Counterfeit Goods Seized From Stall In Butchers Market

Recently Trading Standards Officers in Wrexham carried out the seizure of a large volume of cosmetic products from “Kiss and Make Up” a stall located in the Butchers Market off High Street Wrexham which are believed to be counterfeit.

Investigations are ongoing as to the origin of these products and samples are being examined and analysed to assess their authenticity and compliance with Cosmetic Product Safety Regulations.

One person who bought from the stall told us “I bought a MAC foundation from there for £14. When I opened it I noticed it wasn’t the same consistency as when I buy it from a real mac store. I just thought it was old or something. The packaging looked the same until I got home and looked closely an read it said ‘fps’ instead of ‘SPF’ on the front. I figured I’d just bought a fake and it was my own fault for buying it from a market for a third of the normal price.”

If you are concerned about items you have bought from this stall please contact Citizens Advice Consumer Line on 08454 04 05 06 for advice.

Trading Standards say they seize thousands of illegal counterfeit goods every year, “Counterfeit goods look like the real thing but are actually fakes. The most popular counterfeited goods are DVDs, CDs, clothes, computer goods, alcohol, watches, perfume, toys, car parts and cosmetics. New technology has made it easier for criminals to make copies and it can be very difficult for consumers to tell if they are fake.”

In the run up this busy shopping weekend Trading Standards is offering the following advice:

What’s wrong with buying counterfeit goods?
You may think there is nothing wrong with buying counterfeit goods but there are a number of reasons why you should not buy them:

1. Fake goods may be cheap but they are often made of shoddy materials and are poor quality. You might buy a copied DVD that is not yet released in the shops but when you get it home it might not work properly or when you wash the fake sportswear it falls apart in the wash. Remember if you buy fake goods, it is unlikely you will be able to get a refund if things go wrong.
2. The goods may be unsafe or dangerous. Fake cosmetics have been known to cause allergic reactions and fake car parts have been known to fail and cause accidents.
3. Often the goods are made abroad in poorer countries where the workers are on very low wages.
4. Counterfeiters cause legitimate businesses to lose millions of pounds each year. This can result in people being made redundant.

Be extra careful when buying goods at car boot sales or markets because you might not be able to find the trader again if things go wrong.