An Ebbw Vale woman has been fined thousands and ordered to pay towards prosecution costs for charges relating to the mis-selling of puppies.
Jayne Bowerman, aged 60, of Tyr Meddyg, pleaded guilty at Newport Magistrates’ Court to 9 offences under The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. The prosecution taken by Blaenau Gwent Council’s Trading Standards Service involved an investigation into Bowerman’s pet shop business trading as Tyr Meddyg Pups, which she operated from her home address.
Bowerman was fined a total of £4,500, which had been reduced for an early guilty plea, plus an additional £181 victim surcharge and £10,000 towards prosecution costs.
Prosecutor Hayley Hawkins, on behalf of Blaenau Gwent Council, explained that Bowerman had advertised and subsequently sold puppies in a way that was misleading to customers by giving the impression she was a private breeder, when in fact the business she owned jointly with her husband was a commercial pet shop that had not bred the puppies sold.
Hawkins explained that Bowerman had hidden the business’s identity when advertising, often using false names and contact addresses when placing adverts on websites such as the Freeads.co.uk, which strictly prohibits third parties and pet shops from advertising. This was a direct breach of the website terms and conditions and very misleading to prospective customers who would assume advertisers were complying with site rules.
Richard Crook, Corporate Director for Public Protection at Blaenau Gwent Council, said:
“A cornerstone of Consumer Protection law is that traders advertise accurately and do not mislead customers in any way. Adverts must provide prospective customers with clear and accurate information about the product, in this case animal, being sold and about the type/nature of the business that is offering the pet for sale. The Trading Standards investigation revealed that Bowerman did not do this and deliberately misled customers.”
Blaenau Gwent Trading Standards had received a number of complaints from June 2019 from customers who claimed to have purchased puppies, but felt misled as they believed they were buying from a private breeder, expecting that they would be able to view the mother. Many of the complainants stated that they would not have contacted the seller after viewing the adverts, had they known the business was a licensed pet shop only, and not a breeder selling pups purchased from other breeders.
Seven of the guilty pleas related to charges resulting from 4 complaints made about the business from the customers. A 5th complaint had been received from a concerned member of the public who, although not a customer, provided evidence with regards misleading adverts she had observed online placed by the business.
Bowerman also pleaded guilty to an offence of placing multiple private adverts on the Freeads.co.uk website giving the impression she was a private seller and not disclosing her business status, along with an additional offence of placing 23 adverts where she failed to disclose that her business was a licensed pet shop and she was not the owner of the mother referred to in the adverts.
Defending solicitor Patrick Smith, who appeared remotely on behalf of Bowerman, told the Court that it was a victimless crime, which was contested by the prosecution solicitor. He also claimed that since Bowerman had been aware of the investigation she had not advertised. He drew the court’s attention to claims that threats and intimidation had been received by the Tyr Meddyg business and explained there had also been instances where his client’s adverts had been cloned/replicated. Smith further commented that the offending would not have continued if Trading Standards had made contact with Bowerman at the start of the investigation when the first complaint was received.
Cllr Joanna Wilkins, Executive Member for the Environment at Blaenau Gwent Council, commented:
“This was a lengthy and challenging Trading Standards investigation where victims were misled by the practices of Bowerman. The case illustrates the importance that puppy purchasers know the origin and home environment of the animal they are purchasing. The Tyr Meddyg business did not stick to the rules and advertised under false names, masquerading on advertising platforms as private home breeders.
“Fortunately, Lucy’s Law was adopted as law in Wales on 10th September 2021 and it is now illegal to sell puppies or kittens unless being sold by the original breeder. This will provide greater protection for customers and combat third party sales which are often linked to puppy farming.”