“Unscrupulous” motor dealer fined for selling unsafe motor vehicle

Inspections found that the vehicle was found to have “Corrosion/weakening of the chassis frame

A 61-year-old man from Wheatley has been fined £13,395* after pleading guilty to selling a dangerously unsafe motor vehicle.

Mark Roberts, trading as Fleet Cars Direct, of Milethorne Lane, Wheatley, was sentenced on 15 August after pleading guilty to four counts of Safety and other Trading Standards offences at Sheffield Crown Court.

In February 2019, a complaint was made to Doncaster Trading Standards Service after a member of the public had bought a vehicle from Mark Roberts.

Further investigation uncovered serious breaches of safety legislation along with other Consumer Protection Offences, including attempts to restrict a consumer’s right to seek redress, misrepresenting a vehicle in an advert and providing a warranty which provided less protection than which applies in consumer law.

Mark Roberts had described the vehicle in an advert as “a very clean, really well looked after Nissan Pathfinder,” and having “excellent bodywork,” and being able to “drive away today.”