Mamas & Papas fined for selling unsafe car seats

Nursery retailer and brand Mamas & Papas has been fined £20,000 for selling almost 150,000 unsafe car seats over a period of 39 months.

The Mercury car seats, which were sold by Argos, have been declared unsafe after a three-year investigation by Milton Keynes Council’s Trading Standards department, according to a recent report by Which?.

Mamas & Papas was ordered to pay a further £50,000 in costs to Milton Keynes Council, while profits of £275,000 will be seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act.  The investigation also resulted in a 12-week jail sentence and confiscation of £236,000 profits for Christine Mitchell, director of car seat distributors Jeenay (UK) Ltd.  Both parties pleaded guilty to supplying unsafe car seats.

“No parent will compromise the safety of their child,” said Judge Rochford during the hearing. “They are entitled to expect products they buy to accord with safety regulations…. Both defendants have let down parents and put children at risk.”

Sue Crawley, head of Trading Standards said: ‘We spent a lot of time investigating this case and hope the prosecution sends a message to other businesses large and small that Trading Standards takes a hard line on the supply of unsafe and potentially dangerous goods.’

Although the car seats were sold through Argos, the retailer – which issued an urgent and immediate recall – has not been accused of any wrongdoing in this matter.

MORE NEWS
BTLAlanHoughton500x500
 
BTL Diffusion has confirmed the appointment of nursery and toy sales specialist, Alan Houghton, further strengthening its account management team....
BPIAUKPavilionK&J500x500
 
Space within the Baby Products Industry Association’s UK Pavilion at Kind + Jugend - which takes place in Cologne, Germany from 9-11 September 2025 - is now open for sale....
RockitLovedbyParents500x500
 
Following on from its eighth birthday at the end of 2024 and being awarded a Good Housekeeping Institute Approved endorsement, the team at Rockit are continuing the celebrations with further awards success....
GSGfemaleboard500x500
 
With International Women’s Day just gone and Mother’s Day fast approaching, the nursery brand is celebrating the strong results, key improvements and positive morale it has successfully created at the core of the business since appointing its now 50% female board....
Gracosurvey500x500
 
The One Family campaign will stretch across 10 months from March-December 2025. It will follow one family, Fab and Ell, on Instagram and YouTube as they share their journey parenting twin toddlers....
Blade&RoseSS25500x500
 
New for spring/summer are a Highland Cow range, a partnership with WWF celebrating nature, as well as new pieces from Miffy and Paddington....
Get the latest news sent to your inbox
Subscribe to our daily newsletter

The list doesn't exist! Make sure you have imported the list on the 'Manage List Forms' page.