if people will buy it, someone will fake it.
British items have been faked since forever, even the commonplace and mostly cheap british cap badges are faked to high heaven and as those who look at the brit lids section know, how many pimped up tommy helmets are out there and of course high end medals such as mc's are 100's of £'s but low £'s to make them.
Regards,
Jerry
Whateverits just an opinion.
They should have strung him up by his "Orchestra Stalls" as my former air raid warden, and long deceased Grandfather would say..
How many of these Poppy badges have been bought as little presents?, how many kids have been ripped too?
I think my Grandfather was right..
Very interesting article, seems like an elaborate setup for a backyarder .
Excellent result. Let’s see if anything happens to a couple more unscrupulous sellers out there. (although one of our favourites has gone quiet if late)
When you think that certain people can just rip customers off, without any remorse for what they are doing?
What is the point?
The respectful knowledge of collectors on here and other forums, plus genuine militaria sites, will all take the negative downfall of these actions, losing future business/customers. Trust will be lost.
It is damaging to all honest decent collectors/sellers, damaging the reputation of historical artifacts.
He should be made to pay back all monies received for these fakes. He must keep records.
Each "ripped off" individual should then be able to take him to a civil court and get compensation.
They can by taking recourse to the Small Claims Court which is a civil court and the criminal conviction can be cited as evidence for the plaintiff. The process is designed to be relatively quick and easy but of course there are costs. SCC will hear cases with a claim value up to 10,000 but at the top end the fees are just over £300 with additional court and hearing fees that could be as much as £400. So one would have to weigh the costs against the potential benefit. The real fly in the ointment though is that if the court does not find in favour of the plaintiff the costs are far higher and there is no gain. So, the plaintiff must be able to prove his claim.by The Devil's Bank
If the criminal case had named victims rather than as in this matter, "The State" as the aggrieved the court could award compensation but that is not so here.
The essential difference here is that this was a matter of a criminal offence against the state (Trading Standards legislation) and not criminal offences against named persons (Fraud Act).
Unfortunately, there is nothing any court can do about reputational harm that has been done save discourage others from doing the same and we all know how that works here on Earth!
In the end it is dishonesty that is the "enemy within" and which pervades all society not just our hobby and we all have to be worldly and circumspect to cope with it.
Personally I would see him "nailed to a door" but that is frowned upon and brings issues in itself
So, once more "caveat emptor" and spread the word when arseholes are unearthed!
Regards
Mark
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares more about than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature with no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
Great post Mark
Interesting story. Certainly you need to be careful with British & Commonwealth brass cap badges and medals, particularly those a little rarer. The Air Crew Europe star a perennial favorite of the fakers, a relatively simple single sided design. I would suspect most originate in India or Pakistan who have a long history of casting in yellow alloys.
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