South Gloucestershire Council

Published: 31/03/2014

​Robert Vincent, 47, of Russet Close, Olveston, appeared before Northavon Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 26 March where he was convicted of offences under the Trade Marks Act 1994. Vincent was given an eight week jail term, suspended for 12 months, along with an order to complete 200 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty to selling and possessing quantities of counterfeit clothing and stickers. He was also ordered to pay £1000 towards prosecution costs, an £80 victim surcharge and was subject to a forfeiture order.

The case came to the attention of South Gloucestershire Trading Standards in November 2012 after they received information regarding Mr Vincent’s trading activities from Newport City Council Trading Standards who had purchased counterfeit items from Vincent using the internet auction site eBay.

In August 2013, a warrant was executed at the address where he was residing at the time in Kestrel Close, Thornbury. Inside the property a bedroom was found to be set up as a production room to print counterfeit items and a number of clothing items, stickers and transfers were detained. The stock contained brands such as Monster Energy, DC Shoes, and items designed to resemble the trade marks Superdry and official Tottenham Hotspur Football Club merchandise.

Vincent chose to ignore advice given by Trading Standards and continued in his illegal trading activities. In November 2013, a test purchase operation was conducted at the request of Trading Standards where a counterfeit hoodie was purchased from Vincent via eBay.

The magistrate explained that Vincent’s continued trade in counterfeit clothing, after advice was given to him by Trading Standards, was an aggravating factor when considering the severity of the sentence. The magistrate went on to say that the offence was serious enough to warrant a custodial sentence but in this instance the eight week sentence was suspended for one year.

Cllr Claire Young, Chair of the Communities Committee, said: “Trading Standards are fighting to protect legitimate traders and consumers in these tough times. Mr Vincent has learnt a very valuable lesson that crime does not pay. He has been ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and will also suffer financial loss by being ordered to pay £1000 towards prosecution costs.

She added: “I strongly encourage anyone who is aware of similar activity occurring in the workplace or other social situations to report the matter to Trading Standards for investigation.”

Anyone wishing to report sales of counterfeit items can contact Trading Standards in complete confidence by calling 08454 040506.