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Trading StandardsAnnual Review 2015 - 16

October 2016

From mountain to sea

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October 2016

TRADING STANDARDS

Working together for the people of Aberdeenshireto create a fair and safe trading environment

• Protecting consumers from unfair, illegal and unsafe trading practices

• Empowering consumers by providing advice, education and support

• Protecting reputable and legitimate local businesses from illegal trading practices and unfair competition

• Supporting local businesses by providing inspection, advice and support services

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Introduction 4

Law Enforcement 5

Safety 5

Age Restricted Products 5

Metrology 6

Fair Trading 7

Feed Hygiene 8

Prosecutions & Other Formal Enforcement Action 9

Consumer Advice 10

Publicity 12

Staffing 12

Performance & Customer Satisfaction 13

Appendix 1 14

Contacts 15

Contents

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Welcome to the Annual Review of the Trading Standards Service for 2015-16. The review provides information on our activities and highlights some of the changes that have taken place through the year. The activities we planned to complete during 2015-16 are included in Appendix 1 for your information.

2015-16 seemed to be the year of the ‘Review’, with a number of bodies examining the role of trading standards. The University of Birmingham published a report on the Impact of Trading Standards in Challenging Times which made a number of recommendations, including carrying out more campaigns to raise the profile of the service, develop a framework of measures to show the impact of the service and investigate and identify the preferred organisational model for service delivery. The Government also conducted a review of trading standards but decided not to publish the report, but instead to incorporate the conclusions and recommendations into the current Red Tape Review. Within Scotland, there is an ongoing Strategic Review which has recommended trading standards be delivered in larger regional units, governed by regional joint boards. These reviews are very welcome and it’s hoped they will assist in developing a modern, efficient and effective trading standards service, across Scotland, in whichever model is deemed appropriate going forward.

The Consumer Rights Act came into force in October 2015 and it was designed to simplify and update the law on consumer rights. It also amended a wide raft of consumer legislation to modernise the powers given to trading standards staff when investigating and enforcing legislation. It required a substantial commitment to have all relevant staff undergo training on the changes.

The Scottish Regulators’ Strategic Code of Practice was also introduced within the year. It requires regulators to have a commitment to the principles of better regulation

to adopt a positive, enabling attitude, develop effective relationships with those they regulate, adopt risk and evidence based protocols, tailor their approach to the sector they are regulating and to pursue continuous improvement in regulatory practice.

The introduction of both these changes meant it was an ideal time to review and update our Enforcement Policy and Inspection Procedures and this received committee approval on 26 November 2015.

Operationally one high profile case concerning ‘diet drops’ was concluded during the year. The investigation was extremely complex and required considerable resources over the last few years and the staff involved deserve huge credit for achieving a successful outcome.

The work to raise awareness of scams continues and each year we hear of more appalling cases. The theme of Scams Awareness Month was to look out for our friends, family and neighbours and to share information on known scams in a bid to prevent further victims. The review highlights an extreme example and demonstrates the need for everyone to be aware of scams and their various guises.

Towards the end of the year our database of businesses and service requests was replaced by a new system. While there have been some initial challenges it should allow the service to modernise and become more efficient going forward. I’d like to thank the staff for their patience and good humour in adopting the changes and their general enthusiasm and dedication in their day to day duties.

I hope you enjoy the review and find it an interesting selection of some of our activities through the year.

Introduction

Wilma UrquhartTrading Standards Manager

Chief Inspector of Weights and Measures

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Law Enforcement

SafetySelf-balancing scooters or ‘hoverboards’ were the must have items last Christmas. Unfortunately a very large proportion of them were unsafe causing them to overheat or catch fire. Trading standards received a number of telephone calls from consumers who were concerned about the safety of their purchases and we were able to assist them obtain a refund if necessary. Most businesses in Aberdeenshire withdrew unsafe products from sale voluntarily but suspension notices were issued where required.

Trading Standards took part in joint operations with the police against sellers of so called ‘legal highs’ or novel psychoactive substances. Premises in Peterhead were raided on a couple of occasions and the products were removed from sale. The police were able to take action in relation to any banned substances and trading standards can apply for forfeiture for any ‘unsafe’ product. There were some obstacles to obtaining a successful prosecution under previous legislation as most products were sold as ‘Not for Human Consumption’. The new Novel Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 seems to have had the desired effect and the premises are now closed.

