Trading standards

Scams and doorstep crime

Conmen may pretend your roof needs repair, or that they are officials who need to enter your home. They may also target you or your business by letter, email, telephone call, or a text message.

You can protect yourself.

We encourage H&F residents to help reduce the amount of doorstep crime in the borough by following four simple steps.

Display a ‘No uninvited traders’ sticker.
Don't deal at the door.
Be informed consumer.
Look out for your vulnerable neighbours.

Find out more about scams and doorstep crime.

Beware of loan sharks

During the cost-of-living crisis, we’re aware that vulnerable residents are being offered loans at astronomical rates of interest.

You can report loan sharks to the Illegal Money Lending Team, which is organised by trading standards nationally. Please do not let them prey on you or your loved ones.

For more details, visit Stop the Loan Sharks. It provides information on how loan sharks work and will help you avoid them – especially as some masquerade as friends.

Make a complaint about goods or services

Make a complaint

This link goes to the Citizens Advice Bureau. They’ll advise you about your rights, and refer it to us if there’s something we should investigate. You can also phone them on 0808 223 1133 or text them on 18001 0808 223 1133.

They also provide letter templates to help you if you need to write to a trader. See Citizens Advice letter templates.

For general advice for consumers see Citizens Advice, consumer.

Business advice

Laws affecting your business

Advice about the laws affecting you is available online at the Business Companion website. If you can't find what you need there, or it’s unclear, please call us on 020 8753 1081, or email us at trading.standards@lbhf.gov.uk

About H&F trading standards

What we do

There are laws to ensure consumers get a fair deal. Many are civil laws, which give buyers rights they can use to get compensation or a refund. Some are criminal laws, and traders who break those laws can be fined or sent to prison.

We enforce criminal laws meant to encourage fairer trading. They may be about the quantity, price or description of goods and services. They may also be about the safety of goods you buy. We achieve this by:

advising local businesses on how to comply with the law
investigating complaints
working in partnership with other agencies such as the police
working on projects to protect people, including honest traders
taking appropriate action: we prefer to advise, but we will prosecute where necessary.

Our current priorities

Unsafe goods and product recalls

Sometimes products have to be recalled by the manufacturer, usually for safety reasons.

The Electrical Safety First website has information about recalls of electrical goods. It also allows you to register electrical goods, so that you are told if they are withdrawn.

Up to date information about recalls, including goods in general and food, is available on the Chartered Trading Standards Institute product recalls webpage.

Our enforcement policy

Sometimes we need to take action against traders who don’t comply with the law. We follow an enforcement policy when doing so. Read our Environmental Health and Public Protection Enforcement Policy (pdf 378KB).

Where we enforce issues relating to laws applying to lettings we follow the London Lettings Enforcement Policy.

If you have a dispute relating to Energy Performance Certificates where the landlord is Hammersmith & Fulham Council that may require enforcement action, we have an agreement with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to assess whether enforcement action is necessary and take the appropriate steps.

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