Consumer advice: trading standards

Consumer advice for issues with goods, services, scams and loan sharks.

Issues with goods and services

Consumer advice is provided in partnership with consumeradvice.scot, an advice only service which is funded by the Scottish Government. You can view advice for common queries and issues.

You should contact consumeradvice.scot first for problems and disagreements with suppliers of goods and services. They can advise on:

• Overcharging
• Faulty goods and dodgy workmanship
• Reporting dishonest traders and scams

If needed, more complex problems or complaints are passed on to council's Trading Standards team. In these cases, we can help by making representations to suppliers, and giving consumers advice on the preparation of claims under the Simple Procedure.

If your complaint is passed to us, we will need to retain your details to let us to handle your complaint. View the consumer advice privacy notice (PDF 161KB). 

Consumer rights

The Which? website is dedicated to consumer rights advice. They have also created a faulty goods complaint tool, which creates a complaint letter for you.

Loan sharks

Loan sharks are illegal moneylenders. They charge extortionate rates of interest for the money they lend, and sometimes use threats of violence to intimidate those who can't pay the money back on time.

If you are the victim of a loan shark, you can get advice and support from the Scottish Illegal Money Lending Unit.

The unit works with other bodies such as the police, voluntary agencies and debt advice agencies to provide support to those who need it.

Contact

If you wish to speak to someone about issues with goods and services, all initial requests for advice should be submitted to consumeradvice.scot.

You can contact us by emailing trading.standards@aberdeenshire.gov.uk.

You can also follow Aberdeenshire Trading Standards on X (previously Twitter).