Trading Standards Officers in Gateshead have issued a warning about “collectible” bank notes after several hundred were seized at a car boot sale in Swalwell last week-end.
The £20 notes looked and felt like real bank notes, but closer inspection showed that the Queen’s head had been substituted with a wide range of different images – including Michael Owen, film actors and cartoon characters.
The notes were spotted on sale at a stall at the car boot sale at Blaydon Rugby Ground in Swalwell last Sunday by Trading Standards Officers on the look-out for counterfeit goods. The notes were promptly seized because their design constituted a breach of trademark or copyright as the images on the bank notes – which included the Newcastle United FC crest, Pirates of the Caribbean characters, and Disney’s Snow White - had been reproduced without permission.
The notes were probably intended as collectible gifts, but Trading Standards Officers were concerned that their design meant that unscrupulous people could be tempted to fold them in half and pass them off as real bank notes to elderly people or in busy shops and pubs.
Gateshead Council is therefore warning elderly people, anyone with a sight impairment, and retailers and traders to examine all bank notes carefully before accepting them, and to carefully unfold and examine any folded note they receive.
Sheila Johnston, Director of Development and Enterprise for Gateshead Council says: “On the face of it, these are just a bit of fun – but its doubtful whether the owners of these images would share that view.
“Companies such as Disney and Warner Brothers take the protection of their copyright very seriously indeed, but in fact anyone who owns an image or a logo, no matter how big their company, has a right to expect that it will not be used inappropriately and without their permission.
“Trading Standards Officers are always on the look-out for products that use trademarks illegally in a bid to appear to be something which they are not. It’s about protecting the public as much as protecting the copyright or trademark holder.
“However, these notes look just like real bank notes when they are folded in two, and we are very concerned that some people may be conned into accepting them as legal tender. So we are urging everyone in the region to exercise caution when receiving a bank note. Older people especially, and anyone with a visual impairment, should take particular care.”
Trading Standards Officers will be carrying out further inspections at car boot sales and other outlets over the next few months.