Trading standards monthly news

September 2023

Illegal and dangerous skin lighteners seized

Over 940 cosmetic products were seized during inspections at five premises across the borough. The items consisted of skin-lightening creams and lotions which have previously been found to contain banned ingredients, or which were not labelled with the correct safety and traceability information.

Counterfeit and illicit goods seized

81 potentially dangerous mobile phone accessories were seized from two premises in Peckham because they were believed to be counterfeit. Many of these items were sub-standard chargers and leads which falsely bore Apple trademarks. 

33 illicit tobacco products and 97 illegal disposable vapes were also seized from the same premises.

Support for elderly victims of scams

Following intervention by trading standards a 91-year-old man, who fell victim to cold-calling rogue roofers, received a refund of £4,900 from his bank. The man had agreed to roofing works which were then sub-contracted out, were substandard and not completed. It was found that the bank had failed to follow its own safeguarding policy when money transfers to the rogue traders were being carried out.

In a second intervention, a woman in her eighties suffering from dementia was provided with a free call-blocking device. Over many years she had repeatedly fallen victim to telephone scammers claiming to offer clairvoyant services. It was estimated she had spent over £20,000 but had kept this spending secret from her family. The device is now blocking all such calls and was provided as part of a nationally-funded trading standards project to help vulnerable consumers.

London Trading Standards Week

Support was given to the annual city-wide awareness campaign run by London Trading Standards via social media and the promotion of the various themes being highlighted each day. This included a project to assist London’s renters report complaints about illegal tenant fees, issues around price marking and the cost of living plus the work being done to combat illegal disposable vaping products.

Page last updated: 07 March 2024

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