Order bars dealer's 'clocked' car sales

A CO LIMERICK car dealer has been served with a prohibition order forbidding the dealership from selling motor vehicles that have had their mileage altered.

The National Consumer Agency secured the order against Favourite Motors Limited, with an address at Ballysimon Road in Limerick city, before Judge Carroll Moran at Limerick Circuit Court on Tuesday.

Changing the mileage, known in the motor industry as “clocking”, usually involves reducing the mileage on a used car to increase its price. The practice is banned under the 2007 Consumer Protection Act.

The NCA secured the undertaking, which forces the car dealer to desist from selling cars with altered odometer readings, after an investigation by its officers followed the agency having received complaints from customers.

An initial attempt to seek an undertaking from the dealer to stop offering clocked cars proved unsuccessful.

Costs were also awarded against the dealer.

“Our application for a prohibition order reflects the seriousness with which we take the offering for sale of clocked cars to consumers,” said Ann Fitzgerald, chief executive of the consumer’s agency.

“The NCA invested significant resources and time into this investigation, and will continue to exercise all of the remedies at its disposal in defence of the rights of consumers.

“This should convey a strong message to traders involved in or in contemplation of actions which may fall foul of consumer law,” she added.