Trading Standards - What's New
Scamnesty information will help future investigations (September 2008)
Residents reported a range of potential cons during the month-long Scamnesty in February. The most common local scam was inheritance mailings but nationally, sweepstakes, misleading prize draws, bogus lotteries, fake clairvoyants and miracle health cures were all discovered. Over 15,000 mailings were passed to the Office of Fair Trading to help with future investigations – they have since managed to stop scams coming from Holland and Canada. Every year three million people in the UK lose money to mass-marketed scams they receive by mail, email, text or over the phone which are designed to con victims out of their cash.
Newsagents cautioned for selling cigarettes to 15 year-old (August 2008)
Two newsagents in Bracknell Forest were cautioned after selling cigarettes to a 15 year-old volunteer during a trading standards under-age-sales operation. Smoking-related illnesses are still a massive drain on NHS resources. Trading standards help to reduce this burden by checking retailers are not selling cigarettes to under 18s.
Dawn raid with the police finds counterfeit knives (July 2008)
After a resident complaint, Trading Standards seized thousands of pounds worth of counterfeit Global kitchen knives. The knives were selling on eBay for half the price of the genuine brand but were no better than cheap alternatives.
Bargain store cautioned for unsafe and counterfeit toys (June 2008)
A retailer in Bracknell was cautioned for supplying counterfeit and unsafe toys. These included Spiderman cars, aeroplanes, Power Ranger and other super-hero figures and Disney soft toys. In addition, the children’s Winnie the Pooh and Shrek 2 scooters failed nearly every safety test – from product strength to braking. Trading Standards seized and destroyed all of these toys and urge residents to contact them if they are in any doubt as to the safety of their child’s toys.
Rogue traders in the borough (May 2008)
After residents' complaints of questionable work and sales techniques by rogue roofers and builders, trading standards officers intervened to stop more money being paid or to prevent any money being paid at all. Residents should remember, when dealing with doorstep sellers, that traders who make unsolicited calls are legally obliged to give customers cancellation rights and a seven day cooling off period. New laws have now made it illegal for traders to falsely claim an offer is only available for a limited time, to make inaccurate claims about a customer's personal safety, or to make visits to someone’s home after being told not to return.
Restaurant fined for illegal sales of spirits (April 2008)
Chillies, the Indian restaurant, was ordered to pay £5,000 in fines and costs after substituting spirits with cheaper brands and serving watered down vodka. It followed a routine visit by the Trading Standards Team on 25 October 2006, who checked the spirits. They found Bells Scotch whisky had been substituted with the MacAndrews brand, Gordons Gin was actually Grosvenor Gin, and Smirnoff vodka was Chekov vodka. They also found the vodka had been topped up with more than 22% water.
Children safe to play in the borough's nurseries (March 2008)
All 40 nurseries in the borough were inspected over a two-year period by trading standards officers and environmental health officers. The inspections were to make sure the nursery equipment and toys were safe to use, to raise awareness to nursery managers of equipment safety, and to provide reassurance to parents. Inspectors were looking for hazards including jagged, chewed or sharp edges on toys, and unsuitable toys - for example, with small or detachable parts. Other items such as high chairs, buggies, stair gates and outside play equipment were also examined.
Nationwide scams hunt (February 2008)
The Trading Standards Team took part in a nationwide campaign launched by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to encourage residents to help in the fight against scams, which cost the UK an estimated £3.5 billion a year. Every year about three million people fall victim to mass-marketed scams such as bogus lotteries, deceptive prize draws and sweepstakes, fake psychics, get-rich-quick schemes and miracle health cures. The information provided by the public was used to map the current scams landscape in the UK and will be used to prevent people from falling victim to scams in the future.
Clampdown on sales of age-restricted products (January 2008)
Trading Standards officers are committed to reducing illegal sales of age-restricted products. This follows previous campaigns which showed nearly half of test purchases resulted in a sale. Age-restricted sales apply to alcohol, cigarettes, lighter fuel and solvents, knives, fireworks and computer games. If businesses are found to be selling age-restricted products they can find themselves facing a caution, fine, prosecution or removal of their licence to sell alcohol.
Check the small print before taking the credit (December 2007)
In a survey of well-known high street shops, trading standards officers found 26 per cent were advertising credit deals that did not comply with the law. This illegal advertising included free interest for the first 12 months and then an annual agreement of up to 30% APR. Retailers are required to display a typical annual percentage rate (APR) if advertising credit deals. Displaying an APR allows customers to compare credit rates, make an informed choice, and not be tricked into deals that appear to be interest free. The advertising was raised with the shops' head offices and removed. They were warned that if repeated, trading standards officers may take more formal action.
More people are buying with confidence (September 2007)
More traders were welcomed to Bracknell Forest Council’s list of approved traders, which is designed to give residents confidence when shopping or inviting workmen into their home. It has proved worthwhile to traders who found they were getting work in more areas from customers who were more trusting and less defensive.
Consumers can reduce their carbon footprint (August 2007)
Trading standards officers visited new car dealerships in the borough to see whether they were voluntarily labelling the environmental performance of their cars. These fuel efficiency labels, similar to the ones displayed on home appliances, gives information such as how many miles to a gallon a car gets, how expensive it is to run and whether it qualifies for a reduction in road tax due to emissions output. Across the South East, a total of 302 cars were examined at 48 car dealers. 80% of cars displayed the energy label.
 |
Listen |  |
Feedback |  |
