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An Auckland motor vehicle trader has been fined $6400 for failing to display vital information about more than 100 cars it was selling on Trade Me.
The fine was handed down in the Auckland District Court after Harpers For Cars Ltd pleaded guilty to 16 breaches of the Fair Trading Act.
The company is the first to be prosecuted and fined for selling cars online without displaying Supplier Information Notices (SINs).
Since December 2003 all used motor vehicles offered for sale have had to be accompanied by the notice, which outlines information like the make and model, odometer reading and whether there are any security interests registered against the vehicle.
In online trading the SINs must be displayed on the same page as the car that is being offered for sale. In a yard it must be hanging inside the car window.
Fair Trading acting director Graham Gill said the requirement was mandatory regardless of whether vehicles were sold at a yard or online but Harpers For Cars had failed to comply for more than a year.
Mr Gill said the company sold 127 cars on Trade Me without SINs between May 2005 and June 2006. Despite a warning in April it continued to sell cars without SINS for another two months.
Mr Gill said: "The ... notice is very important, as it allows consumers to make accurate comparisons between different vehicles, something they cannot easily do merely by looking at a car, or photograph of a car.
"This is vital when purchasing a car online, when you cannot visually inspect the vehicle and have to rely solely on the information provided by the trader."
Harpers for Cars director Roger Harper said the company co-operated with the commission and accepted full responsibility for its breaches, which he said was an oversight that had now been corrected.
"It is important that all traders ensure they comply with the Fair Trading Act," he said.
Mr Harper said the fine was paid within minutes of the ruling.
Trade Me regulatory manager Christine Turner said emails were sent to all traders who had sold more than six cars in a year, reminding them about their obligations to display SINs. She said the requirement applied only to people who sold more than six cars a year and to auctions, not classified listings.
