The East Lothian Trusted Trader scheme
Trusted Trader was launched by Dundee City Council Trading Standards in 2005. Its simple aim was to encourage local businesses to sign up to a code of practice that will give consumers confidence in the standard of service they expect to receive. The success of the scheme in Dundee has seen it become adopted across many different local authorities, all of which conform to the same standard Code of Practice.
East Lothian Trusted Trader was originally started in March 2012, before joining the purpose built Scotland Trusted Trader platform on the 1 April 2018, which now incorporates many official Trading Standards Trusted Trader Schemes across Scotland.
The East Lothian Council Trusted Trader scheme is a local business partnership which aims to:
- increase consumer confidence
- promote good practice within local businesses
- help prevent doorstep crime. It is the only official trader scheme in East Lothian that is Council backed, fully vetted by Trading Standards and supported by Police Scotland.
Alex Connell, East Lothian Trading Standards
Alex Connell, Principal Trading Standards Officer from East Lothian Trading Standards, explains about the East Lothian Trusted Trader Scheme.The elements of the East Lothian Trusted Trader scheme
The East Lothian Trusted Trader scheme is made up of East Lothian Council, East Lothian Trading Standards Service and Trusted Directory Services (TDS).The Council back and oversee the scheme, with the vetting process carried out by Trading Standards Officers. Trading Standards also ensure Traders adhere to the Code of Practice and will intervene in disputes when required, providing dispute resolution advice.
TDS is responsible for scheme administration, customer service, assisting in dispute resolution and website development.