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Author: FVCA

Community Coffee Morning at Bournheath

You are invited to a coffee morning at Bournheath Village Community Centre (Claypit Lane) between 10.30 and 12 on Wednesday 15th September. Catch up on news with the neighbours, enjoy coffee/tea and home-made cakes, or borrow a book from the Book Bank. Just drop in or stay for the whole time.

This is our first coffee morning since March 2020 so it would be great to see people developing a sense of a real community again. If you haven’t been before, please come along to say hello.

Also, between 7.30 and 8.30 on Wednesday 15th September, social table tennis will take place at the Community Centre. It’s free and all are welcome, regardless of standard. (We’re playing singles at the moment to help with social distancing).

  • September 12, 2021 by

Barney on the Move

After many years working as a Safer Neighbourhood Officer for the Bromsgrove North & Rural area, which includes Fairfield, Wildmoor & Stoneybridge, PC Barney Kelso has moved to new challenges within West Mercia Police force area. The Community Association has thanked Barney for his work and have wished him well for the future.

  • September 12, 2021 by

Gully Update: Swan Lane & Wood Lane

Recently two more gully grids along Swan Lane have been unblocked, leaving one grid and one gully to go. A reminder has been sent to Worcestershire County Council.

After chasing, an update has been provided regarding the gully grid on Wood lane that has been blocked for far too many years, “have made a site visit and raised a 4 week work order to clear it.”

  • September 12, 2021 by

Protect yourself from doorstep crime

A crime prevention message from PCSO Hyder

Protect yourself from doorstep crime. Be aware of people who turn up unannounced, most genuine callers will have a pre-arranged appointment. If in doubt, keep them out!

Doorstep crime can include rogue traders offering home improvement or gardening services, or bogus callers who claim to be the council, police, health carers or energy companies.

Rogue traders may say they are in the area working on another property and they have spotted a problem with your home or garden. They may claim to have materials left over from another job, like paving or tarmac. They may try to pressurise you to buy goods or sign up for services on the spot. Unfortunately all too often they may offer to carry out work cheaply , but charge an extortionate price after the work has been completed.

Bogus callers may claim to be working for the council, water, gas or electric company. They could also say they are a nurse, doctor or even from the police. Bogus callers may say they need to come into your home, or try to get you to go outside. They may try to distract you so they can steal your money. They can be male, female or even children.

A pedlar is someone who calls at your door to sell items that they have to offer, This can often include cleaning or household goods. These goods may be sold at an overpriced value. By law pedlars are required to carry a pedlar’s certificate, which is issues by the police force in the area they operate.

If you are not sure who is at the door, do not open it. Check the identity of any caller. Confirm who they are by calling the company they work for by using the number from the telephone directory or from off one of your bills. Do not call a number provided by them.

If caller does not leave your property when asked to do so, call the police.

  • September 12, 2021 by

A Courtesy Request

Are You Busy?  Do you get distracted?  If answered yes to one or both questions, then you are like many other people.  We live a rush, rush life.

Despite being in a hurry trying to get some where on time and juggling many things at the same time, can you take a few minutes to be:

  • Considerate when parking your vehicle.  Please do not block driveways, park on a junction or double park.  
    • For school traffic, PLEASE utilise the Swan Inn carpark, it is only a few minutes’ walk away. 
    • For non-school event traffic, PLEASE consider parking remotely and walking into the village or use public transport. 
    • Our village is on main road, used by local people, commuters, agricultural vehicles, lorries etc.  Inconsiderate parking leads to increased congestion & pollution levels, restricts legitimate vehicle movements and irritates others.  Considerate parking helps alleviate these issues and provides a stretch of the legs, which is good for physical & mental health well-being, plus the likelihood of damage to your vehicle (e.g. wing mirror gets knocked off) is reduced. 
  • Don’t drop litter.  We live in a village that many people like visiting because it is clean & tidy.  Often litter is dropped by accident or by a child that for a few moments was not thing of their consequences.  PLEASE think about the potential litter that you or your child could be creating.  If you give your child a bag of crisps, ask them to bring the empty bag to you.  If you see a bin that is full, take your rubbish home or to an empty bin.  Easy solutions that keep’s Fairfield a great place for you and others to visit.
  • September 9, 2021 by

Do you have scam mail?

Please write the date you received the mail on its envelope, then pop it into any mailbag or envelope and send it to:

FREEPOST

NTSST

MAIL MARSHALS

  • September 5, 2021 by

Vaccine Scams

Once again, criminals are using Covid-19 to try and scam consumers out of money and personal details. Currently there are many scams circulating regarding to this, pretending to be from different organisations such as the NHS, the World Health Organisation or even your local pharmacy.

These scams may come in the form of text messages, phone calls, websites or even in person. When using text messages, people may be asked to press a number on their keypad or to reply to confirm they wish to receive a vaccine – this may result in a charge being put on the person’s phone bill and a loss of personal information.

Over the phone, criminals may impersonate health officials so they can offer a vaccine in exchange for a fee or requesting bank details to “verify” your details. Emails are making the rounds which often have an attachment or link to book your vaccine. These attachments may contain malware which infects your device and steals information. The links may go to a fake convincing looking vaccine booking forms and may contain some of your personal details to give you confidence in the website – however at the end of the form they will request bank details or further information about you.

With so many different scams relating to Covid-19, it is important to remember the following about the NHS:

• They will never ask for payment – the vaccine is free

• They will never ask for your bank details

• They will never arrive at your home to administer the vaccine unannounced

• They will never ask you to prove your identity by sending copies of personal documents such as NHS letters, passports or other identification documents.

  • September 5, 2021 by

Charity Scams

Criminals have been using the Covid-19 pandemic to solicit financial donations by impersonating legitimate charities.With the Covid-19 crisis in India being widely reported globally, it is likely that criminals may use the crisis in India to scam members of the public wanting to help.Key advice from Age UK if you receive a suspicious fundraising email or text message:• Be wary of unsolicited communication from a charity or any organisation you have had no previous contact with.• Think about whether you have donated before. Some scammers try to trick you into paying them by thanking you for a donation that you never made.• Do not click on any links or open any attachments in a suspicious email, text or social media message.• Do not reply to spam or suspicious emails or texts, even to say no.• If you receive a text message asking you do donate via your mobile, please be aware that texts from charities are always send from numbers between 70000 to 70999. You can also confirm the phone number on the charity’s official website.• Beware of spoofed email addresses and phone numbers. Criminals can easily make an email, text or call look like it comes from a legitimate source. If in doubt, verify what you have received is genuine with a known verified point of contact
  • September 5, 2021 by

British Gas Scam

Action Fraud received 537 reports in 48 hours relating to fake emails purporting to be from British Gas. The emails state that the recipient is due a refund because of overpayment and there is a link to a phishing website requesting personal and financial information.

As part of the scam alert, an example of the message has been released by Action Fraud. It states: “Hello, British Gas wants to inform you that you are eligible for a payment refund of £594. “Our records indicate that you have paid more than you should have for your British Gas Service from 2017-2019 and because of this reason, we have decided to refund you the total amount which you have overpaid.”

A link is also included in the email, which leads to phishing websites that are designed to steal personal and financial information, Action Fraud said. As with all potential suspicious or scam emails, forward them to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) via report@phishing.gov.uk

  • September 5, 2021 by