Manchester leads the way

Manchester Becomes the First Council in the UK to Sign the Real Deal Charter to Keep Markets and Car Boot Sales Free of Counterfeit Goods

Wed 28 October 2009

Manchester City Council's Market Division was the first in the country to officially sign the recently launched Real Deal national charter on Wednesday 28 October at Manchester's Arndale Market. The charter is part of an initiative to keep dealers in counterfeit and other illicit goods from UK markets and car boot sales.

In Manchester, the Council's markets team, its trading standards service and trademark owners have been working closely together to remove dodgy traders from the city's markets.

Three years ago, there were problems at some of the city's markets which, like many in the country, had been infiltrated by organised criminal gangs selling counterfeit clothing, tobacco, DVDs and other goods. Legitimate traders and market workers were being intimidated, and the reputation of the markets and law-abiding traders were becoming tarnished.

In response, the Council's markets team and trading standards joined forces to tackle the problem and all the council-run markets now have stringent vetting procedures in place to ensure that illicit traders are kept at bay.

Commenting on Manchester's adoption of the Real Deal charter, Liz Bales, Director General of the Industry Trust for IP Awareness, which initiated the campaign said:

"Manchester City Council's approach is a beacon of good practice and a fantastic example of how, even in the toughest circumstances, coordinated teamwork can successfully beat the counterfeit con-men, ensuring that the city's markets are safe, fake-free environments in which to shop and to trade. Their efforts deserve to be applauded and I'm pleased that the Council is leading the way by becoming the first in the country to officially adopt the national Real Deal charter."

Councillor Richard Cowell, Manchester City Council's Executive Member for the Environment, said: "This has been a highly successful relationship which is helping make our markets safe places for people to work in and to visit, and I hope it continues to flourish. I would like to praise both our trading standards officers and our market staff, who work as our eyes and ears in the fight against criminals selling counterfeit goods."

Mark Legomski, Head of Markets at Manchester City Council said: "We are proud of our reputation for selling quality goods and we take our role to maintain these standards very seriously. We very much welcome the Real Deal charter, and hope that other markets and organisations around the country also sign up to help eradicate the problem of illegal traders for good."

Kieron Sharp, FACT Director General, added, "FACT works across the UK identifying illegal traders and organised criminal gangs who are producing and selling counterfeit DVDs. I am delighted that Manchester City Council is the first to adopt the Real Deal charter which should mean that markets across the city are safer and better places for people to shop."

Manchester markets will now be able to display the Real Deal logo, which signals that the organisers of the market are committed to tackling criminality so that consumers can shop with confidence.

Anyone who wishes to report information on the sale of counterfeit goods should contact Manchester Trading Standards or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Pictured are Janet Shaw, Manchester Trading Standards Services, and Mark Legomski, Head of Markets at Manchester City Council, signing the Real Deal national markets