Lewisham Trading Standards enforces and advises on legislation designed to protect the consumer from dishonest traders. This assists the vast majority of reputable companies by ensuring fair trading methods for everyone.
We provide advice to businesses that trade from premises in the borough of Lewisham. If the information on this site, Trading Standards Central or the Office of Fair Trading do not answer your query then contact us for advice.
We carry out routine visits to traders, which take into account the nature of the business, past problems and the number of complaints received, thereby targeting the problem traders where possible.
We investigate consumer complaints where there might be a criminal breach, and this may involve visiting a trader. In some cases we may consider it necessary to take enforcement action as a result of problems found during a routine visit or complaint in accordance with our enforcement policy. Where possible the emphasis is placed on compliance through advice and assistance.
In many cases we find that traders are not intentionally misleading the public, but are doing so due to a lack of understanding of their legal obligations.
We enforce various pieces of legislation, the most important ones being:
- the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations – bans unfair commercial practices such as mis-describing goods and services, omitting or hiding material information and aggressive conduct
- the Consumer Protection Act – covers the safety of goods
- the Consumer Credit Act – promotes truth in lending
- the Weights and Measures Act – ensures we all receive the correct quantity when buying goods.
If you are thinking of starting a new business or are already running an existing one, are you confident that you meet all the legal requirements of trading legislation?