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About Us
This page includes
information on:
Bedfordshire’s Trading Standards
Service is based at County Hall, Bedford with a
testing and analytical laboratory
at Gadsby Street, Bedford.
This Service has an annual budget
of approximately £1 million. This amounts to a
cost of £3 per resident.
Telephone: (01234) 228897 Fax: (01234)
228255
Electronic Mail:
business@bedscc.gov.uk
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Bedfordshire Trading Standards
Service has a statutory duty to enforce around
45 Acts of Parliament and more than 1000 Regulations and Orders.
Officers
regularly inspect local shops, importers and manufacturers to ensure that
they
are complying the obligations under the legislation. Where a trader is
found to be
breaking the law, we have the power to caution or prosecute.
Officers will investigate criminal
complaints made against traders in Bedfordshire
(excluding Luton) and they will also give advice
and send out leaflets on a range of
other consumer matters.
These are some of our key areas of work.
- Weights and measures – from checking the quantity
control systems in a
food manufacturer, to making certain that you receive the full pint of
beer in
your local or the full litre of petrol at your garage. We also offer an
independent
and impartial calibration and verification service for weighing and
measuring
equipment. Click for information of Public Weighbridge
Certificates.
- Trade Descriptions – making sure that the prices you are quoted and the
description of goods and services are accurate.
- Prosecution Register – If businesses have been
prosecuted for health and safety breaches,
In relation to
petroleum and firework storage, the details will be available on the
health and Safety executive
website.
- Product Safety - from the safety of
children’s toys and the sale of cigarettes and
solvents to children, to dangerous second-hand cars and overloaded
vehicles.
We also deal with the licensing of petrol sites.
- Food and agriculture – checking on the complete
food chain: from the food
consumed by farm animals, to the food on your plate.
- Food Labelling – For labelling information look on the Consumer
Direct Website.
- Animal health and welfare – controlling animal disease
- Foot-and-Mouth
for example - and the protection of farm animals from mistreatment.
Any
person who suspects that an animal has Rabies should immediately contact
either their local Trading Standards Office, the Police or the Department of
Food
and Rural Affairs. This is a legal requirement made under the provisions of
the
Animal Health Act 1981 (as amended).
- Investigating rogue traders – we investigate traders who break consumer
laws, including the turning back of car mileages (known as ‘clocking’)
the
selling of pirate copies of products (known as counterfeit goods), and
loan sharks -
unlicensed money lenders who prey on the vulnerable.
- Underage sales – protecting young people by
stopping under age sales of
restricted products that contributes to anti-social behaviour within our
community.
Telephone: (01234) 228897
Fax: (01234) 228255
Electronic Mail: business@bedscc.gov.uk
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With the ever increasing range of
goods and services on offer, combined with the
amount of legislation that covers them, life can be complicated for both
consumers
and traders.
Advice and support for consumers
in Bedfordshire is now provided by Consumer
Direct. Consumer Direct is a telephone and online consumer advice
service, which
is supported by local authorities in the east of England and by the Department of
Trade and Industry.
Consumer Direct provides clear,
practical advice to help consumer sort out problems
and disagreements with suppliers of goods or services. From
overcharging to faulty
goods and dodgy workmanship to reporting dishonest traders and scams.
Consumer
Directs’ trained advisers are ready to offer individual solutions for
individual problems.
Consumer Direct works in
partnership with Local Authority Trading Standards Advice
Services and Consumer Support Networks, providing first level advice and
information
on a wide range of consumer problems. More complex problems, or
complaints
requiring further investigation or assistance are referred to Trading
Standards or other
advice services.
To speak to a Consumer Direct
adviser, call 08454 04 05 06 (Minicom users should
call on 08451 28 13 84).
A wide range of consumer
information and advice is also available online from the
Consumer Direct website
This web site also provides
information and advice 24 hours a day to help you
solve your own problems. Click here for more
information.
Telephone: (01234) 228897
Fax: (01234) 228255
Electronic Mail: consumer@bedscc.gov.uk
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Consumer Direct receives
approximately 600 complaints/enquiries every month
from Bedfordshire residents. This demonstrates how
consumers and traders are
often not aware of their legal rights and responsibilities. It has been
recognised that
many of these could have been avoided if consumers and traders receive
adequate
education on the subject.
We offer talks to all local groups and organisations in
Bedfordshire. If you would like
to book one or find out more.
Telephone:
(01234) 228897 Fax: (01234) 228255
Electronic Mail: business@bedscc.gov.uk
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ISO 9000 - Quality Management Systems
Bedfordshire Trading Standards Service was first recognised as a
quality service
in 1994, when it gained accreditation under the original UK Quality Standard
BS 5750.
Since then it has striven to continually improve the service it offers to all
of it’s' customers
in line with the ethos of the Quality Standard.
Following a recent audit by National Quality Assurance (NQA), the
Service has been
recommended for registration under the latest version of the internationally
recognised
Quality Standard BS EN ISO 9000:2000.
The registration covers the vast majority of the Service's
functions, from the way it
conducts visits and investigations through the purchasing of samples and
other
supplies to the issuing of licences for animal movements and explosive
stores.
