OVER 30 second-hand vehicles that are not up to scratch have been served with notices to prevent their sale.
Officers from the council’s trading standards team, the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA), and Cheshire Police inspected two second-hand car dealer premises on Wednesday 11 March following consumer complaints over the condition of some of the vehicles on sale. The faults identified, which resulted in the vehicle prohibitions under the Road Traffic Act, related to unsafe tyres, brakes and cracked windscreens, which would make them unsuitable for an MOT. The vehicles cannot be sold until essential improvement has been carried out.
Trading Standards will now be conducting further investigations for potential offences under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations relating to pricing mis-descriptions, mileage discrepancies and consumer complaints.
Pete Astley, assistant director for regulation and public protection at the council, said: “Thanks to intelligence from members of the public, we have been able to stop the sales of more second-hand cars that would cause nothing but hassle for consumers who unknowingly purchase them. Not only would these vehicles be costly but they could be very unsafe. There are a minority of sellers in this industry who are ripping people off and putting them in danger and we are determined to work with partners to put a stop to this.”
The premises’ cannot be named as investigations are ongoing.
