The Trading Standards departments at Local Authorities have wide powers to investigate and prosecute people and businesses. They get involved in an extremely wide range of potential offences.
Trading Standards investigations may result in tape-recorded, formal interviews of you, under caution ("you are not required to say anything but ….. etc"). What happens at those interviews will be looked at alongside all the other evidence the officers gather - documents, computers, produce or products, experts reports etc and a decision will then be made as to whether to prosecute you or not.
If you are investigated and interviewed, you need to know what their powers and what your rights and obligations are. Otherwise you run the risk - particularly if you are formally interviewed - of incriminating yourself.
If a decision is made by the Trading Standards people to prosecute you, prosecutions all begin in the Magistrates' Courts. In more serious cases, the case may be transferred "upstairs” to the Crown Court.
The penalties for Trading Standards offences can be high. It varies from case to case and from offence to offence, but the Magistrates' Courts can send someone to prison for up to 6 months and / or can order fines of up to £5,000, per offence, with an overall maximum of 12 months imprisonment or fines of £10,000.
If the case is serious enough to warrant being transferred to the Crown Court, then the Crown Court can sentence offenders to several years imprisonment and unlimited fines.
If you are an individual, or are in business as a sole trader or as a partner in a partnership, then you will automatically be personally liable for any offences. People who trade as limited companies often think that they are protected by the fact that they are incorporated and they therefore have limited liability for things like this. That is very much not the case - company directors and other company officers who are found to be responsible for the offences of their companies by their actions or neglect may be personally subject to high fines and sentences of imprisonment.
As you can see, the Trading Standards people have great powers. They are very active and are committed to using their powers to protect consumers and buyers and communities. If you ever become involved in an investigation then we encourage you to speak to our specialist lawyers straight away. A bit of free advice at the outset could stop things getting worse for you.
If you do formally enlist our services to protect you, we will look after you throughout the investigation and interview stages, and will represent you if you are prosecuted and the case goes to court. We will advise you at all times as to how best to proceed to secure the best possible result for you. You can see the type of people we have helped in this area by clicking on "People we have helped” below.
As we say, we are always there for people and families who are in our PURPLE LEGAL scheme. We invite you to join PURPLE LEGAL now. By joining PURPLE LEGAL, you can have all your legal enquiries answered free of charge by simply booking a SolicitorSlot for a time and date that suits you. Alternatively if you wish to speak to us now, please click on "Please Contact Me Now” or call us on 0845 567 5000. We look forward to always being there for you.
