Information we particularly want to receive
- Traders supplying illicit tobacco and alcohol, such as:
- counterfeit and non-duty paid products
- tobacco products with foreign language or missing health warnings
- the sale of single cigarettes
- foreign labelled cigarettes
- Traders calling on potentially vulnerable residents to offer home improvement services, such as:
- gardening
- roofing
- driveway work
- Traders exploiting vulnerable residents by, for example, selling them overpriced or misdescribed goods or services.
- Traders supplying age-restricted products to young people, such as:
- vapes/e-cigarettes
- tobacco
- alcohol
- knives
- fireworks
- tobacco or alcohol, to young people
- Scam mail or phone calls targeting residents, for example, letters and phone calls claiming prize draws or lottery wins.
- The supply of counterfeit goods.
- Food and drink issues, including:
- lack of or incorrect allergen information
- fish or animal species substitution
- false claims about place of origin
- The sale of illegally imported pets (popular breeds include French Bulldogs and Pugs).
- Animal welfare complaints relating to farm animals.
- Unregistered pigs, feral pigs or sightings of wild boar.
- Pigs being fed waste food or kitchen waste.
Consumer advice
If you require consumer advice in connection with the matter you wish to report, you should contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on Freephone 0808 223 1133 or online. They will give consumer advice and also pass the details you provide to Trading Standards.
Environmental Health
Some issues should be reported to the Environmental Health department at your local district or borough council. See our Report an environmental problem page for further information.
Overview of consumer issues
Trading Standards enforces laws that protect consumers and honest businesses from unfair or illegal practices, including scams, rogue traders and unsafe products.
Trading Standards does not enforce laws about unsafe gas or electrical installations and does not deal with consumer disputes such as refunds for faulty goods or poor‑quality services.
If your complaint concerns an unsafe installation that poses an immediate risk to life or property - contact the Health and Safety Executive.
If your complaint concerns goods or services you have bought - contact Citizens Advice.
If your complaint concerns an unfair or illegal trading practice you have seen and want to report, such as selling cigarettes to a child - report it to Trading Standards using our Incident report form.
There are also many consumer issues that are enforced by local Environmental Health services and other departments of the district and borough councils as listed below.