A man has been fined $3,000 by the Perth Magistrates Court on 19 August 2016 for selling vehicles from an East Victoria Park home without a licence.

The 33 year old man, who now lives in Cannington, was granted a spent conviction. He pleaded guilty to buying and selling 30 vehicles between July 2014 and March 2016 by advertising on the Gumtree website. He was ordered to pay costs of $432.70.

Buying and selling vehicles without a licence is in breach of the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act.

Acting Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard said consumers should avoid doing business with backyard car dealers.

“Unlicensed dealers do not offer warranties for their vehicles which threatens the rights and protections of consumers and it may be difficult to get any redress if there are after sale issues.

“Anyone who has information about unlicensed motor vehicle dealing in the community should contact Consumer Protection so these activities can be investigated and eventually stamped out.”

Consumers can check whether a car dealer is licensed by doing a search on the Consumer Protection website: www.commerce.wa.gov.au/cp/licencesearch. Unlicensed car dealers can be reported by emailing consumer@commerce.wa.gov.au or by calling 1300 30 40 54.

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