Advice
The information below is provided by the Business Support Network (BSN) - a resource managed by Blackpool Council’s Trading Standards Service. The network offers support and advice to companies and traders in the Blackpool area, with the aim of promoting best practice and fair trade within the business community.
Alcohol and tobacco sales.
The law has changed to penalise traders who sell alcohol to young people. From January this year the Offence of persistently selling alcohol to under 18s has been reduced from three strikes within three months, to just two strikes within the same period. Penalties include imposing conditions on licenses, suspension or even revocation, with a possible fine of up to £20,000.
The new Tobacco Banning Order came into force last year for retailers caught selling tobacco to under 18s on three or more occasions over a two year period. The banning order can apply to either the store owner/manager or to premises itself and could prohibit the sale of tobacco for up to one year. This is in addition to the penalties that already exist i.e. a fine of up to £2500.
Remember that you, as the owner of the business, are liable for the actions of your staff. Legal action may be taken against you even if you did not sell the product yourself. This applies to the sale of any age-restricted product.
For further information on how you can protect yourself and stay compliant with the law, phone your Business Support Officer, Catriona Bright on 478386.
New scheme for food hygiene.
2010 sees the roll out of a national food hygiene rating scheme for England and Wales. The scheme will provide consumers with information about hygiene standards in restaurants, takeaways, cafes, sandwich shops, pubs, hotels and other retail food outlets.
For more on this, please click here.
For further information on food hygiene issues, please call 01253 478323
With regard to Health & Safety, the 2008 Corporate Manslaughter Legislation is now fully implemented. This clarifies the liabilities of any company for serious failures in the management of health and safety which lead to a death. For this reason it is vital for all businesses, big and small, to constantly review their safety management systems, and retain documented and traceable proof.
For further information on H&S obligations and compliance issues, please call 01253 478315 or click here.
Scams.
Due to high number of small businesses - particularly hotels, Blackpool is a target for scam operators and rogue traders. Here are several to be aware of, if you haven’t already been a victim yourself
Publishing scams
We have had numerous reports of small businesses receiving calls from agencies selling advertising space in various types of publications - wall planners, diaries, emergency services magazines, crime prevention or drugs awareness booklets. Often nothing will be produced at all, or only in very small numbers, at very poor quality. Sales staff will use deliberately misleading sales talk that is often carefully scripted. Many complaints relate to being talked into a ‘free trial’ or a no obligation quote, which is followed by a demand for payment on the basis that you have entered into a legally binding contractual agreement. Complainants report that calls get more and more frequent and more threatening over time.
There are a number of steps you can take to avoid rogue publishers such as never agreeing to an advertisement over the phone - not even if it is presented as free or no obligation. Always asking for written details, and properly check all invoices received.
In practice it is difficult to take action against such traders, as arrangements are usually made verbally over the phone, and it is hard to establish a case where no concrete proof exists.
Advance free fraud
This is a well-established scam that purports to offer the opportunity to earn a substantial sum of money for allowing funds to be transferred to your account and then passing on a proportion of these to another party, keeping the remainder as your commission. The approach is usually made by letter, fax, email or telephone and typically comes from Nigeria, Hong Kong, China, Canada or the Netherlands. Recently some of these scams have come in the guise of an order or a booking, where the recipient is offered a large sum and asked to take out their ‘share’.
If you have been a target of such a scam, wish to make a report or receive further advice, please call Trading Standards on 01253 478375.
Trading Standards Advice and Education can provide further information or training which can be tailored to your specific requirements. Please contact Jess Hall on 01253 478375 for information on how we can help you.
For any immediate queries or questions you may have, don’t hesitate to email catriona.bright@blackpool.gov.uk on 01253 478386.
