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People
who wind back odometers to increase the value of the car they are
selling should be liable for a heavy fine of up to $10,000 says
the New Zealand Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux in its submission
on the government's discussion document on proposed regulations
for motor vehicle sales.
"Nation-wide,
Citizens Advice Bureaux deal with 250 enquiries every week about
motor vehicles and motor vehicle sales which tells us that people
are having a lot of problems in this area," says Nick Toonen,
CEO of the Association which represents the country's 91 Citizens
Advice Bureaux.
"We
are pleased that the discussion document proposes stronger consumer
protection and harsher penalties than those contained in the current
legislation.
"One
of the enhanced protections is a register of people who sell more
than six motor vehicles a year. We support this, and the formation
of a list of people who have been banned from selling motor vehicles,
that is people who have been identified as ripping off consumers.
These measures will go some way to ending the current black market
in motor vehicles.
"The
proposals will also ensure that existing consumer legislation, namely
the Consumer Guarantees and Fair Trading Acts, will provide extra
protections for consumers who buy cars from dealers. This fixes
the current problem of dealers attempting to contract out of their
legal responsibilities.
"We
are also pleased that access to the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal
will be freed up. This means that consumers will be able to take
any dispute with a dealer over a car sale direct to the tribunal
without needing to go through an industry body first."
[Click
here for a copy of the submission]
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