Beware of conmen and bogus bank behaviour

Ashfield MP Gloria de Piero’s column on conmen, campaigns and bogus bank behaviour....
Gloria De PieroGloria De Piero
Gloria De Piero

WARNING – Keep your eyes peeled for men from a ‘company’ and I use that term in the loosest possible sense, who have been going from door to door in and around Kirkby offering Green Deal surveys.

These rogue traders had the nerve to rip off one local couple who’d been promised a survey after handing over £300 only for them to disappear into the sunset and never be seen again. I’ve been in touch with the authorities and been advised there are some scammers operating so please, please, please keep your wits about you.

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Obviously not every company is dodgy but if you do see something that doesn’t quite look right - report it.

I believe very strongly that banks need to serve our businesses rather than the other way around but this doesn’t always happen and I recently visited D&S Storage in Sutton who had their very own story to tell.

The family run firm turned to me for help to speed up its claim for compensation after discovering they had been mis-sold payment protection insurance.

Following my intervention I’m pleased to say they received a settlement offer extremely quickly which helped resolve the company’s immediate financial pressures and protect almost twenty jobs.

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It’s no more than David, Colin and the rest of the team deserve.

However, I’m certain there are more businesses out there that have had similar problems though and if you think you may have been mis-sold an interest rate swap agreement then get in touch with my office for help.

The recent release of the 1984 Cabinet papers have confirmed that, despite the denials at the time there was a secret plan to close 75 pits at a cost of some 65,000 jobs. The miners’ strike and subsequent pit closers have had a long lasting effect on our community and I know what happened is still felt keenly to this day.

That’s why I’m backing a campaign that’s just been launched called ‘Justice for the Coalfields’ which calls for the Government to begin to put some of the wrongs right.

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This includes; a formal apology for the actions of the Government during the time of the strike, listing all of the details of the interactions between the Government and the police at the time and the release of all information alongside a proper investigation which might go a little way to rebuild public confidence. Ministers need to realise the scars and the memories of the dispute and the closure of the pits run deep.

They must now apologise and deliver transparency before they can begin to foster reconciliation with coalfield communities like ours.

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