8:19 am, June 7, 2024
A used car dealer has been ordered to pay more than £1,500 after it failed to reveal the identity of a driver suspected of a motoring offence.
LR Trans Ltd failed to appear at an arranged hearing at Worcester Magistrates Court last month but was found guilty of the charge in its absence.
The case centred around a driving offence, said to have occurred on September 22, 2023, in a 62-plate Citroen owned by the Telford-based retailer.
The Shropshire Star reports that magistrates handed the firm a £1,000 fine and ordered it to pay a £400 victim surcharge and prosecution costs totalling £110.
The car dealership, based out of Captain Webb Drive, now has until June 26 to stump up the £1,510 or face further action.
The business is not the first automotive retailer to appear at the court for failing to give information, following similar cases last year.
Back in September, we reported that both Morris Autos and TJ Vickers were fined £660 by magistrates after admitting to separate charges.
That came after used car firm Top Cars Telford was also fined the same amount for failing to name a Mercedes-Benz driver who was caught breaking the law.
Under section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, failure to identify a driver is not an imprisonable offence and is instead punishable by a fine and up to six penalty points on a defendant’s driving licence.
However, dealing with the incident may not be the biggest issue facing LR Trans Ltd, which was issued compulsory strike-off notice by Companies House on April 16.
Although the action was temporarily suspended on May 14, the firm’s accounts remain overdue.
