Fines for unlicensed car dealers

Two car traders have each been fined £480 at Elgin Sheriff Court in recent weeks for misleading consumers and for dealing in second hand cars without a licence.

Customers thought they were buying privately, with the dealers evading their consumer protection responsibilities.

The prosecutions followed a crackdown by trading standards officers on unlicensed selling which undermines the licensing system that protects consumers and is unfair to legitimate traders who comply with licence conditions.

Both individuals had been warned previously by trading standards and one had a previous conviction for a similar offence in 2015.

Despite the warnings, they continued to trade and left trading standards no option but to report them to the procurator fiscal.

Moray Council’s trading standards manager, Peter Adamson, said: “Individuals who regularly sell second hand vehicles are in trade and are required to be licensed by the council. This is to protect consumers and legitimate licensed traders who carry out background checks and ensure that their vehicles are safe.

“There is also an obligation for traders to make clear to consumers that they are in trade and to provide consumers with statutory consumer rights.”

Traders can apply for a car dealer’s licence to Moray Council on 0300 123 4561. Members of the public who suspect illegal car dealing can phone the consumer helpline on 03454 040506.

Moray Council area stretches from Tomintoul in the south to the shores of the Moray Firth, from Keith in the east to Forres in the west. The council and its 4,500 employees respond to the needs of 95,510 residents in this beautiful part of Scotland, which nestles between Aberdeenshire and the Highlands.

Famous for its colony of dolphins, fabulous beaches and more malt whisky distilleries than any where else in Scotland, Moray is a thriving area and a great place to live.

Headquartered in  Elgin, the administrative capital of Moray.