Consumer Protection
Businesses want to make money. But sometimes, they forget about us, the consumers. They forget that we need to be treated fairly. They sometimes sell us rubbish products and hope that we won't complain.
There are a number of organisations out there who will fight our corner for us if this happens. They make it easier to complain and they hopefully stop businesses behaving badly. The main ones are......
There are a number of organisations out there who will fight our corner for us if this happens. They make it easier to complain and they hopefully stop businesses behaving badly. The main ones are......
Every local council, like Tameside, has a Trading Standards team. They exist to make sure that shops are keeping to the law (See section on Consumer Law). They make sure that all of the products sold are fit for purpose and safe for us to use. They can also confiscate counterfeit goods (that's snides or fakes to me and you!).
Environmental Health Officers work also work for the local council. Their job is to make sure that all restaurants and take-aways serve food that is safe for us to eat. They also check for mice droppings and cockroaches! Don't believe me? Then check this article out about an Indian restaurant in Rusholme.
Click Here
Click Here
Most local councils also have a Citizens Advice Bureau. This is a place where the general public can go to if you think a business has ripped you off. They can give you advice on what to do and will sometimes phone the business to explain that they could be breaking the law. The business may then think twice about messing you about!
The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) help to make sure that we are not ripped off by travel agents who take our money for a sunshine holiday and then go bust before paying for the flights. If a travel agent is a member of ABTA, ABTA will make sure you get home ok, even if the travel agent goes bankrupt while you are on holiday. If the travel agents aren't in ABTA, you might find yourself stuck in Spain with no way of getting home............what a dream that would be!!
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) have the power to get companies to remove their adverts if they are not legal, decent or honest. Anybody can make a complaint to the ASA if they are unhappy with an advert. The ASA only need to receive one complaint to investigate an advert.