Trading standards prosecutions can be brought by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) together with the local authority regulatory body for trading standards. They can also be brought by the Food Standards Agency. These bodies can investigate and prosecute in number of areas and this can affect wholesale or retail businesses.
The potential offences include dealing in counterfeit goods, breaching copyright and breaching trademark regulations. These investigations can have a hugely detrimental effect on business and it is important that your rights are protected from the outset. We have a team of lawyers with specialist regulatory experience who can advise you and assist you in defending these prosecutions.
There are many different areas that could become the subject of a prosecution such as:
- Food safety
- Food labelling
- Product safety and product recall
- Trade descriptions
- Counterfeit goods
- Advertising and sales
- Weights and measures
- Licensing
- Consumer credit and contracts
- Supply of age restricted products to minors
If you are facing an investigation or prosecution in respect of trading standards we appreciate that often the complex legislation can be bewildering, particularly if you believe that you have done nothing wrong. The detrimental effect on you and your business can be wide reaching. You may be a manufacturer, a distributor, a retailer or another party to the investigation and in all circumstances it is important to obtain specialist advice. You may not know how the investigation started, this could be through a test purchase or a complaint made by a member of the public. That is little comfort when facing these proceedings. You need to know that your rights are protected.
