The understanding of the term crime often excludes the concept of white collar crime. Many people will not group a fraudster with a violent robber. The law however creates all sorts of crimes and is quite heedless of social status when determining what constitutes a criminal act.

The Trade Descriptions Act for instance creates offences relating to giving false descriptions of goods. Marketers might be unpleasantly surprised to know that descriptions given for goods are subject to the scrutiny of the law and they may not get away with the little lies that may be considered necessary to make a product sell. How well the law is implemented is of course an entirely different matter.

Under the Act, a trade description is any direct or indirect indication as to a product’s identity, method of manufacture, composition, fitness for purpose, physical characteristics, testing, approval by a reputable body, place or date of manufacture, patent, trademark, licence and other history. For the application of a description to constitute an offence it should be such that it induces a purchaser. If it is not inducing, it will not be treated strictly as a false trade description.

The scope of the Act is quite wide given that the two main offences are the application of false trade descriptions to goods and the supply, offer to supply or possession of goods to which a false trade description has been applied. For these offences, there need not be proof of the intention to deceive or of the knowledge that a false trade description has been applied for there to be criminal liability.

The application of these provisions extends to both natural persons and companies and to goods sold to other traders as well as to consumers (even though at first glance the Act is aimed at the protection of consumers). In addition, a person is deemed to have applied a trade description even where the description was oral. The Act’s provisions on the relevant offences however exclude transactions that are not executed in the course of trade and they therefore vindicate private sellers.

Under this Act unlike the law of contract, the mere display of goods is sufficient to constitute an offence. It also includes as goods items that are excluded in the definition given by the Sale of Goods Act such as things attached to land.

Before promising consumers the moon, do make sure that what you are selling does really have the requisite craters and light reflection properties.