Maidenhead & Windsor

Royal Windsor and Maidenhead Borough trading standards has successfully prosecuted a national television channel for making false claims and descriptions about products sold through its TV advertising.

At Maidenhead magistrates court on Friday (January 11), The Jewellery Channel was fined a total of £3,261.36 (including costs of £1,661.36) after pleading guilty to a total of 16 offences under the Trade Descriptions Act – eight for applying false trade descriptions and eight of supplying goods to which false trade descriptions had been applied.

The hearing followed a complaint to trading standards in November 2006 by a South Ascot resident who had bought jewellery described as having 'pink topaz' stones after seeing the goods advertised on The Jewellery Channel.

The court heard that a local jeweller subsequently informed her that the 'pink topaz' stones were in fact colourless topaz sprayed pink. This was confirmed by a gemmologist's examination which estimated the value of the items as between 1.5% and 5% of the value of genuine pink topaz.

The company admitted when interviewed that it was aware that the stones were 'coated' pink topaz, worth a fraction of the value of natural stones but stressed that every effort had been made to rectify the errors, including suspending the sale of topaz and reviewing its quality control procedures.

Magistrates said the company had misrepresented the goods sold, with the false description repeated on numerous occasions in a variety of media – a misrepresentation which had led to the deception of the public.

They did, however, accept the company's mitigation that it had stopped sales and co-operated with trading standards during the investigation, had reviewed and amended descriptions of all its products and had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

Cllr Colin Rayner, lead member for Windsor and Maidenhead trading standards, said: "It is easy to see how viewers can be attracted to buying items they see advertised on television, but we would always urge caution and encourage buyers to make sure they keep receipts and guarantees that accompany the goods.

"In this case the false descriptions were also repeated on receipts and guarantee cards and it was only when the buyer had some of the items re-sized by a local jeweller that the deception came to light.

"I would like to thank our trading standards officers for bringing this case to court and for their hard work in helping to achieve a successful outcome. Officers are always happy to advise anyone considering similar purchases – so please call trading standards on 01628 683802 if you need assistance."

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead