Trading Standards Service

Trading Standards or Consumer Protection Departments, as they are sometimes known , are a local authority service. Officers within these departments enforce a range of legislation, over 100 Acts of Parliament and over 600 separate Regulations.  These duties are carried out through inspection, sampling, testing, investigation and advice - increasingly by informing, advising and educating traders and consumers. 

Many Trading Standards Departments also have a consumer advice section, which can advise consumers on their rights when they have a consumer problem.

We can

• Give impartial advice on consumer law and your rights
• Suggest action you can take
• Advise on civil court procedure
• Investigate if the criminal law has been breached

We can not

• Close businesses down
• Automatically obtain a refund for you
• Recommend businesses
• Take action when the criminal law has not been broken
• Tell you which businesses to avoid

For further information, please visit the Trading Standards web site, email or follow the links on the right.

Please note that all initial consumer advice calls are routed to : 08454 04 05 06. Consumer Direct will refer matters requiring further investigation onto the appropriate Trading Standards Team.

Trading Standards are responsible for enforcing a wide range of criminal laws, through a combination of routine inspections, special projects and advice to business. The main areas of work include dealing with: 

• Misdescribed goods and services
• Counterfeit goods
• Misleading price indications
• Product Safety
• Mileage fraud on motor vehicles
• Package holidays and timeshare 
• Underage sales of tobacco, fireworks, videos ect
• Rogue and doorstep traders
• Weights and Measures
• Debt Advice
• Consumer Advice