Trading Standards and the Business Community

The Trading Standards Service of Hampshire County Council provides a service to those running a business. After all, we come into contact with most of the local business community at some time or other - usually to offer help and advice.

It's not our job to get in your way. Our job is to see that traders and consumers get a straight deal by helping to maintain a fair and equitable business environment for legitimate trading to flourish.

We've a statutory duty to see to it that the small minority of problem traders who don't respect trading law are brought to book. The Service exercises this responsibility on behalf of the whole commmunity in an entirely impartial manner.

We recognise that business is becoming an increasingly complex matter. An the opening up of new business opportunities - particularly in Europe - presents you with the daunting task of keeping up with existing, as well as new and proposed trading directives and regulations.

Whether you're a market trader, or an international producer we're always available to help you with support and advice.

This page is designed to focus on some aspects of our work, and encourage you to ask for help if you think you need to know more.

The Service is responsible for:

• The safety of all consumer products exposed for sale - sampling products right through from preoduction to the distribution chain. It also samples and tests imported goods so that you're on a level playing field with any imported competition. As a last resort we can seize and remove from sale hazardous goods, circulating details to other national and international enforcement agencies.

• Environmental safety including overloaded and dangerous goods vehicles which represent unfair competition and threaten costly damage to the County road and bridge infrastructure.
  
  Details can be provided of the County's fixed weighbridge sites where goods vehicles can be checked for conformity with the regulations and stay within the law.
  
  The Service registers and licences traders in poisons, fireworks, and explosives.

• Food regulations covering the labelling and compostion of food products. Officers are available to give extensive guidance and advice to producers and manufactureres on statutory labelling standards and food advertising.

• The uniformity of national metrology standards both for weighing and measuring equipment, and package weights.
  Arrangements can be made by appointment to check weights and measures equipment for accuracy and suitability.
  

• Assisting the financial services industry with the statutory requirement to maintain fair standards in credit business and advertising.
  Detailed advice can be obtained on the content and presentation of credit advertisements to ensure they meet the requirements of regulations made under the Consumer Credit Act of 1974.
  

• The maintenance of fair retail trading. The Service's officers are always on hand to guide and advise the retail trade on the application of the law to price marking, trade descriptions, sale or hire of goods, and all the other trading regulations made by Parliament for the protection of consumers.
  
  If necessary, officers can help with staff training by giving detailed advice to shop managers and supervisors.

• post shopping advice. The service gives free, impartial advice to traders and consumers on a wide variety of trading problems and difficulties. Advice officers are on hand at the Headquarters in Winchester.
  
  Officers can assist in trying to promote informal settlements of trading disputes and grievances.

 

This advice is designed to provide basic guidance to traders. It is not a complete or authoritative statement of the law. For further assistance on this or any other Trading Standards legislation, please contact your nearest office. We will be pleased to offer this information in larger print or translated into any language on request.

B/con/186/001/July/2008