The Reality Check
When times are hard, the temptation to scrimp an extra few pounds by buying black market goods can be strong, but usually the biggest risk is an empty pocket as the meaning of a ‘false economy’ becomes clear. This week Trading Standards have discovered an influx of extremely dangerous mobile phone and console chargers circulating market stalls in the UK as well as on internet sites. This follows news over the last year that counterfeiters are now infiltrating the industrial market...
Trading Standards officers believe there could be millions of the chargers on the UK market and these poorly constructed and unchecked appliances are liable to overheat or cause electrocution. Words such as ‘flood’ have been used by officers to describe the importing of dangerous counterfeit goods, and this should be a reason to be concerned for anyone dealing with electrical goods, even in a professional capacity.
There have been instances of professional lighting equipment and even circuit breakers being counterfeited in the last few months and this likely to be a more common occurrence in the future. The finger of blame seems to be pointing at the Far East as the source of the counterfeiting factories (they seem to be getting blamed for everything that goes wrong at the moment!) as the boom in manufacturing creates opportunities for both legitimate and less legitimate businesses.
As margins become slimmer for businesses, people will become more eager to source the lowest possible price when buying products, but this approach can lead you into the realm of ‘too good to be true’. The problem at the moment is that the quality of counterfeits in terms of their aesthetic value is improving, while the type of product being copied is increasingly of a safety-critical nature. It’s one thing if a lightbulb or phone charger fails, but another when a circuit breaker does.
Another result of the improvement in the physical appearance of counterfeits is that the person selling them may not even be aware that they are fake. Wholesalers now have even more responsibility to double check their suppliers and become familiar with what a genuine product looks like. The difference can be subtle, such as a slightly different shade of colouring or a different texture to the finish.
The message is clear now, that fake products are no longer confined to clothing found on market stalls and that whenever counterfeiters spot an opportunity to make some quick money they will pounce on it with little or no regard for the purchaser's safety (though they will of course fake the safety markings so you feel safer). The potential trend towards internet sales is worrying as there is obviously a wider marketplace for the products to circulate and people are used to seeing great deals online without necessarily questioning the validity or safety of the merchandise.
A lot of good work has already been done to raise the profile of the problem, particularly by organisations such as BEAMA and companies such as Schneider. But have people in the electrical industry changed their habits yet to ensure that counterfeit products don't end up in the homes of unsuspecting customers? Because waiting until something goes wrong to find out could be too late.
Enjoy the newsletter,
Richard Scott
Editor
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