UKASH vouchers scam

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Police warn of scam involving UKASH vouchers

Also, please see update below this article

Police in Surrey are warning members of the public to be on their guard against a recent scam which is circulating throughout Guildford, Surrey Heath and Woking. Since April 2011 officers have received sixteen complaints about loan companies cold calling members of the public offering them loans.

As part of the scam, the victims are requested to purchase UKASH vouchers before the loan is authorised and the money put into the victims’ bank accounts. However, the loan never materialises but the UKASH vouchers are used by the loan company. In the cases that Surrey Police have been investigating, the amount of money handed over to the loan companies has ranged from £85 to £1,800.

DC Stuart Pittaway who is investigating these crimes said: “We want to raise awareness of this, and similar, scams to prevent anyone else being conned out of handing over large sums of money. The victims are usually contacted by phone and a variety of excuses are used to get the victims to part with more and more money. We have also been informed of similar scams where the victims have been told they are eligible for either PPI claim backs or tax refunds. No reputable company would require you to pay up front for these services, especially the tax office.”

UKASH is a legitimate company that lets you use cash to pay online by exchanging notes/coins for a voucher. Members of the public can hand over cash at any outlet that sells UKASH in exchange for a voucher. They can then use that voucher at any number of websites that accept UKASH. People use the vouchers as a way of controlling their spending as you can only use up to the value of your voucher. It is also a way of staying private when using your money online.

Giving UKASH vouchers to someone you don’t know or a merchant that is not approved by UKASH puts you at risk of losing your money. The best way to protect yourself from being a victim of fraud is to be aware of these scams and to treat your UKASH vouchers as cash. Transactions cannot be reversed so only give the voucher code to approved UKASH merchants.

 

11th Oct 2012 Kerry-Rose O’Donnell of INGMedia has been in touch on behalf of UKASH –

I wanted to get in touch on behalf of Ukash after the “Police warn of scam involving UKASH vouchers” article that was published on 4 October, 2012: https://knaphill.org/2012/10/ukash-vouchers-scam/#.

Firstly, I would like to thank you for clarifying Ukash as a legitimate company and outlining some of the key benefits of our e-payment system. At Ukash we are aware that scammers are targeting people to defraud their money and we are actively working with the authorities to close them down.

In this case, we would like to offer some additional advice to consumers:

Do let me know if you would like any more information or to speak with a representative of Ukash directly.

 

Brookwood Farm, September update

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The first piece of information in this update is to state that the application from Cala Homes to build on Brookwood Farm has yet to reach the agenda of the Planning Committee. In planning terms it is still under consideration by the Planning team. This does not mean that the Residents’ Association have been standing still.

We know that at some stage Woking Borough Council will approve a plan to build on the old farm land, the size and shape of that development is not known. What we do know is that irrespective of the size of the development the new residents will need access to services such as schools, GP’s and dentists and there is the whole question of the state of traffic on the Bagshot Road. If the proposed plan is given the green light there will be over 100 cars trying to get onto the Bagshot Road from the new estate during the two hours 0700 to 0900. How will this assist drivers trying to get through the traffic lights at the Brookwood Crossroads? The figures on new traffic levels are not our figures but those produced by the County Council and accepted by Cala Homes.

A major concern is that the majority of services listed above are not the responsibility of Woking Borough Council but either the County Council or the NHS. Woking Council is only judged on the number of new homes they build and we can see from recent local newspaper headlines there is pressure on Councillors to agree to planning applications that come before them.

Given the Residents’ Associations concern with the infrastructure and services we wrote to key members of Surrey County Council and our MP. That letter is attached to this report. We await a response from those members of the County Council to whom we wrote.

If you have any questions or comments in connection with the proposed development please feel free to add those comments to our web site.

 

 

 

Drains in Broadway

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UPDATE:

Wonders will never cease! Workmen have arrived to install a fix to the drains in the form of additional gulleys, approximately located outside 48 Broadway. Shame it was too wet early in the day for the workers to start, some might see this as ironic maybe… Temporary traffic lights are in place.

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Are the blocked drains in Broadway about to be fixed?!

We’ve contacted all the water companies in the area to find out exactly who has responsibility for the drainage (have you ever tried to get a direct answer to this? It’s easier getting someone on the moon!) and have been categorically told it is the responsibility of Thames Water.

They have raised the work request to inspect the site and a technician should be looking at the problem very soon indeed – they say within 8 hours! Not days or weeks but hours. I can only hope they see what we do every time it rains – they’re blocked!

