A car dealer has been handed a court bill of nearly £7,000 after admitting misleading advertising about a car sold to a Dudley resident.

In a case brought by Dudley Council Trading Standards at Wolverhampton Magistrates on 31st May 2018, Valchio Global Motors Ltd of Park Lane, Wolverhampton pleaded guilty to one offence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations and one offence under company law. Director of the company, Jude Ahmed (41) pleaded guilty to 3 offences under consumer protection regulations.

The court heard that the customer purchased a 2005 Nissan Almera for £595 in March 2017 after seeing an advert on ebay that claimed the car was a “superb example” and “drives so beautiful” and came with 12 months MOT. No log book or MOT certificate was provided and shortly after purchase the buyer noticed faults.  When the log book was purchased it revealed that the car was a Category C insurance write off. The car failed an MOT test shortly after purchase with the necessary works costing more than that paid for the car and hence it had to be scrapped.

The offences admitted by the company included omitting material information from the advert and failing to state company details on their website. The offences admitted by Ahmed included not declaring the car as an insurance write off, denying the customer their statutory rights and failing to exercise professional diligence.

Valchio Global Motors Ltd were fined £4,000 with £350 costs and £170 victim surcharge. Ahmed was fined £1,500 with £350 costs and ordered to pay the customer compensation of nearly £570. Ruth Buttery, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said:

“This is another successful prosecution by our trading standards team. Our officers investigate a wide range of complaints and were able to prosecute in this instance as this second hand vehicle was not described fully or accurately, leading to the customer buying a faulty and illegal vehicle.

“It is vital that consumers receive the information they need to make an informed choice about whether to purchase, and the work of the team helps to keep consumers and in this case, other road users safe.

“We will not hesitate to take action against traders who mislead and deceive the public and put the customer and their safety at risk.”

To report any similar concerns or to get in touch with the trading standards team on any consumer issue call 0300 555 2345 or email trading.standards@dudley.gov.uk