Advice to Business
Who can help?
The legislation governing trading in the EU is complex and
lengthy. Therefore, a wide variety of self-help guidance and
information is available from several sources:
If your questions cannot be answered through any of the above
sources, please do contact us. Email: business@bedford.gov.uk
or telephone 01237 718099.
ERWIN
The ERWIN website (new
window) has been created to ensure that you get the Trading
Standards information that is relevant to your particular
business.
ERWIN is the national one-stop web site for all your Trading
Standards business related information. Guidance on all aspects of
Trading Standards issues can be found here and with links to a
number of relevant resources on the web, ERWIN ensures that you can
find all the information you need. The site provides interpreted,
simplified and prioritised information, which covers all major
Trading Standards legislation.
Let ERWIN do the hard work for you. Simply choose your business
type and receive tailored advice or enter a keyword in the document
search.
Additional regulatory services guidance for businesses will be
available on the website, with Environmental Health related
guidance coming soon . . . . .
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Business Link
To read about your wider legal duties, you can visit the
Business Link website (new window). Business Link is a
government funded organisation that provides practical advice and
support for businesses.
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Office of Fair Trading (OFT)
Understanding the laws that affect you is an important part of
running a successful business. The OFT website offers a quick guide
to the main rules covering how you sell, how you treat your
customers and how you compete.
You can find out about:
For more detail, see the legal
powers (new window) area of the OFT website. If you have any
doubts about how the law applies to your business, you should seek
professional legal advice.
Beyond the competition and consumer laws the OFT enforces, there
are other regulations that might affect your business, for example,
relating to health and safety, employment and the standard of your
products and services.
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Guidance notes and leaflets
Guidance notes and leaflets on the various areas of Trading
Standards law are available from the Trading
Standards Institute website. (new window)
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