True UGG or not true UGG?

Would you be able to spot a fake? Counterfeit goods may look like the real thing but are actually inferior copies.

Trading standards, working alongside Cheshire police, has recently seized 450 pairs counterfeit ‘Ugg’ boots worth a street value of £32k from an address in Lymm.

The range of counterfeited goods on the market is bigger than ever and includes  DVDs, CDs, games, software, clothes, alcohol, watches, perfume, car parts and cosmetics. Recent years have seen a big increase in counterfeit toys some of which have been found to be electrically unsafe and potentially lethal. There has also been a steep increase in the availability of counterfeit cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco.

New technology and the increasing production of counterfeit goods in the far east has made it easier for criminals to make or import copies and it can sometimes be very difficult for consumers to tell whether they are genuine.

You may ask what is wrong with buying counterfeit goods. These products can seem like a bargain, but you may have paid full price for what you believed was a genuine item.

Even if they are cheaper, these products are always of inferior quality and, more worryingly, they can also be dangerous. A seven year old boy was electrocuted and died in 2006 whilst using a counterfeit charger for a games console.

Remember too that if you buy fake goods it is unlikely that you will be able to get a refund if things go wrong.
Counterfeiting is the crime of the 21st century and accounts for 9% of world trade. You could be giving money to criminals who use that money to fund other crimes, such as drugs or loan sharking.

Often the goods are made abroad in poor countries where the workers are on very low wages. Counterfeiters cause legitimate businesses to lose millions of pounds each year. This damages UK business and costs jobs.

Trading standards recommends the following advice on how to spot suspect products.

Think about where the goods are being sold, do they seem cheap? Check the quality.

If you have bought anything and now have concerns about whether it is genuine, or you know or suspect somebody of supplying counterfeit items, please call 08454 040506. 

All contacts are treated in the strictest confidence.
Cllr Roy Smith, Executive Board member for community services said:
"This seizure of counterfeit ‘Ugg’ boots in Lymm is a great example of our partnership work with Cheshire Police and our joint fight against counterfeit goods.
“We are very concerned about the sale of counterfeit products. Not only is the public being duped, but legitimate traders are being adversely affected because they are losing trade to fraudsters.
“We would advise consumers that, while the packaging of counterfeit goods usually looks authentic, the goods themselves are often of poor quality. Sellers are often ‘fly by night’, operating in places such as car parks, pubs and car boot sales. This makes it difficult for consumers to obtain redress when they discover the poor quality of the goods they have bought.
“We ask the public to pass on, in confidence, any information they have about sellers of counterfeit goods. At best, counterfeit goods are poor quality. At their worst they have proved lethal. We intend to carry on combating the sale of counterfeits. "

Note to Editors: Picture of PC Debby Marshall and Sergeant Mike O’Carroll and Principal Trading Standards Officer Roger Mapleson with the counterfeit Ugg boots.

Issued by:  Gina Coldrick, Press Officer
Date:   Thursday 3 July, 2008
Release: Immediate