Impact on Consumers

Consumers are at increasingly high risk of harm from fake goods, both physically through the sale of dangerous products and financially by paying for shoddy, substandard items, with no retailer’s exchange policy or manufacturer’s guarantee.  The fakers invest very little in their products and, through clever marketing and pricing, make a huge profit.  There are no research and development costs, no compliance with quality and safety standards, no advertising or retail costs, and of course, no taxes to be paid. 

Alliance member, the Anti-Counterfeiting Group (ACG) has uncovered examples of fake goods on sale which include:

• flammable children’s clothing,
• fake household cleaning products,
• fake mobile phones and accessories,
• counterfeit perfume,
• fake alcohol and cigarettes containing noxious and harmful substances,
• fake appliance batteries which have exploded under testing conditions,
• fake electric drills,
• fake disposable razors that have caused extensive skin damage,
• other fake personal care products (skin creams, soaps etc). 

Most worrying of all perhaps is the growing trade in fake pharmaceuticals on the Internet, which is soon expected to circumvent the stringent licensing and sale requirements in Europe and bring a flood of counterfeits into the UK. 

It goes without saying that the safety of counterfeit electrical goods and children’s toys cannot be guaranteed, but add to this the number of DVDs, CDs, computer games and software, and books on sale in such markets, and it can be appreciated just how ripped off consumers are being and how much damage is being caused to legitimate local retailers.