The institute of trading standards admitted today it lacks the knowledge and resources to protect consumers who shop online.
With one-third of British households now connected to the internet, the institute has released a study into its handling of e-commerce that found the organisation has not kept up with the pace of change.
At the institute's annual conference in Cardiff, trading standards officers were told that they have not enforced the same standards online as they do on the high street.
The report found that most trading standards officers do not understand how keep evidence they find online and do not know how to trace the owner of a website. The institute also found that very few trading standards services have budgeted to train officers in enforcing legal standards online.
The institute says that as consumer complaints about security and convenience have held back the expansion of e-commerce, trading standards officers need to be able to react to problems such as overseas purchases that go wrong, allegations of unsafe goods and online scams. The government and private industry have been called upon by the institute to provide the resources necessary for trading standards to cope with e-commerce.
According to the report, "No new funding has been allocated to trading standards in order to coordinate the changes that are required. But this is in contrast to the government's and businesses' aim to ensure consumer confidence and provide a safe environment."
The institute's e-commerce spokesman, Richard Webb, called for the institute to appoint a new coordinator whose remit would be solely to look at online trading standards.
Mr Webb said that at the moment, complaints about online shopping only account for between 1% and 3% of the total submitted to trading standards services.
He said: "E-commerce is not coming out as a strong priority among the trading standards services around the country. But each authority receives a higher proportion of complaints about the internet every month. We're conscious of how we will cope when the wave hits us."
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Useful links
Institute of trading standards
Trading standards advice on internet shopping
Office of fair trading
