Magistrates have ordered a company and its director to pay costs and fines of more than £12,000 after they were prosecuted by Enfield Council for supplying dangerous goods.

Emil Baruch, 55, of Manor Hall Avenue, NW4, and Baruch Enterprises based in Pegamoid Road, Edmonton, both pleaded guilty to two charges of supplying dangerous goods and failing to supply documents to prove all of the safety assessments had been carried out prior to placing the goods on the market at Tottenham Magistrates’ Court on September 8.

They were fined £5,200 each and collectively ordered to pay costs of £1,732.

The prosecution by Enfield Council trading standards officers was as a result of a tipoff from Halton Trading Standards that they had test purchased a charger, which did not comply with the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994. This had been purchased by a Manchester company from Baruch Enterprises.

They visited Baruch and took a sample of the charger, which was tested, but failed a second time. The company was then asked to produce the “technical file” and ”Declaration of Conformity” for this product, which shows that they have carried out all the checks and testing necessary to apply the CE (European Safety Mark) mark, but failed to produce this documentation.

Enfield Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Cllr Daniel Anderson, said: “It is completely unacceptable for businesses to flout these regulations. Safety labelling schemes are there for a reason. They provide consumers protection as well as confidence that the electrical products they are using are safe.

“Any individual or business which circumvents these regulations is putting at risk the lives of unwitting customers. I therefore hope that this sentence acts as a strong deterrent to any company tempted to ignore safety regulations.”

 

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