City of Westminster

About Us

Here is a list of topics contained in the 'About Us' page. To see more, click on a topic or scroll down the page:

About Us
Performance
Consultation and what you told us
Priorities
Satisfied with our service?
Contacting Us

Making an Enquiry / Service Request
Want to know more?

About Us

Central London is without any doubt the most challenging environment possible to deliver a Trading Standards service; the City has more retail and commercial premises than any other unitary borough and more than many entire counties in the UK. The daily population of visitors and shoppers in Westminster is over 1 million. In addition the prestige of the area has resulted in a large number of companies moving their head offices into Central London to ensure they have their main business address within Westminster. As a result Westminster receives a huge number of requests for action and advice.

Westminster Trading Standards Service is a quality assured service registered to ISO 9001: 2000. Our mission is to promote the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of Westminster’s customers by enforcing over 50 pieces of primary criminal legislation, and giving appropriate legal advice. The legislation in question covers consumer protection issues such as fair trading, counterfeiting, legal metrology, product safety, under age sales and doorstep crime.

Trading Standards’ role includes:

Advising and educating local residents about their consumer rights.
Advising and educating traders based in Westminster, about their legal responsibilities.
Inspecting trade premises to make sure laws are complied with and warning, or if necessary prosecuting traders who break the law.
Undertaking targeted enforcement projects in areas of specific concern.

Who are our customers?

Westminster’s residents
Westminster’s businesses

Please note that we only provide advice to Westminster residents and traders.

If we are unable to deal with an enquiry we will explain why and help identify the appropriate organisation to contact.

If you want to know more about Westminster's Equality Policy, please click here.

What powers do Trading Standards Officers have?

Trading Standards Officers powers include:

Entering and inspecting business premises, inspecting goods and documents, making test purchases and taking samples.
Seizing and detaining goods.
Issuing suspension notices.
Issuing fixed penalty notices.
Instituting legal proceedings.
It is a criminal offence to obstruct an officer who is carrying out their duty.
Trading Standards have no powers to close a business down.

Below: Trading Standards officers may use their powers to seize goods.

Please note that matters relating to food safety, hygiene and quality are dealt with by Westminster Environmental Health Service.

To contact Westminster Environmental Health, please write to: Environmental Health, 5th Floor, Westminster City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 6QP, or telephone 020 7641 1092.

Performance

Westminster Trading Standards successfully continues its project- based style of working year on year. In conjunction with its “core” reactive work - dealing with over 3,500 enquiries to the Service - it undertook projects dealing with issues related to Problem Traders, Accommodation Addresses, Service Development, Counterfeit Goods, Doorstep Selling/Distraction Crime, Scams, High Risk Premises, Theatre ticket touts, Under Age Sales and Firework Safety.

Particular highlights included:

Significant enforcement work to combat the sale of age-restricted goods to children - such as alcohol, knives, cigarettes and fireworks.
Operations aimed at combating counterfeiting took place. Trading Standards officers were interviewed on national television and radio, including the BBC Money Programme discussing the impact of counterfeiting on the economy, and its links with organised crime.
An Audit Commission CPA assessment took place in which 5 Trading Standards indicators formed part of the assessment on performance. All were met and exceeded, and contributed towards the maximum 4* score awarded to the Council.
The Service established a Memorandum of Understanding with the Regional Assets Recovery Team (RART) in order to work in partnership to identify and confiscate the criminal assets of rogue traders. In addition, the Service now has an in-house Accredited Financial Investigator.
The success of the government funded regional Scambusters pilot has resulted in the renewed funding of Scambusters for another 3 years. Representing London on the steering group the Service played a key role in developing better intelligence sharing across London, protecting vulnerable consumers by targeting rogue traders operating cross border, and delivering a number of successful enforcement outcomes. Westminster will now chair the steering group.
The Service also undertook a series of successful talks and presentations throughout the year to external stakeholders and organisations such as the Better Regulation Executive, the Office of Fair Trading, and the Anti- Counterfeiting Group.
In addition the Service received a large amount of positive media coverage of the work of Trading Standards in local and national media on the subjects of under age sales, anti-counterfeiting, unsafe toys and scams involving accommodation addresses.

