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CONTENTS
Background
Present Service Delivery
Consumer Advice
Debt Counselling
Consumer Education
Business Education
Home Safety
Conclusion
1. Background.
The Council has a statutory duty as a "Weights and Measures Authority" to enforce a range of trading standards and consumer protection legislation e.g. Weights and Measures Act, Consumer Credit Act, Trade Descriptions Act, Consumer Protection Act, Timeshare Act, Fair Trading Act etc., etc.
The Trading Standards Service acted as an enforcement agency only until the advent of the Trade Descriptions Act 1968, the so-called "Housewife's Charter", when it found itself being asked for advice and guidance from members of the public on the operation of and protection available under this new legislation.
Authority to provide Consumer Advice was first contained in the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and later in the Weights and Measures Act 1985. During this period and subsequent to it a range of non-statutory services was developed and delivered driven by the twin engines of consumerism and council policy: -
Consumers were becoming more aware of their position and power in the marketplace and expected to be provided with information, advice and assistance in obtaining redress when things went wrong.
Successive Council's social policies required departments to target resources to areas of need in order to redress disadvantage. This meant, inter alia, that a responsibility was placed on Trading Standards, to ensure that the disadvantaged obtained value for money, safe goods and services, representation and help to obtain redress and justice when needed.
Other factors bearing on the development of such services were:
- The publication of the European Communities (as it was then) Consumer's Charter which identified five basic rights to which it stated consumers were entitled. Amongst these were: -
the right to protection of economic interests
the right to redress
the right to representation
the right to protection of health and safety.
and,
- the publication of a report by the National Consumer Council in 1975 which stated that "the right to information and advice is as much an irrevocable right of citizenship as the right to education – the fourth right of citizenship".
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2. Present Service Delivery
Building upon the foundations described above, the Service meets the demands of the Council's key objectives by delivering a mixture of statutory and non-statutory services. Non-statutory services include: -
Consumer Advice
Debt Counselling
Consumer Education
Business Education
Home Safety
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3. Consumer Advice
This service is delivered through three Advice Centres one in the centre of Motherwell, one at the Coatbridge pedestrianised precinct and one within Cumbernauld Town Centre. They provide advice, support and a conciliation service on the supply of goods and services and related matters to consumers and traders.
The service is on target this year to deal with over 20,000 enquiries and complaints from consumers about faulty goods and services valued at over £2.1 million (for complaints only). Last year the service dealt with 23,693 complaints and enquiries, almost 20% of Scotland's total, achieving civil redress of £378,300 for clients. Direct redress for a proportion of those consumers will recycle funds back into the local economy via the consumer. Other redress obtained by consumers as a result of advice given cannot be evaluated but is known by anecdotal information to be substantial.
Complaints received via the advice services form an indispensable database for the department in identifying problem traders and areas of consumer concern requiring enforcement action. This data allows managers to target resources more effectively and creates a situation in which, rather than have an enforcement team of approximately 15, over 320,000 members of the North Lanarkshire public can play their part in safeguarding everyone's interests.
If you would like to know more about the Policy Paper on Consumer Advice please visit the site.
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4. Debt Counselling
The money advice services include the provision of specialised debt counselling (closely linked to the service's statutory responsibilities under the Consumer Credit Act 1974) together with a broader based service of representation and benefit advice all delivered by Debt Counsellors based at three offices in Bellshill, Coatbridge and Cumbernauld.
This year the service will deal with over 600 new clients with debts approaching £7.86 million and will re-negotiate repayment programmes in agreement with creditors to the benefit of both parties. Debt Counsellors also dealt with over 5000 enquiries in respect of clients' rights and obligations in the field of consumer credit. The links within the North Lanarkshire Information and Advice Forum will also see benefits related clients obtain nearly £1,800,000 worth of lump sum gains and an increase in benefit of nearly £54,000 to December (9-month period). This new found cash is also recycled into the local economy.
If you would like to know more about the Policy Paper on Debt Counselling please visit the site.
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5. Consumer Education
The service, through its Consumer Rights advisors as well as its Debt Counsellors, delivers a Consumer and Credit/Debt Education Service. It is accepted that better educated consumers are able to make more informed choices when considering the purchase of goods and services in the competitive market. It follows, therefore, that the provision of such a service goes some way towards alleviating the effects of poverty and disadvantage.
If you would like to know more about the Policy Paper on Consumer Education please visit the site.
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6. Business Education
It is difficult to reconcile an advisory function within an enforcement regime unless, as with the Trading Standards service, it is accepted that the business community are clients of the service too and a better value service is provided if preventative advice is offered to all that seek it. Commercial enterprises are encouraged to contact any arm of the service for advice on civil law and criminal statute issues. By helping business meet its obligations then it is more able to compete in the marketplace.
If you would like to know more about the Policy Paper on Business Advice please visit the site.
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7. Home Safety
Consumer safety is one of the statutory provisions enforced by the service but this is restricted to the safety of goods at the time of manufacture or sale and does not relate to the safe use and commensurate risk applicable within the house or garden. In order to facilitate a more holistic safety environment our Home Safety team advise the community on a wide variety of related topics. In addition to this advisory function staff will perform home safety audits and the service operates a Child Safety Equipment Home Loan Scheme
If you would like to know more about the Policy Paper on Home Safety please visit the site.
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8. Conclusion
The non-statutory services delivered by Trading Standards form an important part of the Council's overall service delivery ensuring that it meets its obligation to the people of North Lanarkshire in terms of its strategic objectives. The information, advice and advocacy service provision addresses the Council's social inclusion aims together with improving the health and safety of clients.
The service help to recycle funds into the local economy through and to the benefit of consumers as well as helping to obtain significant sums of benefit money, which are levered into the community.
The Service also seeks to create a better informed consumer population which is better able to look after its own economic welfare and knowledgeable as to when to complain and to whom. This is to the benefit of all in North Lanarkshire but particularly to those who suffer from the disadvantages of poverty and inequality.
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