LoginBusiness Assistance and Support Hub (BASH)
Welcome to CTSI's Business Assistance and Support Hub (BASH) - which brings together our various business information services and commercial products.
Here, you'll find lots of free advice - as well as a growing range of great value paid products and services - all designed to help your business comply with the UK's 300+ consumer protection laws. While finding your way may sound like a daunting prospect, CTSI is here to help you get it right.
In common with our members - who work in Trading Standards, Product Safety and Consumer Protection all around the country - the Chartered Trading Standards Institute is very proud to support the hundreds of thousands of decent, law-abiding companies, large and small, who respect the rights of consumers and go the extra mile to earn their continued custom. Working together, we can drive out rogue traders, fraudsters and other bad operators, helping fulfil our mission to make the UK a better, safer and more prosperous place to do business - for everyone.
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Consumer Codes Approval Scheme
Find out what our gold-standard Consumer Codes of Conduct scheme could mean for your business.
Business Support Services
Our Business Support Services can help you build a better business.
Latest News
Consumer Products: Product Safety Pilot for Businesses Trading Online
[MAR 2024] The Chartered Trading Standards Institute has been commissioned by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) to undertake a business support pilot with businesses trading online in the UK. The pilot aims to establish whether, by providing free business support and training, we can improve the knowledge and understanding of product safety and associated issues amongst businesses that make consumer products available online.
Register for the pilot, or request details (form opens in a new tab)
This pilot programme, which is entirely voluntary, has three stages with each business :
Stage 1. |
An initial conversation with a Trading Standards Officer to discuss your approach to product procurement and understanding of product safety and online trading requirements. |
Stage 2. |
Participation in free training workshops delivered by CTSI, as well as being directed to its online materials and guidance to supplement the learning. |
Stage 3. |
A final conversation between you and a Trading Standards Officer to establish the extent to which the training and guidance may have enhanced your capability on matters of consumer product safety and online trading. |
PLEASE NOTE : The discussions with Trading Standards Officers are purely to establish a baseline of your general knowledge and understanding, and to determine if you have benefited from the offerings (for example, may have implemented or updated any new or existing processes or practices as a result of this work). They will not be discussing any products you provide, or any specific compliance requirements. Also, no personal data or information provided by a business will be reused for any other purposes outside of this pilot, or provided or shared with any other commercial organisation.
CTSI Register of Commercial Contributors
[JAN 2024] CTSI is currently compiling a rolling Register of Commercial Contributors to CTSI's consumer protection activities - which will be published on our website and include companies that purchase our consumer protection or business compliance products, sponsor our real-world and online events or services, or contribute in some other way to our consumer protection work in the UK (and around the world).
Please click here to register your interest [Please Note: this link will be active once registration is open]. We'll send you occasional updates on our products and services (including details of any discounts or special offers you might be interested in) and let you know how you can get involved with other CTSI BASH initiatives. However, if you want to get more involved with CTSI's work, please consider becoming a Corporate Affiliate Member. As you might expect, the joining criteria is tough but nothing signals your rock-solid commitment to consumer protection more.
More about CTSI BASH
Why do we charge businesses for some of our services?
Although CTSI operates as an independent, non-profit organisation (with no shareholders, tech-billionaire bosses, or politicians to answer to) - and provides many free resources for both consumers and businesses alike - we also offer a range of paid products and services that help fund the public information campaigns, community outreach, and advocacy (i.e. policy shaping) work that sets CTSI apart from other similar organisations.
Nevertheless, where we do charge, we aim to stay as competitive as possible - and always offer great value for money. So, whether you run your own business or work with others, we hope you'll explore this section, consider investing in the future of your business, your employees and your customers - and encourage others to do the same.
