Fake sports goods cost EU makers 500m A new study has found that sales of counterfeit sports products cost legitimate EU manufacturers 500m every year and destroy around 2,800 jobs. The report, by the EUs intellectual property agency, says the manufacture and sale of fake sports equipment can cost individual member states up to 150m in lost revenue. This money could be used to fund vital public services, such as health and education. According to the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM), counterfeit products include footballs, sports helmets, tennisrackets, gym equipment, skateboards and golf clubs. In the UK alone, the manufacture of counterfeit sports equipment costs the sector 50m a year. Alison Statham, director of operations at the UK Anti-Counterfeiting Group (ACG), said: The volume of counterfeit goods being sold and distributed in the UK has reached unacceptable levels, and sports equipment has become a key product line for fakers. People need to be aware that these bogus sports products are not only cheap replicas, but are often extremely dangerous and that the people who make and supply these goods have no care for the health and safety of the buyers. The ACG hopes this independent report will help to expose the worldwide economic and social harm of counterfeiting, and, in so doing, help to change the overall perception that counterfeiting is an innocent business. Statham added that Europol and Interpol now recognise counterfeiting as an extremely dangerous, multinational, organised crime activity, with links to sinister networks across the world. In the UK, locations such as Wellesbourne, in Stratford-upon-Avon, and Cheetham Hill, in Manchester, are focal points for criminality and are now recognised black spots. The economic cost of IPR infringement in sports goods is the third report in a series of studies undertaken by the OHIM to reveal theeconomic impact of counterfeiting in numerous industrial sectors in the EU. N Ireland dealer fined for selling clocked cars A Cookstown car dealer was fined 6,000 and ordered to pay court costs for selling two clocked cars and advertising another for sale. In a case brought by the Trading Standards Service (TSS) of Northern Irelands Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, Joseph Gribbin, 62 who trades as JSJ Motors of Coagh, Cookstown, was found guilty at Dungannon Magistrates Court of three charges under the Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. The court heard how, after a complaint from one of Gribbins customers, the TSS discovered he had sold two VW Polos that had been clocked by at least 76,000 miles in total. Another Polo advertised on the traders website had been clocked by at least 18,500 miles. As well as the fine, Gribbin was ordered to pay compensation of 2,000 to a purchaser of one of the vehicles. The Daily Mail illustrates how Samuel Rae was targeted by charities and conmen Charities pledge to do better after scam story Furniture firm fined after sofas fail safety tests A furniture company has been fined 6,000 and ordered to pay council costs of 1,547, plus a victim surcharge of 120, after furniture that failed to comply with fire safety regulations was sold from two premises. Enfield Trading Standards officers visiting Oda Exclusive, trading as Oda Mobilya, in Edmonton, in December 2014, were offered a sofa to purchase for 250; this was later collected from a warehouse in Edmonton, north London. Later that month, a visit was made by Lewisham inspectors to Oda Mobilya, based in Lewisham, where a sofabed was purchased for 480. Tests revealed that the sofa bought in Enfield had failed the fire safety test, and the one from Lewisham had failed to comply with the mattress safety requirements. Trading standards officers immediately issued a suspension notice for both sofas and gathered more evidence. A formal interview took place on 20 May 2015 with a representative for the company, who responded with no comment throughout. The case was eventually heard at Tottenham Magistrates Court in late August. Some of the countrys leading charities have defended the way they operate after a widowers details were passed on 200 times, leading to 731 demands for cash and the loss of 35,000 to scammers. Widower and former army colonel, Samuel Rae, was contacted by 12 scam firms and fleeced of thousands as well as being hounded by charities after he forgot to tick a box when filling out a survey to state he did not want his details shared. His case made the national headlines after an investigation by the Daily Mail. After the story was published, a letter signed by 17 prominent UK charities was published in The Sunday Times. In it, the chiefs of top charities including the British Red Cross, RSPCA, Cancer Research UK and Oxfam promised to ensure at all times that we protect and safeguard those who might be vulnerable from undue pressure. According to the Mails report, catalogue scammers tricked 87-yearold dementia sufferer Rae into thinking he had to buy products to win cash prizes, while charities continued to bombard him for up to five years after he asked them to stop. Some of them asked for money 38 times. His name is now on lists of vulnerable people that are traded around the world. His son Chris demanded a crackdown and said charities who passed the data on were as bad as the scammers. Charity leaders acknowledged that there have been times where fundraising practice has failed to live up to high standards. We are determined to change that. No-one should ever feel pressured into giving. The vulnerable should always receive the strongest protection. They added: There is nothing wrong with seeking donations. If charities simply waited for donations, the unwavering generosity of the public would be at risk. The leaders said they welcomed Sir Stuart Etheringtons current review of self-regulation of fundraising, and were committed to working closely with governments and charity regulators around the UK to assess the need for any further safeguards that might be required. Meanwhile, the Information Commissioners Office said the Daily Mails evidence was concerning and vowed immediately to investigate whether any charities had broken the law. BREakINg NEWS l breaking news l BREakINg NEWS l breaking news The NCVOs review into the self-regulation of charity fundraising has found that the current system of self-regulation is not working. NCVO chief executive Sir Stuart Etheringtons review was carried out over the summer of 2015, and recommends that the Fundraising Standards Board is closed down and replaced with a more effective outfit with tougher sanctions. The report, Regulating fundraising for the future: Trust in charities, confidence in fundraising regulation, was published as TS Today went topress.