Former car dealer admits breaching consumer protection law

A former car dealer from Burnham was ordered to pay £2826.24 after he admitted two counts of breaching consumer protection law.

Christopher Edwards, 29, of Grenville Close, who was also known as Christopher James, traded as Henley Cars in Remenham Hill.

His October 2012 advert for a Volkswagen Golf on the Auto Trader website said the car had done 77,000 miles and had a full Volkswagen service history.

West Berkshire and Wokingham Trading Standards discovered the vehicle had travelled at least 140,840 miles and the service history contained Volkswagen dealer stamps that were not genuine.

Edwards did not clock the vehicle but admitted making no checks before he sold it.

He was charged with two counts of engaging in unfair commercial practices as a result of misleading statements in the advert.

He was ordered to pay £1,500 compensation and £1,326.24 in costs on Monday, November 11 at Reading Magistrates Court.

West Berkshire and Wokingham Trading Standards Service manager Sean Murphy said: “This case highlights the need for traders to exercise due diligence before making statements about the history of vehicles.

"In this case these misleading statements could have been avoided with some simple, quick checks."