Scared pensioner intimidated into paying thousands

An elderly woman was intimidated into paying a group of men thousands for 15 minutes work.

A Whangarei woman forked out $2000 for 15 minutes of garden work after she felt intimidated by a group of men.

And while the actions of the group are not illegal, police are warning the public to deal with reputable companies and, if they feel threatened, to contact officers immediately.

It comes just as Northpower announced it was concerned at reports of people posing as Northpower arborists and seeking payment immediately which echoed concerns from Top Energy earlier this month.

Northpower spokesman Graham Dawson said its arborists did not cold call or ask for money for tree trimming.

"We send letters to land owners ahead of time, provide written quotes as to the likely cost of the work required.

"Sometimes a tree officer will follow up with a visit before our crews do the work," Mr Dawson said.

All Northpower tree cutters wore clearly branded Northpower personal protective equipment and drove Northpower-branded vehicles.

In Kamo, a 74-year-old woman, who did not want to be named, said a group of about eight Polynesian men came to her Kamo house and the oldest of the group approached her about work in her garden this month.

"They put all the branches through a shredder they had and made quick work of it all. They might have been there for 15 minutes," she said.

"The older guy came to me and told me it was $2000 ... it was a heck of an amount. He was demanding and I didn't feel like I could say no.

"He was pretty pushy and persistent."

She wrote out a cash cheque and not long after the men left her bank rang and queried the cashing of the cheque at a local branch. She gave permission but said in hindsight she should have declined.

Earlier this month, Top Energy warned about a group of rogue tree cutters impersonating lines company staff and pressing property owners to hand over large sums of money for tree work. The group, described as "three large Polynesian men with foreign accents and driving an unmarked white van", had been active in Kerikeri and Far North towns. The three reportedly claim to work for Top Energy.

A Haruru Falls resident reported being approached by three men who offered to trim a tree on her property for $1500.

They roused her suspicions when she said it was too expensive and they immediately dropped the price to $500.