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News Scams after pension reforms OVER 55s in Maidstone are beingwarned to bewary after an escalation in pension-related scams.


The Citizens Advice Bureau says fraudulent calls have rocketed since new pension reform rules came into effect four months ago. Two of five CAB pensions’ staff


have encountered people targeted by fraudsters, offering fake invest- ment scams. A further one in 10 have seen people who had either responded to or fallen prey to a scam. Scam- mers are targeting the cash lump sums people can release from their pension pots – particularly now that the over 55s fall into this cate- gory. In some scams fraudsters request


access to people’s pension pots so they can apparently invest them in financial products on their behalf. Despite offering a high rate of re- turn, scammers were unable to ex- plain what the investmentswere. Others involve people being


texted or cold-called with offers of a free pension review. The caller then asks to visit the person in their own home, bringing paperwork that would allow them to get access to their pension details. Bonny Malhotra, chief executive


at Maidstone CAB, said: “One man responded to an internet ad for a free pension review, filled in his de-


tails, and was visited by someone claiming to be an independent fi- nancial adviser who couldn’t de- scribe any investments.” People were also approached


with offers to invest their pension cash into products such as property overseas or fine wines. One investment scam featured


two salesmen – one who visited the potential customer to get access to his pension details, and a second to encourage him to invest his pen- sion and any other savings into property in South Africa. Mr Malhotra added: “Scammers are finding new ways to go after


KCC row overWest Country plan


KENT County Council has come under fire for threatening to build homes on a start-up enterprise for businesses in Bath. The county council received ap-


proval for its request to change the use of the city’s Tramshed com- mercial space to residential from Bath and North East Somerset Council. But it has prompted an angry re- sponse from the business commu- nity, who say Bath is already set to get 7,000 new homes and “as the


£500m to ease Stack pain


A STRATEGY costing nearly £500m for handling Operation Stack in Kent has been submitted to the Government.


The plan – put together by KCC, the Highways Agency, the police and others – includes a lorry park off the M20, improvements to the A20 and better signposting, but would still mean hold-ups on the M20 and the surrounding area. County councillor Jenny Whittle said it was now down to the Gov- ernment to come up with the fund- ing. She said: “Lorries driving through rural villages is a number one issue for me. I am being asked for ‘no HGV’ signs and weight lim- its at various locations. I under- stand even Willington Street is calling for a weight limit. As well as having these extra signs and re- strictions, we then need enough po- lice to enforce them.” Thurnham Parish Cllr Ted Den- ham said the signs indicating the low railway bridge in Ware Street were still being ignored by lorry drivers. He said: “Two lorries, with UK drivers, spent hours turning around at Averenches Road be- cause they had ignored the signs and couldn’t get under the bridge.”


creative industries capital of the South West” the Tramshed pro- vides valuable office space for fledgling businesses including start-upwebsites and IT firms. The county council says no deci-


sion has been made about the fu- ture of the building. Aspokesman forKCCsaid: “The Tramshed in Bath is owned by Kent County Council on behalf of the Kent Pension Fund. The fund provides pensions to 110,000 scheme members in 500 employers


and has property investments of around £600m across the country. “The Tramshed is currently used


as serviced offices. The Pension Fund has looked at the option of using a change in planning law in- troduced by the last government to change the use from office to resi- dential under the permitted devel- opment regulations. “At this stage, no final decision


has been taken on the change of use and the Tramshed in its current form is operatingwell.”


Fitness challenge for hospice


STAFF at Golding Homes have taken on a mammoth exercise chal- lenge to raise funds for the Heart of Kent Hospice. The 150-strong staff team was invited to walk, run, cycle or row as far as they could in a set time limit, with an overall aim to com- plete 300km as an or- ganisation – the equivalent of travel- ling from Maidstone to Bruges, in Belgium. The team smashed its target and travelled


333km, raising £500 in the process. The event was the launch of a programme of wellbeing activities, which will run to spring 2016.


Police to wear video cameras FRONTLINE police officers in


Kent will wear video cameras next year, after a £1.8m scheme was ap- proved by Kent’s Crime Commis- sioner Ann Barnes.


Kent Police began piloting 400 of the cameras in Maidstone, Medway and Thanet in late 2014, which en- abled officers to record interactions with suspects just like mobile CCTV. It was found that suspects routinely modified their behaviour because they knew they were being recorded.


Park rocks to


Social event MOTE Park’s final major music event of the year, the Social, at- tracted more than 10,000 people to a day-long party. Revellers were reported to have


travelled for the best club music, both old school and new. Among the DJs playing were Jackmaster, Jamie Jones, Richy Ahmed and event organiser Nic Fanciulli. As with the recent debate over the Ramblin’ Man festival, local opinion was sharply divided, with some businesses such as hotels and supermarkets benefitting while those nearest Mote Park re- ported traffic and noise problems. In all, 23 complaints were made to Maidstone Council, eight of them specifically about noise. En- vironmental officers confirmed the music remained within the legal limits. A few arrests were made for drugs offences. The site was cleared of traffic


Mrs Barnes said: “This stops mali- cious complaints against officers and it stops officers being hurt.” She cited other benefits including improved evidence gathering, a re- duction in bureaucracy and an in- crease in guilty pleas from offenders. The initial cost of providing 1,600 more cameras will be £1.4million – which includes set-up costs as well as the cameras themselves – with a fur- ther £400,000 set aside to cover ongo- ing costs for the next three years.


before midnight and 400 residents were reported to have taken up of- fers of free tickets. With another event planned in the park next year, the organisers have vowed to reduce its impact on local people. The organisers have confirmed a


winter Social event at Kent County Showground, Detling on February 6, 2016.


Formore local news www.downsmail.co.uk


Malling October 2015 23


people’s pension pots including of- fering free pension reviews and promising to invest funds that don’t necessarily exist. “If you’ve had an offer or signed


up to a pension scheme you’re un- sure about, I urge you to contact Citizens Advice Maidstone [01622 752420] where our staff can offer free help and support.” To avoid being scammed, never


be rushed into a decision and check if the company contacting you is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). If you are unsure, contact The Pensions Advisory Service on 0300 123 1047.


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