Counterfeiting Allegations: One Reason We Banned a Tradeloop Member

Tradeloop's all-volunteer Ethics Committee closed Ethics Complaint #5089 last month and banned the defendant company - Sunrich Innovation, Ltd. The initial allegation was serious and deserved immediate attention: the complainant alleged that Sunrich was selling counterfeit HP equipment.

Surprisingly, that wasn't why the Ethics Committee voted to ban the company. Here's what happened.

1. In August 2010, Tradeloop received reliable information that Sunrich Innovation Ltd. was selling counterfeit equipment and contacted the company about the Ethics complaint.
2. Sunrich responded and denied the allegation.
3. During its investigation, the Ethics Committee discussed the difficulty of proving allegations of counterfeiting and the best way to handle the issue in a way that's fair to everyone involved.
4. Tradeloop contacted Sunrich and requested two business references within either the US or UK. Since the company had been trading with Tradeloop members, we asked Sunrich to make sure that the two customer references were also Tradeloop member companies.
5. After a delay, Sunrich provided two references, but only one was a Tradeloop member and didn't respond to our request for the additional reference.
6. The Ethics Committee voted to ban Sunrich from Tradeloop until they provide acceptable business references.

That's a long description of a simple process. We asked them for references. They didn't respond until their membership status was in jeopardy. They didn't respond completely. The Ethics Committee voted to ban them until they do.

Remember that the Ethics process is required for Tradeloop members. It's a condition of membership and we work to make the process as fair and transparent as possible. Members can view Ethics Committee questions and member responses for posted cases at the Tradeloop ethics blog.

Counterfeiting is taken seriously at Tradeloop. The Ethics Committee is discussing how to address allegations in a way that protects the rights of all parties involved. They welcome your comments and suggestions too! Please share your opinions here at the Tradeloop blog.