Licensee gets record fine for brand switching
A Leicestershire host has been fined a record £9,000 for selling cheaper spirits as well-known brands of gin, vodka and rum.
The Bell Inn at Market Harborough was caught selling Stalingrad Vodka in Smirnoff bottles, White Diamond rum in Bacardi bottles, and Grosvenor Gin in Gordon's Gin bottles, during a routine inspection by trading standards in March.
The brands were being sold at £1.70 per serving.
Three chanrgesBell Inn licensee Ghassan Fakih admitted three charges of breaching the 1990 Food Safety Act by selling goods that were not what they were claimed to be, when he appeared at Harborough Magistrates Court.These offences were a deliberate and significant fraud on the public at large.Magistrate Pat Middleton
He was fined £3,000 for each offence - a total of £9,000 - and ordered to pay £607.24 costs.
Magistrate Pat Middleton said he would have been fined £4,500 for each offence if he had not pleaded guilty.
Middleton told the licensee: "These offences were a deliberate and significant fraud on the public at large."
Highest fineA spokesman for the International Federation of Spirit Producers said licensees can be fined up to £5,000 for each offence and fines are usually around £500. He believed this was the highest fine for "passing off" so far.
He added: "The vast majority of landlords run excellent businesses and ensure that their customers are served what they ask for and pay for but there is still a small minority that think that they can get away with this fraudulent activity. Hopefully continuing inspections by trading standards and fines of this level will deter the remaining offenders."
1 in 12 outletsA survey carried out by the IFSP in November 1999 found that passing off occurred in 1 in 12 outlets, and increased inspections has reduced the rate to 1 in 50 today.
Is "passing off" becoming rife in the pub trade?Have you ever been tempted to increase your profits in the same way as Mr. Fakih?To comment on this or any other story email us by clicking this link - please indicate which story you are responding to and please let us know if you'd like to comment anonymously.
Your comments
N.H.Green via email, 25/08/2006I just can't understand why some landlords top up spirit bottles with a cheaper version. £1.70 for a single shot of spirit in a pub is way over the top anyway. Mr Fakih has deceaved the public, his loyal customers and placed his staff in a very awkward situation. He should have his license revoked and never again be allowed to apply for a license to sell alcohol.
Liam O'Sullivan via email, 27/08/2006I seem to recall the days when a licensee had to be "a fit and proper person", is this no longer the case?
Ken Nason via email, 29/08/2006Never ceases to amaze me how a lot of licensees have no grasp on the most basic concepts of mathematics.
The difference in cost between a 1.5ltr of Smirnoff and "cheapo" brands is in the region of £8. If, being generous, he was selling a 35ml measure for £1.70 (25ml at that price is overcharging even for Smirnoff!) his return on the 1.5ltr would be in the region of £72. The return for the cheaper vodka would be the same but still only the £8.00 extra profit which equates to only 18.5p per shot.
I hope this gentleman sold in the region of 1750 ltr of vodka during his deception which is the amount he would have had to sell to pay his fine at 18p per shot.
Was it worth it, to put your liveliehood, reputation and business at risk?
Anyone with any professionalism knows the answer to that one!
