How to Report a Business to Trading Standards (UK Guide)

To report a business to Trading Standards in England or Wales, contact the Citizens Advice consumer service online or by phone. Citizens Advice records your complaint, gives you advice on your rights, and passes the details to your local council’s Trading Standards team when the problem suggests a business is breaking the law. In Scotland the route is Advice Direct Scotland, and in Northern Ireland it’s Consumerline. If a rogue trader is at your door or you feel threatened, call 999.

This guide covers what Trading Standards deals with, how to report, what realistically happens next, how the UK’s newer ban on fake reviews fits in, and what to expect if you run a business and someone reports you. It’s general information, not legal advice.

What Trading Standards is

Trading Standards is the consumer protection service run by local councils across the UK (in Northern Ireland, it’s run centrally rather than by councils). Its officers enforce a wide range of consumer and trading laws, from product safety and weights and measures to unfair and misleading sales practices.

The key thing to understand is that Trading Standards is an enforcement body, not a complaints service for individual disputes. It uses reports from the public to spot patterns, target rogue traders and protect the wider community. It usually won’t take up your personal case, negotiate a refund or tell you whether you’ll get your money back. That’s why reports go through Citizens Advice first: Citizens Advice helps you with your own problem, and Trading Standards acts on the bigger picture.

What you can report to Trading Standards

Trading Standards deals with businesses that break consumer law, not with ordinary disagreements about service. Typical problems it handles include:

• Rogue traders and doorstep crime. Cold callers offering building work, roofing or driveway repairs, inflated prices, pressure selling and work left unfinished.
• Unsafe goods. Electrical items, toys, cosmetics or other products that could hurt someone, including counterfeit versions of branded goods.
• Misleading claims and pricing. False “was” prices, hidden charges, misleading descriptions of products or services, and fake scarcity or countdown claims.
• Fake and misleading reviews. Businesses writing, buying or commissioning fake reviews, or presenting reviews in a misleading way.
• Counterfeit goods and scam products. Fake branded goods sold online, at markets or through social media.
• Age-restricted sales. Shops selling alcohol, tobacco, vapes or knives to under-18s.
• Weights and measures. Short measures in pubs, underweight goods or inaccurate scales.

What it usually doesn’t handle: a one-off dispute where a business simply did a poor job and hasn’t broken any law. For that, your routes are the business’s own complaints process, a trade association or ombudsman if one exists, your card provider, or the small claims court.

Trading Standards or Report Fraud?

People often aren’t sure whether a bad experience is a consumer problem or a crime. The difference matters, because it decides where your report goes.

What happened	Where to report
A real business sold you something faulty, unsafe or misdescribed	Citizens Advice consumer service, which can refer it to Trading Standards
A builder or cold caller pressured you, overcharged or left work unfinished	Citizens Advice, and 999 if they’re at your door or threatening you
You paid a website or seller that never existed and took your money	Your bank first, then Report Fraud (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
Someone impersonated your bank, HMRC or a delivery firm	Your bank first, then Report Fraud
A business is posting fake reviews or suppressing honest ones	Citizens Advice, and the platform the reviews appear on

If money was taken by someone who never intended to supply anything, that’s fraud. Our guide on how to report to Action Fraud, now Report Fraud walks through that process, including calling your bank before anything else. If you’re not sure whether a shop was genuine in the first place, our guide to checking if a website is legit covers the warning signs.

How to report a business to Trading Standards, step by step

1. Make sure you’re safe. If a trader is at your home, refusing to leave, pressuring you to pay or driving you to a bank, call 999. Doorstep crime is treated seriously and police and Trading Standards often work together on it.
2. Stop paying. Don’t hand over more money for “extra work” the trader has suddenly found. If you paid by card, contact your card provider about a chargeback or, for eligible credit card purchases, a claim under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.
3. Gather the facts. The business name, address, website, phone numbers, vehicle registration if they came to your door, and any names they used. Add receipts, contracts, adverts, screenshots of listings or reviews, and a short timeline.
4. Contact the right consumer service. In England and Wales, use the Citizens Advice consumer service online form or phone line. In Scotland, contact Advice Direct Scotland. In Northern Ireland, contact Consumerline. Find the current details on each service’s official website rather than through a search ad.
5. Explain what happened plainly. Stick to what the business said, did and charged, in date order. Say clearly if you think others are affected, for example if a trader is working their way down your street.
6. Keep your reference and your evidence. Note the date you reported and any reference you’re given. Don’t throw away paperwork or delete messages.

You can also contact your council’s Trading Standards team directly for some matters, and many councils have their own reporting pages. But the Citizens Advice route is the standard one for consumers, and it makes sure your report reaches the right team even if the business is based in another area.

What happens after you report

Citizens Advice gives you advice on your rights and logs your complaint. Where it points to a possible breach of the law, the details are shared with Trading Standards. Officers then decide what to do based on the harm involved, how many people are affected and the resources they have.

In practice, that might mean:

• Nothing visible to you. Your report may simply add to intelligence about a trader. Many reports are used this way, and you often won’t hear back.
• Contact with the business. Officers may write to the business, give advice on the law, or visit its premises.
• Formal action. For serious or repeated problems, action can include warnings, seizing unsafe or counterfeit goods, and prosecution in the courts.

