A Holbeach businessman is warning people not to get sucked in by a scam involving Dyson vacuum cleaners.
Bob Bulbeck, owner of BB Dyson, says a number of his customers have been contacted by people purporting to be calling from Dyson.
He said: “I’m getting several emails a week from customers who have been contacted by these people claiming to work with me. They phone people and offer them a special price service for their vacuum cleaner.
“When they get to the person’s home they say the machine needs a lot of new parts and charge a fortune.
“One of my customers had only had her Dyson for two years and they told her she needed £140 worth of parts for it when it was actually still under warranty.
“There are two of these scam companies operating locally and I just want people to be aware of them.
“They called one of my customers three times in a week.”
Jean Broadhurst, who lives in Long Sutton, was targeted by one of the bogus companies.
She said: “I don’t know how they got my number because I’m ex-directory but they phoned me and said my Dyson needed servicing.
“They said they would come to my house and there would be a flat fee for the service and I would have to pay extra if the filters needed changing.
“I said I bought my vacuum cleaner from BB Dyson and they said they were working alongside them.
“Something didn’t sound right so I contacted BB Dyson and they said they are nothing to do with this other company so I rang them back and said I wasn’t interested but they still tried to make me an appointment. They were really pushy.”
A spokesman from Trading Standards said: “The caller speaks as if they know you have a Dyson but they can confidently assume that you are likely to, as Dyson has been the market leader in vacuum cleaners in the UK for some years.
“The caller says they have an engineer in the area, and can service your vacuum cleaner at a ‘special’ price. If you agree, it is likely the engineer will recommend replacement parts which they will then sell and fit for you at additional cost.
“If you don’t want an engineer to come to your home, say ‘no’ and tell them not to call again. If you agree to the service, it will be very difficult to get your money back.”
