Cold-calling company pays back £550 to pensioner

Eddie Stead handed over the money when a salesman came to the door of his Annesley Woodhouse home and told him two of his windows needed to be replaced.

The 77-year-old was informed by the seller that his existing windows would invalidate his insurance claims if there was a fire and the

work would cost more than £1,500.

“We just thought that if we have got to have them done, then we have to,” he said.

“It was only when I spoke to my son-in-law that he

said it was all false information.”

Mr Stead phoned the firm to ask for the contract for the work to be cancelled but they refused.

Out of frustration, he then got in touch with Ms Di Piero and she then contacted the company on his behalf, demanding that the deposit

be refunded and order cancelled.

She told them that Mr Stead was too frail to make decisions about large purchases on the doorstep without seeking advice from family members so the salesman should not have sold him the windows.

The unnamed firm finally agreed and the manager also offered a full apology to the pensioner.

The MP visited Mr Stead at his home recently to give him the cheque for his reimbursed money.

He said: “I am so pleased. I would not have got it back if I hadn’t gone to my MP.

“My advice to other people who have firms knocking on the door trying to sell them something is that you have just got to say ‘no’ and close the door.”

Miss De Piero said that she was ‘delighted’ to have been able to get Mr Stead his money back but that this case should serve as a warning about cold-callers.

She said: “If anybody comes to your door uninvited and tries to sell you something, do not be afraid to tell them you are not interested - nobody should feel under pressure to buy anything from cold-callers.

“It is also incredibly important that people do not let anybody into their house if they do not know who is at the door and you are not expecting them.

“Cold-callers can be aggressive and manipulative and that is why I want to warn my constituents of the potential dangers.”

Police also advise residents not to open the door to cold callers, tell them to go away and call 101 with a description of the caller if they persist.