 

Lets see if they are cleared and the problem of flooding in the road is sorted…

The Mound, Knaphill

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Some weeks ago we added an article to our web headed ‘From Hedgerows to Barbed Wire’. The article gave details of changes to the fields that lay between Chobham Road and Kiln Lane. The KRA received quite a bit of feedback following the publication of the article and one point that a number of residents raised was the future of ‘The Mound’. 

The Mound is the raised wooded area that lies between Chobham Road and The Priory. The KRA took the residents concerns seriously and wrote to the Council seeking a higher degree of protection for this area (click on the letter). Since writing to the Council we have taken two of our Councillors for a walk around the areapointing out the problem with the barbed wire and The Mound. We have also invited Woking’s Aboricultural Officer the visit the site with us.  We will keep you posted on any developments. Please continue to provide the KRA with feedback on what you think of the work that has taken place in what some call ‘The Priory fields’ and whether you believe that ‘The Mound’ should be saved.

New bus stop ‘hub’ for Knaphill

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Surrey County Council have published a list of projects under the heading ‘Travel Smart Delivery- Proposed Programme for Woking 2012/13’. One project is to create bus/cycle interchange with shelter and storage.  The enhanced bus stop will have CCTV, RTPI display, audio bus information, wayfinder information and solar power. The site chosen by SCC for a pilot project is close to the junction of Redding Way at the Vyne Health Centre.

There is no argument with the idea but the KRA question the proposed location. The roundabout at the Vyne Health Centre must be one of the worst for buses as they manoeuvre their way from Redding Way into the Broadway. The corners are so tight two buses cannot pass each other at the junction. There is also a proposed development on the corner of the Broadway at the Vyne, a developer has been granted permission to build 10 houses on the site and there is an application from the Alpha hospital group to build a new unit on the Redding Way with vehicle access via Barton Close. Both these devlopments will add to the traffic flow in that area of the village.

The report from SCC states that the exact location and specification is now being finalised in consultation with key stakeholders. The question is who are the ‘key stakeholders’?  Clearly not the local Councillors as they know no more than what has been published in the report quoted above.  The term ‘key stakeholders’ does not appear to include the residents who live close to the Broadway/Redding Way junction, so who does it include? We are trying to find out.

A related item, as reported elsewhere on the KRA web the extension to Sainsbury’s in Redding Way has now been given the go ahead. One of the conditions imposed on Sainsbury’s is the relocation of the bus stop that sits in the middle of the car park. The conditions require Sainsbury’s to provide a bus shelter incorporating poles, flags and timetable cases; Seating and an area for passengers in wheelchairs to wait; Lighting and CCTV cameras; Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI) shelter display. Sainsbury’s have also to provide additional cycle parking.

The above sounds like a bus/cycle hub, is there a requirement for two such hubs in Knaphill?

Phil Stubbs

New Autumn Police campaigns

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FROM THE SURREY POLICE –

Campaigns and operations kicking off this autumn A number of targeted campaigns are getting underway during the autumn, aimed at keeping the Surrey public safe, ensuring they have the confidence we’ll be there if they need us and relentless pursuit of criminals.

• Drive SMART – speeding campaign
The joint Surrey Police and Surrey County Council Drive SMART initiative will launch its autumn four-week long speeding campaign on Monday, 8 October.
While fatal road casualties have fallen over the last three years to 28 in 2011, serious injuries increased by 14% to 554 over that time. Data continues to show that speed is a significant contributory factor in road accidents; not necessarily through the exceeding of speed limits but through driving carelessly and not driving appropriately for the conditions.
The morning and evening peak traffic flows during autumn months – particularly in urban areas such as Guildford, Redhill and Epsom – attract most accidents, as do 30-mile an hour ‘A roads’.
The campaign will target young drivers between 16-24, who are most likely to be seriously injured, and older drivers between 40 and 49, who are most likely to be stopped for speeding. A mix of traditional media including bus backs, bill boards and radio, together with new media, including Flash video and social media, will be used to promote road safety, with the aim of reducing the numbers of killed or seriously injured on our roads.

• Domestic abuse awareness week
Surrey Domestic abuse awareness week, which starts on Monday, 15 October, is an annual awareness raising exercise that has been running in October for over a decade and is timed to reach residents in the build-up to Christmas. This is when domestic abuse traditionally increases as the pressures of family and money matters rise and an increase in alcohol consumption places additional strain on relationships.
Surrey Police is working on the campaign in partnership with Surrey County Council, Borough and District Councils, Domestic Abuse Outreach Services and other local domestic abuse providers. The focus of this year’s week is to encourage those close to a sufferer – be it a work colleague, neighbour, family member or close friend – to report domestic abuse.
The week will also aim to reach those who are experiencing domestic abuse themselves to raise awareness that it can be reported by contacting the police; the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously; or Domestic Abuse Outreach Services.
We will be promoting these messages via a series of roadshows, as well as advertising, including washroom stickers, promotional posters and credit card sized handouts.

