News Archive - 2022

Home improvement fraudster sentenced to three years in prison

Online ticket touts ordered to pay £6.1m

Two ‘ticket touts’ who fraudulently resold event tickets have been ordered to pay back £6,167,522.02 at a hearing at Leeds Crown Court today. The confiscation order was handed down at the latest hearing associated with the UK’s first successful prosecutions and convictions against a company fraudulently reselling tickets on a large scale.

Public urged to help fight mail scams

National Trading Standards is encouraging members of the public to send in scam mail in a ‘Scamnesty’ running until 23 December.

Crackdown on counterfeits as UK shoppers hunt for bargains

A Black Friday crackdown by enforcement bodies and Meta has been launched to remove listings of potential counterfeit products from Instagram in the run-up to Black Friday.

Doorstep criminals who targeted elderly victims sentenced

Two criminals who conned vulnerable people out of tens of thousands have today been sentenced.

Losing just £100 to a scam would tip 13 million into crisis

National Trading Standards highlights threats to look out for as criminals exploit cost-of-living fears.

Fish seller who conned elderly out of £100K sentenced to 3 and a half years

A door-to-door fish seller who targeted elderly and vulnerable customers using dishonest and aggressive sales techniques has today been sentenced.

Threatening fish seller who scammed victims as old as 105 sentenced to 5 years and 7 months

A mobile fish seller who scammed vulnerable victims has today been sentenced to 5 years and 7 months.

Aggressive fish seller who scammed elderly jailed for eight months

A fish seller who sold poor-quality fish to elderly people using aggressive business tactics handed an eight month custodial sentence.

Letting agent sentenced after leaving landlords out of pocket

A Newmarket letting agent who defrauded his customers has today been jailed for 34 months.

Rogue roofer receives prison sentence

A roofer who left customers with large repair bills after carrying out shoddy work has today been jailed for 3 years and 3 months.

UK victims of international mass marketing scam to be compensated from recovered monies

Compensation roll-out begins following landmark investigation.

National Trading Standards publishes guidance on Part A material information for property listings

The National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT) has published new guidance to help agents ensure they are meeting their requirements under Part A of the process to improve material information in property listings.

Rogue HGV training provider handed 12 month suspended sentence

A rogue Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) training provider who conned people across the country out of more than £63,000 has been handed a suspended prison sentence and disqualified from being a director for five years. At Harrow Crown Court on Friday 24 June he was found guilty of misleading consumers under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations.

Consumer Minister becomes millionth recruit to scam-fighting initiative Friends Against Scams

National Trading Standards scheme reaches ‘one million Friends’ milestone and saves society £59m.

Enforcement action stops sale of over £50k of unsafe electrical goods

Havering Council’s trading standards team helped to stop unsafe electrical goods being sold to the public in an investigation which saw a company director prosecuted.

‘Price on application’ in property listings deemed unlawful as National Trading Standards publishes opinion

National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT) has today published its opinion*, developed with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), that the use of ‘POA’ or ‘price on application’ in property listings (principally sales listings) contravenes consumer protection legislation.

Torquay builder sentenced to 43 months for building work fraud

A tradesman from Torquay has today been handed a 43-month custodial sentence and a Criminal Behaviour Order for 10 years at Bristol Crown Court after pleading guilty to running a fraudulent business.

​National Trading Standards appoints new Chair

The National Trading Standards Board is delighted to confirm that Lord Michael Bichard will take over as the Chair of National Trading Standards from 1 June 2022.

Two sentenced after pleading guilty to money laundering in £500K timeshare fraud

13 million illegal cigarettes taken off the streets in first year of major operation

Illegal tobacco products worth more than £7 million have been seized in the first year* of a major crackdown on the illicit tobacco trade by National Trading Standards (NTS) and HMRC.

Material information for property listings announced

A property's council tax band or rate and the property price and tenure information (for sales) must be included on all property listings by the end of May 2022 and these data fields will start to appear on portals over the coming weeks.These changes represent the first phase of a project by the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team, in partnership with industry leaders and the UK’s major property portals*, to define what constitutes material information for property listings.

Brothers sentenced for home maintenance fraud following extradition

Two brothers have been sentenced at Bristol Crown Court today after pleading guilty to one count of participating in a fraudulent roofing and building business on December 22 at Bristol Crown Court.

Property improvement fraudsters sentenced

Three fraudsters have been sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court today (4 February 2022) for their part in an elaborate property improvement scam which saw victims conned into paying deposits totalling nearly £800,000 for building work that was never undertaken.