Trading Standards may contact you if they need more information or a witness statement. If they don’t, it doesn’t mean your report was ignored. The honest expectation is that reporting helps the community more reliably than it helps your individual case.

Fake reviews and the DMCC Act

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, usually called the DMCC Act, brought in an explicit ban on fake reviews in the UK. In general terms, it treats as unfair commercial practices things like writing or commissioning fake consumer reviews, offering incentives for reviews that misrepresent a real experience, and presenting reviews in a misleading way, such as hiding negative ones while implying you’re showing them all. Businesses that publish consumer reviews are also expected to take reasonable steps to prevent and remove fake ones.

Trading Standards enforces consumer protection law locally, and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) enforces nationally, with the DMCC Act giving the CMA stronger powers to act directly, including fines. If you spot a business posting fake reviews, you can report it through the Citizens Advice consumer service. Report the reviews to the platform they appear on as well, because the platform is usually the quickest route to getting them taken down. Our guide to removing fake Google reviews explains how that reporting works on Google.

If you’re in the US, the equivalent rules are different: see our explainer on the FTC’s fake review rule.

A worked example

This is an illustrative scenario, not a real client. Margaret, who lives alone in a village near Norwich, answers the door to two men who say they’ve spotted loose tiles on her roof. They quote a modest price, start work the same afternoon, then tell her the timbers are rotten and the job will cost several times more. They offer to drive her to the bank.

1. Her neighbor sees the van, recognizes the pressure tactics and calls 999 while the men are still there.
2. Margaret refuses to go to the bank. She writes down the van’s registration and the names on the invoice.
3. The next day, with her son’s help, she contacts the Citizens Advice consumer service, explains what happened and gives the registration, the invoice and a timeline. She’s told her rights, including cancellation rights for contracts agreed at home, and her report is passed to Trading Standards.
4. A Trading Standards officer later calls to take more details. Margaret doesn’t hear the outcome, but her report joins others about the same van.

Margaret didn’t lose her savings because someone acted quickly. Her report may help stop the same men at the next street.

If your business has been reported to Trading Standards

For a business owner, a letter or visit from Trading Standards is unsettling. In most cases the first contact is advisory: officers want to understand what happened and help you comply. Responding well matters, both legally and for your reputation.

1. Don’t ignore it. Reply promptly and professionally. Officers have legal powers, and being cooperative from the start usually leads to a better outcome.
2. Get the facts together. Pull the relevant orders, contracts, adverts, product safety documents, pricing history and complaint records. Find out who dealt with the customer.
3. Take advice. For anything beyond a simple advisory letter, and certainly for a formal interview or warning, talk to a lawyer who handles regulatory or consumer law.
4. Fix the underlying problem. Correct misleading claims, withdraw unsafe stock, update terms and pricing displays, and change how you collect and show reviews if that was the issue.
5. Put the customer right where you can. A fair refund or repair often resolves the individual complaint and shows good faith.

Many councils also offer paid business advice and some run approved trader schemes, and larger businesses can set up a Primary Authority partnership with one council for consistent advice. These are worth considering if you’re in a heavily regulated sector.

What not to do: don’t contact the complainant to pressure them into withdrawing a complaint, don’t respond with fake positive reviews to bury the story, and don’t threaten reviewers who mention the investigation. Under the DMCC Act those tactics can create new breaches of their own. If an investigation has turned into news coverage or a wave of reviews, our review management service helps businesses respond honestly and build genuine reviews over time. It doesn’t remove legitimate complaints.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Expecting Trading Standards to get your money back. It enforces the law; your refund comes through the business, your card provider or the courts.
• Reporting a scam to the wrong place. If there was never a real business, go to your bank and Report Fraud.
• Waiting to report doorstep crime. Call 999 while the trader is there. Details like a van registration are most useful when they’re fresh.
• Posting accusations publicly instead of reporting. A factual review is fine, but naming individuals and making claims you can’t prove can expose you to a defamation complaint.
• Throwing away evidence. Keep invoices, leaflets, screenshots and messages until the matter is fully closed.

Frequently asked questions

Can I contact Trading Standards directly?

Some councils accept reports directly, but the standard route for consumers in England and Wales is the Citizens Advice consumer service, which passes relevant cases to the right Trading Standards team. In Scotland use Advice Direct Scotland, and in Northern Ireland use Consumerline.

Will Trading Standards help me get a refund?

Usually not directly. Trading Standards enforces consumer law and uses reports to act against businesses that break it. Citizens Advice can explain your rights, and your refund usually comes through the business, a chargeback or Section 75 claim, an ombudsman, or the small claims court.

Can I report fake reviews to Trading Standards?

Yes. The DMCC Act 2024 bans fake reviews and misleading presentation of reviews, and you can report a business you think is doing this through the Citizens Advice consumer service. Report the reviews to the platform as well, since it can remove them.

What happens if my business is reported to Trading Standards?

Often the first step is advice or a request for information. For serious or repeated breaches, officers can issue warnings, seize goods or prosecute. Respond promptly, fix the underlying problem and take legal advice if the matter is formal.

Is Trading Standards the same as Report Fraud?

No. Trading Standards is local council consumer protection for businesses breaking trading laws. Report Fraud is the police service for reporting fraud and cybercrime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. If a seller never existed and took your money, report it to your bank and Report Fraud.