The owner of two car dealerships in the south-east of England has been charged with breaching trading standards by selling clocked cars.
Farman Tayebi, who owns Direct Car Sales branches in New Malden and Croydon, appeared in Kingston Crown Court yesterday (17 June), the Croydon Guardian reported. In total there were 10 charges against him and 10 against his company, all relating to misleading customers by selling vehicles with incorrect mileage.
Among the various repercussions of being found guilty of such a crime is the effect it will have on a company’s attempt to obtain a cheap motor trade insurance policy. Evidence of criminal activity like this will sound alarm bells with insurers, meaning that a quote could be far higher than it would have otherwise been – that is if they choose to offer insurance protection for a dishonest business at all.
Mr Tayebi, who lives in Putney, West London, is alleged to have sold a used PeugeotRCZ that had travelled 77,627 miles to a customer who was told it had only driven 37,000 miles. All the charges date from 16 June 2012 to 28 April 2014.
The accused was not asked to enter his plea to the charges as he appeared in court this week. Instead he was given bail and will return on 2 September.
Last year Mr Tayebi bought a new half-acre plot on which to extend his New Malden car dealership but his planning application was later rejected by Merton Council.
