Charles Albert Flanagan, the ex-licensee, and Keith David Eustace, an ex-barman of the New Inn, Warrington Road, Culcheth, appeared today before Warrington Magistrates to answer charges of selling a well known brand of vodka which had been substituted by an inferior product.

The charges followed a consumer complaint which was subsequently investigated by officers of Warrington Borough Council Trading Standards Service.

Both defendants pleaded guilty to the charges and were each fined £500 with costs of £50 and victim surcharge of £15.

Edwina Greenwood, Principal Trading Standards Officer said

“ This result sends a strong message to both licensees and barstaff that if they attempt to mislead people into buying inferior brands by selling them in well known bottles they will be brought to justice.

The vast majority of licensed outlets sell genuine brands and Trading Standards are committed to protecting the genuine traders whose businesses may be suffering because of those who attempt to mislead consumers.

If you suspect that you are not being served with the brand you asked for then please contact Trading Standards on 08454 040506”

The New Inn is now under new management.

Warrington consumers have this week received additional protection from the courts. Warrington Borough Council’s Trading Standards team successfully used powers under the Enterprise Act to obtain an injunction against a Warrington business for persistent breaches of consumer laws.

Kamran Akram, trading as ‘The Phone Box’ based in Warrington market, disputed the claim but the court found in favour of the council and ordered him not to breach certain consumer laws. The court specifically ordered that:

* all goods sold by the Phone Box must be of satisfactory quality, reasonably fit for their purpose and not be mis-described

* the Phone Box should undertake repairs and other work with reasonable care and skill and within a reasonable time

* the price quoted is the price charged, i.e. customers should not be misled regarding the price of any goods or services.

Alongside the judgement, the court ordered Mr Akram to pay costs of £22,025.00.

Tommy Wallace, Head of Service (Housing Protection and Community), said: “Enterprise Act action is an effective way of dealing with traders who persistently abuse consumers’ rights.  Such behaviour will not be tolerated in Warrington and we will continue to take actions against rogue traders.”

“We will be monitoring Mr Akram’s business dealings and if the court order is breached, the matter will be reported to the court and could result in Mr Akram being held to be in contempt of court and may be sent to prison.”

High Schools across Warrington rose to the challenge by facilitating a Smoke Free Schools Roadshow for pupils and staff.  This collaborative approach between the school, PCT Stop Smoking Service, Trading Standards, Phaze Team and Healthy Schools successfully engaged over 900 pupils in an interactive, fun and informative way.  Young people explored the health issues around smoking, how to quit and the cost implications through competitions and lively discussions. 

We also held a Warrington wide Smoke Free Schools bookmark competition and were overwhelmed with the quality and standard of all of the entrants.  The winning bookmarks will be professionally printed and used throughout education and healthcare settings.

Trading standards officers are asking Warrington residents to join a national campaign against scam mail.

The ‘Scamnesty’ campaign, a joint initiative between the council and the Office of Fair Trading, aims to combat bogus lotteries, prize draws and other deceptive schemes, which are thought to cost the UK in the region of £3.5 billion each year.

An estimated three million people across the country, many of whom are elderly or vulnerable, fall victim to such scams, yet research suggests that less than 5% of victims actually report it to the authorities.

Many of these scams are sent through the post - as well as by email or over the phone – so consumers are asked to drop the letters into one of several Scamnesty bins across the borough and help beat the conmen.

Scam mailings collected from the Scamnesty bins could provide crucial intelligence to Trading Standards Services and the OFT, help to inform future investigations and prevent others from being scammed.

The bins can be found in all 13 local libraries, the Contact Warrington Centre on Horsemarket Street, the Pyramid, Great Sankey and Woolston Leisure Centres and the information desk on Warrington Market. The campaign runs from 5 to 27 February 2008.

One lucky winner will be selected at random from all the contributions and will win a £20 voucher for the high street shop of their choice.

Why not join the Mailing Preference Service for free? Unwanted, unread Direct Mail has no place in anyone’s home and this service will ensure that their records are updated for Direct Mail companies to see and adjust their lists as requested.  Register online at www.mpsonline.org.uk, email mps@dma.org.u or phone 0845 703 4599.

You can now access the Scores on the Doors ratings on your mobile phone.

These are available by WAP or SMS

click here to view full details