Consumer Advice service

Consumer Advice is available from the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB). To access advice

• call the free helpline 0808 223 1133
• go to Citizens Advice Isle of Wight

CAB offer practical advice on all kinds of consumer issues. From problems with cars to faulty household appliances. 

CAB notifies the Isle of Wight Trading Standards Service of all the advice provided if it relates to an Island consumer or businesses.

Potential enquiry for trading standards

If CAB believes an enquiry should be referred to us for further action or investigation, they will do this as soon as possible.

An example is: if the complaint is of a criminal nature, then CAB will hand over the enquiry to us. One of our Officers will respond.   

Our officers regularly check all emails sent to our service. Within five working days of receiving the email, when appropriate we will make contact.

What happens after your enquiry has been sent us 

We will use the information from Citizens Advice to decide if we’ll investigate. We’ll only contact you if we need more information.

We look at many issues to help us to decide which cases we investigate, considering:

• the vulnerability of the victim(s)
• the amount of money involved
• number of customers or businesses affected
• along with whether we can get enough evidence to use in court and whether it is in the public interest.

This will all be done in line with our downloadable Regulatory and Community Safety Services Enforcement Policy (Microsoft Word Format, 13 pages, 220KB)

Get more help with your consumer problem 

 If a business isn’t helping you fix something that went wrong, you could: 

• try making a formal complaint 
• see if appropriate to complain to Ombudsman
• take them to court 

Find out more about how to fix your consumer problem. 

For more help understanding your rights as a consumer check out Martin Lewis Money Saving Expert  - moneysavingexpert.com