SHOPKEEPERS ANGRY.

Thames Star, Volume LXII, Issue 17388, 28 March 1928, Page 5

SHOPKEEPERS ANGRY.

INSPECTOR OF SCALES MISSING ' FAILS TO KEEP APPOINTMENT. MUCH INCONVENIENCE CAUSED. There is quite* a number of Thames shopkeepers to-day who are distinctly disgruntled with-the Department which looks after the matter of inspecting weighing machines. Yesterday they received the following note from'the responsible (or irresponsible) official, and a pretty curt one it is: NOTICE. A weights and measures testing and inspection office will be established at' Jonassen's Garage* Thames, and will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday,. Thursday and Friday, 28th., 29th., 30th. March, 1928. The appliances mentioned in the attached notice should be submitted for verification at the abovementioned office, and if not submitted will be tested at the premises of the owner at the higher fees prescribed for "in situ" verifications. The schedule which followed, in addition to enumerating the various scales, etc., in the shopkeeper's possession, went on to say: All weights, measures, weighing and "measuring instruments' used for trade shall be—(1) Stamped with a mark of verification under this Act. (2) Submitted annually for verification by the user without further notice. , The appliances named hereon found in your possession at the above address must be submitted to this office for verification NOT LATER THAN the dates shown in Column C below. Weights, etc., may be verified at your premises, if desired, provided application in that behalf is made prior to the date mentioned, and in such case you will be liable for th e cost of cartage of standards, also the Inspector's expenses in addition to a prescribed minimum fee of 10/-. Failure to comply with this notice renders you liable to a penalty of £lO for each instrument.

By this it will be se»n that the unfortunate shopkeeper has to either await the pleasure of the official, who may, or, in this case, may not, turn up to keep his appointment, or pay a penalty of 10/- for having the official come to big place of business, plus any other expenses the official may determine, /plus the cost of transporting his apparatus. Now, ,to bring the matter nearer" home. At • nine o'clock this morning there was quite a number of local shopkeepers in attendance at the appointed place. 'They had brought their scales—in many cases, they only had one set in the shop, thus they were hindered in their actual trading in the shop, they were hindered in the delivery of their goods (in many cases their delivery carts had taken the scales down), the housewives were hindered in the preparation of the day's meals, and why?—simply because no official turned up at the appointed time, and furthermore, there was absolutely 'no notification to anyone, either in a business or official position, that there would be any hitch. Such a position is intolerable, and is made even more so when it is freely alleged that it is not the fault of the labour Department, which administers the Weights and Measures Act, but that the Department has "farmed" the work to a Arm of scale-makers. \t any rate, the local officials of the Department did not have any. notification whatsoever of any official coming down,- except a private request for accommodation to. be arranged. In former years there was an inspector stationed in Thames, and there were were no complaints. Now it seems as if the parties responsible do not consider it worth while either studying the shopkeepers' convenience by adhering to their programme, or even common courtesy by letting them know if any hitch occurred. The member for the district might look into the matter.