Dealers convicted by MBIE

Four unregistered dealers were prosecuted by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) last month as the numbers of traders breaking the law increases. Individuals can only legally sell six vehicles in a 12-month period without becoming officially registered as motor vehicle dealers. “Unregistered traders aren’t subject to checks that apply to those who are registered and consumers may have less protection if something goes wrong,” says Karla Flood, manager of MBIE’s registry integrity and enforcement team. MBIE says these latest cases serve as reminders to people illegally trading vehicles that action will be taken against those who fail to abide by the rules. The recent run of prosecutions started with a 52-year-old man being fined $5,400 in North Shore District Court in early March for selling 10 vehicles without being registered. Six days later, a 21-year-old man was found guilty in Auckland District Court of the same offence and for selling 12 vehicles. He was fined the same amount. A 32-year-old was found guilty at Gisborne District Court for selling 13 vehicles received 80 hours’ community work, and early this month a 24-year-old Auckland man was convicted and fined $8,000 for selling 10 vehicles. Since July 2012, the registrar has investigated 422 unregistered motor vehicle traders. Of those, 339 have been finalised, 74 are ongoing with the aim of achieving compliance and nine are before the courts.