01
The purchase
Some websites sell services or gather enquiries without saying who is behind them.
TRADER IDENTITY
Every offer should have someone behind it.
Company details that are missing, incomplete or false.
01 / 08The purchase
A customer buys a service from a website
The website looks professional, with offers, prices and a button to buy. The customer pays up front.
02 / 08The problem
Something goes wrong and the customer wants to complain
The service is never provided, or it is not what was promised. To complain, the customer needs to know who is responsible and where to find them, so they look for the company’s details at the foot of the page.
03 / 08The details
The company details do not say who is responsible
Sometimes there are none at all. Sometimes the business name, the address or a registration number is missing. And sometimes the details are there, but they are false.
04 / 08The harm
With no one responsible, there is no one to complain to
Without a name or an address, the customer cannot send a complaint, exercise their right to cancel or take the matter to court. And traders who do identify themselves compete at a disadvantage.
05 / 08The rule
Traders must say who they are
Regulation 6 of the E-Commerce Regulations 2002 requires a trader to give its name, its geographic address, its contact details, including an email address, and, where it has them, its company registration number and VAT number. Under section 230 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, leaving the trader’s identity, business address or email address out of an invitation to purchase is an unfair commercial practice.
06 / 08The review
We look for the details where they should be
We review the company details, contact, privacy and terms pages. We note which details appear, which are missing and whether any company or VAT number given is in a valid format.
07 / 08The case file
Every gap is documented
We keep screenshots of the pages reviewed, each with its web address, date and time, and a list of the details that are missing or do not add up, in signed files that a third party can verify.
08 / 08Where it goes
The case file reaches those who can act
If the website runs adverts, we submit the case file to the advertising platform. With the same file, you or your adviser can report the trader to Trading Standards, through the Citizens Advice consumer service (Advice Direct Scotland in Scotland, Consumerline in Northern Ireland), and to the Competition and Markets Authority. Neither will resolve an individual complaint, and each decides what to do with the report.
Every offer should have someone behind it.
Description of each scene
- A customer buys a service from a website. A services website opens on a featured offer: an “Offer” label, the price “£49” and a “Buy now” button. The cursor clicks the button. On the right, a receipt appears showing “£49” and a “Paid” stamp.
- Something goes wrong and the customer wants to complain. On the right, a warning sign appears on the “£49” receipt marked “Paid”. Below it, a form headed “Complaint” appears; its “To:” field is empty, with a blinking question mark. On the page, the customer scrolls down to the footer and the cursor clicks the “Company details” link.
- The company details do not say who is responsible. The browser shows the “Company details” page with five items: “Business name” and “Address” are blank and marked in red, “Contact” and “Company number” are filled in, and “VAT number” shows “GB 123 4567 89”. On the right, three cards, each with a cross: “Missing”, with a page in dotted outline and the code “404”; “Incomplete”, with several blank fields marked in red; and “False”, with the number “GB 123 4567 89” and the label “Invalid”.
- With no one responsible, there is no one to complain to. The “Complaint” form, its “To:” field still empty, heads off to the right and comes back stamped “Addressee unknown”. Below, three actions are struck out, each with a cross: “Complain”, “Cancel” and “Go to court”.
- Traders must say who they are. Two cards: “Details a trader must give”, with the reference “E-Commerce Regulations 2002, reg. 6”, and “Hiding who you are is unfair”, with the reference “DMCC Act 2024, s. 230”. Below, a list headed “Company details” in which the five items are ticked off one by one: “Business name”, “Address”, “Contact”, “Company number” and “VAT number”.
- We look for the details where they should be. The VigiaLabs lighthouse casts a beam over the “Company details” page and a scan line runs down it. A mark appears next to each item: a question mark against “Business name” and “Address”, a tick against “Contact” and “Company number”, and a cross against “VAT number”. On the right, the four pages reviewed, each with a tick: “Company details”, “Contact”, “Privacy” and “Terms”. Below, a table gives the status of each item: “Business name”, “Not found”; “Address”, “Not found”; “Contact”, “Found”; “Company number”, “Found”; and “VAT number”, “Invalid”.
- Every gap is documented. Corner brackets frame the page and a flash marks the capture. On the right, a folder labelled “Case file” opens with four pieces of evidence: “Screenshots”, “Pages reviewed”, “Date and time” and “Missing details”. Below it, a “Signed manifest” seal appears, next to the lighthouse.
- The case file reaches those who can act. The “Case file” folder appears over the reviewed page, which is dimmed, and three paths lead from it to three destinations. The first reaches “Advertising platform”, “Google Ads”, with the label “We submit it” and the lighthouse icon. The second reaches “Trading Standards”, “via Citizens Advice”, with the label “You or your adviser” and a person icon. The third reaches “CMA”, “Competition and Markets Authority”, also with the label “You or your adviser”.
IN SHORT
With no one responsible, there is no one to complain to
A website gathers enquiries or sells services, yet it is unclear who is responsible. Missing transparency makes it harder to know who you are dealing with or whom to contact with a complaint. We examine visible information and document the gaps.
