Long-distance complaint over dodgy haircut

Mar 19 2008 By John Rowbotham

A MAN who complained to trading standards about a dodgy haircut was directed to a call centre in the Western Isles!

Angry Robert Young couldn’t understand why he had to contact the Isle of Lewis to register a complaint about a Lanarkshire barber.

However, it emerged that North Lanarkshire Council use the national Consumer Direct advice service for trading standards queries - and the service is based in the Western Islands.

Mr Young, a 60-year-old construction site manager from Wishaw, contacted North Lanarkshire trading standards after a visit to a barbers in the town earlier this month.

He said: “I usually have short, back and sides and a bit off the top, but this haircut was a disaster.

“My hair on the top and the sides didn’t blend in and I came out looking like one of the Three Stooges.”

Mr Young believes the standard of hairdressing is on the slide, and wanted to know from trading standards if anything was being done to regulate the industry in Lanarkshire.

“These days, anyone can pick up scissors and a comb and open a barbers,” he added.

“You’re asked if you want a ‘number one or number two’ then it’s crash, bang, wallop.”

When Mr Young contacted North Lanarkshire Council with his complaint, he was given an 01698 number to phone and thought he was being transferred to another department.

He added: “The number turned out to be a call centre on the Isle of Lewis where the woman I spoke to said she was unfamiliar with Wishaw or anything I was talking about.”

Dave Roderick, North Lanarkshire trading standards manager, said: “If a member of the public phones one of the council’s consumer advice services, they are directed to the national advice service, Consumer Direct.

“This service, based in Lewis, was set up and funded by Government.

“It is run in partnership with Trading Standards services across Scotland.

“The service offers information and advice on a wide range of consumer issues. If any case is not resolved with the information provided, or requires further action by a trading standards officer, this would automatically be referred back to the relevant local authority.”

Mr Roderick said the Consumer Direct service had proved prompt and effective.

It also operated outwith normal office hours and enabled trading standards officers to dedicate more time to dealing with complex cases.

South Lanarkshire Council trading standards manager Peter Sherry said consumers who phone their office are dealt with by an SLC consumer adviser.

He added, however: “Consumers who access Consumer Direct Scotland using their 0845 number will be given first tier consumer advice.

“However, if the complaint requires intervention to effect a resolution that complaint will be referred to us for local action and our staff in SLC will then intervene.

“We have automatic diverts to Consumer Direct Scotland on a handful of historic telephone numbers that used to be allocated to this service but were then replaced after the introduction of our Call Centre.

“The replacement numbers are the ones that the public can access our staff on and are freely published on the web, our literature, phone books, press releases, etc.

“Each authority in Scotland will have their own policy for working in partnership with Consumer Direct Scotland.”