Binley Woods garage fined more than £11k after 'undercover' car with major faults fails service

[dutchman]

A judge told the trader that vehicles are "killing machines"



A Coventry garage has been fined £11,150 after failing to spot major faults in a car that trading standards officers had booked in for a service.

The Ford Fiesta was booked in for a £132 service at the Binley Woods Service Centre, on Rugby Road, by undercover officers.

But after it was collected, an expert vehicle examiner identified nine separate faults which were not corrected.

Both the coolant and power steering fluid had not been topped up, the fuel filter had not been replaced and the tyre pressures had not been checked.

The offside rear tyre was also not spotted to be at almost half of the legal tread limit, and the garage had also failed to notify the undercover officer of a split wiper blade, noisy nearside rear wheel bearing or the condition of the spark plugs.

Finally, the rear offside seatbelt stalk was trapped beneath the rear seat cushion suggesting that the function of the rear seat belts had not been checked.

Charnjit Sekhon, 31,1 of Rugby Road, Binley Woods, trading as Binley Woods Service Centre was found guilty of an offence contrary to regulation 9 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 at Coventry Magistrates Court on Wednesday, November 6.

Mr Sekhon was fined £1,500, ordered to pay prosecution costs of £9,500 and a £150 victim surcharge, a total of £11,150.

Deputy District Judge Jonas (presiding) stated in his judgement that vehicles are "killing machines".

He added: "They can kill if they are driven dangerously or even carelessly & they can kill if they are not maintained properly.’