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Trading Standards Investigations and/or Prosecutions Defence

Trading Standards investigations can cause significant disruption and damage to a business. Taking expert legal advice at the outset can often make all the difference.

Our regulatory solicitors have vast experience in defending sole traders and businesses facing a Trading Standards investigation and/or prosecution.  We work with you with maximum efficiency and hopefully minimum disruption to secure a favourable outcome.

Trading Standards investigations and/or prosecutions can involve:

  • Food safety
  • Weights and measures
  • Counterfeit Goods/Trademarks and copyright infringement
  • Consumer credit and contact terms
  • Faulty goods
  • Product recall
  • Unfair commercial practices
  • Under age sales(e.g. tobacco and alcohol)
  • Fraudulent activity
  • Conspiracy to defraud
  • Animal welfare
  • Labelling /descriptions
  • Supply chains
  • Due Diligence

Trading Standards prosecutions are serious and can result in custodial sentences.
Due to the complexity of trading standards legislation and enforcement it's essential to get expert legal advice from regulatory solicitors that have extensive experience of trading standards investigations and prosecutions.

Trading Standards Officers can:

  • Make undercover test purchases, posing as customers
  • Commence an investigation into your business based on a complaint from a customer
  • Attend at your business premises without notice
  • Seize your business records including computers, mobile phones and products
  • Seize goods as evidence or for forfeiture.
  • Interview people associated with the business
  • If accompanied by the police, effect an arrest of any personnel associated with the business who they have reasonable grounds to suspect of committing offences
  • Insist on a product recall
  • Issue formal warnings
  • Review any licences granted to the business
  • Issue criminal cautions
  • Interview directors and staff under caution
  • Commence criminal prosecutions in the Magistrates’ Court and Crown Court
  • Instigate POCA proceedings

ABR can advise as to the processes and procedures that you have in place ensuring that your home authority are working with you thereby avoiding, negating or minimising any risk from a potential investigation by seeking to have the appropriate due diligence in place.

Our team will assist and guide you throughout the process.

If you find yourself the subject of an investigation you can contact our team of expert regulatory solicitors who will be able to advise you about the appropriate steps to take.  We work with you and external experts and barristers to ensure that you have the best trading standards defence team possible.  Wherever possible we look to prevent a prosecution taking place.  However, if you are prosecuted we challenge every appropriate aspect of the case to secure the best possible outcome.

Our extensive experience and recognition as leading criminal defence lawyers assists us in understanding of the process and its impact on you or your business.  We provide robust, pragmatic and where appropriate proactive strategic and tactical advice.