Motor Trader Gets Suspended Sentence

A Cardiff motor trader has been taken to court and handed a suspended prison sentence, after a Caerphilly Trading Standards investigation into the supply of a dangerous vehicle. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Charles Parsons, 43 from St Mellons, Cardiff who at the time of the offence operated a used car lot in Pontymister under the name of Carosell Risca Limited, was taken to court for an offence contrary to the General Product Safety Regulations 2005. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

In September, officers from Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Trading Standards team visited the used car lot accompanied by an independent vehicle examiner as part of a routine unannounced visit to inspect the cars offered for sale, in order to ensure their safety. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

One of the vehicles, a Vauxhall Corsa was found to be in a dangerous and unroadworthy condition due to the state of the vehicle’s suspension, steering and brakes. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The case was heard at Newport Magistrates Court on 6th May 2016, where Parsons pleaded guilty to the offence. He was sentenced to 8 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. In addition, he was also ordered to do 120 hours unpaid work in the community, pay costs of £864.95 to the council and a victim surcharge of £80 to the court. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Cabinet Member, Cllr Nigel George said, “Traders must take their responsibilities towards their customers seriously, ensuring the vehicles they sell are roadworthy and safe. Clearly any incident that puts at risk the safety of the public is a serious matter, and one which our Trading Standards team will not hesitate to fully investigate. I am pleased the court shared our concerns in the sentence it imposed”. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​