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Speak OutPlease tell us your views on our services. Complete our confidential response form. About UsThe Trading Standards Service is part of Tower Hamlets Communities, Localities and Culture Directorate. We advise on and enforce a wide range of consumer protection legislation, carry out the Council's responsibilities relating to alcohol licensing and also provide a consumer advice service in partnership with Consumer Direct.
ConsultationWe would like to hear your opinions on the operation of our service and any ideas you may have for changes or improvements. Please use the confidential response form. Satisfied with our Service?If you have a complaint concerning the service provided by Trading Standards then please contact Colin Perrins, Head of Trading Standards on 020 7364 6872. In the unlikely event we are still unable to resolve matters you will be advised on what further steps to take. Contacting UsConsumer AdviceFor Consumer Advice and complaints, please call the help line on 020 7364 6767, which will be answered by our partner, Consumer Direct London. The line is open from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m weekdays and 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturdays (not Sundays and Public Holidays) Trading StandardsFor other Trading Standards matters please contact our call centre on 020 7364 5008. Our fax number is 020 7364 6901 and e-mail tradingstandards@towerhamlets.gov.uk. Fax for licensing matters is 020 7364 5013 Our fax number is 020 7364 6901 e-mail tradingstandards@towerhamlets.gov.uk. Licensing fax is 020 7364 0863 From the 24th of July 2006 all services were relocated at Anchorage House, 2 Clove Crescent E14 2BE. Nearest Stations are Blackwall and East India stations on the DLR and buses. Personal callers without an appointment must call first at Mulberry Place, 5 Clove Crescent, just opposite Anchorage House. Our postal address is now:- Trading Standards, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Mulberry Place (AH), PO Box 55739, 5 Clove Crescent, London, E14 1BY If you need to contact an individual officer about a matter they are already handling, please dial 020 7364 followed by the extension number given below
Market SurveillanceAs well as dealing with specific complaints and carrying out routine inspections, officers all carry out specific projects, often in conjunction with other Boroughs. Borough projects have included:
If you have any specific concerns that traders are acting illegally or that there is a particular problem with goods or services then please contact us in confidence to discuss the matter. Complaints and EnquiriesWe are happy to accept complaints and enquiries by telephone, post fax or e-mail. When contacting us by telephone please ensure that you have all the relevant information and documents to hand. Please include a contact telephone number and address in e-mails. If you have a problem with the quality of goods and services, including non-delivery, then please contact Consumer Direct on 020 7364 6767. Other calls, including requests for advice by businesses, should be directed to the call centre number on 020 7364 5008. Weights and MeasuresTower Hamlets is the local weights and measures authority for this area and has a duty to enforce the provisions of the Weights and Measures Act 1985 and related legislation. This includes testing equipment such as petrol pumps, weighing machines and glassware; checking packages at retail, wholesale and packers; and testing optic measures in pubs and wine bars. The Council is also part of the Inner London Metrology Liaison Group which is part of a LACOTS initiative to ensure uniform enforcement across London and officers have been involved in London-wide and national activities in this field. Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008Tower Hamlets as a Local Weights and Measures Authority is an enforcement authority for these regulations, which have replaced most the older Trade Descriptions Act. The Regulations, intend to produce a uniform consumer protection environment across the EU, make it illegal to engage in a number of specific unfair practices listed in the schedule to the regulations. They also provide a more general restriction on misleading consumers by making false claims or omitting essential information. Consumer CreditTower Hamlets has a duty to enforce the provisions of the Consumer Credit Acts, which involve both criminal and civil law. We act as home authority advisor (that is, provide advice to the industry) to locally based large newspaper groups and banks. This involves regular discussion and advice to the various publications. Our partner organisation, Consumer Direct London, will give local residents advice about the Act, for example in relation to rights against Credit Reference Agencies and the joint liability, in certain circumstances, of the finance company, for failures by the supplier of goods or services. We are not currently able to provide debt advice, however we do have strong links with other organizations in Tower Hamlets and East London who may be able to assist. Individual officers have also been involved on a voluntary basis in the setting up and running of London Community Credit Union as an alternative to loan sharks. Animal Health and WelfareIn contrast to our colleagues in the Counties, Trading Standards Officers in London do not deal with the full range of Animal Health legislation, although we do enforce some requirements relating to feeding stuffs, particularly at retail level The Council does however have an Animal Warden Service which can be reached via the call centre on 020 7364 5008 Olympics in East LondonThe buildup to the Olympics and the event itself will result in a significant increase in the workload for Trading Standards Authorities across East London, especially in Newham but also in other Tower Hamlets Want to know more?If you would like to know more about the work of Trading Standards in general please contact us at Tower Hamlets or visit the ITSA website at http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/
London Borough of
Tower Hamlets, Trading Standards, 60 Southern Grove, London E3 4PN Copyright © London Borough of Tower Hamlets 2000 |
