A blog about the work of Trading Standards in the UK
Further to my post about cutbacks at Hampshire County Council Trading Standards, I have another – this time from the London Borough of Enfield. The current TS department has 4 members of staff. This is already a ridiculously low number Continue reading Cutbacks at Enfield Trading Standards
In a previous article I wrote about the sorry state of affairs of weights and measures enforcement in the UK. http://tradingstandardsblog.co.uk/the-state-of-weights-and-measures-in-the-uk-in-2023 Here are some responses from the Government. Firstly Jonathan Reynolds (Labour MP) asked this question To ask the Secretary Continue reading Weights and Measures – the Government response
I’ve been contacted by an ex-employee of Hampshire County Council Trading Standards. They have provided me some communication they had with their councillor, which makes for interesting, if not alarming reading. This just sums up for me the problem of Continue reading Cutbacks at Hampshire County Council Trading Standards
In this article I am going to briefly describe the work Trading Standards do around weights and measures and also analyse some data from a recent report about the work done in 2021 to 2022. Accurate weights and measures are Continue reading The state of Weights and Measures in the UK in 2023
1 – Do Trading Standards officers have the powers to force businesses to give money back to individual consumers? 2 – Do Trading Standards get involved in individual disputes between a consumer and a business? Will they help me in Continue reading Can Trading Standards help individual consumers?
In my work I regularly work with the Police – we pass each other information and we regularly do joint working. I’ve met hundreds of Police officers from multiple forces over the years. This post isn’t about bashing Police officers. Continue reading Employing ex Police officers in a Trading Standards or regulatory service
Often when someone makes a complaint to Trading Standards and no action is taken we often get asked why no action is being taken. Ultimately the answer comes down to money and paying for staff and associated costs. The public Continue reading What to Trading Standards HAVE to do?
I previously wrote about unit pricing here http://tradingstandardsblog.co.uk/unit-pricing-comparing-costs-and-value To summarise, unit pricing requires retailers to show how much something costs by some form of unit so that consumers can compare costs across range. Below is a photo taken at Tesco Continue reading Unit pricing – comparing costs and value – part 2
THIS ARTICLE IS NOW OUT OF DATE – KEPT PUBLIC FOR HISTORICAL VIEWING My Trading Standards department has received a large number queries which tend to fall into two categories: can a particular business stay open a business is still Continue reading Coronavirus – can a business stay open / should we be working?
Retailers are increasing their prices during the corona virus outbreak – what can Trading Standards do? There is no law that says retailers cannot increase prices as and when they want. We live in a supposedly capitalist free market economy Continue reading Coronavirus – price increases / rip off