• Honour based crime
A campaign to raise the awareness of honour based violence (HBV), forced marriage (FM) and female genital mutilation (FGM), which launched this month, aims to encourage victims of abuse to come forward and report their experiences; and to promote the Diversity Crimes Unit (DCU) that investigates honour based incidents.
Information has been posted on the Surrey Police website at http://www.surrey.police.uk/honour-based-crime. This includes contact details of the DCU and support organisations, videos on spotting the signs of forced marriage and a victim’s account of an honour based crime in Surrey. It is hoped that the campaign will encourage victims to contact the police so we can be there when they need us.

• Operation Candlelight – tackling burglary
Operation Candlelight, which tackles burglary, launches on Monday, 22 October and runs until Friday, 21 December. This is in response to the spike in dwelling burglaries seen during the autumn and winter months – likely to be caused by the longer, darker evenings which increase a burglar’s opportunity to offend.
Bus back advertising, direct mailing of burglary prevention cards to houses identified as being most at risk, roadshows and radio adverts are just some of the tactics being used to educate Surrey residents about dwelling burglaries and what they can to do to avoid becoming a victim of this distressing crime.
Overt and covert proactive police activity, targeting of known burglars and teaming up with Crimestoppers to appeal for information from members of the public who may know who is offending are also part of our strategy to relentlessly pursue criminals.

• Halloween and Bonfire Night
Our annual publicity campaign to help combat the risk of anti-social behaviour which traditionally increases during Halloween and Bonfire Night will start at the end of October. The four hotspot areas where most communications activity will be focussed are Stanwell, Farnham, Guildford town centre and Walton. Communications activity will include radio and newspaper advertising and we will be making more use of social media than in previous years.
There will be increased visible patrols across the county, and extra operational activity is being planned by the Neighbourhood policing teams.

High St demolition already causing problems

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Residents nearby the forthcoming demolition work at 15 High Street and the associated property are already highlighting problems with the work.

Workmen have been accessing the site via Fosters Lane which is in contravention of conditions placed on the work. Access to the High Street is blocked while workers vans or trucks are parked which is further exacerbated by the moving of a fence into the roadway. Naturally, the Fosters Lane Residents Association is furious and rightly so – they campaigned long and hard and finally clubbed together to fund a road resurfacing. As they pointed out – it’s not for contractors use!

As the comments come in, they have said –

“…This is only the second day of work on the site and already we are having problems as predicted. Parking is going to be a real issue… “

There are a number of further concerns which relate to the opening hours and just what assurances WBC are willing to give, if any.

 

Phil Stubbs has also contacted the council –

“This site is in the centre of the village and very close to residential dwellings in Fosters Lane and from day one we have breaches in the conditions that were attached to the  planning decision. This plan has been contentious from day one and we have always said that there would be problems with the demolition and building and then problems with customers parking and deliveries to the store. We believe that it is important that from the start of any work all conditions should be applied in full.”

We will investigate any breaches of conditions that were attached to the planning decision with a view to obtaining a thorough response from WBC.

 

 

Sainsbury’s finally sign off plans to expand their store in Redding Way

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It was in December last year that the Woking Borough Council’s Planning Committee approved the application from Sainsbury’s to expand their store in Redding Way.  It has taken until late August this year for Sainsbury’s and Woking Council to complete the legal paperwork and for Woking Borough Council to issue their decision notice granting planning permission. The decision notice contains 43 conditions and 19 instructions and it will take time for us to go through the decision notice in detail to check that the points the KRA won during the planning process are contained in the final document.

This application and decision notice is the last in a long struggle by Sainsbury’s to gain permission to extend. Those who have followed the saga will know that the previous application was rejected by Woking Borough Council and was scheduled to be the subject of a public enquiry. That public enquiry was put on hold at the request of Woking Borough Council whilst they worked with Sainsbury’s put together an acceptable package. Sainsbury’s have now withdrawn their objections to previous rejections by Woking Borough Council so there are no grounds for a public enquiry.

Even after the latest proposal was published last October with the Council recommending acceptance the KRA fought hard to have more social and environmental conditions built into the plan. We will update our information once we have studied the full text of the planning decision.

Finally just to remind the readers of the outline plan that has been agreed.

