Finance - South Ashford

Vehicle Online Shopping Fraud

southashfordcf 13 June 2017 0 Comments

Action Fraud Fraudsters have been advertising vehicles and machinery for sale on various selling platforms online. The victims, after communicating via email with the fraudster, will receive a bogus email which purports to be from an established escrow provider (a third party who will keep the payment until the buying and selling parties are both happy with the deal).

These emails are designed to persuade victims to pay upfront, via bank transfer, before visiting the seller to collect the goods. The emails also claim that the buyer (victim) has a cooling off period to reclaim the payment if they change their mind. This gives victims the false sense of security that their money is being looked after by this trustworthy third party, when in fact it is not and the money has gone straight to the fraudster.

Protect yourself:

When making a large purchase such as a new car or machinery, always meet the seller face to face first and ask to see the goods before transferring any money.
If you receive a suspicious email asking for payment, check for spelling, grammar, or any other errors, and check who sent the email. If in doubt, check feedback online by searching the associated phone numbers or email addresses of the seller.
Contact the third party the fraudsters are purporting to be using to make the transaction. They should be able to confirm whether the email you have received is legitimate or not.
False adverts often offer vehicles or machinery for sale well below market value to entice potential victims; always be cautious. If it looks too good to be true then it probably is.

If you have been affected by this, or any other type of fraud, report it to Action Fraud by visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk, or by calling 0300 123 2040.

Action Fraud 12 June 2017
www.actionfraudalert.co.uk/da/182306/Vehicle%20Online%20Shopping%20Fraud.html

Consumer, Crime, Finance, News

Agreement brings money to Victoria Park

southashfordcf 5 June 2017 0 Comments

The Section 106 Agreement for the North Travis Perkins site in Victoria Crescent, signed last week, includes a contribution of £ 21,514 for the ‘Victoria Park Improvement Project’. This will be added to contributions of £ 270,002 from the Powergen site development, £ 150,000 from the Victoria Way development.

In addition to in excess of £ 440,000 from Section 106 contributions, the results of an application by Ashford Borough Council (ABC) to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for Parks for People funding are expected by the end of this month. Although there are, as yet, no confirmed detailed plans, ABC have an ambition to: refurbish the Hubert fountain and piazza; reintroduce or recognise lost cultural and natural heritage elements; provide a volunteers compound and other community facilities; and put in place a range of community events and activities including a new ‘Friends Group’ etc. from the HLF funding.

The Section 106 Contributions will be used for other elements of the Victoria Park and Watercress Fields Masterplan adopted by ABC’s Cabinet on 10 March 2016. (more…)

Ashford Borough Council, Finance, News, Planning and Development, Victoria Park

How ABC spends the Borough’s money

southashfordcf 2 June 2017 0 Comments

Ashford Borough Council is now making available its annual accounts for inspection for the financial year 2016-17.

Those accounts are available for members of the public to view between 9am and 4.30pm from 5^th June until 14^th July 2017 at the Civic Centre in Tannery Lane, Ashford, or online at www.ashford.gov.uk/budgeting-accounts.

During this period anyone may inspect or make copies of the accounts, books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers, receipts and other related documents of the Council for that financial year, which ended on 31^stMarch 2017.

This is in accordance with Section 25 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.

An appointment must be made before anyone inspects the accounts. To do so, please contact the council’s Head of Finance & IT on 01233 330540.

Anyone wishing to raise objections to the accounts as presented should address their concerns to the auditor Elizabeth Olive, Grant Thornton UK LLP at Grant Thornton House, Melton Street, London NW1 2EP

A guide to your rights can be found at: www.nao.org.uk/code-audit-practice/council-accounts-a-guide-to-your-rights/

Ashford Borough Council 02 June 2017
www.ashford.gov.uk/news/showing-you-how-we-spend-the-boroughs-money-2nd-jun-1631/

Ashford Borough Council, Finance, News

Beware of Bogus Trading Standards Officer

southashfordcf 5 April 2017 0 Comments

Kent County Council Trading Standards are warning the public to be aware of a bogus ‘Trading Standards Officer’ who has recently called at a resident’s home in Kent.

The criminal claimed that he had received the resident’s money from a recent court case and in order to retrieve the money the resident must pay a release fee of £10,000.

Trading Standards Officers would never contact residents and ask them to hand over money, or transfer money into another person’s bank account.

If you receive a phone call or a visit from someone claiming to be from Trading Standards and asking for money, please call the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 040506 or the Police on 101.

Report it

For advice and to report issues to KCC Trading Standards contact
Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06
Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

Kent County Council 04 April 2017

Crime, Finance, Kent County Council, News

Council Tax set to rise by £ 5.56 pm

southashfordcf 7 January 2017 2 Comments

The publication of the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner’s draft budget completes the picture for Council Tax rises for this year.

