Car dealer fined

A rogue car dealer was fined £360 in Elgin Sheriff Court yesterday following an investigation by Moray Council’s Trading Standards team.

Elgin man Chris Gray pled guilty to a charge of dealing in motor vehicles without a Second Hand Dealer licence.

Trading Standards first became aware that Gray was trading in second hand cars after monitoring internet sites Gumtree and Facebook. Gray had placed adverts for over 30 vehicles on Gumtree since 2010, and more recently had started advertising vehicles on Facebook, trading as ASBO Motors.

Warning letters sent by Officers at Trading Standards to Gray were ignored and he continued to openly trade without a Licence on Facebook.

After the case, Trading Standards Manager Peter Adamson said “Moray Council licenses second hand motor dealers to promote high standards and to protect the public from rogue traders. Traders who ignore the rules undermine the licensing system, put consumers at risk and unfairly undercut legitimate traders.”