Posted on Tuesday 31st May 2022
Staffordshire Trading Standards service is warning people not to be duped by counterfeit goods when visiting car boot sales over the Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend.
Officers are reminding people that counterfeit goods are usually poor quality imitations that will leave them out of pocket and in cases of fake alcohol and tobacco, could also be harmful to their health. Money made from counterfeit sales also goes into the pockets of organised criminal gangs and harms legitimate traders who lose out.
Recent seizures by the service include tobacco, e-cigarettes, vapes and branded clothing. It is estimated that counterfeiting costs the UK economy £9 billion every year.
Victoria Wilson, Cabinet Member for Communities and Culture at Staffordshire County Council said:
“The counterfeit goods market is big business these days with much of the profit going into the pockets of criminal gangs.
“Counterfeiters will often use car boot sales on bank holiday weekends to sell their wares so it’s a busy time for our Trading Standards team. It’s important to remember that buying counterfeits will ultimately leave you with poor quality and possibly dangerous goods. Fakes are also increasingly hard to detect just to look at, so when something is being sold at a much lower price, people should be extremely wary. And they’re not just available at car boot sales, fakes are also widely available online and on social media networks too.
“It’s our job to protect the public and legitimate businesses and we will continue to take action where the sales of counterfeit goods are going on.”
People can report sales of counterfeit goods by calling the anonymous Staffordshire Fight the Fakes line on 01785 330356.