Ten years of South Ayrshire Trusted Trader

This month marks ten years of the South Ayrshire Trusted Trader scheme. Since September 2016 it has been helping residents across South Ayrshire find local businesses they can trust, and helping businesses that trade fairly stand apart from the rogue traders who give the trades a bad name.

South Ayrshire Councils Trading Standards team established the Trusted Trader scheme to increase consumer confidence, encourage good trading practices and help protect residents from rogue traders and doorstep crime.

The initiative is supported by Police Scotland and consumeradvice.scot, a service provided by Advice Direct Scotland.

Businesses wishing to join the scheme must undergo a vetting process carried out by Trading Standards before being approved. All members are required to sign up to a Code of Practice which promotes transparency, fair pricing, clear quotations and prompt resolution of customer complaints.

Ten years on, the scheme has 47 Trading Standards vetted businesses, with a further six applications in progress, and has received 1,951 customer reviews from local residents who have used member businesses.

Among the members is RMC Double Glazing (Ayr) Ltd, a family firm trading in Ayr since 1999 and a member of the scheme since 2017, whose story is now published as the scheme's first case study.

Councillor Bob Shields, Policy Lead for Trading Standards in South Ayrshire, said:
"Ten years on, the scheme is achieving exactly what it was designed to do.  It provides residents across South Ayrshire with a reliable place to start when they need work carried out on their home,  while helping reputable local businesses demonstrate their commitment to fair trading and customer service. I would like to thank every business that has joined the scheme over the last ten years, and every resident who has taken the time to leave a review. Their support and participation are what makes the scheme such a success."

Residents can search for vetted businesses on the South Ayrshire Trusted Trader scheme by visiting trustedtrader.scot/SouthAyrshire. Any local businesses that would like to join the scheme can learn more here.

Anyone looking for a Trading Standards vetted trader elsewhere in Scotland can search approvedtrader.scot, the national portal, run on behalf of the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland, which brings together approved trader schemes from across the country.