Your rights

When you buy goods (e.g. clothes, furniture or food) you have certain legal rights. The law says that goods must:

• Be of satisfactory quality (the quality a reasonable person would expect).
• Be fit for purpose (e.g. if you are buying a computer game and you explain you want one that can be played on a particular machine, the seller must not give you a game that cannot be played on that machine).
• Match their description (whether written or verbal e.g. on the package/display sign, or told by the seller).

If someone is selling you goods they are not allowed to take away all of your legal rights with a written statement. There are a variety of other things suppliers of goods and services are not allowed to do, such as make false descriptions about the goods or give you a price that is misleading.

Buying fake or counterfeit products

Buying a fake DVD or pair of the latest trainers may not seem like a big deal, but this not only does this cause huge financial loss to the real manufacturers and damages industry, the money you pay for the fakes goes towards something a lot more sinister: Serious Organised Crime.

Copying or manufacture of goods or ideas without the permission of the owner/designer/inventor is called Intellectual Property Crime.  This crime can be committed in many ways from copying, making and selling football shirts to downloading movies and music from the internet.

These goods may seem like a bargain at the time, but when they fall apart, fail to work or pose a danger to you through lack of safety checks, the cost could be a lot more than you bargained for. 

Buying fake or counterfeit products supports serious organised crime. You can make a difference, think before you buy!

Under new laws persistent illegal file-sharers could be disconnected from the web and copyright holders given the power to block access to websites hosting illegal content. To avoid enforcement powers being taken against you DO NOT download anything illegal!

More...

Citizens Advice Bureau Advice Guide website - Find out more about your rights when buying goods from the Citizens Advice Bureau website.

Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency - For more information on Intellectual Property Crime visit the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency.