A phone trader who sold fake parts which were untested and unsafe has been ordered to forfeit a big cash sum.
Tirlochan Sachdeva, owner of the wholesaler Myfone Accessories Ltd at Southall Enterprise Centre, Southall , sold fake parts for Apple mobile phones, fake iPad mini cases and 145 unsafe laptop chargers; which potentially could have overheated and caused household fires.
The owner and his company have been ordered to pay a total of £12,500, including £3,500 legal costs, after a joint prosecution by Ealing and Kensington and Chelsea councils.
Mr Sachdeva and the company were found guilty of 15 offences of selling unsafe electrical items and three accusations of breaching trade mark laws at a hearing at Isleworth Crown Court last Wednesday (October 22).
Ealing Council was able to apply for funding from the National Trading Standards Board (NTSB) which enabled them to instruct Kensington and Chelsea’s trading standards officers to investigate and prosecute the case on its behalf.
When Myfone Accessories Ltd was investigated on February 12, 2012, trading standards officers found 16 counterfeit mobile phone face plates, 89 iPad mini cases and 145 unsafe laptop adaptors.
The items were being sold to retailers in and around Kensington and Chelsea, as well as in other parts of west London. All were completely untested, non-compliant with EU electrical safety standards and posed a real risk to consumers of causing fires; serious injury or even death.
Ealing’s deputy leader and cabinet member for community services and safety, Councillor Ranjit Dheer said: “This a good result for Ealing and Kensington and Chelsea’s trading standards teams who have worked together to deter unscrupulous businesses from peddling potentially lethal counterfeit products to unsuspecting customers throughout Ealing, Kensington and other parts of west London.
“Cases like this show how councils are teaming up to crack down on the illegal trade in dangerous and fake goods; backed by the national body.”
