Trading Standards Service Performance Report 2024 to 2025
Ensuring a Fair, Safe and Competitive Trading Environment
- the service has dealt with over 750 complaints, including those handled by the Trading Standards Advice Centre and those investigated by Trading Standards Officers. In addition to this, our partner agency, the Citizens Advice Consumer Service, has provided advice to over 1,000 local residents within the Borough
- a rogue trader was prosecuted for fraud and unfair trading, after an investigation looking into substandard and incomplete building work at a property in Ingleby Barwick. The trader was sentenced to two years imprisonment suspended for two years, with 150 hours unpaid community work. He was also ordered to pay £31k in compensation to the consumer and £9k in legal costs
- during the year, Trading Standards Officers visited almost 600 business premises in the Borough. Through these contacts a variety of activities were carried out, including checks on whether businesses were complying with fair trading rules, advice on the labelling of foodstuffs, checks on the safety of products offered for sale, the validity of pricing information and the accuracy of weighing and measuring equipment in use for trade
- the service has again participated in the Food Standards Agency's regional animal feed hygiene inspection and sampling programme. This work helps ensure that local farms and animal feed establishments are complying with regulations to protect the safety of animal feed and hence the onward integrity of the human food chain
