Beware of illegal ‘curbers’ when purchasing vehicle, provincial watchdog warns

The province’s Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority (FCAA) is warning consumers about the risks of buying a vehicle from a “curber,” a person who sells vehicles for a profit without a licence.

“Curbers pose as private sellers, often buying salvage or vehicles from various sources,” FCAA’S Consumer Protection Division deputy director Denny Huyghebaert said in a recent news release. “They may clean the vehicles, make superficial repairs and quickly turn the cars around for resale. Curbers operate illegally and often ignore consumer protection legislation which licensed dealers are bound

by. Unlike licensed dealers, curbers are not bonded and typically don’t have locatable addresses or approved forms of contract.”

The FCAA’S tips to spot a curber include:

Ask for a driver’s licence, comparing the ID to the vehicle registration form (don’t accept a photocopy). If the seller’s ID doesn’t match the registration, be careful as this is a red flag.

Do you see the same phone number and different names with multiple vehicle listings in ads? You may be looking at a curber vehicle.

Curbers may not want you to know where they live or do business.

They often insist on meeting at coffee shops or mall parking lots to show the vehicle and finalize the sale.

Some curbers favour cash sales, which are hard to track and leave no paper trail.

Curbers may use sob stories to prey on a person’s general good nature and kindness. They will use these stories to rush the sale, using guilt and sympathy to keep a person distracted from evaluating the vehicle properly.

Check vehicle history by searching the vehicle identification number ( VIN).

The SGI VIN Search is a free service that looks up the following: the status of the vehicle (e.g. normal, rebuilt, stolen, total loss, unsafe or unrepairable); its most recent Saskatchewan registration expiry date; its damage claims history in Saskatchewan since Nov. 1, 2002; and whether or not the Saskatchewan PST is payable.

For more information, contact the Consumer Protection Division at www.fcaa.gov.sk.ca/ consumers-investors-pensionplan-members/consumers/consumers-of-goods-and-services/ purchasing-and-repairing-a-vehicle/curbers for more information.