As far as its performance indicators were concerned the Service achieved the following:

Visit 100% of all Westminster traders who are classed as high risk – 100% achieved.
Provide a first contact to 95% service requests within 1 working day – 97.5% achieved - in respect of over 4,000 service requests.
Ensure all Enforcement Concordat Notices are dispatched within 5 working days of enforcement action- 100% achieved.
Ensure 85% notices and routine correspondence following a visit are dispatched within 10 working days of visit - 92% achieved.
Develop a targeted education programme for consumers, businesses, and harder to reach groups, and carry out a minimum of 6 presentations to a cross section of these groups – achieved; 20 presentations given.
Improve service standards and demonstrate continuous service improvement by maintaining registration to the ISO 9001: 2000 quality management standard - achieved

Consumer and Business User Surveys

Through the last financial year (06/07), we sought the views of consumers and businesses who used our service.

We asked each user a standard set of questions recommended by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (DBERR), formerly the Department of Trade and Industry.

Based on the responses to these questions, we scored a BERR Satisfaction Index of 82.2 for consumers and 86.5 for businesses. The maximum score is 100.

Consumer Survey

In 2006, we consulted consumers in Westminster about their awareness of our service and the Westminster Consumer Support Network. As recommended by the CSN national guidance, we included questions on the key performance indicators to show whether consumers are becoming more informed and confident, and whether they know where to go for help.

The surveys were conducted at Marylebone public library, the Woolworths store in Edgware Road, Westminster University and various Westminster Day Care Centres and Advice Points (in One Stop Services). We received 272 completed questionnaires.

The surveys found that 53% (up from 50% last year) of those questioned felt very well informed or fairly well informed about their rights as consumers.

The surveys also showed that 40% (up from 35%) think that it is very easy or fairly easy to get consumer advice or information.

Priorities

We aim to deliver projects on:

Under age sales.
Accommodation addresses.
Counterfeiting.
Ticket Touts.
Problem traders.
Assets Recovery.
Essential packaging.
Scams.
Doorstep Selling.
Hotels/ Tourism.
Fireworks.

We will also aim to:

NI 182 – contribute towards high levels of satisfaction of businesses with local authority regulatory services.
NI 183 – contribute towards impact of local authority regulatory services on the fair trading environment.
Visit 100% of all Westminster traders who are classed as high risk and aim to bring them into compliance by the end of the year.
Ensure 75% calls to the Service are answered within 20 seconds.
Ensure 95% people using the Service are provided with a first contact within 1 working day.
Ensure all Enforcement Concordat Notices are dispatched within 5 working days of enforcement action.
Ensure 85% notices and routine correspondence following a visit is dispatched within 10 working days of visit.
Continue to develop a targeted education programme for consumers, businesses, schools, vulnerable adults and harder to reach groups, and carry out a minimum of 6 presentations to a cross section of these groups.
Improve service standards and demonstrate continuous service improvement by maintaining registration to the ISO 9001: 2008 quality management standard.

Satisfied with our Service?

We invite you to give us your views and comment on our services and the way they are provided.

Please let us know when we have done well, or if we have fallen below the standard you expect. Your comments are always welcome.

If you have concerns about the way our services have been provided please contact us on the numbers below, or send an email to us here.

Any formal complaints will be investigated and an initial response sent to you in 10 working days.

If you are not satisfied with our response you can take matters further through the City Councils complaints procedure.

Speak Out

If you have any views or comments on the services we provide, including what you expect or want from us, please fill in the attached questionnaire.

Contacting Us

Please note that we only provide advice to Westminster residents and traders.

Office Hours: 9.00am - 5.00pm Monday to Friday.

There is a Hotline available during these hours, to answer telephone enquiries. Outside these hours, you may leave a message on the telephone voicemail.

Telephone: 020 7641 1111
Fax: 020 7641 1702

We regret that personal callers are only seen by appointment, in exceptional circumstances.

You may write to us at:

City of Westminster Trading Standards Service
5th Floor
Westminster City Hall
64 Victoria Street
London
SW1E 6QP

Web site: www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/westminster

If you need to contact another City of Westminster Department or want further information about the Council, please click here or telephone 020 7641 6000.

Consumer Direct

In addition to Westminster Trading Standard's consumer advice services, the Government funded 'Consumer Direct' telephone helpline and website is available and provides help and advice for consumers in Great Britain.

Service Requests and Enquiries

If you are a Westminster resident and wish to make an enquiry or are seeking advice from Westminster Trading Standards please click here and complete the form with as many details as possible. The more details we have the easier it will be to process your enquiry.

If you are a trader based in Westminster and wish to make an enquiry or are seeking advice from Westminster Trading Standards, please click here and complete the form with as many details as possible. The more details we have the easier it will be to process your enquiry.

Animal Health and Welfare

These matters are dealt with by the City of London.

Want to know more?

If you would like to know more about the work of Trading Standards in general please contact us or visit the Trading Standards Institute web site.