Council tax for a Band D property will rise from £ 1,507.70 to £ 1,563.32, a increase of £ 55.62, equivalent to £ 5.56 per month when paid over 10 months. This is subject to ongoing consultations, ratification by the precepting authorities and a decision by Kent County whether they should take up the government’s offer of an increase in the Social Care precept of 3% rather than the 2% allowed in its draft budget. (more…)

Ashford Borough Council, Finance, Kent County Council, News

Consultation on policing precept

southashfordcf 7 January 2017 0 Comments

A boost for security and frontline policing in Kent

Office of the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner

Opens: 06 January 2017
Closes: 23 January 2017

A message from the Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott:

“I am responsible, as Police and Crime Commissioner, for determining the overall budget for policing in the county and for setting the amount that Kent Police receives from the annual council tax. Policing is mainly funded in two ways; about two thirds come from grants we receive from the Home Office and the rest from the council tax.

“For the next financial year, Kent will lose more than £2million of funding from the Home Office, as money is set to be taken away to pay for other things. I believe some of these, such as giving money to the courts service to pay for changes to police bail, are unfair and I will be challenging those.

“So in my first year as your Police and Crime Commissioner, I have been faced with a difficult choice. Ideologically, I am a low-tax Conservative. During the course of my campaign, I said that I did not want the precept to rise, unless it was needed to protect frontline policing. However, I believe that this announcement meets that test. In 2017/18, I am proposing that the council tax precept for Kent Police rises by 3.3%, equivalent to £5 for an average Band D household, supported by a contribution from reserves. (more…)

Consultation, Crime, Finance, News, Safety, Security

KFRS Budget Consultation

southashfordcf 3 January 2017 0 Comments

Council Tax consultation 2017/18

Kent Fire and Rescue Service

Opens: 5 December 2016
Closes: 16 January 2017 (12:00 noon)

Where your money is spent

Your local fire service gets its money from two places, the Government and Council Tax. This is the amount we have to spend each year on all of the services we provide which include:

Providing a 24/7 emergency service for fires, road traffic collisions, floods and a whole range of other emergencies where the skills and equipment of firefighters are needed.
Safety advice and support to help local people stay safe in their own homes, this includes home safety visits particularly targeted at the most vulnerable in the community such as older people and those with disabilities.
Assistance to the ambulance service for serious medical emergencies such as heart attacks, where trained local fire crews are located closer to the casualty.
Education for around 90,000 children each year on fire and road safety in schools and at our road safety centre.

A few important facts:

Kent Fire and Rescue Service’s day-to-day budget in 2016/17 is £69m
Along with others in the public sector, Kent Fire and Rescue Service has made savings over recent years – £22m over the last 7 years
We expect to have to make further savings of around £7m over the next four years

Help us plan for the future

We are determined to continue to provide a safe and efficient service whilst balancing changing local needs and working with reducing grant funding from central Government. We believe that the plans we have put in place over the last few years have provided a good foundation to meet that challenge. Our previous investment in new equipment is already paying off, helping us fight fires and deal with rescues more effectively. We are also looking at new ways of working that are more flexible and responsive to local needs. This will help us make the necessary savings while still maintaining the quality service that we believe local people want. (more…)

Consultation, Finance, News, Safety

ABC Budget Consultation

southashfordcf 3 January 2017 0 Comments

2017-18 Budget consultation

Ashford Borough Council

Opens: 23 December 2016
Closes: 8 February 2017

Ashford Borough Council (ABC) have published their 2017-18 Budget consultation summary document and are inviting comments on their draft budget.

ABC has announced the consultation on 12 December 2016, ahead of publication of the summary document on 23 December, by saying that it is likely to still set the lowest council tax in Kent following the approval of its draft budget for 2017-18 by Cabinet members on 11 December.

Residents, businesses and parishes will now be given the opportunity to comment on the draft budget. It will also be considered in detail by the council’s overview and scrutiny committee’s budget task group, as the report makes its way through the democratic process before being considered again by cabinet and council in February 2017. (more…)

Ashford Borough Council, Consultation, Finance, News

Fake Bank Letters

southashfordcf 14 December 2016 0 Comments

Lloyds customers should be on the lookout for a new sophisticated fraud that involves fraudsters sending fake bank letters.

The convincing letters being sent are a replica template from Lloyds and include their logo, address and signature from a customer service representative.

The letter tells recipients that there have been some “unusual transactions” on their personal account and asks them to call a number highlighted in bold to confirm they are genuine.

When victims call the number, an automated welcome message is played and the caller is asked to enter their card number, account number and sort code followed by their date of birth.Victims are then instructed to enter the first and last digit of their security number.
The fraud was spotted by the Daily Telegraph who was alerted to it by a reader who had three identical letters sent to an office address. On separate occasions the Daily Telegraph ran some tests using fake details and were passed to fraudsters who claimed to be from a Lloyds contact centre. The bank has confirmed that the phone number and letters are fake.

The letters are essentially a sophisticated phishing attempt and serves as a warning to consumers to question written correspondence from their banks.

If you are ever suspicious about correspondence from your bank you should call the customer serviced number on the back of their card.

To report a fraud and cyber crime, call us on 0300 123 2040 or visit http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud

Action Fraud 9 December 2016
www.actionfraud.police.uk/news/sophisticated-fraud-involving-convincing-bank-letters-dec16

It is likely that similar fraud will be attempted other bank’s details.