As far as I was aware, trading standards would only interfere in serious issues that would affect people on a mass scale, rather than individual cases...

It came as no shock to me either, Steve, and I can only see it getting worse. The problem is that Trading Standards Departments are part of Local Government and funded out of a combination of Council Tax and the central block grant paid to local councils to run local services. They were originally set-up to to make sure that shops weighing scales were accurate, that goods were properly labelled etc at a time when many food staples were sold 'loose' in small shops and at markets. Unfortunately, consumers now face much bigger problems than just a market trader shaving their lead weights for their scales!

In an era where Council taxes are being frozen and the block grant is actually being reduced, I can see fewer and fewer councils being willing to take on cases that aren't primarily of local importance. As you say, it increasingly shifts the onus on to us the consumer to be much more careful about how and with whom we spend our money.

SM

Louise

Local trading standards were always supposed to assist (if only advice) individuals, it was the likes of the Office of Fair Trading and Consumer Focus that were supposed to to handle the super complaints. And they've been cut as well.

Certain councils always gave them more priority, Birmingham and Liverpool come to mind as active, but the shire counties were usually poor.

But proper funding or not, there's no excuse for not having methods of comparing notes.