door to door fish Locked

[NorthFish1510]

Hi juliantenniscoach In answer to your question it takes 4 to 4 and a half hours from north shields to London. And also I don't know how to tell which are real posts and which are untrue but I would say 99% are untrue it is so hard to make a small business work when there are what I call rogue traders giving us a bad name.
The prices vary depending on market prices that day at the fish quay but I do try to keep price lists up to date the most we charge is £9.80 per half kilo depending on the fish.
Our van has our company name on it with website,phone number,email etc,our staff wear uniforms with the name on and we give out leaflets when we call.All I can suggest is when someone calls check the van and the uniform and the leaflets or if still unsure call Alan my husband who will confirm. Also a big thanks to putney dad for his kind comments not all door to door sales are rogue traders.

[Bubs]

It really sounds as though someone is masquerading as this company then (and not Putney Dad, lol !!).
The guy we always see is the older, very dark haired, tanned (think Grecian 2000 + St Tropez), wrinkled one, bit stout. The van is white, unmarked, and the fish has no labelling whatsoever - just cling film over polystyrene with one scribbled word on a post-it.
But I'm sure perma-tan-fish-man has a shorter fair-haired guy with him on occasion ....... what a mystery. I think we should all turn private detective to get to the root of it.

[NorthFish1510]

Perma tan man has nothing to do with us but we have heard of him.He drives a white van no sign writing etc and calls himself Alan he has in the past told people he works for northumberland fisheries.

[Bubs]

Maybe we could get a picture, or take the number plate ? It's awful that this oompa loompa can ruin your reputation ! There must be something you can do ?

[Caferacer]

This is an awful predicament for you, Northumberland Fish...having an impostor driving around and giving you a bad name.

Also it will be tricky to catch them in the act as they have no set route or particular times when they are active (probably only do it when gone-off fish is for sale in Billingsgate).

Well at least we all know what to look out for now and hopefully a vigilant Nappyvalleyist can take a snap of their van's registration number and pass it on to Wandsworth Trading Services.

Ross

[AShropshireLad]

Good to know this is a scam. Although buying fish at the door is an immediate red flag!

[Russelloni]

Hi all,
I bought some fish from this company today and then got a bit worried thinking that I perhaps paid a bit too much for the fish I was getting. Does seem slightly worrying fromthe comments I have seen but also the guys I saw had the uniforms, labelled van etc so hoping I haven't been fleeced! I have seen another blog similar to this which has quite positive experiences of the company so am hoping that is the case for me. I'll make sure to share experiences. Although already decided I wont buy again having just compared prices to the waitrose counter - feel like a prize idiot - let's hope it's worth the £9 per pound!!

[Hattie]

The White Fish Van man has stung a few people around here now. My neighbour (and previous baby-client of mine) called me a few weeks back to offer me some of the large box of fish he'd been hassled into buying. Fortunately for me (but not him!) I had read about the guys posing as Northumberland Fisheries on NVN. I asked if he had a brochure, whether the guy had worn a badge/ID and whether he had actually seen the van. The answers were no, no and "they parked around the corner!" He defrosted some of the fish on my advice and, sure enough, it smelled really bad. He had to dump £200 worth!
A couple of weeks ago, the van man was back at his door and, wiser for his experience, he let rip and insisted on getting his money back - the van man said "Sure, I'll just nip around the corner to the van" .... legged it and was never seen again. We have decided that we will spread the word locally by passing it forward amongst our neighbours, encouraging mums to chat to other mums at the school drop off/pick up and hope that by raising awareness, we can ensure that the genuine fresh fish vans don't have their business affected but that we run the less sweet smelling ones out of town! Remember, if it smells fishy, it probably is!

[Nims]

HI,

Just to let you know that Northumberland Fisheries are doing the rounds now in Almeric Road, just rang my doorbell about 20 mins ago.

Politely declined saying that I use the guys on Northcote rd.

