Slough seizes more fake goods than whole South East
Slough Borough Council’s trading standards team take more fake goods off the streets than the other 18 local authorities in the South East, a report has announced.
Counterfeit goods seized by Slough trading standards.In a recent publication, Slough’s trading standards has taken poll position for seizing counterfeit goods out of the borough, making it a safer place to buy quality products.
From June 2006 to July 2007, the team’s officers seized more than 10,000 counterfeit goods, including DVDs, shoes, clothes, watches, jewellery and cigarettes.
Then only six months later, a further 7,000 items were detained. These included fake vodka and condoms.
The total street value of all these goods is estimated at £1/4 million pounds.
Keith Eaglestone, trading standards manager for Slough Borough Council, said: “We have worked so hard over the last few years to make sure Slough is a safe place to buy products and have come down hard on counterfeit items.
“We are really pleased we have come out on top and will continue to be vigilant. The problem of counterfeit goods for sale in the borough is rife.
“It deprives local traders of legitimate business and the goods are generally of poor quality, and in some instances, dangerously unsafe.
“The local economy suffers and it denies consumers their normal rights under the Sale of Goods Act with no come back after the sale is made.
“We want to make sure we rid the streets of such products and have been very successful so far.”
In view of the seriousness of some of the seizures the team have made, several of the larger operations have been subject to legal proceedings.
All counterfeit products discovered and taken are later destroyed.
It is estimated that ten percent of all world trade, or the equivalent of the annual spend on world tourism, is made up of counterfeit products.
In the UK, the current estimate of the loss to all industry sectors affected by counterfeiting is around £11billion per year. Were that sum included in the legitimate economy, it would generate enough VAT to fund several new schools and hospitals.
Slough Borough Council