Report a trading standards issue

To report a trading standards issue and get consumer advice, contact Citizens Advice.

They will advise and pass on details to your local trading standards team for where you live and where the trader is located.

You can also report issues anonymously on the London Trading Standards website.

Complaining to a business

These websites give advice on how to complain to a business:

• Citizens Advice for information on your consumer rights and making a complaint
• Which? consumer rights for more about regulations and complaint letter templates you can reuse
• Resolver for complaint letter templates and advice on contacting larger organisations

Property, letting and tenancy issues

Contact Southwark’s tenancy relations service for advice on private sector landlord, lettings and tenancy issues.

For disputes with a property agent, landlords and tenants can complain to a government approved redress scheme.

Misleading advertising

You can report misleading advertising to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

Fraud and scams

Be careful if anyone is rushing you to transfer money or pay them upfront for work they have not done yet. Citizens Advice has more advice about scams.

If you made a payment due to a scam, contact your bank right away. They may help you recover some of your money or issue a refund. Find out more about being scammed.

You can also report fraud and scams online to Action Fraud.

Fake (counterfeit), illicit and unsafe goods

Selling fake or illicit goods is a criminal offence and undermines legitimate businesses. This includes counterfeit or illegal tobacco. Contact the trading standards team to report someone selling fake or illicit goods.

Many products are subject to strict safety regulations, such as: 

• toys
• cosmetics
• vapes
• electrical goods

It is a criminal offence to breach these regulations.

You can report unsafe products through Citizens Advice.

You can also anonymously report fake goods to London Trading Standards.

Find out more about the fight against fakes.

Underage sales

Contact us confidentially if you believe someone is selling age restricted products or services to underage people, for example, alcohol or vapes.

You can also report anonymously on the London Trading Standards website.

If you need to prove your age, find out more about approved proof of age cards. 

Reporting crime

Call 999 in an emergency.

Visit the Metropolitan Police website or call 101 to report a crime that's already happened.

Legal advice

Southwark legal advice network has information about local advice services.

Contact us

You can also contact the trading standards team directly.

Please be aware that not every report can be pursued or investigated. 

We assess all the information provided and may use it to:

• plan compliance checks 

• share it with other organisations in accordance with our data protection policy