Shop owner had previously been warned about counterfeit goods flooding the market

A mobile phone trader who ignored a previous warning about fake accessories has been convicted of selling counterfeit goods – including dangerous chargers.

Zishaan Ali Qureshi sold the fake merchandise which included phone covers and ear pieces featuring brand names such as Apple, Louis Vuitton, Ed Hardy and Sony Ericsson from his shop called the Phone Centre in High Road, Willesden.

He was caught in June last year, seven months after being warned by officers from Brent & Harrow Trading Standards Service (BHTSS) about counterfeit goods being flooded into the phone market.

A batch of phone chargers seized from the shop were deemed to be unsafe by an electrical safety expert.

He also breached the Companies Act 2006 by failing to display a notice providing customers with the business ownership details, again despite being warned by BHTSS officers about its absence at a previous visit.

Qureshi’s lawyer told Willesden Magistrates’ Court that he “appreciated the efforts made by officers in alerting him to the trade mark issues but he did not realise. He had not seen anything wrong with them but accepts he should have taken more careful attention.”

He added that Qureshi should have carried electrical safety testing to ensure the chargers were safe and the business ownership details were on display but had fallen down and not been replaced.

Qureshi admitted offences under the Trade Marks Act 1994, the Consumer Protections Act 1987 and the Companies Act 2006 and was fined �350 and ordered to pay costs of �1,058.

Bill Bilon, head of BHTSS, said, “This is an example of a trader receiving comprehensive advice as regards complying with the law and not paying heed to it. “Those who run businesses must take steps and document this, to ensure that stock they are selling safe and legitimate before placing good onto their shop shelves.”