- Chargeable business advice is managed and administered by Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Public Protection Service (PP) and payment made to Bath & North East Somerset Council (B&NES). Find out about the services offered and fees here.
- When seeking advice on trading standards matters from PP, you and your business undertake to complete the application form and return it to us before any advice can be given. You bear full responsibility for ensuring that all information provided to us is complete, accurate and up to date.
- Payment is to be made prior to advice being provided. Once the application form is submitted, you will be contacted by our admin team who can take payment via a secure line.
- Upon receipt of payment, an officer will be allocated to your enquiry and respond as soon as possible. We aim to provide business advice within 5 working days.
- We are not generally able to assist a business who is in the process of having legal action taken against it or which wishes to take someone else to Court. In such a situation, you are advised to seek independent legal advice.
- Requests for advice from a third party acting on behalf of your business, for example discussions with lawyers or consultants, are also chargeable.
- Businesses should be aware that PP and B&NES are subject to legal duties which may require the release of information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 or any other applicable legislation or codes that govern access to information and that PP and B&NES may be under an obligation to provide such information on request. Such information may include matters relating to, or arising out of, this Business Advice.
- As a general rule, PP and B&NES will not keep information longer than is necessary and, whilst in our possession, PP and B&NES will safeguard your personal information. Any processing will be performed in line with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation. Further details about how we process personal data can be found in our privacy notice.
- Bath and North East Somerset Public Protection Service is empowered to enforce a variety of civil and criminal statutes. PP has a duty to investigate any allegations of breaches of such legislation and the provision of Business Advice does not affect this duty in any way whatsoever.
- The Supplier reserves the right to take enforcement action against any individual or business that neglects its legal obligations and/or deliberately sets out to harm the interests of consumers or other legitimate businesses. The criteria governing enforcement action are set out in the enforcement policy, the current version of which can be read here.
- The use of the services under Business Advice does not entitle you or your business to use any of PP or B&NES or either's logo or claim any affiliation with Bath & North East Somerset Council in anyway whatsoever.
- If you or your business have any complaints or are not satisfied with the quality of the services provided under Business Advice or the timeliness of the information provided to you or your business, then please follow our complaints and customer feedback policy.
- These Terms and Conditions will be subject to review from time to time.
