Is it illegal to buy a fake designer handbag from my local market? DEAN DUNHAM replies

I’m tempted to buy a ‘designer’ handbag from my local market as a Christmas gift. It’s clearly a fake, but is it illegal for me to own?

E.C., via email

Dean Dunham replies: Under the Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and various other laws, it is a criminal offence to sell fake or counterfeit goods.

However, it is not illegal to purchase fake or counterfeit goods so long as you are buying for your own personal use and not for resale.

You must be aware of five potential consequences of buying such goods:

Hooky handbags: It is not illegal to purchase fake or counterfeit goods so long as you are buying for your own personal use and not for resale

1. Fake goods are often bad quality and, in many cases, unsafe.

Counterfeit electrical goods are not put through the same rigorous safety checks as legitimate items and are often dangerous.

Likewise, fake medicines, alcohol and food are not subjected to the same health and safety procedures as legal products, so consumption can potentially be fatal.

Fake clothing and accessories, such as bags, are often made of inferior materials and will rarely meet expected fire resistant standards. 

They will be nowhere near as durable as the genuine article and could be dangerous.

2. While we in the UK have some of the best consumer protection laws in the world, if you knowingly buy fake or counterfeit goods none of them will apply to you.

This means if something goes wrong with your purchase — perhaps the strap or clasp breaks on your ‘designer’ bag — there will be little you can do. 

However, if you were unaware that you were buying counterfeit goods you will be able to demand a full refund under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which says goods must be ‘as described’.

3. Your purchase of counterfeit goods could be helping to fund criminal activities. According to Action Fraud, money spent on counterfeit goods often ends up funding organised crime such as drug dealing.

4. Your purchase of fake goods harms the genuine brands and could contribute to their eventual downfall.

5. The likes of eBay and Vinted have made it easy to sell used items you no longer want, but it would be a criminal offence to sell fake items on these websites.

Plonkers only sent half my Del Boy DVDs

I bought the entire box set of Only Fools And Horses online but only half the seasons were delivered. Can I send them back for a refund?

J.H., Watford, Herts

Dean Dunham replies: There are two laws that mean you can do exactly that. First, as you purchased online, the Consumer Contracts Regulations say you can send the goods back and obtain a refund so long as you notify the seller within 14 days of delivery and then send the goods back within 14 days thereafter.

Second, section 25(1) of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says you can reject goods and demand a full refund if the wrong quantity is delivered, which is the case here.

My advice would be to reject the goods under the second option — the Consumer Rights Act — as the seller will then have to pay for the cost of returning the goods. 

If you reject under the Consumer Contracts Regulations option, the seller could say you have to pay the return costs, which is allowed under this law unless the goods are faulty.

One final important point to note — it is important you do not open the DVD packaging and break the ‘seal’, as if you do this the seller will legitimately be able to reject the return. It is therefore vital that you return the goods in a ‘saleable’ condition.

• Write to Dean Dunham, Money Mail, Scottish Daily Mail, 20 Waterloo Street, Glasgow G2 6DB or email [email protected]. No legal responsibility can be accepted by the Daily Mail for answers given. 

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk