A car dealer from East Tilbury has been handed a six-month suspended prison sentence following a prosecution brought by Thurrock Council’s Trading Standards team.
Muhammad Bhatti, of Motors For You, a used car dealership based at Production House, Princess Margaret Road, East Tilbury, pleaded guilty to four offences relating to the sale of unsafe vehicles and six offences of false and misleading advertising.
Bhatti sold a car that was found to be unsafe due to corrosion of the vehicle’s frame and issues with other critical safety components. The car had been advertised as being “faultless” despite being in a dangerously poor condition.
Following a complaint about the vehicle, Trading Standards officers inspected cars for sale on Motors For You’s forecourt.
During the inspection, they found another vehicle that was also not roadworthy. They also identified false advertisements claiming vehicles had full service histories when they did not, as well as cars advertised at prices considerably higher than those listed on the business’s website.
In total, Bhatti pleaded guilty to four offences under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 in relation to the two unsafe vehicles, and six offences under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 relating to the way the vehicles were advertised.
He appeared at Southend Magistrates’ Court on 27 August and was sentenced to a six-month custodial sentence suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to pay £2,000 in costs and a £154 victim surcharge.
