UK Trade Description Act, 1968.

It is an offence for a trader to apply a false or misleading description to
goods. (Note it is the trader, not the manufacturer, who is involved.)

All goods are covered except houses.

The local (the Council) Trading Standard Authorities are under a statutary
duty to enforce the act. The local Trading Standards Officer has powers of
entry, inspection and seizure of goods.

It is not the job of the Authority to obtain compensation for the offence
but to take steps necessary to prevent others from being deceived such as
confiscation of goods from shops.

It is up to the purchaser to take action in the civil courts for
compensation. With the support of the Authority he will very likely succeed.

But for the sake of a falsely-described, $10, second-hand radio antenna is
it worth the trouble?

The Trading Standards Officer would have to engage the services of
consultant radio engineers to conduct prolonged and expensive field trials
in order to prove the point.

A court of law would not accept a mere statement of Maxwells equations or
any of Terman's or Kraus's learned dissertations. A bewigged judge, of
course, would be well advised to seek the opinions to be found on this
newsgroup.
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Reg, G4FGQ