Fake wine shop loses its licence

Senior reporter

Tuesday 18 September 2012

AN off-sales outlet has been banned from selling alcohol after its owners were caught selling counterfeit wine.

FAKE: Linnvale Grocers in Clydebank has lost its off-sales licence after the owners were caught selling counterfeit wine.

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GERRY BRAIDEN

Linnvale Grocers, in Clydebank, is the first premises in West Dunbartonshire to have its licence revoked after trading standards officers uncovered the fake wine and reported it to the area's licensing board.

The offence is to be referred to the procurator-fiscal, but the board decided "enough was enough" and imposed the toughest sanction it has under liquor laws introduced three years ago.

Linnvale Grocers was inspected as part of a Scotland-wide operation to check whether counterfeit tobacco or alcohol products were on sale.Manufacturers of well-known brands told trading standards officers what to look out for to identify counterfeit versions of their products.Thirteen bottles of wine, 12 red and one white, were seized from the shop as the batch code did not appear genuine and parts of the labelling were reproduced in a typeface which was not the correct style. The manufacturer and trade mark holder of the brand concerned later confirmed the bottles to be counterfeit.The product in the bottles has been shown on analysis to be of low quality but not a danger to health.A spokesman for the licensing board said Linnvale Grocers had a record for selling to youngsters under 18 years of age, resulting in them being refused a licence in 2008, and having their licence suspended for one month and their licensing hours cut to 8pm in October 2011. The authority, which last year became the first in Scotland to decide against issuing new liquor licences, said that on each occasion owners and staff had been given opportunities and support from council officers to help them improve but had not taken advantage of this assistance.The licensing board has now taken the decision to revoke the licence, claiming it is a necessary step to prevent further crime and disorder. John Millar, the board's deputy convener, said: "This decision sends out a strong message that licensed premises which continue to engage in criminality, and whose activities continue to blight the community, will be dealt with in a robust manner."The board's decision came after a report by Alcohol Focus Scotland showed alcohol abuse costs the country's economy £3.6billion a year – equivalent to one-tenth of the annual budget. This equates to £449 per person in West Dunbartonshire, rising to £792 a person when wider social costs – including social care and loss of productivity – are taken into account.

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Fake wine shop loses its licence

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