ebay man in trouble

20 April 2010

Online Auction Fixing or Shill Trading

It had to happen and it has!The newspapers were falling over themselves this week as an online -auction trader has admitted placing goods on eBay and then sought to push the price up by bidding on them using another name. The practice has been given the name Shill Trading and Mr Barrett could face a fine of up to £5000.

Mr Barrett also left fairly positive feedback on his own site using another name and therefore allowing for others to believe his reputation was indeed better than it actually was. He was charged under a number of offences under the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008 and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (the Regulations)

He will be sentenced at Bradford County Court later next month.

Michael Coyle is a Solicitor Advocate and can be contacted at Michael.coyle@lawdit.co.uk <mailto:Michael.coyle@lawdit.co.uk or via the office at 02380 235979 or mobile on 07976 724258