I HAVE lost count of the amount of people who have got in touch with me having lost money through nuisance calls, scam mail or websites that copy government services.

At best these things are an annoyance to consumers; at worst they cause anxiety and fear. Many of those who have been hit by these schemes are the elderly and the vulnerable.

It seems that every time a new scandal hits the headlines, where someone has been robbed of their life savings, the government make a big song and dance of a new action plan or a new policy to address the issue – yet people across Islwyn and the country are still falling prey to these schemes.

The consumer magazine, ‘Which?’ conducted research into nuisance calls, scam mail and copycat websites, in each area they have found the regulations in place and the actions being taken are not good enough. The government really needs to sort this out and soon. It is not good enough to let this state of affairs continue, too many people are being ripped off.

In the months leading up to Christmas I secured a debate in Parliament to challenge the government on copycat websites. I also asked the Prime Minister to finally take on nuisance calls and scam mail. Even though I received assurances the government were on the case we are still awaiting action.

Therefore, I have decided to bring a bill before Parliament to introduce new regulations to stop the scamming industry from causing more distress. If the government is serious about stopping the kind of scams and tricks that are losing people money they will back this bill.

Sadly, I fear that this will not happen, we have come to expect the best intentions from government but when it comes down to action nothing really happens.

The tragedy is while the government fails to put in place workable policies people will continue to be harassed by these scams. There have too many instants of the elderly paying money after responding to rogue mail or people having to pay for free government services simply because they clicked on the wrong website.

Frankly action on scammers is long overdue. These are problems which should have been solved years ago. It is a shame that the government never made this a priority. People right across Islwyn, Gwent and the country deserve much better.