Doors close on 40 years of Nicolinis
A GOLD Coast man has been ordered to pay $3657 in fines and disqualified from being a motor dealer for 10 years by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Ivan Kaplun was investigated by the Office of Fair Trading for making false and misleading representations ryan.keen@news.com.au about car mileage. The tribunal heard Mr Kaplun, who had been a licensed dealer since 2010, bought three cars at auction, wound back the odometers by a total of 327,574km and on-sold them to unsuspecting consumers.
Mr Kaplun also failed to advise potential buyers he was a licensed motor dealer, or give a statutory warranty or written contract of sale to the buyers.
The tribunal heard Mr Kaplun was obstructive throughout the investigation, claiming to have lost documentation and refusing to admit responsibility for his illegal actions.
In sentencing, the tribunal considered Mr Kaplun’s clear intent to make a profit at the expense of the affected consumers, and his disregard for their safety in driving vehicles significantly older than they were led to believe.
“Purchasing a vehicle with a tampered odometer is a major safety concern, as the further a vehicle travels, the more prone it is to safety defects,” Fair Trading executive director Brian Bauer said.
“Unexpected maintenance issues could arise, and consumers may find themselves out of pocket more than they anticipated. Consumers should complete the appropriate checks before purchasing a vehicle, like doing a Personal Properties Securities Register search and checking the results against those provided by the seller.”
Licensed motor dealers and consumers are encouraged to report unlawful practices at www.qld.gov.au/fairtrading or by calling 13QGOV (13 74 68).