Brits are losing a whopping £15 BILLION every year to scams due to huge failings by Trading Standards
And we're also losing around 279 million hours of work and 742 million hours of leisure time a year trying to fix problems, ring call centres and seek compensation
BRITS are losing £15 billion a year to consumer scams because of huge failings by Trading Standards, a report claims.
The National Audit Office said the Government was struggling to keep pace with the rapid growth in e-commerce.
And the report revealed gaping holes in consumer protection work.
The NAO warned that some local authorities have just ONE trading standards officer expected to enforce 263 different pieces of legislation.
In Felixstowe there are just TWO full time staff to cover all incoming cargo – 3.7 million consignments a year. The officers examine two containers a week.
It comes a year after Amazon and high street giants were forced to recall hoverboards after the ‘must-have’ gifts were found to fail safety standards.
The £15 billion covers everything from pushy sales pitches to fraud.
But the NAO estimates that on top of the financial cost, Brits also lose around 279 million hours of work and 742 million hours of leisure time a year trying to fix problems, ring call centres and seek compensation.
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Amyas Morse, NAO head, said the Government had made some “progress” in recent years to improve protection work and chase down fraudsters.
But he said: “As the threats become increasingly wide ranging the system has not kept pace with the changes, leaving consumers inadequately protected in a number of areas.”
He added that while a national ‘e-crime’ team had been set up, trading standards had lose e-crime expertise at a local level due to Government spending cuts.
Leon Livermore, chief exec of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, said: “The amount spent on trading standards has fallen from £213 million in 2011 to £125 million today, so it’s not surprising the system is struggling to cope.
“It has left consumers inadequately protected and has helped to set the conditions for issues like the Horsemeat and hoverboards scandals.”
A spokesman at the Department for Business and Energy said: “This NAO report recognises the significant progress made since 2011 but highlights where more needs to be done. We will carefully consider the NAO’s findings as part of our ongoing work to examine the consumer protection regime and will publish a Green Paper in Spring 2017.”