Geordie accent, very charming man. Not sure if this is the same person in the 'sting'. Didn't see a van - could have been parked further up.

I wouldn't have bought the fish anyway, but then I remembered this thread...

[Saffiemummie]

I feel like a complete idiot after reading this post. I just got conned today by the non-genuine bunch. Fish (money) is now going straight into the bin. I do have a camera outside my house, so will try to catch a photo of the man posing as Alan and post it. How stupid can a person be to let a complete stranger into their home and buy fish (or any product for that matter) without really knowing whether it's good or bad?

[Hattie]

Saffiemum. Poor you, but don't beat yourself up! They are very beguiling. However, now that this thread has been running for so long and yet they don't seem to be getting any less brazen. Luckily I never bought from them as I have a regular fish van lady, but my neighbour got stung. When they returned a few weeks ago, we simply ask them where their van is, ask for a business card so that we can check that they are who they say they are (whilst chatting about how some "con men" have been doing the rounds and the area have been alerted), and they disappeared to "get a card and the van", never to return.

Perhaps if we all make them aware that we are on to them they will move elsewhere. NVN Meerkats rock!

[Hattie]

Oh - and for the mums in Wimbledon area who have only recently joined NappyValleynet, I live off Dundonald Road near the Recreation Ground so keep your eyes and ears peeled!

[Saffiemummie]

Thanks Hattie for making me feel a bit better. Has anyone contacted the Trading standards authority or the police?

[Bee's Pantry]

The chaps on Northcote Road are excellent and will take orders for you so you can book in advance, then pop down and pick up. From reading this thread it would seem that some of you feel conned by the quality. So I thought a few pointers on how to make sure you've got good fresh fish might be helpful:

Buying Whole Fish
Look for bright, clear eyes. The eyes are the window to a truly fresh fish. Basically they fade quickly into gray dullness. Dull-eyed fish may be safe to eat, but they are definitely past their prime and probably not best for a young family.

Does your fish shine? Does it look metallic and clean? If it has dulled or has discolored patches it's fairly marginal and I'd give it a miss too.

My favourite is giving fish a good smell. A fresh fish should smell like clean water, or a touch briny. Most fishmongers will let you have a whiff if you flutter your eyelashes a little.

If you can't get a whiff, then have a look at the gills. They should be a rich red. If the fish is old, they will turn the color of faded brick.

Fish Fillets
Look for vibrant flesh. All fish fade as they age. If the fillet still has skin, that skin should look pristine, shiny and metallic.

Smelling again but this time it is especially important.

If the fishmonger lets you, press the meat with your finger (in the supermarkets you can't do this - except on pre-packed stuff), if an indentation remains, then pass up the fish.

One last pointer, is to see if there is any liquid on the meat? If there is (and sometimes there is), just check that the liquid is clear, not milky. Sadly, milky liquid on a fillet is the first stage of rotton flesh.

I'm hoping some of that helps and should a door-to-door fishmonger arrive, you'll know what you're looking for. Oh and one last point, whatever they show you, if you pick it, make sure they wrap the piece you have pawed!

Briony

Bee's Pantry
www.beespantry.com

[Postreply]

Hi,

Northumberland Fisheries (as per their leaflet) have just been going door to door in Streatham.

I made a purchase - we always used to get fish from the fish van when I was younger so thought I'd give them a chance. There were 3 men going door to door, I spoke to 2 of them and both were polite, one called Mr Noble. All had on white coats with what looked like a Company logo printed on them.

I've just read this email chain and now a little worried as to whether they're rogue or not and also as to the quality of the fish. The fish is packaged on a polystyrene tray with cling film and just has the name of the fish written on a label on top. Not the detailed labelling that is mentioned in a previous post.

I cannot find a website for Northumberland Fisheries only the email address northumberlandfisheries@gmail.com which, was on the leaflet.

I think I'll be cautious when trying the fish.