Consumer Advice

The City Council no longer provides a Consumer Advice service. Consumers can access any advice that they may need through the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133 or by visiting adviceguide.org.uk.

To report someone you suspect of a criminal action such as selling illegal goods please submit an online form.

Tobacco and Vapes Bill 

On the 5 November 2024 the Government introduced the Tobacco and Vapes Bill at Westminster.

The Bill aims to introduce a progressive smoking ban to gradually end the sale of tobacco products across the UK, so that anyone born on or after 1st January 2009 will never be able to legally be sold cigarettes.  This means there will be no restrictions on people who can already legally smoke.

The Bill strengthens enforcement activity including the extension of the Tobacco Retailers Register to include vapes and other nicotine products.  It also includes provision to allow for the introduction of a retail licensing scheme in the longer term to replace the Registration scheme.  This will be subject to public consultation.

In addition, the new Bill includes further welcome enhancements including the extension of existing tobacco advertising, sponsorship and brand-sharing rules to include cigarette papers, herbal smoking products, vaping products and other nicotine products.  The legislation will also allow regulations to be made to extend smoke-free provisions in public outdoor places (or workplaces) and to make smoke-free places also vape-free and heated tobacco-free.

Minister Nesbitt said:

“The proposed measures in this Bill offer a huge public health opportunity to reduce preventable death and illness.  This is particularly important in communities where the prevalence of tobacco use is the largest contributor to health inequalities. Reducing these health inequalities across Northern Ireland is one of my key areas of focus and I am positive this legislation will make a very significant difference going forward.”  

Sale of Disposable Vapes To Be Banned

The sale of disposable vapes will be banned in England from June 2025; the Government has confirmed.

Ministers say the move, first announced in January 2024 by the previous government but not enacted before the general election, is intended to prevent environmental damage, and protect children's health.

Disposable vapes are difficult to recycle and typically end up landfill, where their batteries can leak harmful waste like battery acid, lithium, and mercury into the environment, the Government said.

Batteries thrown into household waste also cause hundreds of fires in bin lorries and waste-processing centres every year.

The Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) estimates almost five million single-use vapes were either littered or thrown into general waste each week last year, a nearly four-fold increase on the year before.

Defra's Circular Economy Minister Mary Creagh, whose role focuses on reducing waste in the economy, said disposable vapes were “extremely wasteful and blight our towns and cities". That is why we are banning single use vapes as we end this nation’s throwaway culture," she said.

Public Health Minister Andrew Gwynne said disposables had become the "product of choice for the majority of kids vaping today" and banning them would "reduce the appeal of vapes to children and keep them out of the hands of vulnerable young people".

The Government plans to introduce legislation to ban the sale of disposable vapes from 1 June 2025, allowing retailers time to sell their remaining stock.

The measure is separate from Government plans to end smoking by banning the sale of cigarettes to anyone born after January 2009.

Safety Alert: Water Beads

On the 20 September 2024, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) issued a Safety Alert to warn of the risks that water beads can pose to children and vulnerable adults. This follows action taken by OPSS to remove unsafe products from the market.

The Safety Alert advises that water beads should be kept away from young children, under 5 years of age, and only used with older children or vulnerable adults under close supervision.

Water beads are beads that can expand up to 400 times their original size when exposed to liquid. They are marketed for various purposes, including for use as toys, in crafting, as home decor or in floristry. They are sold under a variety of names including, but not limited to, jelly balls, water balls, sensory beads or water crystals.

When swallowed, water beads expand and can block the gastrointestinal passage which can then require surgery. The beads can also cause choking and have harmed children in the UK, with reports linking them to deaths overseas. Water beads can be difficult to detect and do not show up in x-ray.

Read the Safety Alert for water beads.

Read Product Safety Reports for specific water bead products where action has been taken.

Ticketmaster: consumer protection case

On the 5 September 2024 the Competition and Markets Authority announced that it is investigating consumer protection concerns regarding the sale of Oasis concert tickets by Ticketmaster, including how so-called ‘dynamic pricing' may have been used. For more information go to CMA.

Kings Speech 2024

"A Bill will be introduced to progressively increase the age at which people can buy cigarettes and impose limits on the sale and marketing of vapes [Tobacco and Vapes Bill]. My Ministers will also legislate to restrict advertising of junk food to children along with the sale of high caffeine energy drinks to children". 

E-Bikes and E-Scooters Fire Safety Advice

E-bikes and e-scooters are becoming increasingly popular. Most are powered by lithium-ion batteries which can be charged in the home. The use of these batteries in a wide range of household products is becoming increasingly common.

It is important when charging e-bikes and e-scooters, you do so safely to avoid a risk of a fire starting and putting your families and homes at risk.

With an increased use of e-bikes and e-scooters, comes a corresponding fire safety concern associated with their charging and storage. The use of these products is expected to continue to rise. Some fire services and fire investigators have seen a rise in e-bike and e-scooter battery fires.

Currently there is limited data relating to the number of fires, but London Fire Brigade reported 8 fires caused by e-bikes and e-scooters in 2019. This rose to twenty-four in 2020 and fifty-nine by December 2021.

On occasions batteries can fail catastrophically, they can ‘explode’ and/or lead to a rapidly developing fire. For media stories go to: BBC News and Sky News of the 27 July 2023 and the Chronicle of the 31 July 2023. 

