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Environmental Services Trading Standards
Trading Standards
Directorate of Environmental Health
Council Offices
37 Pembroke Road
LONDON
W8 6PW
Tel: Environmental Healthline: 020 7361 3002
Textphone: 07967 347802
E-mail: trading.standards@rbkc.gov.uk
Show Contact Details and Information
Our Trading Standards Division works closely with consumers and businesses, offering informal advice, backed up by appropriate enforcement procedures, in the interests of encouraging a fair trading environment in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Consumers who have complaints, will, in the first instance, be referred to Consumer Direct, the national consumer advice service. We will, where possible, assist consumers whose complaints are forwarded on to us by Consumer Direct. The telephone number for Consumer Direct is 08454 040506.
If you want to contact us please email trading.standards@rbkc.gov.uk or phone020 7341 3002. Please note that consumers will be referred to Consumer Direct in the first instance.
Important: We can only deal with problems that occur in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea or if you are a resident of the Borough. If you have any doubt over which local authority can deal with your compliant contact Trading Standards Central, a one stop shop for consumer protection information in the UK run by the Institute of Trading Standards Administration.
For information on our enforcement policy see Directorate of Environmental Health Enforcement Policy. [PDF file] (File size 289Kb).
Complaints from members of the public are investigated, sometimes leading to the detection of criminal offences, which could result in the prosecution of the person or organisation concerned. In cases where complaints do not involve breaches of legislation, complainants are advised as to how they might help themselves under the provisions of civil law.
Officers carry out routine inspections of a wide variety of commercial premises and will offer advice on compliance with Trading Standards legislation. On some occasions, for example, where officers suspect dishonest, unscrupulous, unfair or unsafe trading practices may be taking place they may carry out their inspections incognito.
The following are examples of some of the principal Trading Standards activities:
Safety: all consumer goods are required by law to be safe. Certain products such as toys, electrical goods and cosmetics, are regularly sent away to specialist laboratories to test their safety.
Overloaded goods vehicles are a threat in terms of their road-handling safety and the damage that they can do to the roads. Weight checks are carried out to determine whether the vehicles are complying with the law.
Vehicles for hire or sale, whether by authorised traders or members of the public, are legally required to be roadworthy.
Some of the legislation enforced is specifically intended to protect children. This includes controls on the sale of cigarettes, videos and fireworks.
Most weighing and measuring equipment in trade use, including petrol pumps, scales and weigh-bridges, must be regularly tested for accuracy by a Trading Standards Officer. Officers also check the weight of goods in supermarkets, greengrocers, butchers, and other retail premises, and complaints relating to 'short measures in pubs and restaurants' are investigated to make sure that customers get what they pay for.
Companies and individuals have to be licensed to operate a credit or hire-related business. Those running unlicensed credit businesses are often little more than "loan sharks" and are liable to face prosecution. Trading Standards Officers regularly give advice on credit-related issues and are also responsible for enforcing controls on the content and form of advertisements regarding credit terms.
The Royal Borough is home to the head offices of many national and multinational companies. Trading Standards Officers regularly advise and assist these companies to ensure fair and consistent trading practices in all their outlets nationwide.
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