Enforcing the law

Trading standards offices are run by local councils and enforce more than 70 Acts of Parliament and 1,000 regulations designed to protect consumers.

Dave Ling has been a trading standards officer in Dorset for more than 30 years.

"We have a certain number of target visits, such as food shops and supermarkets which we try to visit once a year," he says.

Making sure scales are accurate

These inspections will involve checking food labelling and use-by dates and testing weights and measures for accuracy.

Danger

Because the areas they work in involve potential danger to the public and large sums of money, officers have very wide powers.

They can make businesses change the way they operate - even shut them down - and they can take people to court, where they can face fines of up to �5,000 or even prison.

"I like to think that by policing we do keep people on their toes if they need it," says Dave.

"If we do prosecute it's a last resort because a trader has not wanted to take advice.

"At the end of the day that's our ultimate sanction, to put them in front of the magistrates."

Working for the community

Dorset's trading standards department employs 18 officers and 14 administrative staff.

"We work to a business plan based on what we think the consumers of Dorset want," says Divisional Trading Standards manager Paul Carter.

"We also get 8,000 calls a year from the public and while most are handled over the phone, there are those that need us to respond."

As well as its consumer help line, Dorset also operates an advice service for business.

Officers will visit factories to nip any possible problems in the bud.

"They will be advising on production and labelling to see that the right systems are in place so that the product comes out correctly," says Mr Carter.

Food and livestock

The work of officers is very varied, and can involve many different skills.

As well as visiting shops and businesses to enforce the law, they might also be involved in the food industry or with livestock.

We get 8,000 calls a year from the public

Paul Carter divisional trading standards manager

And they could have to investigate possible criminal offences and prosecute cases in court.

An educated business

There are degrees in Consumer Protection offered at some universities that are ideal for a career in trading standards.

For some work, such as dealing with weights and measures, additional qualifications are needed.

These are some of the cases Dorset officers have been involved in recently:

Part of a network

Trading standards departments are just part of a network of organisations aimed at protecting consumers.

The work of environmental health officers includes visiting restaurants and other catering businesses to make sure kitchens are clean and that all the food is fit for human consumption.

And on a wider scale, there are regulators for all the utility industries - gas, water, electricity - to stop them charging customers too much or providing poor services.

For example, OFTEL, which monitors the phone industry, has asked mobile operators to cut the cost of some of their calls.

International action

Then there are bodies such as the Competition Commission, which stop any one business getting a monopoly in its particular field or doing things that stifle competition.

In the United States, it was an organisation like this that threatened to break up Microsoft for behaving like a playground bully, making it difficult for competitors to sell their products.

All this legislation and enforcement is aimed at protecting consumers.

But a big part of the work of trading standards officer and their colleagues is ensuring the public know their rights.

As well as offering direct advice sections, many regularly publish guides and leaflets.

Take action

Shoppers are well protected these days - the links on the right of this page give some idea of your rights.

But those acres of legislation are only effective if they are applied and enforced by the trading standards foot soldiers on the ground.

"Every day that we're out on the road we're there to see that fair play is done right through from the manufacturer to the end person," says Dave Ling.

There are people all over the country who are looking after you.

Whenever you go shopping or out for a meal, you are protected by the work of the Trading Standards Department and Environmental Health officers.

Laws try to ensure that all businesses supply products and services of an acceptable standard.

Paul Carter, a trading standards manager in Dorset, and his colleagues make sure that the laws are kept.

Why do we need this sort of protection?

Safety

All sorts of products can be dangerous if they are not carefully put together.

Things like electrical products and food items can easily kill or hurt people. If services are not provided carefully, they can be dangerous too.

Sometimes things just go wrong, but everyone who sells something has to work hard to get it right.

Fairness to businesses

Businesses spend a lot of time and money creating successful brands.

If others copy their products, they are stealing. Hunting down fakes is a big job.

Fairness to customers

If customers think they are buying a product with a famous name but end up with a cheap imitation, they are being cheated.

Fakes are often poor quality. Customers may think they are getting a bargain but will probably complain when it falls apart.

False claims

Products come with all sorts of claims: "Good for your health", "Compatible with all computers."

If products make false claims people will complain to the Trading Standards Department.

You will need to be able to prove that a claim is false if you want something done.

Under age

Some products have age restriction.

The Trading Standards Officer checks up on who is buying cigarettes, fireworks and alcohol.

Right weight

If the scales don't weigh properly, you may not be buying as much as you think.

Scales are checked regularly to make sure that people are not being cheated either deliberately or accidentally.

Is it healthy?

Have you ever been poisoned? Food shops and restaurants are under constant surveillance to make sure that the products they sell are safe.

The Environmental Health Department can close food outlets down if they don't keep to the rules.

Scams

There is always someone who wants to make a fast buck.

Their activities are often against the law so the Trading Standards Officer will be after them as soon as they find out about it.

Just think

Look at each example of why protection is necessary.

Give an example of something that might go wrong. Explain why it is important to make sure that it doesn't happen.

The bigger picture

At a national level, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) looks after many more issues.

If a business is suspected of behaving badly, it can be reported to the OFT.

For example recently some ice cream manufacturers gave freezers to shops, but demanded that no-one else's ice cream be put in them.

Few small shops have room for more than one freezer and other ice-cream makers felt this was unfair. The OFT was called in to investigate.

The OFT also enforces laws that govern the businesses that provide water, electricity, telephone calls and a range of other essential services.

There is often only one provider so we have to buy their products. This puts them in a position of power.

Prices might rise very high or service may be of a poor quality and we will have no where else to go.

The government has set up 'regulators' like Oftel (for telecommunications) and Ofwat (for water_ to set the rules. The OFT oversees the process.

Good neighbours

The UK is a member of the European Union (EU).

This means we have a duty to create a business environment where we compete on the same terms as other nations in the EU, this is often referred to as a level playing field.

There are many laws that try to help make sure that businesses are not cheating on each other or their customers.

The Competition Commission, the division that governs this sort of thing, also checks that big businesses are not exploiting their size to get an unfair advantage.

If they get too big, and control so much of the market that it effects other companies' chances of survival, the Commission will step in.

When businesses join together they often become too powerful.

Sometimes the Commission will tell them to sell parts of their business to reduce the power.

UK law is set up to match EU law in this field.