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'Real Deal' campaign to sink pirate traders
Monday 07 December 2009
The borough's trading standards team has joined forces with the operators of the Sunday market in Nine Elms to combat the traders who peddle fake and counterfeit goods to consumers.
The council has teamed up with Geraud New Covent Garden Ltd, who manage the New Covent Garden Sunday market, to sign a landmark agreement designed to drive away traders who sell illicit and pirated goods.
It is the first time that a local authority and a privately run market have signed up to the new 'Real Deal' campaign - a new nationwide anti-piracy agreement.
The Real Deal charter encourages local authorities and market operators to work closely together and to share information so that local markets remain free from criminal activity and are a safe and fair environment in which to shop and to trade.
In Wandsworth, the trading standards team has been working closely with Geraud New Covent Garden Ltd and anti-piracy watchdogs to identify and remove from the Sunday market any trader found to be dealing in fake or counterfeit goods.
Thousands of pirated items including fake DVDs, computer games, perfumes, designer clothes and handbags have been seized by trading standards officers in recent months.
Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras have also been used to monitor vehicles entering the site in a bid to apprehend lawbreakers. This has led to the drivers of dozens of vehicles being stopped and questioned by police for a range of motoring and other offences.
The council's spokesman on consumer protection Cllr Sarah McDermott said: "We are delighted to have signed this landmark agreement with Geraud New Covent Garden Ltd. It is a demonstration of the importance we both attach to protecting consumers, protecting traders and retailers who stock genuine trademarked goods and also tackling unlawful behaviour.
"We are committed to preventing unscrupulous traders from ripping off consumers by selling them shoddy and inferior goods. People may think they are getting a cut price bargain on a trendy designer label but counterfeit clothes are often so badly made that they fall apart very quickly.
"And pirated CDs and DVDs are often of such a poor quality that they are simply impossible to watch or listen to.
"The other thing that people should bear in mind if they are tempted by these bargains is the fact that many of the people involved in the manufacture of these fakes have links to organised criminal gangs who use the profits they generate to finance people smuggling, fraud, drugs and prostitution.
"There are also some very strong suspicions in law enforcement circles that some of the profits from this trade are also used to finance acts of terrorism.
"People should think long and hard about that the next time they are tempted by a fake designer handbag or a cheap deal on the latest Hollywood blockbuster."
Andrew Burnett, UK chief executive of Geraud New Covent Garden Ltd said: "We are delighted to be the first private market operator in the UK to adopt the Real Deal charter in conjunction with the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is our intention to adopt the charter at all our markets throughout the UK and we would urge all private sector market operators to do the same.
"In signing-up to the Real Deal we are sending out a clear message to all unscrupulous traders that they are not welcome at any of our markets. It also goes a long way to securing the future for the professional, hard working trader and also for the market industry in general and we obviously welcome this.
"We believe that the problem of counterfeit goods can only be eradicated by the close co-operation and support of all stakeholders in the markets industry and the regulatory authorities. We believe that the close working relationship we have created with Wandsworth trading standards officers has enabled significant progress to be made in tackling what is a serious and UK-wide problem. I would encourage all professional market operators to work closely with their local trading standards department with a view to moving this initiative forward on a national basis"
And Liz Bales, director general of the Industry Trust for Intellectual Property Awareness, which initiated the campaign said: "The partnership between Wandsworth Council and Geraud New Covent Garden Ltd is a shining beacon of good practice. The challenges here have been particularly tough for all parties to overcome but it shows that coordinated teamwork can successfully keep the counterfeit con-men at bay. I hope that other local authorities and private market operators across the country will follow the excellent example set here."
Anyone with concerns about fake and counterfeit items being sold in Wandsworth should contact the council's trading standards team on (020) 8871 7720 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
For more information about the Real Deal campaign visit www.realdealmarkets.co.uk
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