7:54 am, June 13, 2023
Two used car dealers who didn’t tell potential buyers that vehicles for sale were under recall have been fined thousands of pounds.
Shahnawaz Gazdar and Andreas Orthodoxou from A and U Capital Ltd, trading as Tenby Car Supermarket, admitted offences under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
The company, based in Camford Way in Luton, had advertised ‘numerous’ vehicles that had outstanding manufacturer recalls but which they hadn’t put right.
During a prosecution brought by Luton Borough Council’s trading standards office, possible buyers weren’t told about the recalls either, the authority said yesterday.
At the hearing earlier this month, Luton JPs ruled that the dealership had been negligent and took into consideration the risk of harm.
The company had even been warned beforehand and given guidance relating to the contraventions on many occasions, said the council.
Magistrates fined the pair £3,333 and ordered them to pay costs of £650 plus a £190 victim surcharge.
Both directors also signed formal undertakings under the Enterprise Act 2002, agreeing to take measures on how they conduct their business in future.
Luton council also revealed yesterday that in a separate case, heard in March, directors Ehtesham Ahmed and Muneeb Asif from Eama Ltd, trading as MK Wheels, admitted similar offences under the same regulations.
The company, based in Dallow Road, had advertised seven cars between 2021 and 2022 with outstanding manufacturer recalls that they hadn’t rectified nor had they informed potential buyers about the recalls.
Luton council said the magistrates deemed the offence to be ‘highly reckless’ and fined the duo £4,000, as well as telling them to pay £450 costs and a £181 victim surcharge.
Ahmed and Asif both signed formal undertakings similar to those signed by Gazdar and Orthodoxou.
Following the cases, Cllr Maria Lovell, portfolio holder for community safety at Luton council, said: ‘We are committed to protecting people and keeping them safe, so if traders are deliberately misleading them we will take action.
‘Car traders must describe vehicles accurately and these businesses failed to do this so we have prosecuted, and if they breach the undertakings they have signed it could lead to an enforcement order against them.
‘These prosecutions should act as a deterrent to other businesses who try to deceive customers and deny them their statutory rights.’
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