Sweet smell of success for Neath Port Talbot Trading Standards

Neath Port Talbot Trading Standards has successfully prosecuted a trader for selling counterfeit goods at Neath September Fair.

At Swansea Magistrates Court on Tuesday 23rd June, Asim Parvez of 78 Eden Bridge Road, Hallgreen, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to 12 charges under the Trademarks Act 1994.

The court heard that on 10th September 2014, during a routine inspection of Neath September Fair, Trading Standards officers observed the occupants of stall 39 selling various perfumes, including “Only The Brave” and “1 Million”.

A sample was purchased and confirmed to be fake. Officers from the service then seized 64 bottles of perfume from the stall and interviewed the stall operator, Asim Parvez, that same day.

Mr. Parvez gave details of his supplier, but they could not be located. He also claimed that he bought the products for £5.50 to £6 per bottle. When asked if he thought that was cheap, he explained that he thought it was because they were being sold wholesale.

He also claimed that another Trading Standards department had already checked the products, but NPT Trading Standards verified that this was not the case.

The owners of the rights to the products confirmed that those being sold by Mr. Parvez were substandard and not of the quality of the originals. Based on average high street prices, the estimated value of the goods seized, if genuine, would be more than £3,400.

Parvez was sentenced to a 12 month community order, including an unpaid work requirement of 100 hours. He was also ordered pay costs of £350.00.

Leader of Neath Port Talbot Council Cllr Ali Thomas OBE said:

“Although consumers can sometimes think they are getting a bargain, counterfeit products are always of poor quality and can be unsafe. Traders selling cheap, fake goods can also harm the local businesses who sell genuine products. This prosecution demonstrates the Council’s zero tolerance attitude to counterfeit goods and the action that we are prepared to take against anyone caught selling them in Neath Port Talbot.”

Steve Adie, Head of Environmental Health and Trading Standards, added:

“Our Trading Standards Service regularly monitors markets and fairs in the county borough looking for fake and unsafe products. These perfumes are unlikely to have undergone any control in their manufacture or checks to make sure that they are safe”.

“Neath Fair is always a busy period for the service, traders should ensure that the items they sell are genuine, otherwise they could end up in court”.

For more information on trading standards in Neath Port Talbot visit: www.npt.gov.uk/tradingstandards