autumn 2015 ROUND-UP Stay safe during fireworks season With the fireworks season looming, retailers will be planning for the changes they need to make to ensure their fireworks are stored safely. The deaths of two men last year during an explosion at a warehouse in Stafford, highlight the need for extra vigilance when storing and selling fireworks. An investigation into what caused the explosion is ongoing. have been withdrawn, so those who are selling and storing fireworks will need to familiarise themselves with the current guidance and ensure they understand the new requirements. The regulations are supported by a suite of new overarching and subsector guidance. This guidance consists of two documents: The Explosives Regulations 2014, which came into force on 1 October last year, consolidated and revoked a number of explosives regulations. One of the key aims of the new rules was to modernise and simplify the laws relating to the storage and manufacture of explosives. ROUND-UP The regulations brought together the requirements of health and safety-related explosives legislation, into a framework based around common topics, such as authorisation, safety, security and placing products on the market. The approved codes of practice provided under the old regulations the Manufacture and Storage of Explosives Regulations 2005 l L150 safety provisions l L151 security provisions These top-level documents are aimed at more complex and larger operations. They also contain overarching technical guidance and background information that will help all duty holders to comply with the safety and security provisions in the regulations. Anyone storing or selling fireworks should contact their Local Trading Standards Service or Local Fire Service to obtain further advice. Credit: Tony Shore Images: BBC News Credit: Stuart Powell Images: Ryan Ladbrook / Shutterstock footage from the bbC shows the damage caused to a fireworks warehouse in Stafford after a huge fire and explosion in 2014. two men died in the incident new helpline laws introduced The law on telephone helplines that a business may operate for its customers changed in June 2014. The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 state that, if a business provides a telephone number for consumersto contact in relation to a contract they have entered into, only a basic rate can be charged to access this service. This means it should not cost customers more to contact a business than it would cost them to call a friend or relative. If a customer is ringing to make a complaint about something they have bought, to enquire about an order or to cancel an order, businesses cannot use a premium rate or revenue-sharing number. A business can only charge normal geographic or mobile rates for customer helplines, and all businesses should check carefully whether their phone line costs consumers more than basic rates. Consumers who are charged more than the basic rate are entitled to claim back any overcharge. In addition to numbers beginning 09, business helplines are not permitted to use other revenue-sharing numbers, such as those starting 084, 0871, 0872 or 0873. Nor are they allowed to use 0870 numbers, the cost of which varies according to the consumers own phone tariff. The following numbers comply with the regulations and would be permitted: l Geographic numbers starting 01 or 02 l Non-geographic numbers starting 03 l Freephone numbers starting 0800 or0808 l Mobile numbers starting 07 (except numbers starting 070, which are not mobile numbers) Phone numbers that charge more than the basic rate can still be used for sales lines, but as soon as the customer has a query about a contract they have entered into, an alternative number must be provided. To make things easier, the communications regulator in the UK, Ofcom, has ensured that anyone wishing to change from an 0845 number can have access to an 0345, so the only change necessary is the substitution of the digit 3 for 8 in the prefix. Credit: Sylvia Rook Images: La1n / Shutterstock ConSumeR RIghtS aCt RemIndeR Businesses are reminded that they have until 1 October 2015 to implement the new provisions outlined in the Consumer Rights Act 2015. To find out more, and to learn how these changes may affect you, see the Bytes and rights article published in the Summer 2015 edition of TSBN.