How can you be sure you won't be ripped off?
Rip-offs, scams, cowboy tradesmen - consumers are right to be wary when buying goods or services. Can you ever trust a double glazing salesman? Can you buy a second hand car with confidence? The answer to these questions is 'yes' thanks to the Buy With Confidence scheme.

For years Trading Standards Services across the country have been unable to tell the public who to avoid, and who they should go to when buying goods or services. For this reason, Buy With Confidence became the scheme of choice as it is one of the few in the country to cover all types of businesses.

Launched in May 2004 to promote and support the good, reliable tradesmen and retailers of East Sussex, the scheme has grown to over 220 members, increasing consumer protection by providing a list of approved traders.

Member businesses have been independently checked by staff from the County Council's Trading Standards Service for compliance with the letter and spirit of the law. References are randomly picked during the audit visit and criminal record bureau disclosures are requested from those businesses working in consumers homes. Only if businesses pass all of the stringent checks can they display the Buy With Confidence logo.

How do we monitor our members? Once a business is approved, they are issued with customer feedback forms. It is a condition of membership that businesses make these available to their customers. Trading Standards monitor the regularity and quality of the feedback received.

What if things go wrong? If you have a complaint against a member of the scheme, this will be flagged with the Buy With Confidence scheme manager. Provided you have already approached the business to seek a remedy, if a problem still remains, Trading Standards will contact the business direct with your consent. In some cases, Trading Standards may offer mediation to assist both parties in resolving the complaint.

We hope that you find the scheme useful. Please feel free to give us your views on how member businesses are performing. Also, if you have had good service from a business who is not in our scheme, you can recommend them for membership by calling the Buy With Confidence team on 01323 418215 (option 1).