Rogue traders will 'fleece the streets' as trading standards are cut

Energy-saving Green Deal and Olympics fans may fall prey to scams as consumers lose protection

(JASON ALDEN)

Cowboy builders and rogue traders will be free to "fleece the streets" as cuts to trading standards leave consumers vulnerable to scams.

With grim economic prospects forcing more people to take a chance on dodgy deals, inspectors face a "cataclysmic" cut in funding from £247m to £140m within four years, the chief executive of the Trading Standards Institute (TSI) cautioned yesterday.

Ron Gainsford said that Britain's reputation is at stake, with the London Olympics vulnerable to ticket and merchandise scams. There is also significant growth in intellectual property theft, counterfeiting and piracy.

Mr Gainsford said that current economic conditions provide "fertile ground" for rogue traders and widespread scams to flourish.

"If you look at the 2012 Olympics, there is a big role for trading standards. There's no real new money going with it and yet the country's reputation is dependent upon effective trading standards work and getting rid of those who will fleece the streets."

The model of 204 different services across England and Wales is not viable, he will tell the TSI conference in Bournemouth this week, pointing to a recent cut to the budget of the Gloucestershire service of 50 per cent.

Mr Gainsford said: "These are massive cuts; the service is losing huge amounts of funding. This is serious and things can't go on as they are. There is an assumption that consumers are protected within an infrastructure of Trading Standards."

Concern is also growing about the Government's Green Deal, which will insulate thousands of homes and help to cut energy costs and carbon emissions. Campaigners claim homeowners wanting to save on bills face an offensive from cowboy builders because of a "patchwork quilt" of cuts.

TSI officers have written to MPs over their concerns that firms will oversell the potential savings from the Green Deal, which is expected to launch next year.

Erica Jobson, the senior advocate for Which? magazine, expressed concern about the Government's "golden rule" that the cost of any energy-reducing measures built into people's homes are paid for in the long-term by savings in fuel bills. "It is not guaranteed. We would like it to be but realistically, because it's over 25 years, energy prices will fluctuate and most likely go up while personal usage will also change."

A National Audit Office (NAO) report revealed last week the scale of unfair commercial practices, pressure selling and criminal scams that cost victims and the economy £6.6bn a year. It described how consumer protection is spread over a large number of local and central government bodies, with the Department for Business Innovation and Skills holding responsibility for policy.

The TSI conference will hear that as people face frozen pay packets, benefits cuts, job losses and rising living costs, they are looking for cheaper goods and services. The Citizens' Advice Bureau will publish a new report, Desperate Times, Desperate Consumers showing consumers are becoming vulnerable to counterfeit goods, fake websites and loan sharks.

Susan Marks, the consumer policy officer and author of the report, said: "We will be stressing the vital importance of advisers, enforcers and regulators working closely together at a time when resources for consumer protection are being squeezed."