A blog about the work of Trading Standards in the UK
Trading Standards Officers (TSOs) are responsible for upholding the law and advising businesses/consumers. It is crucial that we are competent enough to carry out our duties. It probably doesn’t surprise you to know that I think standards are falling. If Continue reading Dumbing down of professional standards in Trading Standards?
In a previous post I wrote about the cutbacks at Hampshire County Council. Cutbacks are nothing unusual, but what was a bit unusual was the apparent disarray the department was in. You can read my previous post here: http://tradingstandardsblog.co.uk/cutbacks-at-hampshire-county-council-trading-standards I Continue reading Cutbacks at Hampshire County Council Trading Standards – part 2
I have been meaning to write about the Primary Authority scheme for many years now… I have come to the conclusion that the PA scheme is actively harming consumers because I will give you an example – recently I contact Continue reading Primary Authority scheme – a scam that harms consumers?
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?
Trading Standards are often judged by the public on the enforcement action we take – specifically criminal prosecutions. This is probably because it is one of the few things that Trading Standards do that regularly makes it into the news. Continue reading The enforcement of the law
In my previous post I mentioned that in order to make a complaint (or request advice) you will probably have to contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service. The details of your complaint will then be passed to your local Trading Continue reading Making a complaint – properly
If you are trying to contact Trading Standards you will most likely have to contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service who will act as the first point of contact. This often confuses members of the public who think of Citizens Continue reading Citizens Advice Consumer Service
An important question when trying to justify your existence…. I am going to look at it from the perspective of why we are important to the Council. Councils are responsible for providing a wide variety of services which benefit their Continue reading Why are Trading Standards important?
In my last post I highlighted the areas of work Trading Standards are involved in but in this post I am going to discuss what the purpose of a Trading Standards department is. This is an important issue for two Continue reading What is the purpose of a Trading Standards Department?
Some of the issues that Trading Standards deal with have been occurring for hundreds of years – for example short weights (buying something by the weight but not being given enough) or food adulteration (getting poorer quality food than what Continue reading A brief history of Trading Standards