Scams

Air conditioning scam

Oxfordshire Trading Standards are warning schools that companies may be soliciting contracts with local businesses and schools about air conditioning inspections which are, apparently a legal requirement. The inspections must be carried out by an accredited person or body and the company is either relying on lapsed accreditation or no accreditation at all. Trading Standards are asking schools to check and confirm that accreditations are valid and up to date before engaging a company to do this work.

Champagne and wine rip off

Trading Standards has been made aware that an email is being sent to independent wine companies asking to purchase high value wines and Champagne from them. The email asks the business for a total of £5000 of items, and are getting people to collect the wines and Champagne. The scammers give the wine company a credit card number but then subsequently cancels the cards.

Fair Trading 

Are you an accidental outlaw?

Nominet has launched an ‘Accidental Outlaw’ campaign which highlights that we are all in danger of becoming ‘accidental outlaws’ by not fully understanding how the law affects us online. 

They have launched a free online test which lets consumers test their understanding of how the laws apply online and check out how to stay out of trouble.

Please find this test at: www.knowthenet.org.uk/accidentaloutlaw

Mediation – an alternative to court action

Whether your business is the supplier or the customer, it is likely that, at some time, you will be involved in a dispute over a contract. Most people are intimidated by the thought of formal court action to decide on a contractual argument and believe the process will be complex, expensive and time consuming.

While, in fact, the court process is often none of these things, there is an alternative with a good track record of success – mediation.

Mediation is a settlement process which is faster, less complex and often cheaper than using the courts. It can even be free to use in some circumstances. A trained mediator will help you and the other party to the dispute to find some common ground on which you can settle your disagreement.

If your contractual dispute is over less than £5000 and you wanted to go to court to resolve the matter it would often take about 14 weeks from the issue of the claim. Mediation typically only takes about 5 weeks. The normal cost of mediation is about £50 + VAT per hour but if it is taken up as part of the small claims court process it is free (in that the claimant can claim back their court fee if they notify the court that mediation has been successful up to 7 days before the scheduled court hearing).

To put this in perspective, a small claims track court case will cost the loser anything from £25 for an uncontested claim for up to £300 in damages to £443 for a contested claim for £5000 in damages.

Mediation’s advantages include:

• it is quicker and less expensive than using the court procedures
• it offers a wider range of possible solutions, tailored to the specific dispute (the solution need not just be a money payment)
• the process is more flexible than the courts (for instance mediation can even take place over the phone)
• it is private and confidential
• it is very rare for there to be a problem with enforcing a mediated solution since neither side feels that the result has been forced on them.

Mediation disadvantages include:

• you cannot force the other party to a dispute to undergo mediation – you both have to agree to it
• the costs do rise where the amount in dispute is over £5000 (typical costs between £5000 and £15,000 are £300 + VAT per hour. For disputes where more than £15,000 is at stake, the cost of mediation can rise to about £425 + VAT per hour)
• If mediation fails and no agreement is reached you have to go back to court
• in mediated cases which would be small claims in court the amount settled on is typically only about half of the amount which was originally claimed.

More information about mediation.
If you are looking for a mediator go to http://www.civilmediation.justice.gov.uk

Safety

Are your chargers safe?

Trading Standards has concerns about the safety of of electrical chargers for mobile phones and devices such as ipods. As a retailer or importer of electrical chargers, there are some simple checks that you can carry out to ensure that they are safe.  Electrical Safety Council’s checks leaflet

Problematic moth balls

We have recently found moth balls on sale within Oxfordshire containing Naphthalene. This was despite the packaging claiming that the moth balls were 100% natural cedar wood. For a long time, Naphthalene was one of the main ingredients used in moth balls. Since August 2009, following a European Review, it has been illegal to supply Mothballs (or any other Biocidal Product) which contains Naphthalene.

Biocidal products are products used as disinfectants, preservatives, pest control products and other miscellaneous uses.If you sell anti moth products and are unsure whether they contain Naphthalene, the best way to tell is from the strong odour and a white colour. If you are still unsure, check with your supplier.

