7:42 am, September 8, 2023
A dodgy salesman who sold an ‘unroadworthy’ and ‘dangerous’ used car to an unsuspecting family has appeared in court.
Adam Hussain, 33, of Hornchurch in Essex, was fined, ordered to pay compensation and cover the prosecution’s costs after appearing at Weymouth Magistrates Court on Tuesday (Sept 5).
Hussain is the director of The Car Company Essex Ltd which operated the used car dealership RNM Car Sales Essex.
In March 2022, a family found a Nissan Pathfinder (pictured) for sale on Gumtree that Hussain was selling. He described the car as ‘a good solid vehicle’.
Hussain said it would be supplied with a new MOT and three month warranty and the customers agreed to buy it, paying for delivery.
However, after the car was delivered, the customers took it to a garage to be checked over as they’d previously bought a car that turned out to be unsafe for the road.
The garage found severe corrosion on the Nissan’s suspension, the handbrake did not work and the exhaust was leaking. All the faults would usually cause a vehicle to fail an MOT.
When the customers asked for a refund, Hussain claimed the car had been ‘sold as seen’ and was a ‘trade sale’.
The family complained to Dorset Council’s Trading Standards service who inspected the car and arranged for it to be checked over by an independent expert.
‘He identified the same faults and concluded that the vehicle was unroadworthy and dangerous to drive,’ said the Trading Standards department in a statement.
‘He also noted that the car had previously failed an MOT test some 18 months earlier with the same faults.’
Hussain was charged with selling an unroadworthy vehicle under the Road Traffic Act 1988 and for trying to restrict the consumer’s rights by using the terms ‘sold as seen’ and ‘trade sale’ under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
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At Weymouth Magistrates Court this week he pleaded guilty to the charges.
Magistrates told him the offence was ‘serious’ and fined him £1,000, ordered him to pay the consumer compensation of £3,740 and awarded the council full costs of £2,124.25.
Following the conviction, councillor Laura Beddow, Dorset Council’s portfolio holder for culture, communities and customer services, said: ‘Our Trading Standards team work with the motor trade in Dorset to ensure they trade fairly and comply with all consumer legislation.
‘When traders are found to be breaking the law and attempting to restrict consumer rights robust action will be taken against them.’
A spokesperson for Gumtree added: ‘At Gumtree, we do not tolerate the use of our platform by criminals and we supported the National Anti-Fraud Network with this conviction.
‘We are committed to educating our users on how to buy and sell vehicles safely on our platform, and we strongly encourage anyone that is considering purchasing a vehicle to go and see it in person, take it for a test drive and run your own Vehicle History Check before making a purchase.’
Image: Dorset Council
