With festive shopping in full swing, body warns consumers not to get sucked into ‘crazy deals’.
With Christmas shopping season in full swing, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute has warned consumers about the dangers of counterfeit goods, saying if the price seems too good to be true then it probably is.
Counterfeit goods cost the UK economy around £1.3 billion a year in lost profits and taxes.
Cheap deals can also mean that products haven’t met significant safety standards, have poor workmanship and are harmful.
Trading Standards pointed to the recent example of shortages of one of this Christmas’ must-have toys – Fingerlings – making national news as desperate parents had been tempted to buy items from counterfeit traders.
It reiterated its message that unofficial children’s merchandise such as toys and dressing-up clothes could pose numerous hazards with small loose parts, long cords and materials that are toxic or not conforming to fire retardant standards.
Leon Livermore, chief executive at CTSI, said: “If a price seems too good to be true then it likely is; don’t get sucked in by crazy deals.”
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