One of the largest auction firms in Northern Ireland has been fined £1,000 for falsely describing the mileage of a car.
Wilson's Auctions in Portadown advertised a Mercedes as having 73,453 miles when its true mileage was over 133,000.
Craigavon Magistrates' Court heard how Wilson's was aware that the mileage stated in the brochure was incorrect yet failed to take action. A customer had purchased it for £5,100.
Richard Knipe, spokesman for the Trading Standards Service, said: "Consumers' rights are greatly reduced when they buy goods through an auction. However at the very least, consumers are still entitled to expect that the goods have been described correctly.
"Consumers need to be confident when buying any goods, that an accurate description has been applied to the goods by the trader.
"Although it is not suggested that Wilsons Auctions (Portadown) Ltd actually 'clocked' the car, the case highlights a significant degree of neglect when they failed to correctly describe the car, despite the issue being brought specifically to their attention."
The company pleaded guilty to two charges of applying a false trade description to a car and supplying a car to which a false trade description had been applied.
© Press Association