Tree pruning scam warning

Fake "tree contractors" may be using changes to Auckland tree-trimming rules to swindle homeowners out of their money, knocking on doors and offering cheap deals to prune trees.

North Shore City Council has warned people to take care after learning "contractors" wearing high visibility vests have been turning up on residents' doorsteps, claiming to be tree trimmers and offering to tidy up properties or prune trees.

The council's resource management group manager, Stefan Naude, said: "We have had problems on the North Shore before with people posing as qualified arborists, targeting the elderly and scheming people out of large amounts of money.

Most reputable tree contractors will not knock on doors to acquire work, but will advertise in newspapers and through other means such as mailbox drops."

Changes to the Resource Management Act that took effect on October 1 allow homeowners in urban areas to trim trees without a resource consent.

Auckland councils have defined "trimming" as cutting off up to 20 per cent of leaves and branches in a year, and have advised homeowners it is best to hire an arborist to make sure any trimming is done properly.

North Shore City said that anyone who received a knock on the door from somebody offering tree services should demand a written quote, ask for a business card and contact details for the company, note whether the vehicle was sign-printed and ask for evidence of the contractor's public liability insurance.