratulate James Kelly on securing the debate and thank members for all the other very positive contributions that have been made. I am pleased that consensus has broken out across the chamber at the end of the parliamentary week.
Meeting closed at 17:50.Previous
Decision Time