Use this page to find out how to contact Trading Standards, make anonymous reports, and find out what happens next with your complaint.
Citizens Advice Consumer Service
Local complaints are handled by the Citizens Advice Consumer Service. This service is provided under a Government contract by the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, a longstanding and trusted organisation.
You can contact the service for free, impartial advice, or to make a complaint.
Visit the Citizens Advice Consumer Service website or call 0808 223 1133.
Making a complaint
When making a complaint to the Citizens Advice Consumer Service, they will record details of the complaint on their national database.
If you provide address details, the Citizens Advice Consumer Service will forward your complaint to both your local Trading Standards service, and the service local to where the trader is based.
Please be aware that this arrangement also includes complaints of criminal activity by traders and trading malpractice where no advice is required.
The Citizens Advice Consumer Service then send the information to our Trading Standards team. We cannot respond to each complaint we receive, but we regularly review the complaints and take action against the worst offenders.
If a complaint is deemed serious, the Citizens Advice Consumer Service will contact us urgently to make sure we are aware; for example, where there is a major safety issue, or a vulnerable person is being targeted.
Report a trader to Trading Standards
If you don't want advice, but want to report a trader or illegal activity, you should still make contact through the Citizens Advice Consumer Service, by phoning 0808 223 1133.
Read what you can report to Trading Standards
Report a breach of B&NES road weight restrictions
Make a report anonymously
We understand that when some people report matters to us, they have concerns about their personal safety or wellbeing.
The Consumer Helpline is operated by a trusted organisation so you can pass your name and contact details to them and request that it is kept confidentially and not given to the person you are reporting, by them or us.
This helps us because sometimes we need to check facts or ask for more information.
However, if you want to withhold your name and contact details you can and still make a report. We welcome all information but please ensure you give an address or area for the person you are reporting so that the report can go to the correct Council.
We always read anonymous complaints or reports as they may contain important information about serious issues. Sometimes we can act on this information. However, you should note that anonymous complaints are generally regarded as less reliable, so we may have to try and check the information and sometimes it is more difficult to act on this information.