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Journal of Trading Standards, Online Edition - JoTS Online

Welcome to the Journal of Trading Standards online edition, JoTS Online. Browse through our latest Articles - including Analysis, Opinion Pieces, Features and a selection of articles from our acclaimed print journal.

Although many JoTS Online articles are open access (public), others are exclusive to CTSI Members - in which case, you'll need to login to access them. If you aren't a member of CTSI yet, you can join us here. And, if you'd like to contribute articles or suggest topics for us to cover, please email our Editorial Team.

Latest JoTS Online Articles : 

News Category Tags: Crime, Product Safety, Health and Safety, Counterfeit Goods, Retail, Animal Health and Welfare, Legal and Policy, Enforcement Practice, Product Recalls, Property and Housing, Automotive, Vapes, Business, CTSI Conference, CTSI Hero Awards.

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Islington cowboy builder jailed

Posted: 23 March 2022

UPDATES: An Islington rogue builder who deliberately targeted elderly homeowners has been jailed after defrauding victims of £86,000 through fabricated roofing repairs. The prosecution demonstrates how early intelligence, careful investigation and partnership working exposed a calculated pattern of offending.
 

Interview: Professor Kathy Hamilton

Posted: 22 March 2022

ANALYSIS: Consumer vulnerability is shaped by far more than age or income. Professor Kathy Hamilton discusses transformative consumer research, the social and structural factors that create vulnerability, and how this evidence can help trading standards develop more effective, consumer-centred interventions.
 

Speaking out for consumers

Posted: 22 March 2022

ANALYSIS: Seventy years after its creation, the Consumer Public Interest Network continues to champion the consumer voice in standards development. This feature explores its evolving priorities, the role of volunteer representatives and why meaningful consumer involvement remains central to better standards.
 

Warwickshire rogue trader found guilty

Posted: 21 March 2022

UPDATES: A Warwickshire rogue trader has been convicted after systematically exploiting a vulnerable pensioner over several years, extracting more than £100,000 for grossly overpriced and incomplete work. The investigation reveals the scale of the deception and the evidence that secured the verdict.
 

Elaborate cigarette hide discovered

Posted: 21 March 2022

UPDATES: Trading standards officers uncovered more than 5,000 illicit cigarettes hidden above a shop ceiling inside a sophisticated remote-controlled concealment. The discovery illustrates the increasingly elaborate methods used to evade enforcement and the continuing fight against illegal tobacco sales.
 

Obituary: Graham John Morgan

Posted: 14 March 2022

UPDATES: Colleagues remember Graham John Morgan as a thoughtful public servant, respected Derbyshire trading standards leader and devoted family man whose career spanned Gloucestershire, Newcastle, Manchester and Derbyshire, and whose legacy includes the county’s Trusted Trader scheme.
 

Pandemic boosts counterfeiting

Posted: 10 March 2022

UPDATES: New Europol and EUIPO findings show how organised criminals exploited the COVID-19 pandemic, online shopping growth and demand for healthcare products to expand counterfeiting, while the Anti-Counterfeit Group reports continued enforcement action and platform partnerships.
 

Operation CeCe celebrates success

Posted: 10 March 2022

UPDATES: Operation CeCe’s first year saw NTS, HMRC, Border Force and local trading standards remove more than £7m of illegal tobacco from sale, disrupt organised crime and secure continued funding for a three-tier enforcement strategy targeting factories, borders and street-level sellers.
 

Dorset takes on illegal puppy sales

Posted: 08 March 2022

UPDATES: Dorset Council is warning would-be dog owners to check breeders before buying, as trading standards and environmental health teams tackle unlicensed puppy sales driven by pandemic demand, animal welfare concerns and the risk of serious consumer loss.
 

Green energy guide launched

Posted: 08 March 2022

UPDATES: A new Business Companion guide aims to help green energy installers meet consumer protection duties, understand accreditation and raise standards as net zero policy, public funding and demand for competent low-carbon home improvements accelerate sector growth.
 

International Women’s Day

Posted: 08 March 2022

UPDATES: International Women’s Day gives CTSI an opportunity to reflect on women’s representation in trading standards, from diversity survey findings and continued sex discrimination concerns to personal perspectives on bias, leadership and progress within the profession.
 

FCA cracks down on investment scams

Posted: 03 March 2022

UPDATES: FCA data shows investment scam enquiries rose sharply in 2021, with cryptoassets, boiler rooms and recovery room fraud prominent, as the regulator promotes ScamSmart and InvestSmart and steps up action against unauthorised and high-risk firms.
 

CTSI speaks to BEIS Committee

Posted: 01 March 2022

UPDATES: CTSI used a BEIS Committee evidence session on post-pandemic economic growth to highlight consumer rights awareness, the economic role of consumer protection, the value of UKICC and the pressure placed on local trading standards by a decade of cuts.
 

Caution urged on imperial markings

Posted: 25 February 2022

UPDATES: CTSI is urging caution over any return to imperial markings, warning that changes to weights and measures could add business costs, confuse consumers and place further enforcement demands on trading standards services already weakened by long-term budget cuts.
 

Fake face mask trader fined

Posted: 25 February 2022

UPDATES: Ealing Council Trading Standards secured a £15,232 penalty against a Southall company that sold counterfeit branded face masks and non-compliant hand sanitiser during the pandemic, exposing consumers to unsafe products marketed as protective essentials.
 

Obituary: Archie Mitchell

Posted: 22 February 2022

UPDATES: Colleagues remember Archibald Mackenzie Mitchell as a respected Scottish trading standards leader, metrologist and mentor whose five-decade career spanned local government, professional service and lasting friendships across the Institute.
 

Disposable vape products seized

Posted: 22 February 2022

UPDATES: A Scotland-wide trading standards project removed more than 88,000 disposable vaping devices from sale and seized thousands more for breaching legal capacity limits, underlining concerns about youth appeal, product compliance, health risks and environmental harm.
 

Rising costs 'threat to consumers'

Posted: 22 February 2022

UPDATES: CTSI warns that rising energy bills, inflation and post-pandemic pressures could sharply increase consumer vulnerability, creating fertile ground for loan sharks, energy mis-selling and other scams unless the UK strengthens its consumer protection strategy.
 

MSP warns on future of trading standards

Posted: 17 February 2022

UPDATES: CTSI’s Scottish Branch has backed calls for renewed investment in trading standards as staffing levels fall, retirements loom and post-Brexit product safety, pandemic support and market surveillance demands intensify across Scotland.
 

CMA targets online rip-offs

Posted: 14 February 2022

UPDATES: The CMA’s Online Rip-off Tip-off campaign aims to help consumers recognise and report hidden charges, subscription traps, fake reviews and pressure-selling tactics as misleading online practices become harder to spot.