Beware of rogue car dealers.
| Published: 26th March 2010 19:30 |
Beware of rogue car dealers.
Lancashire County Council's Trading Standards Service is concerned that used car complaints have topped the 'complaints league' in Lancashire for the fourth year running.
Almost 700 Lancashire consumers called the Trading Standards Service for advice and assistance over the last 12 months. A total of 34 of these complaints concerned serious safety issues, such as brakes, steering, accident damage or corrosion, which rendered the purchased vehicle a potential danger on the roads.
Car 'clocking' - the falsifying of vehicle mileage indication - remains a serious problem and recent months have seen several complex investigations against local car clockers.
One Preston dealer was prosecuted by Lancashire County Council for cl ocking 22 vehicles and falsifying service histories, with the result that the council is currently asking the courts to make an order for repayment under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Another trader was recently found guilty of clocking four vehicles and falsifying service histories, and was ordered to pay almost £3,000 in compensation to his victims.
These problems are reflected nationwide in a recent report claiming that one in five of the 3.6 million people buying used cars from dealers each year experience a problem.
Now Lancashire County Council Trading Standards Officers are asking consumers to be aware of the car con traps faced by car buyers:
• Dealing with reputable, established traders is important. A total of 67% of problems came to light within a month of a car being bought, yet 30% of the 65,000 buyers nationwide who complained last year claimed they did not have their problem rectified by disreputable dealers, and instead spe nt an average of £425 to get it fixed.
• There is a £40 million a year national market in second-hand cars sold by dealers who masquerade as private sellers, to avoid giving consumers important rights. These traders in Lancashire often cause nuisance by trading from private premises.
• There is widespread illegal use of disclaimers which say used cars are 'sold as seen' or that 'no refunds' are available. Be aware that the buyer will still have rights regardless of the notice.
• Some traders Increase the value of a car by thousands by illegal clocking - an estimated one in eight cars have a "mileage discrepancy", and clocking costs consumers nationally around £580m, equivalent to approximately £6m in Lancashire.
If purchasing a vehicle outside a house, ensure that the seller actually lives there. There have been several instances investigated by Lancashire Trading Standards of sellers han ding over allegedly clocked, stolen or unroadworthy vehicles to purchasers outside an address they claimed to live at, which was actually totally unconnected to them.
County Councillor Albert Atkinson, deputy leader of Lancashire County Council, said: "We would advise consumers to look for well established dealers. The county council is committed to preventing rogue traders from ripping off Lancashire consumers, and will take enforcement action wherever necessary.
