The owner of a branch of one of the community’s best known jewellers has been handed a large fine after being found guilty of selling counterfeit goods and non-hallmarked jewellery.
Meftuni Erbil, 40, who was responsible for the Edmonton branch of Erbiller Jewellers, was fined £5,480 at Tottenham Magistrates Court on 18 Feb. 2016 after failing to comply with trading standards set by Enfield Council.
According to a news report in This Is Local London trading standards officers visited Erbil’s premises on 16 Dec. 2014 where they discovered he was selling non-hallmarked jewellery. He was told to remove these. However, in a follow-up visit two months later, officers found jewellery had still not been submitted for hallmarking and seized a dozen items as examples of counterfeit jewellery. But the problems for the Edmonton jeweller did not end there.
In April, the council also received complaints that the shop was selling fake watches and sunglasses, prompting the council to launch legal action against Meftuni Erbil.
Following last month’s successful prosecution, Enfield Council’s Cabinet member for environment Cllr Daniel Anderson told the press: “There are some unscrupulous dealers who will try and pass off items of jewellery with low amounts of precious metal content as having high amounts.”
“By using a hallmark, the exact purity of an items precious metal can be clarified and confirmed – so that consumers can be safe in the knowledge that what they are buying is a genuine and legitimate product.”
“Not only did Mr Erbil believe he was above the law by failing to hallmark his jewellery but it seems he was also selling counterfeit items.”
About Erbiller Jewellers
Erbiller Jewellers started from humble beginnings to become one of the British Turkish community’s best known brands. The chain was established by İsmail Erbil, who opened the first store in Harringay in 1990, and with help from his family in Kahraman Maraş began to export gold and silver jewellery from Afşin. As demand from the community grew, Erbil and his family added more branches, which now total six across northeast London, between them stocking thousands of items.
Main photo: Harringay branch of Erbiller Jewellers – the chain’s first-ever store
