A blog about the work of Trading Standards in the UK
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
In England, Scotland and Wales, Trading Standards departments are delivered via local councils. I believe there are around 200 trading standards departments. In Northern Ireland the Trading Standards department is provided by one department. Do we need a national UK Continue reading Do we need a national Trading Standards department?
In this post I am going to talk about Action Fraud – but seeing as this is a Trading Standards blog, I will try and discuss issues that are relevant to Trading Standards. There is some overlap in the work Continue reading Trading Standards not dealing with complaints
Most laws Trading Standards enforce are about ensuring: consumers have certain information the information consumers receive is accurate products are safe Trading Standards laws generally do not get involved in cost or value. What I mean by that is that Continue reading Unit pricing – comparing costs and value
A few years ago I made a comment that the cuts to Trading Standards were so severe that we were going past the point of being able to return (in the short to medium term) even if all the money Continue reading Skills shortage in Trading Standards?
I am happy to be posting my first guest post by another Trading Standards Officer. They have asked to remain anonymous. I have re-written the article so that it resembles my style of writing rather than theirs (to make it Continue reading Mass Exodus
So you feel like a business has ripped you off or has done something wrong – what are you going to do about it? I see a lot of people whinging about things on the internet. Do not assume that Continue reading Don’t complain if you don’t complain
People will complain to us if they think they are getting ripped off at the petrol pump – even if it is over 1p. In this post I will cover some frequent questions/complaints we receive. Do fuel pumps have to Continue reading Petrol pumps – frequent questions and complaints
We regularly receive complaints from members of the public that a shop is illegally splitting a multipack and selling the items separately. It is not illegal to split multipacks per se but the product must be labelled and priced correctly. Continue reading Splitting multipacks and selling items separately
This post was originally posted in August 2013. The requirement to give two days notice is now in force. As I expected it means a lot of extra paperwork and a reduction in inspections. ———– Some coverage in the media Continue reading Trading Standards inspections – giving two days notice