Issue Date:  -  Tuesday, 27 February 2001

Caryard Manager Fined Over Finance Deal

An Inglewood caryard manager has been fined $750 for falsifying a loan application whilst arranging the sale of a four-wheel drive vehicle to a consumer in 1998.

Ronald Graham Thompson, who no longer works in the industry, pleaded guilty to three charges of making false and misleading representations under the Consumer Credit Act.

In 1995 Thompson wanted to buy a Nissan Patrol but because of his bad credit history, arranged for a friend to successfully apply for finance totalling $60,337.80 from Nissan Finance.

Both Thompson and his friend made repayments, but in 1997 Thompson got into financial difficulties.

Through his work, Thompson met an Esperance consumer who wanted a 4WD and offered to "hire" his own Nissan Patrol to the consumer for $1000 a month. The consumer agreed to continue making these payments to Thompson until the finance on the vehicle was paid out.

However, after paying Thompson a total of $12,000 it was agreed that the consumer would purchase the vehicle outright. Thompson completed a finance application on behalf of the consumer in which he falsely stated the purchase price and included a fictitious deposit and trade-in vehicle.

Commissioner for Fair Trading Patrick Walker said such cases were uncommon but a warning to car dealers that misrepresenting applications for finance was viewed as a serious offence.

"Industry members who do this not only face a court conviction but may also be the subject of an inquiry before the Motor Vehicle Dealers Licensing Board," Mr Walker said.

"One of the main reasons the Ministry pursues such cases is that the consumers involved in cases of finance misrepresentation either lose significant sums of money or are exposed to a very high risk of doing so," he said.