The No Cold Calling Zone Scheme An area of the Dover House Road Estate, covering approximately 600 households, was selected for the pilot scheme. These are traditional terraced and semi-detached houses with many elderly people living in them. Each household was given a pack of information about the pilot, which included a window sticker stating they are in a 'No Cold Calling Zone', a telephone notepad, giving them the non-emergency number to ring and an incident reporting pad to note down details of any callers. Street signs were erected on the lampposts in the area of the zone. The scheme proved very successful, even producing a result in the first week when a caller claimed to be an officer from the Television Licensing Authority. He was dressed in a smart suit and when the door was answered he swiftly showed an ID badge. He tried to persuade the lady that, as her television license was soon to run out (within 2 weeks), she needed to purchase a new one from him. He was not threatening but was adamant that she needed to purchase a new license and should do so over the doorstep. After the resident reported the incident we contacted Television Licensing who confirmed the caller as bogus. A description of the bogus caller and his method was then circulated to Trading Standards and the Police. There were several more successes of this sort during the scheme. Following the six month trial period an evaluation was carried out and following the analysis of the evaluation, the scheme has proved a great success. More than two thirds of residents believed that the scheme has seen a reduction in the number of unexpected callers. In fact 62% of residents had no cold callers at all in the first six months of the scheme. This success has served to help make 69% of residents feel safer in their homes and a huge 87% of residents to acknowledge the effectiveness of the scheme. 96% of residents wanted the scheme to continue - an overwhelming response to the success of the scheme. Following decisions made at the Council's committee level, the scheme is not only being continued but also extended to encompass the whole of the Dover House Road Estate. The reporting service is continuing, the current signs will remain and new ones will be put up in the extended areas. To read the full analysis of the West Putney evaluation please follow the link below. For further information you can also download the No Cold Calling Bulletins below , which provide information on how the scheme progressed and continues to do so.
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