A secondhand car dealer has been prosecuted for selling a ‘clocked’ car.
Hillcrest (South Wales) Limited of James Street, in Markham, was taken to court by Caerphilly Council’s Trading Standards after it was discovered that a Mini Cooper it sold had its mileage altered.
The case came to light after a customer purchased the 52 plate Mini Cooper from the company in March last year.
She had seen the car for sale on eBay with 63,000 miles on the clock – which was confirmed when the customer saw the car in person.
She paid £1,925 for the vehicle – but less than a month later the vehicle broke down, at which stage it was discovered that the car had actually done over 114,000 miles.
On contacting the garage, the buyer was told the car was ‘sold as seen’ and that there was nothing the seller could do for them.
The buyer contacted Trading Standards which investigated and found that the car had been ‘clocked’ before Hillcrest (South Wales) Limited acquired it.
The case was heard at Newport Magistrates’ Court on Friday May 22, where the company admitted two charges under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
The firm was fined a total of £500, ordered to pay costs to the council of £500 and pay a victim surcharge of £25. In addition, the court also ordered the company to pay £800 compensation to the consumer.