1/11
A real bargain: This Louis Vuitton cap was offered on Ricardo.
John HilligEditor News
A pair of Adidas shoes, several headphones and a pair of cable cutters: At first glance, the account on the Ricardo platform looks completely normal. Member since 2020 and already sold over 1500 items. In addition, the reviews are impeccable. There isn’t a single negative comment.
But the name arouses skepticism: Fundbuero_Lucerne. In every description of the items offered, it says explicitly “We are the lost and found office of the Lucerne police”. The items are lost property for which “the storage period has expired”. Therefore there is no guarantee, no warranty and no return. Shipping is also not possible. And you have to pay in cash.
In addition to everyday objects such as empty wallets or kickboards, there are also supposedly luxury items. For example, a Louis Vuitton cap. Starting bid five francs. The problem: It is plagiarism. “It’s clearly fake,” says reader reporter Philipp W.* (51) from the canton of Zug to Blick.
Selling counterfeits is a criminal offence
The 51-year-old and his wife know each other. They sell various luxury items in their shop, including Louis Vuitton. “The data code is missing from the sewn-in stamp label. This allows the country of production and the exact date of manufacture to be determined,” explains the Zug businessman. This information is missing from the cap uploaded by the Lucerne police.
Again and again he and his wife discover counterfeit luxury brands on Ricardo. Philipp W. finds it incomprehensible that the police, of all people, are offering something like this for auction. In addition, the sale of counterfeits is considered a criminal offence. His wife therefore immediately informed the authorities about the forgery.
What does the Lucerne police say about this? To the auctions via Ricardo? To the fake? Upon request, the authority will confirm the authenticity of the account. “Yes, this is the account of the lost and found office of the Lucerne police,” says Urs Wigger from the Lucerne police to Blick.
Proceeds go into the state treasury
Before Corona, lost property was auctioned off by the debt collection office of the city of Lucerne in the old Ganthaus on Bruchstrasse in Lucerne. “During the pandemic, the items were now auctioned off by the lost property office on Ricardo. This account has been retained.”
The lost and found items are kept for a year, emphasizes Wigger. Objects that have not been picked up after this period will either be auctioned off by the debt enforcement office on behalf of the police or on Ricardo.
«The proceeds flow into the state treasury of the canton of Lucerne. Items that have not been mediated will be donated or destroyed, depending on their condition, »explains the police spokesman. last year almost 120,000 francs were raised.
It looked like a real hat
But how did the fake Louis Vuitton cap end up on the page? Wigger on this: “An official authenticity check is not usually carried out on found objects.”
In the case of the alleged luxury cap, research was done on the Internet and a comparable article was found. “Due to the processing, it was assumed that this was a genuine cap from this brand.” However, it is usually the case that branded items are picked up, Wigger explains. The advert for the Louis Vuitton hat has since been deleted thanks to a tip from Blick readers.
* Name known