False Alarm

Mar 30 2008 Additional Reporting By Jane Barrie

The Judge Special: Security Shark Preys On Oaps Lie: He Says He's From The Health And Safety Lie: Eastern Europeans Spark Crime Explosion Lie: All Our Staff Are Trained By The Nhs

A LYING salesman working for a Scots millionaire has been caught scaring vulnerable old people into paying over the odds for £1000 burglar alarms.

Michael Hutchins claims he is from "The Health and Safety" when he calls on victims - duping them into believing he is a public official.

We witnessed him lie to one elderly man that "Eastern Europeans going mad on the bevvy" had sparked a 27 per cent increase in crime in his neighbourhood.

In fact police say his area - Angus - has one of the LOWEST crime rates in the country.

In a series of outrageous lies designed to terrify pensioners into signing on the dotted line, Hutchins also said:

Thieves could use old toilet plungers to remove his double glazing and come "through the window".

Police no longer responded to alarm calls.

Their telephone staff - nicknamed Guardian Angels - were all NHS 24 trained.

Hutchins is no government official - but paid to flog alarms by businessman Sean Doogan, who made his fortune selling Kirby vacuum machines.

Doogan, who had a Bentley with the registration 1 Vac, is a distributor for SafeandSecure24 in the East of Scotland.

Customers are targeted with leaflets warning: "Be Alarmed! There are people out there who hope you're not".

Hutchins admitted the company carefully selected older people by phone, telling them they have "won" a free personal alarm, security survey and a hotel break.

He said staff tell potential customers they are from "The Health and Safety". Once inside, salesmen ask for £900 up front and a monthly fee of £35 for the SafeandSecure24 system which includes a console, a smoke alarm, "medical help button" and sensors.

An undercover investigator watched as Hutchins told one elderly man in Angus: "Crime in your area has rocketed 27 per cent in the last year because of Eastern Europeans.

"They come here taking our jobs. They're getting £150 a week when they've only been used to getting £40 a month at home, then they're going mad on the bevvy.

"This is the scary scenario.

"What would you do if you were in your bed at night and heard an intruder in your house?

"Burglars are getting clever. They snip your phone wires as they come into the house. If you've got an alarm you'reOKbecause if they tamper with that, they set it off.

"They can come through the windows. Double glazing is the worst of the lot. They can lift them out with an old toilet plunger."

Hutchins demonstrated the SafeandSecure24 system, with heavy emphasis on the importance of monitoring for the disabled.

He said: "If you're not being charged a monitoring fee, you've been sold a box of mince. Our guardian angels are all NHS 24 trained so if they think there's a medical emergency, they'll hit the panic button to alert emergency services."

Hutchins also claimed: "Our panic button goes straight through to the NHS. The council make you wait. It's an overtime fiddle.

"They usually only have one person on duty and if they need to come and lift you, Health & Safety rules dictate they need two staff and it takes time."

He claimed "guardian angels" would monitor any SafeandSecure alarm being set off by intruders.

Hutchins said: "If it's just an alarm going off, the police won't come.

"They don't make calls any more but they don't publicise it."

Hutchins then tried to sign up his victim with a package costing almost £1000 plus £35 a month costs.

But everything, except heat sensors and intruder alarm, is provided free for people assessed as being disabled or at risk by Angus Council.

Hutchins lied, claiming: "Angus Council used to do free community alarms. Now they do means testing. Unless you're a widow or living on the very basic pension, you'll have to pay.

"The council will subsidise the monitoring charge by £10 a week and provide a subsidy for 25 per cent of the cost of the system."

Angus Council have no such agreement with Doogan or the company.

A charity which does work with the council, Angus Care & Repair, installs security locks, smoke alarms, door security bars and peepholes for free.

And Tayside Police provide window security and shed alarms at cost price.

Angus Council said: "We don't pay towards any commercially installed alarm systems.

"And we certainly don't carry out means testing for community alarms.

"If an applicant is elderly, disabled or assessed to need the service, we provide it free of charge."

Tayside Police said: "There are no areas in our jurisdiction which have a 27 per cent increase in crime. That is nonsense.

"To attribute that to Eastern Europeans is not only untrue but distasteful.

Our officers are available at any time to carry out a free and impartial security check on anyone's home.

"We even provide, at cost price of a few pounds, window monitors and shed alarms."

Angus MSP Andrew Welsh said: "The Sunday Mail must be congratulated for highlighting the disgraceful activities of these hard-sell merchants."

Anne Ferguson, of Age Concern Scotland, said: "It's a great concern that more andmore elderly people are being targeted with this type of hard-sell routine."

Last night Hutchins, 25, quit his job after being confronted by the Sunday Mail. He said he was hired for the £1000-a-month post by Doogan through a Jobcentre ad.

Hutchins said: "I've recently wondered why every house I turned up to seemed to either be pensioners or people who had some sort of learning difficulty.

"I've not told them anything I haven't been told to tell them. Sean Doogan is my boss. The way he talked, everything sounded impressive.

"I was assured that council knew everything about it and subsidies were available to people. I was told that I was going to these premises to see vulnerable people who required help.

"I'm no longer with the company. I've been gullible but I really thought I was going out to help people."

Doogan refused to discuss the salesman's claims last night.

Asked if the firm targeted elderly and vulnerable people, he said: "Course we don't."

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