Croft Militaria FYI

[Alan O]

One would hope that his counterfeit tools etc have been removed under the repossession of criminal profits work. Either way he is a charlatan and a fraud whose comeuppance is long over due. Ebay has been quietly complicit in this fraud as his accounts have been reported several times to them to no effect.

[Tigerlily]

Originally Posted by Deejayuu

£72,000 is what they can prove, how much more damage did he do that there is insufficient evidence to prosecute on or there are no records off? its in his own interest NOT to keep a full record of what and how many items have been created!
On the flip side, does this mean we might now have enough evidence to have him removed from Ebay or might they need more than the CPO to have him removed????

I wonder if eBay have been alerted to this development? Surely they know, I'll do my civic duty and find out.

[Alex Rice]

Wonderful news.

[Mike_2817]

Just did a check on ebay for Croft Militaria and the shop was closed.

[altcar73]

Originally Posted by Tigerlily

I wonder if eBay have been alerted to this development? Surely they know, I'll do my civic duty and find out.

Don't waste your time. eBay will not even discuss it with you.

Dave.

[John Mulcahy]

I complained to e-Bay constantly about him including the fact that he was faking hallmarks , I never had any reply from e-Bay on the matter.

[Chipper]

Originally Posted by manchesters

What a turd

That sums it up nicely.

[Frank Kelley]

Yes, that in itself is a serious matter for Trading Standards to sort out, although, I suppose these days in fake Britain they will have to prioritise their workload, but, it is nothing sort of deception and theft.

Originally Posted by John Mulcahy

I complained to e-Bay constantly about him including the fact that he was faking hallmarks , I never had any reply from e-Bay on the matter.

[Luke H]

Originally Posted by Phil2M

Badgeman2005, badgeman2012 and Croft Militaria, all on ebay.

Yes!

And proves my point of +ve eBay feedback being totally meaningless re authenticity, a point much disputed and laboured by another less than honest dealer on here.

So convicted fraudster, 100% positive eBay feedback on 39,411 transactions...

[Alan O]

I am afraid you are right. Ebay feedback is pointless. The site is full of dodgy badge sellers charging big money for fakes or at ridiculous inflated prices.

[Wooffy]

I've had a bit of time to process this now, like many others I gave up flagging 'duff' postings from numerous accounts attributed to this individual to eBay. Every time it was pointless, no feedback, no acknowledgement, nothing done. Having read the news link from the BBC it seems that trading standards stepped in and brought the case, finally providing some comeuppance to someone we all collectively feel should have been dealt with years ago.

This leads me to ask two questions - has anyone raised the posting of a fake to trading standards and if so, what was the outcome? Also, what are people's thoughts about reporting fakes to trading standards as well as ebay/auction houses when they do not take action?

All thoughts welcome

[gary1666]

I have reported someone over fake hallmarked Liverpool Pals that were on Ebay a couple of years back - trading standards passed the responsibility to the Assay Office, who were reasonably helpful but in the end did nothing. It depends on the Trading Standards office as well I think, big cities will have far more pressing demands, and so Ebay sellers would be low on the list. A quieter location may well take it on.
There are so many variables as well - how clearcut is it? You may well think sell fake = guilty, but in the judicial world its not that clear cut - they only have to throw some excuse in which muddies the waters, and you will unlikely be charged. I know this sounds odd, but thats our judicial system.
Personally I think fake militaria is an easy win for Trading Standards, as it is sourced most likely from abroad so email trail etc... will sink a lot of these sellers
Gary

[Alan O]

I think it was not the fakes but the copyright breeches of the RBL that was the tipping point. The prices of the adulterated medals was so much more significant than a £20 repro cap badge that they got trading standards attention. Cap badge designs are not copyright so I din't think they bother as they are unlikely to get a conviction.

Fake named medals and poppy pins however are another matter. Not to mention the VAT fraud which Inland Revenue are very interested in.

One hopes that Croft senior and junior will now move onto a new career and they do not pop up again with the same dross.

[gary1666]

Selling a fake badge as genuine is also a legal matter, Im surprised they didn't pursue the fraud side of this as well

[mike_vee]

Originally Posted by Alan O

I think it was not the fakes but the copyright breeches of the RBL that was the tipping point.

As an RBL member and poppy pin collector I've reported items/sellers to both eBay and RBL/Poppy Shop . Some were obvious fakes of "limited edition" pins (Somme/Passchendaele etc) , others were 'dated' pins that the RBL never made.

The copyright issue is harder , simply selling one or two at a time is difficult to prove unless premises are searched and hundreds are found.

It is not illegal or in breach of copyright for an individual to resell genuine RBL poppy pins on eBay unless they claim profits are going to RBL when they are not.

Guidelines were issued to PAO's (Poppy Appeal Organisers) regarding selling on eBay these concerned :

1. Maximising income for the charity - profits not going to beneficiaries.
2. Boundary issues - Products sold on eBay can be purchased by people anywhere in the country (PAO's are allocated districts to collect in ).
3. Suggested Donation vs. Fixed Price - If sold on eBay for fixed price the charity is liable for VAT.


But I personally feel the RBL is becoming their own worst enemy , they bring out items which are not available to buy from Poppy Shop which encourages buyers to seek them out on eBay. Also they are now (apparently) going to sell "collectors editions" of older 'dated' poppy pins (priced from £17.99 - £36.00 !) which will no doubt result in copies of these (which can be purchased from suppliers in China for a few pence) starting to appear on eBay.

If the RBL/Poppy Shop had an 'outlet' where PAO's could officially offer items such as unsold old stock (for a donation rather than fixed price) at least the profits would go to the charity.