Section Menu

Trading Standards Role Quick Facts

Relevant Legislation

The Trading Standards Service is responsible for enforcing over 80 Acts of Parliament including:

• The Weights and Measures Act 1985
• The Trade Descriptions Act 1968
• The Consumer Protection Act 1986
• The Consumer Credit Act 1974
• Enforcement provisions under Part 8 of the Enterprise Act 2002

A full list of the legislation Trading Standards enforce is available on the Trading Standards Central website.

The Role of Trading Standards in the UK

The Trading Standards Service enforce the laws that govern goods and services that we all buy, hire and sell. It is delivered by Local Government (Department for Enterprise Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland.

The 203 local Weights and Measures (Trading Standards) departments in England, Scotland and Wales enforce more than 80 Acts of Parliament, and more than 1,000 Regulations and Orders.

Key Facts:

Trading Standards Officers enforce the law, prosecuting offenders where appropriate, in the following important areas:

• Fair Trading
• Consumer Safety
• Weights and Measures
• Consumer Credit
• Under-age Sales
• Food Safety
• Animal Health and Welfare

Trading Standards departments in England, Scotland and Wales are a function of Local Government and are therefore funded locally.

BERR has provided funding, via a Modernisation Fund, specifically to improve Trading Standards enforcement; assisting the Service to undertake cross-border investigations, working regionally and nationally to stop rogue traders. £1.5m per year was made available for 2006/7 and 2007/8, to specifically fund:

• Three Scambuster team pilots
• Eleven Regional Intelligence Capabilities Units

Following the success of the pilots, further funding of £7.5m is being provided to allow other Regions to have a Trading Standards Scambuster team.

Working in partnership with Trading Standards, Consumer Direct, is the government-funded telephone and online service (www.consumerdirect.gov.uk) offering information and advice on consumer issues. They provide basic front-line advice to consumers referring complex civil and criminal matters to Trading standrads for further consideration.

Trading Standards also get involved in educating consumers and businesses, which can involve giving talks to schools, businesses and various consumer and vulnerable adult groups.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1.     How do I complain about a trader?

UK consumers can obtain advice by contacting Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06. Only if the matter is considered to be a complex civil or criminal nature will it be referred to the Local Authority Trading Standards Service.

If you are complaining about a business in another country Trading Standards may be able to make a referral, via the OFT, to the enforcement agency in that country, in order that they may take action against that business.

Alternatively, if your complaint concerns Internet fraud you may complain direct to that enforcement agency if they are a member of the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN), using their website: www.econsumer.gov

If you are a business, your complaint should be directed to your local authority’s Trading Standards Department. You can find their address and telephone number on the Trading Standards Central website, simply by entering your postcode. 

Please note that the majority of Trading Standards Departments have forwarded their main switchboards to Consumer Direct to ensure a more streamline service, therefore you may find that you need to be transferred through by Consumer Direct. Please inform Consumer Direct that you are a business so that you may speak to the most appropriate person.  You can also obtain comprehensive business advice from Business Link and Trading Standards Central.

Q2. Will Trading Standards or Consumer Direct get me my money back?

Trading Standards and Consumer Direct are there to advise you on your legal rights so that you may exercise your rights, possibly as far as court. Neither Service has the power to demand a refund from a business. Even where Trading Standards decide that it is appropriate to investigate a business, which could lead to court action, the primary purpose of this action is to stop the business from trading in an unfair or illegal manner rather than obtain a refund for the complainant.

This said, the criminal courts can award a Compensation Order to the victims of crime, however you may have to pursue your own civil claim to obtain compensation. Further information about this can be obtained from Citizens Advice or Her Majesty's Courts Service.

Q3. Who do I contact if I am not satisfied with the service provided by my local Trading Standards Department?

Complaints about the activities of a Trading Standards Department should be directed, in the first instance, to the Chief Trading Standards Officer and if you are unhappy with their response you may complain to the Executive of the Council concerned.

If you remain dissatisfied, write to your Local Government Ombudsman. Details can be found on the following websites:

England:  www.lgo.org.uk/
Scotland: www.scottishombudsman.org.uk/
Wales: www.ombudsman-wales.org/
Northern Ireland:  www.ni-ombudsman.org.uk/whocomp.htm

Q4.  Who do I contact if I am not satisfied with the service provided by Consumer Direct?

Follow Consumer Direct’s Complaints policy which appears on their website.

Q5.  How to I pursue a career in Trading Standards

Please visit www.tscareers.org.uk which contains all the information you need or would want to know about an exciting career as a Trading Standards Officer.

Q6. What powers do Trading Standards Officers (TSO) have?

For the majority of legislation that they enforce a TSO will have the following powers available to them:

• enter premises and inspect them and any goods, at all reasonable times (the trader has the right to ask to see Officer's credentials)
• inspect production procedures
• inspect business records (this may only be permissible when the Officer has a reasonable cause to suspect that an offence has been committed)
• seize and detain goods for testing (this may only be permissible when the Officer has a reasonable cause to believe that an offence has been committed)
• seize and detain any goods, books or documents that he has reason to believe may be required as evidence in criminal proceedings.

Q7.  How do the 203 Trading Standards Services ensure that they provide a consistent service throughout the UK?

LACORS (the Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services) provides advice and guidance to help support local authority regulatory and related services. It was set up in 1978 to coordinate the enforcement activities of Trading Standards and helps to ensure that all Local Authorities ‘sing from the same hymn sheet’. Since 1991, LACORS has also worked on food safety and is currently responsible for a range of other regulatory and related services. Further information is available at www.lacors.gov.uk/