Car salesman fined for false advertising

A Rochdale man has been fined over £12,000 after being caught lying about mileage readings, the number of previous keepers and the age of cars in attempt to make his sales more appealing to customers.

Mr Martin Kendall, 53, owner of Thornham Car Sales who trades from his home address on Snipe Leach Farm, Royton pleaded guilty to 8 breaches of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulation 2008 at Bolton Crown Court yesterday (Wednesday 26 January 2010).

Rochdale Borough Council prosecuted the car salesman after a thorough investigation uncovered his false advertising was luring customers to buy cars that weren’t as big bargains as they thought.

One vehicle, a BMW 316ti, had been sold twice by Mr Kendall, each time with an altered mileage reading. On the second occasion the vehicle had been advertised as having travelled 75,000 miles when it had in fact done in excess of 150,000 miles.

He was fined £8000 (£1000 per offence) and ordered to pay court costs of £4469 and victim surcharges totalling £120.

Trading standards officers from Rochdale Borough Council had advised Mr Kendall on at least two occasions about his unfair practices over a period of 2 years following complaints from unhappy customers, which he’d chosen to ignore.

Andy Glover, Public Protection Manager at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “False advertising is a serious offence. It flies in the face of customer protection rights. When making a purchase the customer is entitled to a true representation of the product to make an informed decision.

“It’s unclear how much Mr Kendrall has profited from his deceit and how many of his customers have been ripped off, but we expect he’s made considerable amounts of money through his deceptive sales tactics. This is unfair and unacceptable.”

Mr Kendall has been ordered to pay back the fine amounting to £12, 768 at the rate of £1,065.75 per month for 12 months.

Councillor Terry Linden, cabinet member responsible for legal enforcement at Rochdale Borough Council, added: “Thanks to the hard work of our trading standards officers and legal team we’ve been able to punish such a persistent rogue trader. We have a duty to enforce consumer laws and make sure our customers are not getting ripped off. Mr Kendall has ruined his reputation by choosing to be deceitful rather than honest.

“I hope traders will learn from this example that in the long-term honest trading is the most profitable way to run a business.”