We took part in a national project on the safety of children’s fancy dress costumes. Following the high profile case of Claudia Winkleman’s daughter suffering burns as a result of her Halloween costume catching fire, a national project was organised where products were purchased and submitted for testing. Samples purchased in Aberdeenshire were compliant however because these products are tested as toys and not clothing they can still catch alight very quickly. There are proposals to change the law to make them subject to more stringent standards.

Age Restricted ProductsAberdeenshire Council Trading Standards conduct test purchasing of fireworks each year as part of an initiative to help protect the community against firework injuries and anti-social behaviour among young people. The aim is to ensure that all fireworks retailers comply with legislation and do not sell to anyone under the age of 18.

The service conducted test purchasing in early November. Out of the five retailers that were visited, one sale was made to the sixteen year old test purchase volunteer.

12 test purchases of cigarettes were attempted this year with 4 sales taking place. This is a higher percentage than has been seen over the last few years and additional visits will be made to try and reverse the decline.

The tobacco display ban was extended this year to also cover small shops. This legislation was introduced successfully with staff providing appropriate advice to businesses affected and no enforcement action was necessary.

A joint exercise was undertaken with Environmental Health colleagues to check on levels of compliance by those offering sunbeds for hire. Users must be 18 years or over and there are requirements to provide and display certain prescribed information. A total of 15 premises were visited. 2 businesses were issued with fixed penalty notices for allowing under 18 year olds access to a sunbed. A further 16 fixed penalty notices were issued for failing to display or provide the required information. Only 3 premises were full compliant.

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Law Enforcement

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MetrologyProviding a legal metrology service remains the backbone of the trading standards service. It is easy to overlook the importance of weights and measures but fair and accurate measurement is vital to allow consumers and businesses to make informed choices with confidence. All weighing and measuring equipment in use for trade is subject to testing by trading standards and packers are inspected to ensure they have adequate control systems in place to guarantee correct quantity.

Around 240 visits were carried out when the following pieces of equipment were tested.

Measuring compliance of weighing and measuring equipment

Category of Equipment

Actual or estimated number of pieces of

equipment

Number inspected

Number verified

Number found

incorrect

Liquid fuel dispensers 680 415 16 4

Liquid fuel tanker meter measuring systems 48 1 6 1

Weighbridges and scales ≥ 5t 91 60 2 5

Non-automatic weighing instruments ≤ 30kg n/a 235 14 2

Non-automatic weighing instruments > 30kg < 5t n/a 75 6 2

Automatic weighing instruments n/a 1 0 0

Intoxicating liquor measuring instruments n/a 55 0 0

A considerable amount of publicity was generated this year when a national supermarket was found to be supplying short-weight garlic bread. The problem was discovered by Aberdeenshire trading standards and led to the supermarket initiating a recall of the product, removing 66,000 packs from the shelves across the UK.

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Fair TradingThe sale of illicit tobacco continues to be a problem in Aberdeenshire. We work closely with HMRC and the police to tackle this problem, sharing intelligence and carrying out joint visits when necessary. There are some persistent offenders who have been reported to the Procurator Fiscal on a number of occasions and continue to cause problems. Many sellers now use social media to advertise their products and these sites are regularly monitored in accordance with appropriate surveillance authorisations.

After an extremely lengthy and complex investigation, the case against Secret Diet Drops Limited appeared in court. The Company sold drops which were falsely described as helping weight loss and ‘killing cancer cells’. The Company were fined £9000 and the directors were each given 180 hours community payback order. Proceeds of crime action is continuing against the perpetrators who are believed to have had a turnover in excess of £2 million.

There are still a number of cases of high pressure sales techniques reported to us despite these practices now being outlawed. Often family members alert us to the fact their vulnerable parents, some suffering from dementia, have signed up to expensive contracts having been subject to salesmen refusing to take no for an answer and staying several hours to secure a sale. The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations make it an offence to act aggressively in conducting commercial transactions and that includes using harassment, coercion or undue influence.

