What we do

Trading Standards' core function is to build a safe, fair and legal marketplace for Norfolk, helping businesses succeed and safeguarding communities.

 Our three priorities are:

• Enabling economic growth by providing support for businesses and ensuring a level playing field by tackling the most serious illegal trading
• Safeguarding communities and vulnerable people by engaging with communities and businesses to build resilience to scams and rogue traders
• Protecting public safety, health and well-being and ensuring trading is legal, honest and fair

Our work helps to provide a level playing field for all and promotes confidence in the Norfolk economy. It is carried out in conjunction with our Calibration Verification and Testing Service, our Trusted Trader schemes and with partner enforcement agencies. We also have responsibilities concerning the health and welfare of farmed livestock and plans are in place to prevent and contain animal disease outbreaks.

What we can do

We receive thousands of complaints and enquiries every year through our partners the Citizens Advice consumer service and from other agencies. We prioritise the most serious cases where we may take action and use the others to help us to plan our prevention work. We look at a number of issues to help us to decide on which cases we will take action.

Where there is an immediate need to respond to an emerging situation we will take rapid action, for instance where food or other unsafe consumer products are on sale and to tackle doorstep crime. The action we take will be proportionate to the matter we are tackling. We have a wide range of options from giving advice with which a business has a time scale to comply through to investigating businesses with a view to legal action. When we investigate a matter we must be sure that there is enough evidence to use in court and that the investigation would be in the public interest.

We provide a wide range of advice to businesses and we also inspect them to ensure they are trading fairly, based on risk ratings and intelligence we have gathered from a variety of sources. We support and promote Norfolk Trusted Trader which is a directory of assessed businesses who agree to comply with the terms of the scheme.

What we can't do

We are not able to investigate or take action on all matters reported to us. We prioritise our finite resources to tackle the issues which cause the most detriment to Norfolk businesses and consumers.

There are other things we can't do which include:

Give consumer advice

If you have need consumer advice or if you have a consumer complaint, contact our partners the Citizens Advice consumer service for professional advice. Call 0808 223 1133 (freephone), 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, or online via their website.

Obtain redress on your behalf

Consumers have rights if they pay for faulty goods or a substandard service. Our partners the Citizens Advice consumer service will give you professional advice and assistance on your rights and how to obtain appropriate redress. This may require you to take the matter to a civil court. We are not able to obtain redress on your behalf and we are not able to pursue cases in the civil courts for you.

Provide feedback on what you have reported to us

After you have reported a matter to the Citizens Advice consumer service we will only make contact with you if we need further information or cooperation. We will only provide feedback if formal action has been taken to deal with the matter you reported.