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Trading Standards & Consumer Protection

Trading Standards protects consumers against unfair trading and other unlawful business practices. Its officers are responsible for enforcing consumer protection laws and can prosecute individuals and companies who flout it. At DJMS, our expert criminal law solicitors have extensive experience representing businesses under investigation or facing prosecution by Trading Standards. We routinely provide legal advice, representation, and strategic guidance to clients dealing with consumer protection law issues.

What is consumer protection law?

Consumer protection law protects consumers when they buy goods or services from businesses. It does not cover sales made privately between two individuals.

The types of issues consumer protection law addresses include:

A consumer’s rights when they buy faulty or counterfeit goods.
A consumer’s rights when they purchase faulty digital content.
A consumer’s rights when the services provided don’t match what was agreed.
Unfair contract terms.
The sale of age-restricted goods to children.

What is Trading Standards?

Trading Standards services are operated by local authorities. Consumers can report you to Trading Standards if they believe your business acted unlawfully. Trading Standards does not have to investigate every complaint it receives. Sometimes, it will hold on to the information and use it to build a case if more consumers lodge complaints against you.

Trading Standards have wide investigation powers, including:

Making purchases of your products to test and use in evidence.
Entering your business premises to inspect your goods or documents or see how you operate.
Seizing goods and documents.
Interviewing you under caution.

What powers does Trading Standards have?

Trading Standards can punish businesses or individuals for flouting consumer protection laws in a variety of ways, including:

A caution, which Trading Standards might use for first-time, minor offences.
An Enforcement Order, which is a Court Order requiring you to comply with your legal obligations. Breaching the Order can result in a fine and imprisonment.
Fines.
Criminal prosecutions.

What are the penalties for breaching Consumer Protection law?

If Trading Standards brings a criminal prosecution against you for breaching consumer protection laws and succeeds, you can face a fine, disqualification from acting as a company director, and even imprisonment.

The penalty you receive will depend on various factors, including the severity of what you did and its effects on the victims, how long the offence lasted, and whether you showed genuine remorse.

What defences are there to allegations of breaching consumer protection law?

There are several defences to claims of consumer law breaches, including:

You did not supply the faulty goods.
The defect did not exist when you supplied them.
You did not manufacture or supply them in the course of your business.
There is a technical evidential or disclosure issue in the way the investigation and/or prosecution was conducted.

Each case is unique, and our specialist lawyers will be able to assess your situation and advise on the best defence strategy to protect you and your business.

How can DJMS Solicitors help?

Your reputation is one of your business’s most valuable assets, so being investigated or prosecuted by Trading Standards for alleged consumer protection breaches can be disastrous. At DJMS, our specialist solicitors have a proven track record of securing excellent outcomes for all types of businesses facing such issues.

If you are under investigation by Trading Standards, prompt legal advice is essential. We will support and guide you through the process, advising on your rights and responsibilities, and ensuring Trading Standards officers act within the remit of their powers. We will protect your position at every stage of the investigation and do everything possible to avoid a criminal prosecution, such as negotiating a caution instead.

Get in touch with DJMS Solicitors

If you are facing a Trading Standards’ investigation or prosecution, we will build the strongest defence available to secure an acquittal or put forward mitigating factors to lessen the severity of the penalty you receive. We can assist you from before charge up until trial and are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to provide the specialist legal advice you require.