Auckland car dealer, owner fined $12K

1 Dollar Reserve Cars Limited and owner, Adam Cooper, were fined $8,000 and $4,000 respectively. Photo / 123RF

An Auckland car dealership and its owner have been fined $12,000 under the Fair Trading Act for misrepresenting consumers' rights on Trade Me auctions.

The company, 1 Dollar Reserve Cars Limited and owner, Adam Cooper, were fined $8,000 and $4,000 respectively.

In total, 16 charges were brought against the pair.

Six of the charges were for misrepresenting consumers' rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act relating to three vehicles listed on Trade Me stating: "As this is an auction for a complete package of second hand parts the Consumer Guarantee's [sic] Act does NOT apply."

The other 10 charges were for for failing to display or provide access to Consumer Information Notices (CINs) for 94 vehicles listed on Cooper's Trade Me membership between September 2015 and November 2017.

Commissioner Anna Rawlings said the conduct was an attempt to deny consumers basic protections afforded by the Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA).

"The basic protections offered by the CGA applied automatically to the motor vehicles on offer and this conduct was an attempt to deny consumers those basic protections. Important information contained within a CIN could have informed consumers' decisions to purchase and $1 Reserve also failed to provide this information," Rawlings said.

Cooper told the Commission he thought he could avoid his CGA obligations by claiming vehicles were a package of second-hand parts and regretted his failure to include CINs.

Judge Mary-Beth Sharp said, during sentencing, the 'second-hand parts' representations "departed substantially from the truth", and "there must be general deterrence for offending of this nature."

Rawlings said motor vehicle sales were a focus area for the Commission during 2018/19.

"We are receiving increased numbers of complaints in relation to the online purchase of vehicles and all motor vehicle dealers need to take careful note of their legal obligations to their customers and make sure that they are operating within the requirements of the law," Rawlings said.