Trading Standards is urging householders, particularly the elderly and vulnerable, to be on their guard for rogue traders who might try to cash in on the damage caused by recent storms.
At the end of last week and over the weekend Devon, Plymouth, Torbay and Somerset was hit by a series of storms which damaged homes and property.
Trading Standards has seized illegal tobacco worth more than £31,000 from six shops across Devon, Plymouth, and Somerset.
Supported by Avon & Somerset Police and Devon and Cornwall Police, officers from T he Heart of the South West Trading Standards Service used specialist detection dogs to find the tobacco in a series of raids last month (December).
Illegal tobacco worth almost £60,000 has been confiscated from retailers across the region following a series of operations.
Led by Devon, Plymouth, Somerset, and Torbay Trading Standards and supported by HM Revenue and Customs and the police, the seizures were part of a three-day operation to disrupt the sale and supply of illegal tobacco.
Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay Trading Standards Service has launched a new campaign to help prevent renters in the region being caught out by fees that have now been banned.
The law on what landlords and letting agents can charge tenants when beginning, ending or changing their contracts has changed.
It means renters can no longer be asked to pay extra for things like...
Devon, Somerset and Torbay Trading Standards Service will merge with Plymouth City Council Trading Standards from April 1 2021.
All four authorities have approved the plans which will give them ‘greater clout’ at a time of financial pressure, regulatory change and increasing demand.
The newly expanded service will cover the entirety of the Heart of the South West Local...
A drainage company has been fined £3,685 after pleading guilty to unfair trading and has paid back over £20,000 to victims across Devon, Somerset, Torbay, Dorset and Wiltshire following a Trading Standards investigation.
Dorset-based 24 Hour Emergency Services Limited, of Unit 1, 20 Wharfdale Service Road, Bournemouth, was investigated by Devon, Somerset and Torbay Trading Standards...
Trading standards is advising online consumers in Devon, Somerset and Torbay to only buy from ‘reputable’ traders, and to refer to a new advice video if they experience any problems.
The new advice video has been commissioned by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) ahead of ‘Black Friday’ (Friday 27 November) and ‘Cyber Monday’, (Monday 30 November), the two big pre-...
Devon, Somerset and Torbay Trading Standards Service is reminding residents to ‘stay home, stay safe and stay scam aware’, as new coronavirus (COVID-19) related scams continue to emerge.
Since the outbreak there has been a rise in scams exploiting the uncertainty surrounding coronavirus (COVID-19). These include medical kits that claim to prevent or cure the disease, counterfeit or...
Devon, Somerset and Torbay Trading Standards is reminding owners of guest houses, campsites and restaurants to remain closed this Easter to help combat coronavirus.
On March 23 the Government ordered hospitality businesses to close and said that people should stay at home and only essential travel is permitted.
With very few exceptions all hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels...
Residents in Devon and Torbay are being offered the chance to have an independent motor expert review the quality of a recent vehicle service.
The free quality check is part of Devon, Somerset and Torbay Trading Standards Service’s motor trade project, and is aimed at local residents who want assurances that their vehicle service was carried out properly.
