A company caught selling sofas that may have become fire hazards has been ordered to pay more than £4,000 by magistrates.
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Gorton-based Abakus Direct Limited pleaded guilty to two counts of breaking furniture fire safety regulations during a hearing at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday May 15.
They were fined £670 for each offence, with costs of £2,584.97, plus a £120 victim surcharge – a total of £4,044.97, which Abakus has been ordered to pay at £1,000 per month.
Manchester City Council’s trading standards officers visited the company, based in Norbury Court on Welcomb Street, after learning they had sold furniture which did not have proper fire safety labels.
The officers took a ‘Dylan’ sofa, which was being sold online and had been made in Poland, and sent it off for testing.
The item failed to meet safety regulations which have been in place since the 1980s, as it failed ignitability tests and did not carry any fire safety labelling.
The company removed stocks of the sofas from sale and carried out a recall of any items they had already sold as soon as they learned the news.
Councillor Nigel Murphy, Manchester City Council’s executive member for the environment, said: “People who bought sofas from this company should be reassured that managers acted correctly by recalling these items from sale.
“Nevertheless, these products could easily have been fire hazards and selling pieces of furniture which don’t meet modern safety standards is a very serious offence.
“This case highlights the fact that dangerous products are still on the market and that you should always make sure sofas and other items of furniture have proper fire safety labels before parting with your cash.”
