| Date -27 Mar 2007 | Return to previous page |
Don’t buy jewellery from street sellers, say officers from Moray Council’s Trading Standards and Grampian Police.
Several complaints have been received from people offered jewellery by street vendors from Eastern Europe.
The jewellery is marked 18 Ct, but is not Hallmarked as required by law.
Similar sales have taken place across Scotland.
Sample jewellery taken in North Lanarkshire has been tested by the Assay Office and found to contain no gold.
In a joint operation by Trading Standards and Grampian Police on Thursday, 4 people were detained and Trading Standards seized a quantity of jewellery for analysis. A report is being prepared for the Procurator Fiscal under the Hallmarking Act.
Moray Council Trading Standards Manager, Peter Adamson, commented, "Don’t buy jewellery from sellers in the street or supermarket car parks. Sellers may give the impression that the items are gold, however you will more than likely end up with a worthless base metal trinket. Sellers are operating all across Scotland, including, Elgin, Forres, Aberdeen and Inverness."
Moray Crime Reduction Officer, Constable Adrian Moar, said:"We are happy to support Trading Standards in their efforts to protect Moray residents from being defrauded.
"If you are approached by someone offering a deal too good to be true it generally is.
"The best advice is to buy from reputable companies who can be contacted later should there be any problems with the goods you have purchased."
Anyone offered jewellery in Moray by a street seller is asked to contact Moray Council Trading Standards on 01343 554617.