Work to protect victims of scams continues and over 80 visits were carried out to victims or those on the list supplied by the National Scams Hub team of suspected victims. These visits allow us to assess whether the person is a repeat victim and if necessary to alert the appropriate agencies to provide the required support.

One particularly appalling case involved an elderly widow who lost over £100,000 in a supposed wine investment scam. The lady was targeted and gave money to bogus wine investment companies who subsequently went out of business. The scammers (who were possibly the same people behind the wine companies) then posed as legitimate businesses able to recoup her losses. In reality they went on to defraud her of a further substantial amount.

Law Enforcement

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Feed HygieneFood Standards Scotland (FSS) work with local authority Environmental Health and Trading Standards Services to ensure appropriate enforcement of food and feed legislation designed to protect the food chain. There is currently a review underway which is looking at different delivery models for feed hygiene legislation. This includes delivering regionally across a number of local authorities, a secondment arrangement and direct delivery by the FSS.

Our feed hygiene activity is reported fully as part of the Food and Feed Service Plan which is presented to the Infrastructure Services Committee annually.

Feed Samples for 2015-16

Target Achieved Result

compound feedstuffs from manufacturers for accuracy of declared constituents analysis 16 3 pass, 13 fail

6 farm feed samples for undesirable substances 6 All satisfactory

The department undertook 16 formal samples at compound feed manufacturers. The samples were analysed for declared constituents, vitamins and additives. The results indicated that 13 of the formal samples failed for a variety of reasons, although none substantially to the detriment of the purchaser. The stated deficiencies whilst below statutory tolerance were at levels that did not compromise the effectiveness of the product and were dealt with as quality improvement issues.

There were 3 feed incidents which required further investigation:

The Service investigated the circumstances surrounding the death of cattle that had been linked to lead poisoning. The source was traced to an abandoned car battery which had inadvertently been put into a feed mixer cart. This highlights the importance of good hygiene practices on farms. Appropriate action was taken and contamination of the feed chain was prevented through restrictions placed upon the movements of the remaining cattle.The Service was notified of a fire within a feedmill grain drier. Concerns were raised that barley stored at the premises may have been contaminated with dioxins. Further sampling established the grain was safe to use. Concerns were raised by a local producer that the poor growth of poultry may have been linked to the quality of feed. The investigation did not indicate an issue with the feed.

A number of enquiries were received seeking trader advice. This included providing detailed advice to a potential manufacturer of organic horse treats on development of a new product.

Law Enforcement

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Prosecutions and Other Formal Enforcement ActionFormal enforcement action is generally only taken as a last resort when a trader has refused to remedy a contravention of the law or where there is evidence of fraud or reckless practice or in cases of significant economic detriment.

A total of 5 reports to the Procurator Fiscal were submitted or concluded during the year.

A Company supplying mobility aids for older people were fined £500 for misleading consumers as to their legal rights. The Company included terms and conditions suggesting a consumer must complain within 48 hours or the Company had no obligation to provide a remedy, and that the consumer had no cancellation rights in relation to certain products, both of which were false in relation to the legal rights of the consumer.

A Company supplying diet drops were fined £9000 for making false claims in relation to the product. The product was sold on the internet and was advertised as being able to kill cancer cells and to assist weight loss. The directors of the Company were each given 180 hour community payback order and proceeds of crime proceedings are ongoing.

A tobacco retailer was given 120 hours community payback order for having in his possession for supply over 7000 counterfeit cigarettes and cigarettes that did not bear the correct health warnings.

Later in the year the same business was fined £450 for operating an unregistered tobacco business.

We received a large number of complaints against a car park management company and on investigation a number of breaches of legislation were identified. The case was reported to the Procurator Fiscal for misleading consumers as to their rights by quoting legislation which does not apply in Scotland, and in some cases demanding payment when it was not due. The case went to trial but was defended robustly and ultimately was lost on a technicality. The case however had a major impact and greatly improved the processes and procedures of many of the car park management companies operating in Scotland.

One Fixed Penalty Notice was issued this year for selling tobacco without being registered as a tobacco retailer.

