1:35 pm, April 23, 2026
A used car dealer has admitted 41 offences of misleading customers into buying cars, including advertising cars in an untrue and misleading manner on Autotrader.
Sheeth Adam, 40, of Rykneld Road, Derby, pleaded guilty to all charges, including carrying out business for a fraudulent purpose at the company Premium Car Sales (Burton) Limited.
He appeared in front of magistrates at North Staffordshire Justice Centre.
The charges related to 16 complaints made to Staffordshire Trading Standards between August 2, 2024, and March 27, 2025 about the company and other names it traded under – Elite Car Sales and Castle Car Sales.
Two of the complaints related to misleading customers where the vehicles turned out to be dangerous. The court was told that the total purchase price of the cars involved was more than £26,000.
Stoke-on-Trent Live reported that the court heard a Dacia Sandero was bought by a customer in South Wales and later found to have a long-term oil leak and contaminated brake fluid. It was deemed unroadworthy by an independent examination.
A Hyundai i30 was also named as an unroadworthy vehicle and had an undisclosed MOT advisory, despite being advertised as a well-maintained car with a full MOT.
Lucy Daniels, prosecuting said: ‘There was false and misleading information placed on Autotrader – the wording was virtually identical.
‘These ads would claim vehicles were well-maintained, clean cars that ticked all the boxes, which implied to the person viewing the ad they were in good condition and had valid MOTs.’
She added that the cars were generally ’10-15 years old, and seemed to be at the end of usable life. They were sold for between £950 and £2,500′.
She described that some cars would develop issues or warning lights on the drive home, some customers found MOTs were not valid and others had their numbers blocked and requests for refunds refused.
Daniels told the court: ‘Further customers experienced aggressive behaviour when they said their car wasn’t working; one disabled man was grabbed by one of the people working at the business, who tried to mishandle him into a small wooden shed. Another customer was told over the phone “I won’t give you s***, carry on and I’ll rape your mum”.’
Richard Bloomfield, defending, said: ‘This is a man of previous good character. For much of this time, he was allowing other people to run the business during a period he was out of the country.
‘On six different occasions, he was in hospital for part of it. The motivation of others, ensuring these sales go through, was they were getting commission off sales.
‘He is committed to making sure everyone is paid. He is in the process of establishing new business, operating in other higher value vehicles.’
The majority of the charges have been committed to Stafford Crown Court for sentencing at a later date.
For three charges that were able to be dealt with by magistrates, Adam was fined £690 and ordered to pay a total of £966, which includes the victim surcharge.
Photo credit: Google Maps/North Staffordshire Justice Centre
