Have you spotted any fake products on the shelves?

Business Insider- quoting -first UN Office on Drugs+Crime – almost 70 % of counterfeits come from–the Land of Built to a Price-aka China – US Customs+Excise – in the USA its 87 % of goods come from the Land of Built to a Price. WTO -2 % of all trade worldwide is counterfeit – $25 Billion profit annually. Silk Street Market Beijing – Chinese counterfeit centre . the EU/US view this market as a “soft crime ” . Homeland Security Newswire (USA ) -it threatens the US economy .

I have about ten cheap LED torches that take three AAA cells, but among them are three fakes that were supplied with slightly thinner cells, and if proper AAAs are placed in the battery holder, that no longer fits in the torch. Both the satisfactory and unsatisfactory torches are labelled Rolson. One came from Tesco and that’s OK.

Whilst many emanate from the “land of built to a price”, it is those who import and distribute them in the UK who are the real villains. A £2000 fine is peanuts, and just a business expense. Far more severe penalties should be imposed when goods are dangerous.

Amazon seem to assist this by allowing resellers to advertise on its website products that bear legitimate manufacturers’ names, but are counterfeit – phone batteries and chargers for example. And yet nothing seems to be done for products that may be a hazard. Perhaps Which? could expose the extent of this by buying in and examining such products, warning us of how to spot the fakes (price presumably is a major factor) and getting action taken to prosecute the sellers, or Amazon for being an accessory.

Well, not even a £2000 fine!
The company was fined £400 and ordered to pay costs of £1,466. Moorthy was given a conditional discharge for 12 months.
Graham Henson, Harrow Council portfolio holder for environment, crime and community safety, said: “This irresponsible shop owner thought she could play around with children’s safety.”
“Now we’ve confiscated her toys and she’s lucky not to get a detention.”

How much profit has she already made from these – and presumably previous such business dealings?

So what price children’s safety?

I should have added that the US authorities actually checked into what was going on in China and found corruption was rife . Many police authorities there were taking bribes and one group were actually getting small companies to make them and then claiming rewards for “finding ” fakes . But its true Ir’s the Law of Supply+demand . Chinese law states the legal responsibility is on the Importers not the Chinese authorities as they are making some effort to clamp down . The problem being China makes just about everything for the whole world and there are too many factories that manufacture fake goods for them to cope.

Stan its nice when you put it like that and make out (as usual ) -its the customers fault . Have you read the posts ? most posters went POLITELY into PC World/Curry,s stores under the illusion they were buying brand new UNOPENED goods which is their legal right under the sale of goods act. As this continues incessantly I thinks its disgraceful that the company uses its bottom end staff as buffers against the boardroom company policy . Its a low thing to do but is typical of money grabbers and there is a mug born every minute attitude .Don’t you realise Stan in this age of welfare cuts -homelessness , starvation , people scrape together the money for a product only to be conned by fast talkers who are told by their superiors to act that way in group sales meetings . If people get angry with you in persisting when they don’t want it then you cant blame them for getting upset. To STOP it Stan all you have to do is STOP those disgraceful high pressure sales activities its easy to stop —isn’t it ? Where are your morals in persisting against venerable and easily persuaded customers . The only way I get results in this modern -its not my fault business world is to get aggressive verbally and take action even if its of the legal sort and publicise it to get people to boycott their business. I don’t let anybody talk over me , I will not be outdone I demand attention . This is not the way to run a business but it shows the absolute contempt this company has for the “little people ” while grabbing their hard earned money to pay millionaires in their yachts and off-shore money storage.

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