The Trading Standards Service:
- Gives advice and information to consumers on fair trading and consumer rights
- Enforces consumer protection law and Waltham Forest Enforcement protocol
- Gives advice to local businesses on their legal obligations
- Informs and educates the local community through displays, talks, the Waltham Forest website and media coverage
- Consults you to develop and improve the service, informs you of the results and changes made
- Provides excellent services and value for money
- Welcomes your complaints, compliments and comments as they can help us to make our service better. Forms are available at all reception areas
- Consumer Direct provides clear practical consumer advice. Contact Consumer Direct on: 08454 04 05 06 or log on to www.consumerdirect.gov.uk
The Trading Standards Service focuses on:
- Reducing sales to underage children by investigating complaints and regularly test purchasing from businesses selling alcohol, tobacco, fireworks and other age restricted goods
- Trademarks and copyright law
- Consumers rights
- Promoting the local ‘Get a Better Trader’ scheme
- Sales of unsafe products
- Misleading prices and descriptions
- Checking goods vehicles are within safe weight limits
- Motor vehicle sales and repairs
- Ensuring fair weights and measures of everyday products
We promise to:
- Respond to requests for service as quickly a possible and in all cases within 10 days
- Be polite and helpful and guarantee confidentiality and equality
- Write in plain language and provide translations where appropriate
- Provide information in community languages, on tape, or in Braille, at customer’s request
- Keep you informed of the progress of your enquiry and the outcome
- Keep appointments made and inform you if it is necessary to cancel
- Wear name badges and show identification
- Identify ourselves when we contact you and provide you with our contact details
- Acknowledge complaints about our service within 5 days and complete the investigation within 28 days
Performance - How did we do?
| Services | 2005/2006 | 2006/2007 |
|---|---|---|
| What is our consumer satisfaction rating? | 94.9% | 93.5% |
| How many consumer complaints did we deal with? | 1496 | 1,054 |
| What percentage of complaints did we respond to within target times? | 97.7% | 97.6% |
| How much money did we get back for consumers? | £29,786 | £25,051 |
| Services | 2005/2006 | 2006/2007 |
|---|---|---|
| What is our business satisfaction rating? | 92.6% | 89.6% |
| What percentage of high risk premises did we visit? | 100% | 100% |
| How many successful prosecutions did we take? | 70 | 56 |
| What amount of business fines was imposed upon defendants? | £24,690 | £43,525 |
Contact us
Trading Standards
Consumer Protection Service
Sycamore House, Town Hall Complex
Forest Road
London E17 4JF
Tel 020 8496 3000
E-mail trading.standards@walthamforest.gov.uk
