Antrim car trader fined for selling clocked car
Monday, 5 October 2009Antrim car dealer James Edward Barr (50) was today fined £2,000 plus court costs, at Antrim Magistrates' Court for selling a ‘clocked’ car.
Car ‘clocking’ is the practice of turning a car’s mileage reading back, in order to display a reduced number of miles on a car’s odometer, with the aim of increasing the car’s price and making it more attractive to a would-be buyer.
In addition, the car did not have a full service history, as claimed by Mr Barr.
In a case brought by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment’s Trading Standards Service (TSS), Mr James (Jim) Edward Barr (50), from Oriel Road, Antrim, who traded as JB Cars at the same address, pleaded guilty to four charges under the Trade Descriptions Act 1968.
The court heard how a Volkswagen Passat Estate had been advertised for sale in a trade magazine, as having a full service history. Jim Barr also told the purchaser that the vehicle had travelled 97,000 miles. The purchaser became suspicious when Jim Barr was unable to produce the service history for the vehicle and when he made further enquiries he discovered that it had travelled at least 128,000 miles. He reported the matter to the Trading Standards Service.
The TSS investigation discovered that Jim Barr had purchased the vehicle from another car trader with 128,000 miles on the odometer and he had never actually possessed a service history record for the vehicle.
Angela Gilliland of the Trading Standards Service said: "Jim Barr knew that he did not have a record of the service history for the vehicle and that the mileage reading was incorrect on the odometer, yet he failed to disclose this information to the purchaser. This is a case of a trader deliberately deceiving a customer by making the car appear more attractive than it actually is.The motivation for such practices is to inflate the price of the car.
"Consumers should always be vigilant when purchasing second hand cars. Whilst the majority of second-hand car dealers conduct their business in an honest manner, there are still a minority who will attempt to flout the law, causing consumers serious financial loss.
"This case should serve as a warning to those traders who are tempted to break the law. Formal enforcement action will be taken against them, including prosecution."
Anyone who believes they have been sold a vehicle or any other good that has been misdescribed to them by a trader, should contact Consumerline on tel: 0845 600 6262 or tel: 028 9025 3900, or alternatively log on to www.consumerline.org.
Notes to Editors:
1. The Trading Standards Service investigates possible offences relating to clocked cars under the Trade Descriptions Act 1968. Under section 1 of the Act, it is an offence for a trader to apply a false trade description and also to supply or offer to supply, a clocked car. The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 came into force on 26 May 2008. These replaced a number of pieces of Consumer Protection legislation including the Trade Descriptions Act 1968.
2. Offences committed after 26 May 2009 are brought under Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. A fine up to £5,000 can be imposed for an offence under the Regulations.
3. Members of the public who are concerned about car clocking can phone Consumerline on 0845 600 6262
4. For media enquiries please contact the DETI Press Office, telephone 028 9052 9297. Outside office hours, please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.
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