Law Enforcement

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Consumer Advice and Assistance

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 was introduced in October. It attempts to clarify consumer rights, for example by introducing a right to reject faulty goods within 30 days of purchase, and also introduced rights in relation to digital content for the first time.

We continue to work closely with Citizens Advice in providing a Consumer Advice and Assistance Service. We receive referrals from the Citizens Advice telephone helpline when consumers require further help to resolve an issue or where there are allegations of criminal activity.

A joint training event was held in March 2016 involving all 4 Aberdeenshire Citizens Advice Bureaux and Aberdeenshire Trading Standards. It was an opportunity to learn more about each of the organisations and trading standards then provided training sessions on Parking on Private Land and Scams and Doorstep Callers.

During 2015-16, 1,025 complaints were received from Aberdeenshire consumers and small traders seeking our help to resolve problems.

The value of the goods and services complained about totalled more than £4 million and over £112,000 of refunds, repairs and compensation were obtained by consumers and small businesses after seeking our help.

The top five most complained about goods and services in Aberdeenshire during 2015-16, which were referred to us for further assistance, were:

Within these categories, roofing caused most of the home improvement problems and second hand cars purchased from independent dealers caused more problems than buying from franchise dealers. Advertising agencies were the most complained about professional services as a result of a number of scams against small businesses. Other motoring costs appears in the top five due to the relatively high level of complaints about car parking fines received.

Home Improvements 161Second Hand Cars 91Professional Services 53Telecommunications 48Other Motoring Costs 43

Home Improvements 161

Second Hand Cars 91

Professional Services 53

Telecommunications 48

Other Motoring Costs 43

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There are two prevalent advertising scams perpetrated against small businesses. Typically businesses are persuaded to sign up to a contract where their business is advertised on, for example, menus in local restaurants or in non- existent publications purporting to help good causes such as local schools, police or fire services. The advertising either does not transpire or is significantly different to that promised. The second scenario is that a business will be sent a form asking for confirmation of VAT details. If they complete and return this form they will inadvertently sign up to entry into a business directory and they will be aggressively pursued for payment of typically £790 per year for 3 years.

We are all becoming increasingly confident about buying goods online, enjoying the ability to compare a wide range of goods and prices and make an informed choice. There are real dangers though and consumers should be mindful of the risks and be aware of ways they can protect themselves.

• An Aberdeenshire resident paid £590 by bank transfer for a cooker which was never delivered. The website was registered to a false address and there were reports of similar victims across the UK.

• Another resident paid £1350 by bank transfer, for a television. Again the goods didn’t arrive and on trying to contact the site the telephone number wasn’t recognised and the website disappeared.

• An off-road buggy was ordered from a website apparently based in Devon and £3,300 was paid by bank transfer. The consumer had discussed their requirements in some depth by telephone and trusted the seller. The goods never arrived and the telephone line and website went down. On investigation the website was found to be based in America.

In all these cases the consumer lost their money because they had paid by bank transfer. If they had paid by credit card they would have had additional protection and could have pursued a refund from the credit card supplier. It is probably the most important protection a consumer has, providing a means of obtaining redress fairly quickly and usually without having to resort to court action.

Consumer Advice and Assistance

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Publicity

The trading standards web pages were reviewed this year and we use these and our twitter account to post warnings and alerts.

A number of press articles appeared relating to the work of Aberdeenshire trading standards through the year. This covered the Secret Diet Drops case, a number of stories concerning consumers wrongly targeted for car parking fines and the outcome of a prosecution against a Fraserburgh store selling illegal cigarettes.

Our investigation into short-weight garlic bread also caught the imagination of the media and was picked up by the following organisations; The Guardian, BBC, Tay FM, Northsound, Original 106 FM, STV, radio Forth, The Scotsman, Daily Mirror, Heart London news, The Hinckley Times, North Devon Journal, Exeter Express and Echo, The Courier, Radio Clyde, MFR and of course the Press and Journal and Evening Express!

In addition to the above, press releases were issued to raise awareness of scams as part of Scams Awareness Month in July 2015. In the aftermath of Aberdeenshire’s flood in January 2016, a press release was issued advising consumers where they could get help if they ended up in a dispute with their insurance provider and warning against employing cold- callers to carry out any repair work required to damaged property.

