The enforcement team works with business to promote a fair and equitable trading environment for traders and consumers in Middlesbrough. The service promotes the economic vitality of the town through advice and intervention to inform and give confidence to consumers and create successful businesses that comply with legal requirements.

This is achieved by a number of means:

• Routine risk based visits to traders premises to offer advice and assistance
• Targeted audits of particular trade sectors to address specific concerns or in response to changes in legislation.
• Special projects aimed at raising awareness of current issues of concern to consumers.
• Respond to individual requests from traders for advice and assistance on legislation.
• If the fair trading environment is seriously compromised or guidance has not been adhered to the ultimate sanction is either prosecution or injunctive action under the Enterprise Act 2002 to ensure compliance.

The range of goods subject to regulation is vast, but some of our main areas include:

• Safety of goods such as toys and electrical appliances. We conduct market surveillance and make test purchases to check compliance with safety regulations.
• Ensuring goods and services are not misdescribed or sold unfairly. This includes holidays, new and second-hand cars, property sales and the sale of counterfeit goods.
• Controlling misleading prices and consumer credit. This includes monitoring sales promotions to ensure the bargains are genuine and the credit market to look at practices that are potentially unfair to consumers.
• Ensuring the accuracy of weighing and measuring equipment and of declared quantities on products. We check traders weighing and measuring equipment and make regular checks on everyday products such as bread and fruit and vegetables.
• Monitoring the sale of age-restricted products. We conduct test-purchasing exercises to ensure products such as alcohol, tobacco, aerosols and fireworks are not sold to young people.

As well as our routine work and project work we have also teamed up with suppliers in two trade areas to work together for the benefit of consumers. These areas have traditionally been the subjects of a high level of complaints, often giving businesses that are striving to provide excellent service a bad name.  Where a business has indicated that they are willing to work with us to provide standards over and above the legal minimum required we have accepted them into our scheme.

Middlesbrough Council is working in partnership with other Councils across the Tees Valley to improve consumer confidence when purchasing a motor vehicle.  We have teamed up with a number of suppliers who share our aims and are keen to offer a service that goes beyond the legal minimum in terms of selling practices.  After operating successfully in Middlesbrough for several years the scheme is expanding and further details will be available shortly on this site.

If you require further online assistance with a business enquiry you can find a lot more information on the Trading Standards Central website which you can access by following the link on the right hand side in the 'external sites' section.

Or if you are a Middlesbrough business and would like an officer to visit, please follow the link to the Consumer Direct website (on the right-hand side) and leave your details with an advisor.