8:21 am, February 10, 2026
A rogue used car dealer has been ordered to pay almost £6,000 after Trading Standards accused him of selling ‘dangerous and unroadworthy’ vehicles.
Paul Mulford, who traded as Auto Park Norwich, failed to carry out sufficient checks before listing cars for sale on his website.
His practices led to multiple complaints from disgruntled customers, sparking an investigation by the Trading Standards team at Norfolk County Council.
Mulford, 65, was eventually ordered to appear before Norwich Magistrates’ Court, where a full trial took place at the end of last year.
The court heard that Trading Standards Officers visited Auto Park Norwich in 2024, with an expert vehicle examiner attending the site as part of a local initiative to crack down on second-hand car dealers.
The examiner inspected a Ford Galaxy, which he deemed to be dangerous and unroadworthy, as well as a Peugeot 3008, which was also found to be unroadworthy.
Trading Standards say that subsequent engineer reports provided full details of the faults and confirmed that they were in a dangerous and/or unroadworthy condition.
In his defence, Mulford, of Boundary Road, Norwich, argued that he took all reasonable steps to ensure that any prospective purchaser would be aware that the vehicles use in its current condition on a road would be unlawful.
He added that he ran his dealership using an ‘appointment only’ business model, that ensured that cars were checked and issues remedied before a sale took place.
After hearing all the evidence, District Judge Matthew Bone, found the defendant guilty on a single charge of supplying a dangerous product.
However, Mulford was cleared of two offences of supplying of an unroadworthy vehicle, under the Road Traffic Act 1988.
He returned to court last week where he was sentenced for the offence and slapped with a £500 fine.
He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £5,000, as well as a £200 victim surcharge – taking his total bill to £5,700.
In response to the outcome, Margaret Dewsbury, cabinet member for communities and partnerships at Norfolk County Council, pledged to take ‘firm action’ against any rogue car dealers.
She said: ‘We were pleased to see the court dealing with Mr Mulford.
‘We receive a high number of complaints about second-hand car sales and it is a problem both in Norfolk and nationally.
‘We regularly work with communities to ensure that where unroadworthy vehicles have been sold, we take firm action to help ensure the future safety of our road users.
‘We would encourage people to raise any concerns about second-hand car sales via the Citizens’ Advice Consumer Helpline.’
Main picture: Norwich Magistrates’ Court (PA Images)
