Trading Standards - how do they work?

happyandsmiley

I have got to the point of embarking on a small claim in a dispute with a general maintenance company who are known scammer/cowboys.  This issue is not just about my claim but about trying to stop them pulling the same stunt on someone else.

I have been through all the usual steps including Citizens Advice who have sent on the details to Trading Standards (based on the events I described on the telephone).

I REALLY want Trading Standards to contact me so I can report fully in writing what happened. Apparently they may or may not pick up my case.

Does anyone out there know how I can bring this matter to their attention?

eddddy

Realistically, it's up to Trading Standards which companies they choose to follow up on and investigate. I suspect they're inundated with scam reports, and perhaps some of them are much more serious scams than the one you've come across.

I believe one criteria they use for choosing companies to investigate, is the number of times a specific company is reported to them. So if the company has scammed other people as well, maybe try to persuade those other people to report the company to Trading Standards.

That way, the company might get onto Trading Standards' radar.

Diamandis

You cant make them investigate and its probably unlikely they will unless there's a large number of people affected and they are operating dangerously, and even then it probably wouldn't even happen immediately. Realistically your issue will just be filed away and nothing will happen. 

I hope the small claims process works goes well for you and you're not left out of pocket.

Sandtree

They have the same problem as most, they have a set budget and remit with way more reports than they have budget to look into. You will undoubtedly have lots of people reporting just receiving poor quality products/services as "scams" etc  but their job isnt to ensure every 2" by 4" is to the mm those dimensions 

You would imagine they have a score card that considers frequency of complaints and severity as a mechanism to prioritize those to look into. 

davidmcn

happyandsmiley said:

Does anyone out there know how I can bring this matter to their attention?

It has been brought to their attention. What they do with it is up to them. It's like trying to insist the police arrest someone. 

happyandsmiley

Thank you all.  Helpful but disappointing! I just don’t want ‘the little lady down the road’ relieved of her life savings. In my case, the amount concerned comes to about £1450.  If I can’t get Trading Standards involved, how best do I get media attention to it?  It’s actually quite an interesting and multi-faceted problem. The ideal result would be to get the operation shut down. 

williamgriffin

happyandsmiley said:

Thank you all.  Helpful but disappointing! I just don’t want ‘the little lady down the road’ relieved of her life savings. In my case, the amount concerned comes to about £1450.  If I can’t get Trading Standards involved, how best do I get media attention to it?  It’s actually quite an interesting and multi-faceted problem. The ideal result would be to get the operation shut down. 

If they are known scammers/cowboys then surely it's about customer taking due diligence before considering to use them. Chalk this one up to experience as the information seems to be out there already. 

happyandsmiley

williamgriffin said:

happyandsmiley said:

Thank you all.  Helpful but disappointing! I just don’t want ‘the little lady down the road’ relieved of her life savings. In my case, the amount concerned comes to about £1450.  If I can’t get Trading Standards involved, how best do I get media attention to it?  It’s actually quite an interesting and multi-faceted problem. The ideal result would be to get the operation shut down. 

If they are known scammers/cowboys then surely it's about customer taking due diligence before considering to use them. Chalk this one up to experience as the information seems to be out there already. 

Not really.  As I said, it’s multi-faceted. I’m not taking a one dimensional approach to this. I’ll get back what I get back from Small Claims and pursuing this won’t help me personally. There are wider issues. The NICEIC for example, there is a whole plethora of issues surrounding them. Electricians in general and their ability to work completely unqualified. Lack of support from their own trade associations.  Credit card claims for services rather than goods, there’s another facet that should be explored.  If everyone ‘chalked things up to experience’ there would be no Consumer Rights and what would be the point if this forum?

Manxman_in_exile

I was a trainee trading standards inspector back in the mid-80s.  If yours are anywhere near as bad as the department I worked for, you'll be lucky if you get any joy from them at all.  (Having said that, it wasn't their fault that they were part of the worst county council in the UK outside London).

happyandsmiley

Manxman_in_exile said:

I was a trainee trading standards inspector back in the mid-80s.  If yours are anywhere near as bad as the department I worked for, you'll be lucky if you get any joy from them at all.  (Having said that, it wasn't their fault that they were part of the worst county council in the UK outside London).

Oh dear.  Thanks for your input.

Manxman_in_exile

happyandsmiley said:

Manxman_in_exile said:

I was a trainee trading standards inspector back in the mid-80s.  If yours are anywhere near as bad as the department I worked for, you'll be lucky if you get any joy from them at all.  (Having said that, it wasn't their fault that they were part of the worst county council in the UK outside London).

Oh dear.  Thanks for your input.

Well it was nearly 40 years ago and it was the worst county council in the country.  Maybe things are better now - or where you live.