For further information go to NFCC or access the poster (pdf 204 kb) from OPSS.   

OPSS Guidance

If you own an e-bike or e-scooter or are thinking of purchasing one for yourself or someone else, please take note of this Important Safety Message from the UK’s national product regulator, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS).

E-bikes and e-scooters use large lithium-ion batteries which can present a risk of serious fire or explosion in certain circumstances. While these can be used safely, there have been a number of fire incidents involving lithium-ion batteries in e-bikes and e-scooters, including in conversion kits.  

OPSS recommends you follow these five steps when purchasing, using or charging your e-bike or e-scooter to reduce fire risks:

Step 1: RESEARCH - only BUY an e-bike, e-scooter, charger or battery from a known seller and check any product reviews.

Step 2: READ -always READ and FOLLOW the manufacturer's instructions for charging and using e-bikes or e-scooters. 

Step 3: CHECK - not all e-bike or e-scooter batteries and chargers are compatible and safe when used together. Check and only USE the manufacturer's recommended battery or charger. 

Step 4 - CHARGE - always charge in a safe place without blocking exits and always UNPLUG your charger when you have finished charging.  

Step 5: NEVER - attempt to modify or tamper with your battery. 

Avian Flu

5 November 2024. Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N5 has been confirmed in commercial poultry at a premises near Hornsea, East Riding of Yorkshire, Yorkshire. All poultry on the infected premises will be humanely culled. A 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone has been put in place surrounding the premises.

Check if you’re in a bird flu disease zone on the map.

If you’re in a bird flu disease control zone you must follow the rules for that zone and check if you need a licence to move poultry, poultry by-products, eggs, material or mammals.

In line with World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) rules, this means Great Britain is no longer free from highly pathogenic avian influenza. Northern Ireland continues to have self-declared zonal freedom from highly pathogenic avian influenza.

Practicing good biosecurity at all times protects the health and welfare of your birds and for commercial keepers will help protect your business from HPAI and other diseases.

Find out what you can do to prevent bird flu and stop it spreading and how to spot and report suspicion of avian influenza in poultry or other captive birds 

New registration requirements for bird keepers in Great Britain

On 19 March the government announced new measures to help protect the poultry sector from bird flu.

For further information go to Gov.uk

Pricing Survey

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has now reviewed the way a range of grocery retailers displayed their prices in-store to assess whether they were clear, accurate and matched the price people were charged at the till.

The review looked at the price marking practices of 139 grocery stores in England and Wales, including supermarket chains, symbol convenience stores (small, independent retailers that operate under a symbol brand name), variety stores and independent food stores.

The CMA conducted on-site inspections and looked at a sample of products – such as fresh fruit and vegetables and products on promotion. During inspections at some stores, the CMA found examples where the retailer was displaying inaccurate prices or failed to display prices at all for certain products. Failing to provide clear and accurate pricing information for products on sale is a breach of consumer law.

Overall, the majority of issues were found at independent food stores and symbol convenience stores. The most common types of issues seen were missing prices, conflicting prices (instances where prices indicated on products conflicted with those shown on shelf edge labels) and prices not being displayed sufficiently close to products.

There were also issues with prices not being clearly legible, the selling price being obscured, and multibuy promotion labels that didn’t specify the price of the items individually.

The percentage of pricing errors found at each type of store were:

Supermarkets: 4.2%
Symbol convenience stores: 14.4%
Variety stores: 5.6%
Independent food stores: 7.8%
Overall, 60% of the errors resulted in a higher price being charged at the till. Further breakdowns by store type can be found in the report. For further detail go to CMA. To access a Poster (pdf 2.6 mb)

Newcastle Citizens Advice

Newcastle Citizens Advice offers free services providing general advice and information across a wide subject area. Amongst the many services Citizens Advice offers help with; debt, housing, benefit entitlements, consumer, and employment issues. They can be found at the City Library, New Bridge Street West, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8AX or contacted on 03442 451 288 or via their website.

National Consumer Week

National Consumer Week is an annual campaign which aims to raise people's awareness of specific consumer issues, and provide support and advice for those who need it. 

The 2024 campaign will run between 20 May and 2 June, and will focus on used cars, supplying consumers with the advice and support they need to feel confident when purchasing as well as support if they are having issues with a car they bought. For further information go to Citizens Advice.

EU Exit

Updated guidance on the changes can be found on Gov.uk   

Which?

Which? Consumer Rights website is a resource to help consumers solve their biggest issues, from faulty goods and delayed flights, to dealing with scams and dodgy tradesmen. There are hundreds of easy step-by-step guides and letter templates available to help you seek redress, and simple summaries of important consumer legislation.

Northumbria University Student Law Office

The Student Law Office at Northumbria University offers a free legal service to members of the public facing a range of legal issues. The service is provided by students who are supervised by qualified professional lawyers from the School of Law staff. The Law office deals with over 800 cases annually and have successfully concluded a number of high profile cases. The Student Law Office can be contacted on 0191 2273909 or by email at studentlawoffice@northumbria.ac.uk.

Newsletter

The Trading Standards service with the aim of providing updates on our work, produces a newsletter twice a year. To access a copy of our newsletter go to High Standard (pdf 1.5mb).