Rogue traders flood UK with potentially deadly fakes in cost-of-living crisis

New research highlights a surge in scams, counterfeit goods, unsafe products and food fraud, according to Trading Standards. Enquiries about issues harming consumers are at ‘record levels’ it states, including a trebling of counterfeit goods seized.

In the last year officers nationally have seized more than 4m counterfeit products with a market value of £111m, some 4.2m unsafe or non-compliant products, and 14.9m illicit cigarettes, and dealt with 7,000 firms involved in ‘food fraud’.

The Association of Chief Trading Standards Officers (ACTSO) is warning of the potentially deadly risks from ‘non-compliant’ toys, lighters and phone chargers and food with undeclared allergens.

Chief executive at ACTSO, John Herriman, said rogue traders were exploiting people who were trying to save money.

He added: “It is imperative to the national economy that we build and maintain consumer confidence, and this is very much dependent upon us having confidence in the integrity of businesses.

“By tackling unscrupulous practices whether that is preventing food fraud or removing counterfeit goods, Trading Standards is an absolutely vital component in underpinning confidence in businesses and from consumers, and ultimately helping the UK steer the choppy waters ahead.”

Steve Ruddy, chair of ACTSO, said of the latest report: “It is clear that in this cost-of-living crisis, the risks to consumers from the safety of illicit and counterfeit goods, scams, false claims about prices, and energy efficiency are all growing. Trading Standards has a vital role to play in addressing all of these risks; demands are continuing to grow for what are already very stretched services.”

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