Watchdog prosecuted three second-hand car dealers over misleading customers

In one case, a dealer sold three vehicles that had previously crashed and did not tell two of the consumers about the vehicles’ prior history.

Car dealers misleading customers on a vehicle’s mileage or not admitting a car had previously been crashed were among the cases that led to enforcement actions taken by the consumer watchdog last year.

In its annual report, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) said it inspected 423 businesses on consumer law compliance and initiated 35 enforcement actions for breaches of consumer protection law.

Its actions led to 705,582 unsafe products being removed from the Irish market.

The spotlight has been on the CCPC in recent years due to the surge in the cost of living affecting households across the country.

Last year, the CCPC investigated the price at the fuel pumps and inspected hundreds of stations across the country.

Last year, it said it investigated the price at the fuel pumps and inspected hundreds of stations across the country. The watchdog concluded higher prices at the pumps were due to rising international prices rather than a lack of competition.

Furthermore, a recent probe into grocery prices found no evidence of price gouging in supermarkets.

As part of its enforcement actions last year, the CCPC said it initiated just three prosecutions, all of which were against second-hand car dealers.

In one case, a person had bought a car from a Dublin-based dealer which broke down shortly after purchasing.

A car dealer misleading customers on a vehicle’s mileage were among cases that led to enforcement actions.

“The consumer brought it to a mechanic who identified issues with the vehicle, namely problems with the power steering,” the CCPC said. 

The car was found to have an ownership history which had not been accurately advertised or disclosed and, in addition, the mileage of the vehicle was found to be understated by approximately 5%.” 

After a hearing before Dublin District Court, the consumer was compensated and the car dealer paid €6,150 towards the CCPC’s costs of investigating and prosecuting the case.

In another instance involving a car dealer in Meath, a customer was told a car had not been previously crashed.

When the car began to develop faults, it emerged it had been involved in a crash and the person was advised to take the car off the road. The dealer was then fined €500 and paid over €7,000 in compensation to the customer.

On a lower rung of severity than prosecutions, the CCPC also issues compliance notices when it detects alleged breaches of the legislation.

Instances were found where second-hand car dealers posted advertisements on donedeal.ie describing themselves as a private seller. In one case, one such dealer sold three vehicles that had previously crashed and did not tell two of the consumers about the vehicles’ prior history.

The CCPC also found during inspections of a B&Q store and a Lidl, both in Dublin, instances where the price of items displayed was lower than the actual price when it was scanned at the till.

“This information would be likely to cause the average consumer to make a transactional decision that the average consumer would not otherwise make,” the regulator said.