§ Mr. HealdTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information the Office collects on the on-line submission of complaints to trading standards offices. [158900]
§ Mr. SutcliffeThe Department of Trade and Industry and the Office of Fair Trading do not collect statistics about the on-line submission of complaints to trading standards Departments. However, ConsumerComplaints.org.uk is a site developed with DTI support, which enables consumers to complain on-line. The complaint is automatically directed to the appropriate Trading Standards Department. Individual trading standards Departments use computer systems that are able to generate reports on how complaints are received. This would include a report on the number of complaints received on-line, compared to other methods.