7:51 am, February 26, 2021
Two car dealers have to pay out thousands of pounds for clocking cars after they fraudulently adjusted the mileages on used models bought at auction.
The pair – who ran used car dealership G3 Motorhouse in Failsworth, Oldham – were shopped by a ‘concerned party’.
35-year-old Arfan Younis and 45-year-old Tariq Younis, of Leeds Old Road, Bradford, were subsequently investigated by Trading Standards and prosecuted.
Oldham Council Trading Standards officers found the pair had tweaked the mileages on seven used cars they had advertised after comparing records from the auction house to the mileages that appeared on the cars.
One of the used cars had seen 35,000 removed from the clock by the pair.
In an attempt to avoid detection the duo had reduced the mileages in line with previous MOT test records.
However, the auction records revealed the true picture.
Arfan Younis pleaded guilty at Tameside Magistrates’ Court to six offences under the Fraud Act 2006 and one offence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
He was sentenced to 240 hours’ community service and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £90 plus £2,000 costs.
Tariq Younis pleaded guilty at the same court to six offences under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and was ordered to pay a £539 fine, a victim surcharge of £53 and £2,457 costs.
After the case, Cllr Barbara Brownridge, cabinet member for neighbourhoods and culture, said: ‘These two company directors purposely went out of their way to try and deceive members of the public.
‘They presented themselves as honest car sellers but thanks to the work of our Trading Standards officers we’ve been able to prove otherwise.
‘Hopefully this will make them operate within the law in future.
‘This prosecution also shows that despite the pandemic we are continuing with our everyday duties and working to protect the public.’
A Google search for the dealership now lists the business as ‘permanently closed’.
Main Image: Google
