An unlicensed dealer who illegally sold five vehicles and wound back the odometers of two of those vehicles was fined a total of $15,000 by the Perth Magistrates Court on 6 December 2019.
Rasmus Sepping, formerly of Redcliffe but now living in Melbourne, pleaded guilty on 6 December 2019 of buying and selling five vehicles between October 2017 and September 2018 without having a licence, in breach of the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act, and was fined $10,000. He was ordered to pay legal costs of $536.50.
He also pleaded guilty to two charges of misrepresenting the odometer readings of two vehicles sold in August and September 2018, and was fined a total of $5,000.
In June 2018, Mr Sepping bought a Toyota Landcruiser with an odometer reading of 457,166 kilometres and sold it three months later with an odometer reading of 277,781, a reduction of almost 180,000 kilometres.
In July 2018, Mr Sepping bought a Suzuki Grand Vitara with an odometer reading of 251,247 kilometres and sold it less than two months later with an odometer reading of 145,335 kilometres, a reduction of more than 100,000 kilometres.
Magistrate Young acknowledged that Mr Sepping’s actions posed a serious threat to public safety and the protection of consumers while also having a negative influence on the market for legitimate dealers.
Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard said Mr Sepping had perpetrated a double deception against consumers by selling without a licence and winding back odometers.
“We take a dim view of people who buy and sell vehicles without a licence, a practice that denies the rights of consumers, jeopardises road safety and undermines legitimate businesses that do the right thing,” Mr Hillyard said.
“We take an even dimmer view of vehicle sellers who wind back the odometers – this is serious deception being carried out on consumers and we are committed to taking action as soon as there is any evidence to prove this is happening.
“We urge anyone who suspects the vehicle they have purchased has had its odometer interfered with to contact Consumer Protection so we can launch an immediate investigation.”
Motor vehicle buyers who believe they have been misled can lodge a complaint on the Consumer Protection website www.consumerprotection.wa.gov.au
