NEWS FEED
An annual award open to all UK and Irish trading standards, customs and police departments has been awarded to Dorset County Council’s trading standards team.
The accolade, ‘Premier League Enforcement Authority of the year’ for 2015–2016, was announced at Arsenal Football Club’s Emirates stadium on 22 September at a ‘football about fakes’ event that was promoting awareness of counterfeiting and intellectual property crime.
The award celebrates the enforcement authority who has demonstrated professional excellence and achieved outstanding results in protecting and enforcing the intellectual property rights of the Premier League and its clubs.
This year our Dorset County Council’s trading standards team was recognised for its investigation into large scale supply of fake signed football shirts and other merchandise for which premium prices were fraudulently charged.
The case is still to come to court, but through trading standards intervention and working with other agencies, the supply of fake signed goods, accompanied with fake certificates of authenticity, has been stopped and significant financial assets and property funded by this criminal activity frozen.
Ivan Hancock, trading standards service manager, said: “This is great news for the team. Our collaboration with other agencies on many of our investigations is key to achieving successful outcomes and we are grateful to have this recognised with this award.
“The first point of contact for consumers wishing to complain about any goods or services or report unfair trading is the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0345 04506.”
For more information on trading standards law and the work of the county council’s trading standards service, visit www.dorsetforyou.com/trading-standards.
