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Organised crime groups are playing an increased role in doorstep crime and other scams, according to the annual Consumer Harm Report published today by National Trading Standards.
Read MoreNational Trading Standards and Lloyds Banking Group have today announced a new partnership designed to prevent people falling victim to scams.
Read MoreFree call blockers are being made available to people who believe they are being targeted with scam and nuisance phone calls. Between 1,800 and 2,000 call blockers are being provided on a first come, first served basis by the National Trading Standards Scams Team. Local authorities and care providers are expected to apply on behalf of victims – and individual applications from victims or family members will also be available.
Read MoreThe director and employees of an energy company that claimed to recover overpayments and VAT from UK energy suppliers for small businesses have been sentenced to a combined total of 13 years at Nottingham Crown Court today (Friday 30 August).
Read MoreA doorstep criminal who ran fish-selling businesses that contravened consumer protection regulations has been sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court today (27 September). Adam Brown used a number of illegal sales techniques to exploit consumers, resulting in nearly £8,500 lost by consumers from nearly 60 transactions.
Read MoreThree London criminals have been sentenced after pleading guilty to money laundering in April 2019. Two criminals were sentenced on 27 June 2019 and the third was sentenced on 21 September – all the sentences were handed down at Snaresbrook Crown Court.
Read MoreFriends Against Scams initiative to include adaptable interactive workshops for children aged 8-16
Read MoreNew test purchasing data* published today shows that children have been able to buy knives from small independent stores and some of the biggest names on the high street, despite the major retailers pledging** to stop the sale of knives to children.
Read MoreEstate and Letting Agents in the UK are being urged to check that they are signed up with an approved redress scheme that covers the full remit of their work. The warning follows a recent tribunal that penalised a business that was signed up to a redress scheme for its letting agency work but not for its property management work.
Read MoreA South Tyneside man has been sentenced to 21 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, after admitting selling illegal satellite TV boxes.
Read MoreA man who operated a fraudulent business that sold kitchens and bathrooms to consumers out of Tesco supermarket foyers has received a 98 week prison sentence, suspended for 2 years, at Harrow Crown Court. He has also been ordered to complete 150 hours community service, pay Brent & Harrow Trading Standards costs of £59,354 and a statutory charge of £100.
Read MoreCompany directors of a firm selling electrical goods have been jailed for a total of nearly seven and a half years following a fraud investigation by the North Yorkshire and York based National Trading Standards eCrime team.
Read MoreA second-hand car dealer based in Keighley has been ordered to pay £53,567 for secondhand vehicle sales that misled consumers. The fines were handed down at Leeds Magistrates Court on 30 April 2019 after the company entered guilty pleas relating to six breaches of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations.
Read MoreA new team has been set up to provide greater protection for renters in England from letting agents who charge illegal tenant fees. This follows legislation that will ban tenant fees in the private sector in England from 1 June 2019. The new enforcement team – being led by National Trading Standards – will be responsible for regulating the private rental sector in England, protecting tenants and safeguarding compliant letting agents.
Read MoreA mother and son who ran a company that fraudulently serviced Dyson vacuum cleaners have been ordered to pay back more than £370,000 at a proceeds of crime hearing at Leeds Crown Court. Thomas Scoffin, director of Leeds-based Excel Servicing Ltd, and his mother, Linda Scoffin, were convicted in 2017 of conspiracy to defraud and sentenced to a total of ten years in prison following an investigation by National Trading Standards.
Read MoreThree people suspected of being involved in computer fraud have been arrested. Trading standards officers and police officers executed entry warrants at the homes of a 64 year old man and a 34 year old woman in Birmingham, and a 34 year old man in Swindon. They have been interviewed and released pending further investigation. A 65 year old woman from Tamworth agreed to be interviewed by police without the need for arrest. A further suspect remains at large.
Read MorePressurising vulnerable consumers and demanding payment for excessive and unwanted quantities of fish were just some of the tactics used by a door-to-door fish-selling company whose owner has been sentenced to 12 months behind bars today.
Read MoreFollowing an investigation by the National Trading Standards Regional Investigation Team Central England, Dominic O’Reilly (55) of Costa Adeje, Tenerife was sentenced to a total of 28 months imprisonment and his step-daughter, Stephanie O’Reilly (30) of Dickens Heath, Solihull was sentenced to a total of 18 months imprisonment, suspended for 2 years, for their part in a timeshare ‘leisure credit’ scam.
Read MoreNational Trading Standards is calling on retailers to do more to prevent knife crime after interim findings from a new programme of test purchasing revealed many were selling knives without undertaking required age verifications.
Read MoreNational Trading Standards has today published new guidance on referral fees received by estate agents across the UK, which will make previously hidden fees open and transparent to consumers.
Read MoreToday the National Trading Standards Estate Agency (NTSEAT) team has released a guide for consumers seeking redress for leasehold matters. This is the latest step taken by NTSEAT to help protect home buyers from confusing and complicated leasehold charges.
Read MoreA joint operation between the National Trading Standards Regional Investigations Team Central England, Birmingham Trading Standards, West Midlands Police and partners including the Anti-Counterfeiting Group (ACG), the National Markets Group (NMG) and brand representatives, has resulted in the seizure of £2.5 million worth of counterfeit and unsafe products including clothing, jewellery and cosmetics.
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