Click on this link to read the 24th July 2020 Benefice Newsletter

 

I hereby give notice that the Meeting of the Parish Council of the Timberscombe parish will be held via a Zoom online meeting Monday 27th July 2020 at 7.30pm

All members of the Council are hereby summoned to attend the Meeting of the Parish Council for the purpose of considering and resolving upon the business at the meeting as set out hereafter.

Members of the public are invited to attend the online meeting but will need to contact the clerk via email for a login to enable access to the meeting. There will be a period of public participation and members of the press and public are invited to address the Council 15 minutes prior to the commencement of the meeting at approximately 7.30pm, providing the notice period has been complied with. Please see Public Participation Notice on the website. If there are no items from the public, the official meeting will commence at 7.30 pm. For a copy of the meeting agenda and previous meeting minutes, please visit the website.

The chair will mute all mics once the meeting begins and if someone wishes to speak, they must raise their hand for the chair to see.

Email: timberscombepcclerk@gmail.com

Website: www.timberscombevillage.com/parish-council/

Questions from the public. Previously emailed to the clerk for an official record to be kept. Any member of the public may make a virtual presentation to the meeting (no more than three minutes), by submitting a written summary to the Clerk no later than 24 hours prior to the meeting by email. Alternatively, the Clerk will read the statement out in full.

Have you bought anything online recently?…

Almost 34% of all retail sales during May 2020 were carried out online, and new research suggests that only 16% of UK consumers intend to return to their old shopping habits post-lockdown.

Online shopping fraud during lockdown

Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime, received over 16,000 reports relating to online shopping and auction fraud during the lockdown, with losses totalling over £16m.

Members of the public have reported buying mobile phones (19%), vehicles (22%), electronics (10%) such as games consoles, AirPods and MacBooks , and footwear (4%) on sites such as eBay (18%), Facebook (18%), Gumtree (10%) and Depop (6%), only to have the items never arrive.

Top tips for shopping online securely:

Choosing where to shop:
If you’re making a purchase from a company or seller you don’t know and trust, carry out some research first. For example, by checking to see if others have used the site and what their experience was.
Email accounts:
Use a strong, separate password for your email account. Criminals can use
your email to access other online accounts, such as those you use for online shopping.
Scam messages:
Some of the emails or texts you receive about amazing offers may contain links to fake websites. Not all links are bad, but if you’re unsure don’t use the link, go separately to the website. And remember, if a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is.
Payment method:
If you decide to go ahead with the purchase, use a credit card if you have one as other payment providers may not provide the same protection.

What to do if you’ve fallen victim to online shopping fraud

We all make mistakes and these days the scams can be incredibly convincing.
If you think you’ve visited, or made a purchase on, a bogus website, you should first, take a note of the website’s address, then close down your internet browser. You should then report the details to Action Fraud and contact your bank to seek advice.
Whether you’ve been a victim of fraud will depend on how much information you’ve provided to the website, so keep an eye on your bank transactions, if you can. Contact your bank immediately about anything that you don’t recognise, even small amounts.

For more information about how to stay safe online, please visit www.actionfraud.police.uk/cybercrime

Would you be willing to give up TWO MINUTES of your time to help raise funds for the Timberscombe Play Area at no cost to yourself?

Do you order online from stores like Amazon, PC World, M and S, E Bay, Dell, John Lewis, Viking Direct, HMV, Staples, AA, Currys, Lands End, or any of 500+ other top stores?

If the answer to these two questions is yes then read on !

www.easyfundraising.org.uk is an organisation which has persuaded 500+ top online stores to donate an average of 2.5% of your online purchases to a charity of your choice, at no cost to you. To start raising money for your charity all you have to do is:

Go to www.easyfundraising.org.uk

Click on “login” and then create an account by selecting “support a good cause”

Select the Play Area by typing “ John Arlott Playing Field”

Complete your name, address, e-mail address and chose a password.

Click on “accept and register”

AND THAT’S IT !

Each time you want to shop online go to www.easyfundraising.org.uk

Type in your e-mail and password. (This can be saved so you don’t even need to type this)

Search for the store you wish to buy from.

You will be taken to the stores normal website. 

If you make a purchase the store will automatically credit your chosen charity with the money it owes them. You need do nothing !

Why not put  www.easyfundraising.org.uk on your favourites page. Use it every time you buy online and make a real different to your chosen charity. It doesn’t matter where you live so why not ask your friends and relatives to register and help us too?