About the Consumer Protection Office
The Consumer Protection Office of the Velocity Interoperability Network is responsible for the safety of goods supplied within the Velocity Interoperability Network and for the protection of the people who buy them. It issues the general product safety rules, maintains the register of recalls, publishes guidance on the rights of buyers and the duties of traders, and handles complaints against traders established in the Network.
The Office was established on 6 September 2026. Before that date each member organisation made its own arrangements for the safety of the goods it supplied and for the complaints of the people who bought them. There was no common standard, no shared register of recalls and no single place to which a consumer could bring a complaint. The Office exists to provide all three.
The Office serves consumers and traders alike. A consumer may write to it about any product supplied within the Network, whether or not the trader is established here. A trader may write to it for guidance on the rules before supplying a product, and is required to write to it within two working days of learning that a product it has supplied is unsafe.
Responsibilities. The Office's work falls into six areas.
- Product safety
- Issuing the general product safety rules and the supplementary standards, assessing whether a product supplied within the Network is safe, and directing that an unsafe product be withdrawn from sale.
- Recalls
- Maintaining the register of recalls in force, classifying each recall by the seriousness of the risk, and supervising the trader responsible until the recall is closed.
- Consumer rights
- Publishing the rights a buyer has when goods are faulty, misdescribed, incomplete or never delivered, and the periods within which a remedy may be sought.
- Complaints
- Registering and investigating complaints against traders established in the Network, and seeking a remedy for the consumer where the complaint is upheld.
- Guidance and registration
- Advising traders on their duties, maintaining the register of suppliers, and receiving notifications of unsafe products from those who supply them.
- Statistics and reporting
- Publishing quarterly figures on enquiries handled, complaints registered and resolved, recalls issued and product safety assessments completed.
Powers. The Office exercises the powers below in relation to goods supplied within the Network. Each is exercised in writing, with reasons, and may be reconsidered on the written request of the trader concerned within fourteen days.
| Power | Applies to | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Require information | Any trader supplying goods within the Network | Records of supply, batch data, test reports and the identity of the person who supplied the trader |
| Require testing | A product under assessment | Testing at the trader's expense where a hazard is reasonably suspected; at the Office's expense where it is not |
| Direct withdrawal | A product found to be unsafe | An immediate stop on further supply, pending correction or recall |
| Direct a recall | A product already in consumers' hands | A recall at the trader's expense, entered on the public register and classified A, B or C |
| Publish a warning | A hazard the Office considers consumers should know of at once | A notice in the Newsroom and an entry on the recall register |
How the Office is organised. The Office works in three parts. The safety branch assesses products, arranges testing and prepares recall notices. The complaints branch registers and investigates complaints and seeks remedies for consumers. The guidance branch advises traders, maintains the register of suppliers and publishes the rules and standards. Enquiries reach all three through the Office's single email address.
For the origins of the Office and the milestones since its establishment, see History; for its activity figures, see Statistics. General enquiries may be sent to contact@consumer.gov.vin.