'˜Clocked' car victims to be compensated

A 23-year-old man has been sentenced after being involved with the sale of '˜clocked' cars.

Neel Shah formally of John Street, Luton was sentenced recently in connection with the sale of five clocked cars, one of these he sold twice, having accepted the car back from the first buyer he then resold it, again with the false mileage.

In August last year, Shah pleaded guilty to the offences under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 which were bought following an investigation by Luton Borough Council’s Trading Standards.

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The court heard that Shah, the director of NJS Enterprise Ltd, had previously been convicted in 2013 of similar offences whilst trading as ND Cars in Dunstable.

Whilst no allegation was made that Shah clocked the cars, the court heard that as the director of the company, he made no attempt to ensure that the mileage on the vehicles was correct and where he knew it was wrong, he withheld this information from customers.

Shah was sentenced at Luton Crown Court to 12 months imprisonment, however this was suspended by the Judge for two years as Shah had already paid £5500 in compensation to victims, and agreed to fully compensate all six customers a total of £16640. The defence for Mr Shah argued that if he were to be sent to prison, he would lose the earning power to repay his customers.

He was also ordered to pay £2000 towards the council’s costs.

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Cllr Jacqui Burnett, Portfolio Holder for people and places said: “Car dealers have a responsibility to ensure that they check the mileage and history of the vehicles they sell. Mr Shah failed in this despite being fully aware of his responsibilities having been prosecuted before. The Trading Standards service has not only secured a conviction against this trader, but also obtained compensation for the victims”