A Hull jewellery shop has been found guilty of selling fake silver rings, and ordered to pay penalties of more than £4,000.
Zerrin Jewellery, based on Newland Ave, and owned by Hull-based Fast Food Import and Export, was subject to an investigation by Hull City Council’s Trading Standards Team and the Sheffield Assay Office. The Assay Office, which has responsibility for testing and verifying precious metals, found the counterfeit rings did not bear any of the hallmarks that genuine items carry.
In a hearing at Hull Magistrates Count on Friday October 24, the company was ordered to pay £4,000 costs, fined £300 and ordered to pay a surcharge of £120 – a total of £4,420.
The investigation by the Trading Standards Team was launched following routine inspections that identified unhallmarked jewellery for sale at the premises on two occasions.
The team has previously worked with the Sheffield Assay Office in successful busts of those hawking fake jewellery, including a gold scam worth £400,000 last year.
Cllr Charles Quinn, Portfolio Holder for Trading Standards at Hull City Council, said: “This case is a reminder of the valuable and often unseen work our Trading Standards Team and their partners do to protect customers.
“For most people, buying jewellery is something done very rarely as a treat. Precious metals are bought with the assumption they will hold their value, and maintain their quality for a lifetime. It’s important that people are able to buy with the confidence that the product they are spending their hard-earned money on, is exactly what it claims to be.
“As we head towards Christmas, it’s important that anyone buying jewellery as a gift takes steps to make sure it’s genuine. Buy from reputable retailers; look up customer reviews where possible; look at the piece to see if it has been hallmarked. There are some good guides online on how to stop a fake, and what hallmarks mean”.
Anyone who suspects they have found fake jewellery for sale should contact Citizens Advice in the first instance – they will work with the local team on all reports made. Call them on: 08081 566 720.
For more information about reporting fake goods, and issues the Trading Standards Team can support with, visit the council’s website: https://www.hull.gov.uk/legal-advice/trading-standards.