StaffingThere were a number of changes of staff during the year and we welcomed a new Principal Trading Standards Officer, a new Trading Standards Officer and 2 new Trainee Trading Standards Officers to Aberdeenshire.

We remain committed to training and development and two officers were successful in passing further exams in November and continued their progression towards achieving the Diploma in Consumer Affairs and Trading Standards.

Tragically Kevin Potter, a Principal Trading Standards Officer lost his battle against cancer and passed away in November 2015 at the age of 47. Kevin took over as the Principal Officer in Fraserburgh in 2004 and led a very close knit team. He was an extremely valuable member of staff who was dedicated to the profession and is very sadly missed by colleagues.

Staff have worked extremely hard again in what has been a difficult year and sincere thanks are due to them for their efforts.

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Performance & Customer Satisfaction

We conduct 2 different customer surveys at 6 monthly intervals. We survey a percentage of consumers who are referred to us to assist with a consumer dispute and we survey a percentage of businesses which have been the subject of an inspection visit.

Business Survey (January 2016)

91% were satisfied or fairly satisfied with our overall level of service

100% felt we provided information that was easy to understand

100% felt we treated them fairly

100% felt our officers were courteous and polite

100% felt we made it clear what the business needed to do to meet legal requirements

Consumer Survey (March 2015)

82% were very satisfied or fairly satisfied with the overall level of service

89% were very well or fairly well informed on the progress and outcome of their complaint

95% felt the complaint was handled in a friendly and competent manner

78% felt our service lived up to their expectations.

Performance Indicators for 2015-16

Consumer Complaints; Business Advice Requests; High Risk Visits;

1025 complaints received 199 business requests received 62 visits conducted

76.8% completed within 14 days(78% in 2014-15)

88% completed within 14 days(93% in 2014-15)

94% carried out by the due date (99% in 2014-15)

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Appendix 1

Our operational priorities for 2015-16 were;

Doorstep CrimeSecond Hand Car SalesInternet Sales (E- Crime)Mass Marketing ScamsAge related Sales

During 2015-16 we will:-

a) Continue to prioritise doorstep crime complaints with a view to reducing harm caused to consumers. This will include awareness raising and increased publicity, closer cooperation with partner agencies and neighbouring authorities, identifying and adopting best practice.

b) Continue to address the relatively high level of complaints against Aberdeenshire based car dealers. A single point of contact will be nominated and relayed to local car dealers with a view to improving communications with the trade. We will continue to conduct advice and enforcement visits with a view to improving compliance with civil and criminal obligations.

c) Continue work to protect vulnerable adults from financial harm, including providing advice and assistance to those on the ‘Scams List’ and offering and publicising our free loan service of call blockers to vulnerable adults.

d) Monitor the internet (including social networking sites) to ensure traders comply with their legal obligations, sales of illegal goods are investigated and appropriate enforcement action taken.

e) Provide support to local markets to enable them to become a ‘Real Deal’, fake free market.

f) Review our database to ensure all Aberdeenshire based importers, manufacturers and distributors of consumer goods are listed and ensure all high risk premises are inspected within the year. This will include major importers and manufacturers such as food packers and animal feed mills.

g) Conduct advice visits and test purchase exercises with a view to monitoring and enforcing legislation controlling the sale of age restricted products.

h) Carry out projects in the identified priority areas and take part in selected projects identified by national and regional groups.

i) Review our Enforcement Policy and Inspection Procedures in light of changes introduced by the Consumer Rights Act and the Scottish Regulators’ Strategic Code of Practice.

j) Continue to identify and develop areas for closer joint working with other Local Authorities to identify efficiencies and make best use of available resources in providing a Trading Standards Service.

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ContactsTrading Standards (North)Maconochie RoadFraserburghAB43 8TH

Tel 01346 587007

Trading Standards (South)Gordon HouseBlackhall RoadInverurieAB51 3WA

Tel 01467 628323

E- Mail: trading.standards@aberdeenshire.gov.uk

Website:www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/business/trading-standards

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/AberdeenshireTS

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Produced by Aberdeenshire Council GDT24299 October 2016