Gareth Axon, who trades as Roof Solutions NI, has been fined £800 plus £28 court costs at Belfast Magistrates Court for falsely claiming membership of a trade association.

Mr Axon falsely claimed membership of the UK Trades Confederation by including its Trade logo Yellow Pages advertisements.

In a case brought by the Trading Standards Service of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, Mr Axon was found guilty of two charges under the Trade Descriptions Act 1968.

In November 2005, Trading Standards Officers invited Mr Axon to 176 Newtownbreda Road to answer questions about his inclusion of the UK Trades Confederation logo in the Roof Solutions NI advertisement in the 2005/6 and 2006/7 editions of Yellow Pages.

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Stuart MacMurdo of the Trading Standards Service said: "This kind of misrepresentation misleads consumers for the lifetime of the Yellow Pages into believing that a trader is a member of a professional trade association.

"Claiming membership of a trade association can be a major factor in a consumer's decision to choose a particular company, and as such they could be left disappointed by the resulting workmanship. Furthermore, they may have no rights to redress that they would have had within trade association codes of practice."

If a trader claims membership of a trade organisation and customers are unsure as to the authenticity of this, they should contact the relevant organisation in the first instance. If they find the trader is not registered with the association, they should contact Consumerline on 0845 600 62 62.

(PR/JM)