Report unregistered trading
As a regulator, our priority is to promote and protect the interests of consumers by ensuring compliance with the Act. We are consistently considering and investigating complaints made via our website however, we can’t see everything, and that’s where you can help.
As we all know, registered traders have a range of obligations that they must adhere to under the Motor Vehicle Sales Act. The existence of unregistered traders, and how they often carry out their business with their customers, can harm the interests of consumers and undermine the public’s trust and confidence in Traders in general. Registered Traders are often well placed to identify those who are unlawfully trading and inform the Registrar to make sure appropriate compliance action is taken.
Recently we have had several referrals made from a registered trader who had identified individuals selling vehicles without being registered. This enabled the team to engage with these individuals to ensure ongoing compliance with the Act. Following this engagement, one person has registered as a Motor Vehicle Trader and another (who had not breached the Act at the time) was successfully educated before any offence was committed.
The Registrar of Motor Vehicle Traders will use the most effective compliance and enforcement tools required to deter, detect, and intervene to achieve compliance with the Act. While prosecutions are always an option, bringing an individual into the scheme ensures that they must adhere to the same obligations as other registered traders and allows for future monitoring to ensure compliance is ongoing.
If you are aware of individuals acting unlawfully in your industry by trading while unregistered, you can make a difference by reporting their behaviour via our website complaint form at the link below.