Warning on pre-loaded TV boxes

Perth and Kinross Council’s trading standards team has issued a warning over preloaded or fully-loaded Internet Protocol (IP) TV set top boxes, following a court case.

Malcolm Mayes, 65, was given a 10-month suspended sentence at Teesside Crown Court after admitting selling the pre-loaded equipment to pubs and clubs.

He was ordered to pay costs of £170,000 and a proceeds of crime order was made against him for a further £80,000.

The court had heard how Mayes, of Hartlepool, targeted venues by advertising in national magazines, claiming the Kodi IP boxes were “100% legal”. He sold the boxes to pubs for £1,000 so they could illegally screen football.

Teesside Crown Court had heard that Mayes began selling modified IP TV boxes, which allow users to receive copyrightfree broadcasts online, in 2012.

Yesterday a spokesperson for Perth and Kinross Council’s trading standards said: “IP TV boxes have enabled people to choose when they would like to watch their favourite TV programmes but they have also paved the way for unscrupulous sellers to adapt these boxes so users can access subscription TV and pay-per-view events for free.

“While the boxes themselves are not illegal, ones which have been configured to receive premium content for free are illegal and sales of these boxes are being vigorously investigated at a national and local level.”