8:47 am, August 19, 2024
A used car dealer who sold a ‘potentially catastrophic’ and ‘unroadworthy’ vehicle has been ordered to pay more than £3,000.
Junaid Ahmed Majeed hid a number of ‘structural defects’ when selling a second-hand Toyota Aygo through his company, Dealonwheelz Ltd.
The city car was sold by the Leeds-based retailer to a customer in Kirkbymoorside, who was refused a refund when they raised a complaint.
The incident was one of several complaints which sparked an investigation by the trading standards team at North Yorkshire Council and Majeed has now appeared at York Magistrates’ Court.
During a hearing, held last Friday (August 16), Majeed and his company each pleaded guilty to five offences under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
As well as the Aygo, the dealer also admitted to misleading another customer about the service history, warranty and MOT history of a Vauxhall Corsa.
During proceedings, the court heard that Majeed and the company told both customers that the cars were ‘sold as seen’ in a bid to avoid giving them refunds or carrying out repairs.
He also failed to tell the buyer of the Aygo that she had a right to cancel her contract with the company.
Magistrates were also told that an independent assessment of the Toyota found that it had been repaired in a ‘totally inappropriate manner’, with defects covered by filler.
Elsewhere, underbody sealant was concealing a serious defect with the structure of the vehicle’s bodyshell. The engineer who investigated the car found that the issues meant the Aygo was likely to be badly damaged if it was involved in a collision.
The engineer’s report concluded: ‘I consider that the vehicle was in an unroadworthy condition, in that its use on a road would involve a danger of injury to any person within or other road users and pedestrians, due to the potential catastrophic failure of structural components.’
After hearing all the evidence, the bench ordered that Majeed, of Hawke Avenue, Heckmondwike, pay fines totalling £500 and compensation of £2,000.
Meanwhile, Dealonwheelz Ltd, of Commercial Street in Leeds, was slapped with fines of £500 and ordered to to pay £200 towards prosecution costs.
Reacting to the sentence, Greg White, executive member for trading standards, at North Yorkshire Council, said: ‘People quite rightly expect cars on sale to be safe and as advertised in terms of service history, MOT status and after sales warranty.
‘It makes no difference whether a vehicle has been seen on a forecourt or online, it must be roadworthy and it must match its description.
‘It was particularly disappointing in this case to see that the dealer had not responded appropriately to the customers’ requests for a refund.
‘We will not tolerate attempts by traders to restrict the statutory rights of consumers by refusing refunds, using statements such as ‘sold as seen’ or failing to provide details of the right to cancel certain contracts.’
