Trading Standards

Our 'Not Born Yesterday' campaign helps protect vulnerable people from scams and rogue traders.

Mail and telephone scams, rogue trading and doorstep crime happen often across the city, targeting elderly and vulnerable people and most of the time it goes unreported. 

There are several warning signs that indicate a potential scam, including receiving lots of junk letters for mail order products and prize draws, being pestered by cold callers, or being targeted at the door for unnecessary property repairs or gardening work. 

Your friend, neighbour or relative could be the victim of a scam. We are urging people to look out for warning signs to help protect those who are vulnerable, provide support to victims and to report suspicious incidents via the Citizens Advice Consumer Service. 

We provide a range of advice and services to Sheffield based business to help with legal compliance. Whether you are a new or established business, we can help you to comply with the law by helping you to 'get it right first time'. Our team of Trading Standards Officer can help you with all areas of Trading Standards law, including:

• fair trading
• food standards and labelling
• product safety
• weights and measures
• feed hygiene

We can't give advice on other areas of law such as contractual disputes with other businesses or legislation enforced by other regulators. We may charge for our services. Please contact our business advice line or email us for further details.

A range of free advice on trading standards issues is available to business on the Business Companion website. Business Companion is administered by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute and is government backed. You can view advice online, download guidance leaflets and register to receive updates.

Calibration Services

We operate a metrological calibration facility which is available on request for the calibration of mass, capacity and linear measures. Each item submitted for calibration is returned with a fully traceable calibration certificate, which is directly traceable to national standards via the National Weights and Measures laboratory at Teddington. In addition, we hold a set of F2 standards weights traceable to UKAS standards. Capacities offered within the service are:

• mass, 1 milligram to 20 kilograms
• capacity up to and including 20 litres
• length up to and including 50 litres

We also have facilities to test weights up to 1000 kilograms.

Verification Service

Sheffield Trading Standards employ a number of qualified and authorised Inspectors of Weights and Measures. We offer a verification service for a wide range of weighing and measuring equipment which is required by law to be tested and passed before it can be used for trade.

In addition to UK stamping, Sheffield Trading Standards works as part of the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Notified Body. In this capacity, we are able to facilitate the initial verification of a range of weighing and measuring equipment being placed on the market under the Measuring Instruments Directive and Weights and Measure (Non-Automatic Weighing Instruments) Regulations. These include:

• non-automatic weighing instruments
• liquid fuel and lubricant dispensers
• capacity serving measures
• material measures of length

You can email us with your request or telephone our Business Advice Line to discuss your calibration or verification requirements.

Public Weighbridges 

There are currently no public weighbridges in Sheffield. It is a legal requirement that all operators of public weighbridges have a certificate issued by a Chief Inspector of Weights and Measures.

If you are looking to find a public weighbridge to use, there are sites in neighbouring authorities.

There is a public weighbridge at Smithies Depot, Smithies Lane, Barnsley. You can also view a list of weighbridges in Derbyshire.

Smoking remains the single greatest cause of preventable illness and premature death in Sheffield, killing around 900 people each year.

Our tobacco team enforce laws on tobacco products, including illegal tobacco products, sales to children and packaging and display regulations.

The illegal tobacco trade damages legitimate businesses and the community. Genuine retailers and the public can help us stamp out the trade in illegal tobacco.

We would like to hear from you if you have any information about the sale of tobacco products which does not comply with relevant laws. If:

• you are suspicious about anyone offering your business cheap cigarettes or tobacco
• you have purchased or see on sale elsewhere or products that you suspect may be illicit, 
• you have concerns about sales to children, 

Report your concerns to us or the Citizens Advice Consumer Service as soon as possible.

Sheffield Trading Standards are involved in projects which protect Sheffield consumers from harm and which promote a fair trading environment for Sheffield businesses, helping traders to thrive. It is not possible for us to investigate every consumer complaint, so we use our resources to concentrate on areas where intelligence suggests there is a problem within a market sector or with a particular product.

We also work in partnership with other organisations such as the Fire Service or Police. Examples of recent initiatives we have undertaken are:

• a project to determine the metal content of jewellery products 
• sales of fireworks and alcohol to children
• compliance of imported ‘Hoverboards’ 
• availability of allergen information to customers in catering premises
• food sold past its ‘use-by’ date
• food sampling programme to determine meat species in take-away meals

We value information about consumer problems reported via the Citizens Advice Consumer Service, as these often determine where we concentrate our resources.