…as private sellers turn to underhand tactics to secure online sales.
An abundance of mileage correction services and devices are readily available on the interweb, where they can be bought for as little as £100.
At present these devices are legal, but there is call for them to be banned to stop the surge in “clocking”, which put motorists at a greater risk of buying dangerous used cars with false mileage.
An existing legal loophole means that while knowingly selling a clocked car without disclosing it is fraud, it is not illegal to alter the odometer’s mileage. The Department for Transport is currently consulting on how to stop the practice.
Latest industry figures show clocking increased by 25 per cent between 2014 and 2016 and costs motorists an estimated £800 million per year in the UK. Today, one in 16 vehicles have a mileage discrepancy, which means there could be 2.3 million clocked and potentially dangerous cars on UK roads.
Rogue car dealers and unscrupulous private sellers can use mileage correction devices to knock off tens of thousands of miles on vehicles to make them look less well used and more desirable. This can increase the value of an average second-hand family car by up to £4,000, which is fraud.
Cllr Simon Blackburn, Chair of the Local Government Association’s, Safer and Stronger Communities Board said: “Car clocking is a rising major fraud which not only rips off motorists but can have dangerous implications”.
He went on “Anyone buying a second-hand car should make thorough checks to ensure that the vehicle is showing its true mileage and that its service history and MOT certificate are accurate” and said that “Clocking is tarnishing the reputation of honest used car dealers and sellers and councils won’t hesitate to bring any car dealer or private seller to justice who shows a blatant disregard for safety and consumer rights”.
Be safe out there!
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