Warning about 'dodgy' fish sellers – Fishupdate.com

Warning about ‘dodgy’ fish sellers Published:  22 July, 2013

A WARNING has gone out about “dodgy” fishmongers doing the rounds in the English county of Lincolnshire.

Over the past few weeks, Lincolnshire Trading Standards said it has received a number of complaints about dodgy door-to-door fish sellers operating in towns across Lincolnshire.It is not know if they come from nearby Grimsby, which has a large fish market. But the port is also home to a large number of legitimate mobile fish sellers who have a good reputation. Many belong to their own association.

Angela Kane, senior trading standards officer at the authority, said recently : ““We are hearing from people who have been pressured into buying fish from door-to-door sales people. The fish is often overpriced, unlabelled, wrongly described and often out of date. We are also finding that fish labelled as fresh has been previously frozen and is not being transported in refrigerated vans, both of which pose significant health risks to consumers.”

She added: “Customers are initially told the fish costs just a few pounds, but on delivery are subjected to a hard sell and bullying tactics, where the price then greatly increases.“While we recognise that there are legitimate fish sellers operating in Lincolnshire, there are also these unlicensed fish sellers who travel long distances in order to sell, which people need to be aware of.”If a fishmonger comes to the door, Lincolnshire Trading Standards’ advice is to stick to three golden rules:

Always get a receipt with the contact details of the seller, and a list of the price and type of fish purchased. Always check the identity of unknown callers. Do not allow door-to-door sellers in your home.

She has appealed to who has been offered or has purchased fish from a door-to-door salesperson who you suspect may not be genuine to contact Lincolnshire Trading Standards.