Telephone:
(01234) 228897 Fax: (01234) 228255
Electronic Mail: business@bedscc.gov.uk
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There are a number of business
practices that require a licence that needs to be
issued by the Trading Standards Service.
We licence premises keeping or
selling petroleum, explosives (including fireworks)
and poisons.
For more information on licensing
click on the links below:-
Telephone: (01234) 228897 Fax:
(01234) 228255
Electronic Mail: business@bedscc.gov.uk
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The
PRIORITIES are:
· Programme of regulatory
‘inspection’ activities in line with national agreements
and risk assessment schemes (e.g. inspections of food businesses, visits to
check animal health and welfare).
· Development/extension
of initiatives for trade sectors in partnership with
Government/Agencies, other regulators and businesses:
Self-assessment for petroleum storage licensees, farmers and food businesses
Programme of testing and
analysis to support Service’s own regulatory activities,
other regulators, businesses and others.
· Targeting activities on
national and local strategic priorities:
School meals.
Salt / sugar in children’s staple foods.
· Increasing income levels.
· Counterfeiting – promotion
of EC Regulation 1383/2003
· Targeting enforcement
action in accordance with national Enforcement Concordat and
local enforcement policy and priorities:
Bogus callers
Roadside car sales
Fire setting, knife control, loan sharking, fly tipping, vehicle crime,
social behaviour control
via nutrition (funded from corporate community safety budget)
· Provision of information,
complex advice and casework services to consumers
referred by the regional advice call centre (Consumer Direct) N.B. local
service
provided to email, letters and personal callers.
· Targeting activities on
‘problem’ trade sectors for and ‘vulnerable’ consumer
groups:
Programme of information/educational activities.
Support to vulnerable consumers (including no cold calling zones).
Trading Standards Approved.
Intelligence led enforcement e.g. Most Complained About Trader initiatives.
· Service-specific support
services, including delivery of licensing, registration
activities
· Maintaining quality
management systems:
ISO 9000 (for entire Trading Standards Service).
Quality Mark (consumer advice services).
(Regional) Notified Body System – for non-automatic weighing instruments.
UKAS for laboratory analytical activities.
· Delivery of other
activities in support of regional collaboration across the East
of England (EETSA Limited)
Telephone: (01234) 228897 Fax: (01234)
228255
Electronic Mail: business@bedscc.gov.uk
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Headline results from consultation during 2004
473
questionnaires were sent out to Bedfordshire consumers who had contacted
the
Trading Standards Advice Team.
88% were satisfied with the overall
level of service this received from our Advice
Team.
96% felt that the
information/advice they were given was easy to understand.
95% felt that Trading Standards officers
were courteous and polite at all times.
92% felt they were treated fairly
at all times.
90% would recommend us to someone
else if they needed legal help or advice.
Some
of their comments…
- An excellent
service provided with up to date information that helped me greatly.
- I found your service most
helpful and your staff polite and caring – it helped with
my problem. Thank you.
- Just keep up
the good work. Well done
- By contacting your office, I
wrote to the supplier in question quoting Sale of
Goods Act and that I had contacted your office. Their attitude
changed with
satisfactory results. Thank you.
- One word ‘excellent’.
Without your advice I would have accepted something I
did not want. Well done!
- Staff were extremely helpful.
- Very impressed.
These are examples of letters/email and telephone
calls thanking our Advisers for
the help and support they have provided.
·
Just a short note to thank
you for coming along last evening to speak at our
meeting. Both your talk and PowerPoint presentation were extremely
informative.
It will certainly make me wary of the pitfalls when buying goods, especially
via the
Internet. Once again, many thanks for a most enlightening talk.
·
Many thanks. Without
your input I’m sure I would never have had such a letter!
What a pity my correspondence was not enough! Thanks for all your help.
·
Thank you for your
advice and guidance.
·
Many thanks for your
help. I took your advice and sent them a letter quoting
extracts from your email and success a cheque arrived this morning for a full
refund!! Thank you again.
·
Many thanks for your
advice. I found what I needed. Brilliant service –
keep up the good work!
Telephone: (01234) 228897 Fax: (01234)
228255
Electronic Mail: business@bedscc.gov.uk
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41
talks about the work of the Trading Standards Service to general interest
groups
around the county.
1888 routine
inspections to business premises made.
50
caution/warning letters issued
315
test carried out in the Service’s analytical laboratory.
126
Petroluem licences issued
222
Explosives licences issued.
34
Poisons licences issued
112
Members of the Trading Standards Approved scheme.
Telephone: (01234) 228897 Fax: (01234)
228255
Electronic Mail: business@bedscc.gov.uk
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Want to know more?
If you require business or
consumer advice or you would just be interested to know more about the
Service's activities, our contact details are below.
Please tell us your views
on our services. Complete our confidential response form.
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Bedfordshire County
Council, Trading Standards Service, County Hall, Cauldwell Street, Bedford,
Bedfordshire, MK42 9AP
Telephone: (01234) 228897 Fax: (01234) 228255
Internet World Wide Web
http://www.bedfordshire.gov.uk/AdviceAndBenefits/TradingStandards/TradingStandardsHome.aspx
Electronic Mail:
business@bedscc.gov.uk
Copyright © Bedfordshire
County Council Trading Standards Service 2007
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