Consumer Protection

Consumer Protection is about ensuring the safety of non-food goods supplied to the public for their own use.

Unsafe consumer goods injure and even kill many people. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA) indicates that 0.75 million accidental injuries each year are caused by unsafe products.

What the law says

The Consumer Protection Act 1987 places a legal duty on suppliers to trade safely and allows government to introduce regulations which lay down safety standards for consumer goods.

The General Product Safety Regulations (GPSR) 2005 enhances this provision by requiring that all consumer goods meet a general standard of safety. They apply to new and second-hand goods and cover products previously excluded from the Consumer Protection Act.

The range of Goods covered by safety regulations includes: electrical equipment, furniture, toys, cosmetic products, construction products, fireworks etc.

All persons supplying consumer goods should be aware of their legal responsibility to supply safe consumer goods.

Who is the Enforcing Authority?

Regulations relating to consumer goods in Northern Ireland are enforced by District Councils Environmental Health Departments.

Premises are visited on a product risk basis, as reaction to a complaint or other investigation and/or request for advice.

As necessary we advise and try to facilitate proprietors, to ensure product safety.

We carry out a range of activities aimed at both protecting consumers and assisting businesses to meet their obligations, these include

• Survey goods to check they are safe.
• Sample and test goods
• Investigate complaints regarding unsafe goods.
• Advise businesses on how to ensure they supply safe products.
• Advise on underage sales of tobacco and cigarette lighter refills
• Carry out checks on underage sales and notice provisions
• Check Construction Products meet regulatory requirements.
• Liaise with all other Northern Ireland Councils to share knowledge
• Where necessary, take enforcement action to ensure manufacturers and suppliers of non-food products comply with the laws on consumer safety.
• Actively engage in setting up Business Support Partnerships with Industrial Manufacturers and large importers.

Resources Available

The following leaflets/posters are available for further information from the Environmental Health Department based at District Council Offices.

Leaflets:

How safe are your goods – The law relating to Furniture safety
Don't Risk It
The law relating to Second Hand Goods
The motor Vehicle Tyre Safety Regulations
Let Accommodation Guidance
Hired Goods Guidance
Bike Safe
A guide to the manufacture of Wooden Playhouses
Check it – Don’t chance

Posters:

Scoot Safely
How to dispose of Medicines safely
Think- Where you set your hot drink?
Avoiding Children's Falls
Falls are no fairytale

Useful Contacts

Office of Fair Trading
www.oft.gov.uk/Business

Department of Trade and Industry
www.dti.gov.uk

Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services
www.lacors.gov.uk/pages/trade/lacors/asp

Trading Standards Central
www.tradingstandards.gov.uk

United Kingdom Accreditation Services
www.ukas.org

Business Link
www.businesslink.gov.uk

Invest Northern Ireland
www.investni.com

Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs (ODCA)
www.odca.ie

Trading Standards
www.tradingstandards.com

British Toy and Hobby Association
www.btha.co.uk

The Association of Master Upholsters and Soft Furnishers in the UK
www.upholsterers.co.uk

The Furniture, Furnishings and Interiors National Training Organisation
www.ffinto.org

British Furniture Manufacturers Association
www.bfm.org.uk

Copy of Regulations and British Standards
www.opsi.gov.uk

Royal Society for Protection of Accidents
www.rospa.com

Trading Standards Central Resource for Consumer Protection in the UK
www.tradingstandards.gov.uk

British Standards Institute
www.bsi-global.com

UK Accreditation Service
www.ukas.com