This site has attracted so many visitors that someone has suggested it might qualify for a trading standards or consumer advice award. Perhaps West Yorkshire Trading Standards runs a suitable scheme or competition?
Fake iPod
The sad story of a counterfeit Apple iPod Nano provided by an eBay UK seller from Bradford, West Yorkshire
Status Report - Has the Web Site Worked?
Has the ‘Fake iPod’ web site worked? Well, it has to be admitted, I haven’t been refunded the money it cost me to send the counterfeit iPod back to the West Yorkshire trader. In this sense the web site has definitely failed.
However, it has been quite successful in other ways. For example, in a very short time it has become highly ranked in search engines and web directories like Google and Yahoo, often being in the top ten for related searches.
| Search Term | Google (web) | Google (UK) | Yahoo (web) | Yahoo (UK) |
| fake iPod | 9th | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd |
| fake Apple iPod | 9th | 9th | 2nd | 2nd |
Returning a Counterfeit or Fake iPod
Been sold a fake iPod or counterfeit iPod? If you are a resident in the UK, the government-coordinated Consumer Direct web site provides useful advice and guidance for consumers. It includes information on what to do if you discover that you have purchased a counterfeit or fake item. (Thanks to Christopher Frank of the West Yorkshire Trading Standards Service for highlighting the availability of the Consumer Direct web site).
Fake iPod Photo
Here is a photograph of the counterfeit iPod and its accessories that was taken immediately before it was returned to the seller.
Informing Apple of the Fake iPod
Looking back through all the correspondence about the fake iPod I noticed that I’d not informed Apple’s legal department about the counterfeit iPod Nano. I put this right today by emailing a copy of the original letter that I sent to West Yorkshire Trading Standards to counterfeit@apple.com.
It’s a Rip Off !
It can be upsetting to find that you’ve been ripped off, especially if you don’t manage recover all the money you put out on the transaction.
This web site has been created to describe an eBay.co.uk purchase where the seller provided a counterfeit Apple iPod Nano and where, although a refund was given promptly, this did not cover the costs the buyer incurred sending the fake item back.
It also describes the actions of the local Trading Standards organization in the district where the trader operates. However, as West Yorkshire Trading Standards has explained, for Council Tax reasons, “intervention action is taken by the trading standards department local to the complainant” and not the department local to the seller.