Bogus callers and scammers are criminals who pretend to be from well-known organisations. They may call you on your landline or mobile phone pretending to be us, so they can steal your money or identity to commit fraud. They may also visit your home pretending to be a contractor, to gain entry.
It can be difficult to spot a scammer as they’re extremely cunning and good at creating convincing scams. But there are things you can do to protect yourself.
Here are a few tips to make sure you’re interacting with official SNG staff or contractors.
If someone visits
- Our staff and contractors will always carry identification so ask to see this before you let them in.
- Never give money or personal information to someone who knocks on the door.
- Our own repairs teams will always be in uniform and have an SNG van.
- When booking a repair, the contact centre will confirm the booking so that you know when to expect a visit from our staff or a contractor.
- If we’re sending contractors for other work, we’ll usually have made an appointment with you or written to you beforehand to explain who to expect and what work will be carried out.
If you have any doubts about a visitor from SNG, then please ask them to wait outside and ring us on 0300 373 3000 (for London & East customers) or 0300 5000 926 (for South & West customers). A legitimate visitor won’t mind waiting outside or coming back later while you check their details.
If someone calls or messages you
- When you’re contacted by one of our advisors on the phone, they should state their name, role and the reason for the call.
- If we’re calling you back after you’ve already spoken to an advisor, we will provide background information regarding your previous call, so you know it is really us calling.
- If you have requested a repair that you will need to pay for, we do ask for a deposit payment before we approve the work. But payment is taken over our automated payment line, so we won’t ask you for your card or other sensitive details.
- We may occasionally speak to you for your bank account details (such as to set up a Direct Debit or make a refund) but you will already be aware if this is the case. We would never ring and ask to take a payment over the phone or need the long card number from a bank card or CVV security code on the back of the card.
- If, during a call, you feel uncomfortable or are unsure if you are speaking to us, hang up and us call us on 0300 373 3000 (for London and East customers) or 0300 5000 926 (for South and West customers). You can then speak to an advisor and confirm if the previous call was legitimate.
Also, it’s important to stress that genuine texts about a refund from SNG will always:
- come ‘From SNG’ – NOT a mobile number
- be from a named contact
- Ask you to call our central customer phone numbers (so that forms can be sent out and filled in)
Lastly, genuine requests for pictures from SNG, will always be:
- about an issue you are already talking to us about
- from a person that you’ve already had contact with from SNG
- From a mobile number you are expecting (we will always tell you the number, so you know it can be trusted)
Action Fraud is the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime 
where you can report fraud if you’ve been scammed, defrauded or experienced cyber crime.
The Which website also has some useful information on how to check if calls from certain numbers are likely to be genuine .
Loan fee fraud
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) receives hundreds of calls a year from consumers who have been asked to pay a fee for a loan or credit that they then never receive. The organisation suggests it could be a scam if you're asked to:
- pay an upfront fee
- pay quickly
- pay in an unusual way, such as vouchers or money transfer
Visit the FCA loan fee fraud webpage for more information on warning signs, how to protect yourself and how to report a scam.