The National Consumer Tribunal has fined two car dealers and ordered one of them to repay a customer R1m after hearing the cases brought by the National Consumer Commission (NCC).

The complainants informed the NCC about the used vehicles they bought from Wingfield Motors and Sandton Repo Cars.

The Citizen reports that the NCC found that the dealers contravened the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) in both cases and the cases were referred to the tribunal.

It found that Wingfield Motors, trading as Best Price for My Car in the Western Cape, contravened sections 55(2)(a) to (c) and 56(2) of the CPA. The consumer bought a second-hand Ford Focus RS 2.3 EcoBoost AWD 5dr 2017 vehicle for R568 000 but discovered defects within three days which required repairs estimated at over R62 000. Wingfield Motors refused to repair the vehicle.

The tribunal said it is persuaded that a strong message must be sent that second-hand car dealers cannot escape the peremptory provisions of the CPA: ‘Their services must be aligned with the CPA. Consumers must be protected against retailers accepting the purchase amount and not repairing a consumer’s vehicle or refunding the consumer when material defects manifest within the prescribed period.’

The Citizen notes that Sandton Repo Cars was also ordered to refund a consumer the full purchase price of R459 900 for a 2018 Volkswagen TSI Golf-R.

Sandton Repo Cars claimed the vehicle was accident-free, but shortly after collecting the vehicle, the consumer noticed defects in it. 

The NCC’s investigation revealed that the vehicle had been involved in an accident before the consumer bought it and in addition, he was made to sign a Mechanical Breakdown Warranty Refusal Notification, which exonerated the supplier from any defects manifesting after collection.

Full report in The Citizen