PLAN/2011/0160 Proposed extensions to Sainsbury’s store to south-west and south-east of the existing store, part increase in height of the existing building  by up to 1.9m, alterations to layout and formation of new parking are to north-east of Homebase, enclosure of service yard and altered pedestrian access onto Bagshot Road.

Total garage update

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You probably read in last weeks local press that the new owners of the service station at the Brookwood Crossroads (Total garage) had sought a variation to their licence to sell alcohol 24 hours a day, seven days per week and sell hot food and drinks (late night refreshments) 10.00 pm to 05.00 am. The Council Licensing Committee met this morning to consider this application and I am sorry to say the licence was approved. This wasn’t a surprise as there were no objections from either the police or Environmental Services.

The Licensing Committee is very formal and is basically run by lawyers. The garage was represented by a lawyer who made sure that the objections were to specific points to do with the licensing regulations. For example complaints about the disturbance of having the forecourt lights on full 24 hours a day and the additional noise from cars parking on the forecourt during the night were ruled out of order.

We did get two conditions added to the licence and these are that entrance to the shop will be closed to customers between 11.00pm and 06.00am and all sales will be via the nights sales hatch during these hours. This is important because the garage plan to have only one staff member on duty late at night. Hot food sales at night will be limited to prepacked items.

We understand that the petrol station already has permission to sell fuel 24 hours a day, there are no conditions on the original garage. Therefore there is nothing to stop them going ahead with their plans. So much for the protection of such development in a conservation area.

It is important that if you hear complaints from people who live near the petrol station complaining about litter, anti social behaviour or other activities they should contact the police. Figures show that around Knaphill/Brookwood area there are an average of 50 police reports a month of anti social behaviour. Once the petrol station is open 24 hours day I would expect that such behaviour to be concentrated in that area. Residents are encouraged to attend the police forum that is held in Knaphill and for them to air their views.

 

Phil Stubbs

Sainsbury’s / Clifton’s

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20/9/12

Fences going up around the cottage, prior to demolition

29/8/12 Work scheduled to start

The pavement outside the old shop has been marked out for the commencement of the demolition and when Phil asked about this at the Civic Centre he was told that work would be starting soon although no date was mentioned.

21/6/12 Full story here

20/6/12 Shafted again.

Bad news folks – Sainsbury’s have WON their appeal and the store destined for 15 High St has been granted opening hours from 07.00am to 10.00pm Monday to Saturday and 0800am to 10.00pm on Sundays. The Inspector also over ruled the Highways decision to ban customers parking behind the store. In her report the Inspector stated that she says that if customers are not allowed to park behind the store then they will park on the road and this would potentially be a road safety risk.

As is becomming par for the course, WBC could be seen to have let the village down – they supported the original condition 7 (opening hours) and failed to lodge an objection from their environmental officer.

24/4/12

We haven’t reported much on the Sainsbury’s front for a while so if you’re wondering why, it’s quite simple – there hasn’t been too much to report! We CAN however, say that the appeal is still underway and that the Planning Inspector is scheduled for a site visit during the first week of May…

3/2/12

Many people will think that this issue was resolved last year when Woking’s Planning Committee approved a trial for a variation to the opening times for the proposed Sainsbury’s shop on the site of Clifton’s Lawnmower shop and the bungalow at 6 Fosters Lane. At the turn of the year we in the KRA started to get concerned as the final decision notice had not been published and there were rumours that Sainsbury’s were to appeal.

Our concerns were well founded, we received a letter from Woking Borough Council dated 26 January stating that Commercial Development projects Ltd (whoever they are) have lodged an appeal on the grounds that Woking Borough Council has not determined the application within the requisite period. Not sure what that means as WBC has failed to place any additional papers on their web site.

All those who wrote into the Council when the application was first up for consideration should have received the letter dated 26 January. The letter also contained details how residents can write to the Planning Inspector with their views on the appeal.

Remember what the Development Company are seeking on behalf of Sainsbury’s, it is the right to open their shop from 07.00am to 10.00pm Mondays to Saturdays inclusive and 08.00am to 08.00pm Sundays and Bank Holidays. What the Planning Committee had offered was for the above times to be operated for a trial period of 12 months from when the shop opened.

It must be remembered that this new shop will not have any parking for customers and there are residential properties on two sides of the site.

If you want more details, when they become available, you can either go to Woking Borough Web site, their reference number is 12/00002/PLNCON or go to www.planningportal.gov.uk/pcs, find appeals search and the ref number is APP/A3655/A/11/2167625/NWF. The planning portal will also give details on how you can contact the Planning Inspector. Failing either of the above please feel free to come back to the KRA for more information.

Even if you didn’t write to WBC when the initial application was being considered you can still write to the Planning Inspector.