If you have a complaint about a shop, a product or service, such as a garage, hotel or bank, where do you go? 

In Carmarthenshire your local Trading Standards team would be the place to call. 

How Trading Standards can help you 

The Trading Standards Team in Carmarthenshire enforces legislation on a range of matters including things like trade descriptions and pricing, weights and measures, product safety, doorstep selling and sales of restricted products such as cigarettes or alcohol to people who are underage. 

If you think a trader has broken the law or acted unfairly you may be able to report them to Trading Standards.

The department, which is part of Carmarthenshire County Council, is responsible for helping individuals and the community deal with rogue traders and traders who have acted unfairly. 

The following scenarios are examples of the kinds of things they may deal with: 

• you’ve been misled by a trader into buying something you wouldn’t have bought if you had been given all the information beforehand
• a trader has made false claims about goods or services, which you have found out not to be true
• you’ve been sold fake or counterfeit goods
• a trader has used aggressive selling techniques or persuaded you to buy something you wouldn't necessarily have bought if you had a free choice
• you want information about a local trader, such as whether they’re still in business
• you want a professional opinion about whether you have a problem. 

If appropriate, the Trading Standards team can take legal action against traders who have done something wrong; they can advise and/or caution traders who may not even be aware that they have been breaking the law and they can offer advice and help to consumers. 

For more serious offences, Trading Standards officers can use legal powers to take action against the trader. This includes:

• prosecution in the criminal court
• issuing cautions
• applying for injunctions
• issuing statutory notices 

And Trading Standards may be able to help you with advice on how you can take action against a trader yourself; they may be able to mediate to help you and a trader solve a problem or dispute; and they can give opinions about goods and services – for example, whether goods are of satisfactory quality. 

Want to complain about trading of any kind? Or get advice about a consumer issue? This is how to get started: 

Call Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 08454 04 05 06 or 08454 04 05 05 (Welsh speaking adviser).  Monday - Friday 9am to 5pm

Web site: www.citizensadvice.org.uk (opens new window) 

The helpline will provide you with advice on your rights and pass details of your complaint on to Trading Standards where appropriate. Trading Standards may then contact you directly if they are able to offer you help or if they need further information from you.

Even if Trading Standards do not contact you directly about your case, they use the information they receive from the helpline to make sure that businesses are behaving fairly and not breaking the law.

To read more about Trading Standards go to the Carmarthenshire County Council website here