02
The details
The company details are missing, incomplete or false.
03
The harm
If something goes wrong, the customer does not know who to complain to.
04
The rule
The law requires a trader to give its name, address and contact details, and its company and VAT numbers if it has them.
05
The review
VigiaLabs reviews the website, notes what is missing and keeps the evidence.
06
Where it goes
The case file can be used to report the website to the advertising platform and to the authorities. It is neither a penalty nor a certificate.
OUR APPROACH
Evidence before assumptions.
What we examine
- Legal notice and contact
- Provider identification
- Captures and pages reviewed
What you gain
A map of information gaps to prioritise corrections or assess providers with more confidence.
- 01
We look for the details where they should be
We review the company details, contact, privacy and terms pages. We note which details appear, which are missing and whether any company or VAT number given is in a valid format.
- 02
Every gap is documented
We keep screenshots of the pages reviewed, each with its web address, date and time, and a list of the details that are missing or do not add up, in signed files that a third party can verify.
- 03
The case file reaches those who can act
If the website runs adverts, we submit the case file to the advertising platform. With the same file, you or your adviser can report the trader to Trading Standards, through the Citizens Advice consumer service (Advice Direct Scotland in Scotland, Consumerline in Northern Ireland), and to the Competition and Markets Authority. Neither will resolve an individual complaint, and each decides what to do with the report.
Illustrative caseVL / ID
Company detailsBusiness nameNot foundAddressNot foundContactFoundCompany numberFoundVAT numberInvalid
ComplaintTo:Addressee unknown
Identity & disclosures
Traders must say who they are
Regulation 6 of the E-Commerce Regulations 2002 requires a trader to give its name, its geographic address, its contact details, including an email address, and, where it has them, its company registration number and VAT number. Under section 230 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, leaving the trader’s identity, business address or email address out of an invitation to purchase is an unfair commercial practice.
The detailsSometimes there are none at all. Sometimes the business name, the address or a registration number is missing. And sometimes the details are there, but they are false.
- 01Missing
- 02Incomplete
- 03False
GLOSSARY
The terms and the sources, in plain view.
Every case is documented with sources and context. Scope is agreed for each market; the references on this page are to the law of the United Kingdom.
- Company details
- The information a business must give about itself: who it is, where it is based and how to contact it.
- Trader
- The person or business responsible for the website and for what it sells.
- VAT number
- The number that identifies a business registered for VAT in the UK.
- Check digit
- A digit or letter in an identification number that makes it possible to spot numbers that have been made up or mistyped.
- Right to cancel
- The right to cancel a contract made at a distance, such as online, within 14 days and without giving a reason.
- Regulation 6 of the E-Commerce Regulations 2002
- The UK rule that requires anyone providing a service online to give their name, address and contact details.
- Omission of material information
- Failing to include in an invitation to purchase the information a customer needs in order to decide, such as who the trader is and where it is based (DMCC Act 2024, s. 230).
- Case file
- The evidence gathered in a case: screenshots, dates, times and web addresses.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Those who do not say who they are compete without answering to anyone.
A website that hides who runs it sells without having to answer complaints or honour cancellations. Putting that gap on record helps traders who do identify themselves to compete on equal terms.
A website in my sector sells without saying who is behind it. What can I do?
Document which details are missing and take the file to those who can act. VigiaLabs reviews the company details, contact, privacy and terms pages, and notes which details appear, which are missing and whether any company or VAT number given is in a valid format. If the website runs adverts, we submit the case file to the advertising platform.
What company details must a website show in the UK?
In the UK, regulation 6 of the E-Commerce Regulations 2002 requires a trader to give its name, its geographic address, its contact details, including an email address, and, where it has them, its company registration number and VAT number. Under section 230 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, leaving the trader’s identity, business address or email address out of an invitation to purchase is an unfair commercial practice.
I bought from a website and do not know who to complain to. Is this service any use to me?
Yes. Without a name or an address you cannot send a complaint, exercise your right to cancel or take the matter to court. The case file records what the website shows and what it leaves out, with screenshots, web address, date and time, so that you or your adviser can report the trader to Trading Standards through the Citizens Advice consumer service. Trading Standards will not resolve an individual complaint.
Who can the case file be taken to?
To three destinations. The advertising platform, if the website runs adverts: we submit it. Trading Standards, through the Citizens Advice consumer service (Advice Direct Scotland in Scotland, Consumerline in Northern Ireland): you or your adviser report it. And the Competition and Markets Authority: again, you or your adviser. Neither authority will resolve an individual complaint, and each decides what to do with the report.
Is the case file a penalty or a certificate?
No. It is a set of evidence: screenshots of the pages reviewed, each with its web address, date and time, and a list of the details that are missing or do not add up, in signed files that a third party can verify. The decision lies with the platform or the authority that receives it.
LET’S LOOK FURTHER
A clearer view starts
with a conversation.
Tell us what you want to monitor. Together, we will define a scope that makes sense for your business.
Discuss your projectcontact@vigialabs.ai
A focused conversation about your goals, markets and priorities.