The UK consumer protection system has made some progress in the last five years , with some individual bodies making good impacts . The system as a whole , however , has not yet demonstrated that it provides value for money in protecting consumers from modern scams , unfair trading , and unsafe goods , according to the National Audit Office ( NAO ). The Department for Business , Energy and Industrial Strategy ( the Department ) has overall responsibility for consumer policy but does not routinely calculate the total cost of the consumer protection system . The NAO , however , estimates it to have cost £ 165 million in 2015-16 . Local

Trading Standards services received an

estimated £ 124 million and Citizens Advice received £ 18 million . Although there is limited robust data on the overall scale of consumer detriment , the NAO estimates that consumers lost at least £ 14.8 billion in 2015 , of which £ 4.2 billion is estimated to be hidden and unreported detriment from problems such as mass marketing fraud and counterfeit goods . The government has created opportunities for a more preventative approach to consumer protection . The department has ensured better co-ordination across the landscape , in particular by bringing together the consumer protection bodies in the Consumer Protection Partnership , and integrating case management across the system . National Trading Standards , which was set up in 2012 following a previous

NAO report , has made a good impact

into consumer protection issues , having prevented £ 345 million worth of detriment to consumers since April 2014 , with a cost-benefit ratio of around 12.6 to 1 . Funding for this is still , however , small compared with the size of the problem , and annual budgeting prevents proper long-term planning . While the system has made progress at the national level , it is not keeping pace with the growth in online consumer fraud . The UK ’ s E-commerce market is now the third largest globally , with over a third of non-food retail sales being conducted online . A national e-crime team has been established but Trading Standards has lost e-crime expertise at the local level . Furthermore , the interaction between the consumer protection bodies and other government agencies tackling online consumer fraud is not yet well developed . The majority of law enforcement

is carried out by local authority Trading Standards services . While the consumer protection bodies have improved data on consumer threats , significant gaps remain , with some local authorities having no or few intelligence logs . At the same time , Local Trading Standards have become increasingly small , as local authorities have moved funds to other areas . Overall , local Trading Standards have lost 56 % of full-time equivalent staff since 2009 , with 20 services in England having funding cut by over 60 % since 2011 . Some services now have only one qualified officer . Despite this lack of funding , Local Trading Standards teams are expected to enforce 263 different pieces of legislation for different government departments with little direction from government on the priority of these .

Local Trading Standards teams are being incentivised to prioritise local issues , in particular safeguarding , with few resources available to either undertake enforcement cases or to organise services on national priorities . The changing nature of commerce has meant more consumer issues are occurring at national and international levels , however only 7 % of local trading standards teams base their priorities on nationally-advocated ones . The Competition and Markets Authority is also making good impacts in addressing market-wide consumer issues and estimates that its consumer enforcement work generates at least £ 74 million of direct financial benefits to consumers annually for a cost of £ 6 million .

Amyas Morse , head of the National Audit Office , said : “ Progress has been made since our 2011 report and consumer protection bodies have shown they can make good impacts with limited resources . As the threats consumers face become increasingly wide-ranging , however , the system has not kept pace with the changes , leaving consumers inadequately protected in a number of areas . While the improvements are welcome , the system as a whole has not yet shown it provides value for money .”

www . nao . org . uk

‘ While the system has made progress at the national level , it is not keeping pace with the growth in online consumer fraud ’