Truck shop fined $47K
The Commerce Commission has won another court case against a mobile trader as it ramps up efforts to make the industry compliant with consumer laws.
Mobile trader Bestdeals 4 You, or Bestdeals, has been fined $47,250 in the Auckland District Court for failing to disclose key consumer information about its credit contracts and layby sales agreements.
It is one of 11 mobile traders, often referred to as truck shops, which have been prosecuted by the commission.
Bestdeals pleaded guilty to 19 charges under the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 (CCCFA) and the Fair Trading Act 1986 (FTA).
It sold door-to-door in Auckland, Whangarei and Hastings under the name Easylayby via a catalogue, and ran a physical store in South Auckland called Super Mobile, which offered laybys.
The commission said more than 1000 customers were affected by Bestdeals’ failure to provide customers with information required under the CCCFA.
This included an accurate statement of their right to cancel the contract, or their right to apply for relief from unforeseen hardship.
The company also failed to provide more than 100 customers with a copy of their layby’s terms and conditions, as required under the Fair Trading Act.
In sentencing Bestdeals, the judge said the company targeted the most vulnerable members of society, who could not pay for goods outright, and for whom credit was not otherwise available.
Bestdeals owner Ramandeep Singh said he was unaware of the legal requirements and that Bestdeals had simply used the same contracts as other providers. The judge said this was verging on gross negligence and did not reduce the firm’s responsibility.
Commissioner Anna Rawlings said the commission has worked to improve compliance in the mobile trader industry and has 12 ongoing investigations into mobile traders. –Fairfax NZ