Companies are offered free ‘beat the cheat’ service

The boss of an award-winning UK firm is warning fellow business owners and managers to beware counterfeit inkjet and laser cartridges which seem to be flooding into the country. To help tackle the problem, Jonathan Rice, managing director of Samson Office Supplies, in Ilminster, Somerset, UK, is offering a free ‘beat the cheat’ service which will identify the bogus products for them.

Mr Rice said many people were unaware they were buying counterfeit cartridges produced by criminals because they were often available from bona fide retailers which had not carried out sufficient supply checks.

He said the price of inkjet and laser cartridges meant people often shopped around, especially on the internet, to find a supplier offering the cheapest possible price.

However, Mr Rice warned cut-price deals could involve products which were not genuine but which had been counterfeited by organised crime gangs.

He said those who bought counterfeit cartridges were often unwittingly financing international crime gangs, and even terrorism.

Mr Rice said: “It amounts to ripping-off customers who are not receiving the high quality which is guaranteed with genuine branded cartridges.

“Samson Office Supplies appreciates it can be a real challenge for a business to spot the counterfeit products because they look just like the genuine article.

“But while they may look almost identical to the real thing, counterfeit cartridges are of much poorer standard and do not give the same performance as genuine cartridges, which in the longer-term can cause damage to equipment and mean higher costs rather than savings.

“Our goal at Samson Office Supplies is to consistently beat our customers’ expectations of product quality, price, and service, and we are now offering them this free professional service to beat the cheats.”

To use the service, just call Samson Office Supplies on 01460 55000 or email value@samson247.co.uk quoting ‘beat the cheat’.

Samson Office Supplies staff will then go through the checks which can be carried out in a matter of minutes to identify a counterfeit product.

Samson Office Supplies is the current Somerset Business of the Year award winner in the annual event organised by the Federation of Small Businesses, has won the British Office Supplies and Services Federation commercial stationer of the year for the past two years, and has been awarded Beacon Status by the South West Regional Development Agency.