Ban on tobacco advertising

From 6 April 2012 the law is changing so that:

Supermarkets and other large shops will no longer have cigarettes and other tobacco products on display, except when staff are serving customers and carrying out tasks such as restocking.

You may be asked your age before being served because staff will no longer be allowed to show cigarettes or tobacco to customers under 18 years of age.

Tobacco price lists will also look different because they will have to be in a plain format with no tobacco branding.

All shops will have to change but smaller shops will not have to cover up their cigarettes and tobacco products until 6 April 2015. This is because the Government is trying to help small businesses by having a three-year freeze on new regulations for them. 

Food matters

Illicit Drop Vodka

Businesses are being advised to be on the lookout for illicit Drop Vodka 70cl.

The problems with the Drop Vodka is as follows:

• The product does not contain enough alcohol to be called vodka.
• There are a number of labelling issues, particularly the lack of manufacturer’s details for traceability purposes.
• Sampling by local authorities have identified the presence of Propan-2-ol and other substances that can be potentially damaging to health.

To identify the Drop Vodka, you can look for the following on the bottles:

• Drop Vodka, 70cl
• Bottled in Italy or France

Main distinctive marks:

• The duty stamp does not fluoresce under UV light
• The duty reference on the illicit bottles A000000000618 belongs to Glen Catrine Bonded Warehouse Ltd. Drop Vodka is not a Glen Catrine product
• The barcode 0123456789 is not a valid bar code
• No spirit manufacturer's lot number on bottle
• No manufacturer's name and address on the label
• Front and rear labels are self-adhesive
• Punt mark on bottles show bottle made by 'Ol glassware'
• The general print quality of the labels is poor

Health claims on food

The Department of Health has produced some revised guidance on the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulations.

Did you know that sugar free chewing gum helps neutralize plaque acids? Plaque acids are a risk factor in the development of dental caries. This is just one of the health claims which has been approved by the European Commission. Find out which other claims have been approved.
 

If you are making a health claim on or associated with a food which is not on the list, you will need to consider removing it, or changing it to a claim which has been approved. For further assistance with using or deciding whether a claim is permitted, please contact us. 

New law on food labels and advertising

The EU has formally adopted a piece of law which lays down the information which should be displayed on food labels and advertising. The Provision of Food Information to Consumers Regulation does not come into force for three years, but it is expected to amend or replace the current food labelling legislation.

Some highlights of the regulations include:

• Country of origin – (subject to further discussion), Country of origin information will be mandatory for most fresh and frozen meat.
• Mandatory nutrition labelling for most foods by 2016.  The order in which it appears has changed;
• A minimum font size has been set for all mandatory information on most food labels (1.2mm)
• Allergen information will have to be provided on all food (whether sold prepacked or loose – currently it is only for prepacked food.
• Drinks with high caffeine content will have to be additionally labelled
• Meat and fish products that look like a cut, joint or slice and contain more than 5% added water will have to show this in the name of the food.
• The types of vegetable oil used in food, such as palm oil, must be stated.
• The regulations also cover the information displayed when food is sold on the internet.

More information and a copy of the regulations.

Weights and Measures

How do you know if your scales, weights or measures are accurate?

Trading Standards can, for a reasonable fee, test your weights, petrol pumps, capacity measures, scales, length measures  for accuracy (either at your or our premises) and issue you a with certificate of the errors which can be used as part of a quality control system to provide confidence in your work.

We offer weights and measures appointments 5 days a week and can accommodate your needs quicker than you may think and for a reasonable price.

Please contact us for more information. Call us on 0845 051 0845 option 2 to request a quote.

Protecting your business from unfair competition

Please follow the link below to see details of Trading Standards prosecutions. This action seeks to protect consumers and reputable businesses from unfair competition;
http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/content/prosecutions

We hope you find our newsletter useful. For more information on any of the above issues, please call 0845 051 0845.
 
If you would like to unsubscribe from our newsletter, please email us via the following address:  trading.standards@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Previous editions of Business news express

• Busines news express issue 1 (pdf format, 139 Kb)
• Business news express issue 2 (pdf format, 136 Kb)