A JustGiving crowdfunding page has been launched by a Bath doctor after his elderly neighbour was targeted by a rogue trader and charged £600 to prune two trees.
Weston village resident Alex Gates was horrified to discover his elderly neighbour was charged £600 for an hour of work by the ‘unscrupulous’ men.
The elderly neighbour was persuaded to part with £600 to prune two trees. The workmen left without giving any contact details and refusing to provide a receipt for the exorbitant service.
The Bath doctor found his 90-year-old neighbour ‘shaken’, clearing up the mess the rogue traders had made on the pavement and road from the work.
Doctor Gates has urged fellow residents to be careful when approached by door to door salesmen offering services. He said: “They are operating in the Weston area of Bath so please be extra vigilant.”
Angered at how his neighbour had been exploited, Alex said: “I am appalled they are targeting the vulnerable and elderly.”
Alex set up the JustGiving page to recoup the money charged to his neighbour for the small amount of work carried out.
Within 24 hours most of the money was raised, with a large proportion of donations coming from Bath residents.
People left a number of messages of support for the pensioner on Doctor Gates’s JustGiving page. One wrote: “Hopefully this will help your neighbour and reassure her that not everyone is a nasty scammer.”
Another said: “Good on you Alex caring for your neighbour. Thank goodness decent people like you exist to show love and care in your community. I will be thinking and praying for your neighbour.”
At the time of writing the JustGiving page had reached £570 of its £600 target, with 45 donations.
