NEWS: Stitched up like a kipper

Mark McLaughlin
Edinburgh Evening News
February 16, 2009

A SECOND woman has told how she fell victim to fraudulent door-to-door fishmongers after she paid nearly GBP 400 for top quality salmon - only to be left with 30lb of worthless white fish.

The Evening News told last week how an 80-year-old woman in the Morningside area was duped into paying GBP 350 for a similar quantity of lemon sole, halibut and sea bass, only to find that the product she was given was tasteless, full of bones and "unidentifiable".

Alison Waterson, 49, a retired nursing home director who lives in nearby Clinton Road, said she was also visited by one of the men fitting the description of the known fraudsters on the same day.

The two men - who were wearing wellies and blue overalls, and spoke with strong Newcastle accents - are now thought to have taken at least GBP 750 on their rounds last Saturday.

Mrs Waterson said: "The men were offering salmon for GBP 9.50 a pound, whereas it was costing me GBP 12 a pound in Bruntsfield, so it seemed like a really good deal.

"They've been to my door before and spoken to my husband, but he wasn't interested at the time but said they were welcome to come back and speak to me, which they did. The chap I spoke to seemed really nice, and he offered to knock GBP 40 off the price if I paid cash.

"He even offered to take me round to the cashpoint, but I decided just to pay by cheque and pay the extra money, so the whole thing came to GBP 397.

"He told me it was his last round and that he'd throw in a couple of kippers for me as well, then he disappeared behind the gate with my cheque.

"He just dumped a white unmarked box on my doorstep and did a runner."

As with her elderly neighbour, Mrs Waterson put the fish in the pan and soon realised that she'd been duped.

She added: "I put it in a fish stew with lots of soy sauce and seasoning, so it was quite hard to identify anyway, but it definitely wasn't salmon.

"It just appeared to be some kind of white fish, but I couldn't say what it was.

"When I read about what they were up to in the paper I was kicking myself. You live and learn, I guess."

Dc Alistair Hutchens, of Lothian and Borders Police, warned others to be on the lookout for similar fraudsters.

He said: "We've had incidents like this in the past, and it seems to be rearing its head again.

"We recently searched a van and seized a number of items in connection with this type of crime. Our advice is, don't buy anything from anyone selling products door-to-door, or at the very least check the product before you hand over the money.

"It seems that these men have been presenting people with trays of very reasonable-looking fish when they're negotiating the sale, but the product they eventually produce is nothing like the products they demonstrate."

The man involved in both incidents is described as white, between 20 and 30 years old, 5ft 7in, with a round face and dark but greying hair. His partner is also white, 40-50 years old, 6ft and well built with brown hair.