Peterborough car dealer jailed after repeatedly failed to deal properly with customer complaints

A Peterborough car trader who failed to deal properly with complaints from 12 customers over a year has been jailed for eight months.

Shaffarat Parvez (37) formally of Cromwell Road, Peterborough, who traded under multiple names including Carzona and Haxton Car Group, operating from Fengate, was sent to prison following a Trading Standards prosecution.

He was sentenced after having been convicted in November of breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order by Cambridge Crown Court in a prosecution brought by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Trading Standards.

The court had originally imposed the Order in 2020 following a successful prosecution by Trading Standards for offences committed in the running of his used car businesses.

It required him to deal with consumer complaints about faulty goods, keep records of complaints made and any action taken, as well as training any staff he employed.

But despite the Criminal Behaviour Order, complaints from the public continued, with vehicles developing faults soon after purchase, and difficulties getting redress when seeking repairs or refunds.

As a result, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Trading Standards brought this subsequent prosecution.

His Honour Judge Lowe said: “(Parvez) did not simply behave in the way he did in breach of a suspended sentence. He did so in relation to 12 separate individual consumers.

"He did so over a period of over a year.

"He did so, having tried to hide what he was doing behind multiple entities and identities.

"And in my judgment, this is one of those relatively rare cases where a short sentence should be immediate to properly reflect the seriousness of what this defendant has done.”

Cllr Alison Jones, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, said: “The sentence imposed by Cambridge Crown Court sends a strong message to the car sector that they cannot ride rough-shod over consumer rights in Peterborough.

"For many people, the purchase of a car is the biggest financial outlay they ever make, and it is imperative that appropriate redress is provided when the customer is entitled to it by law.

“We are lucky enough to have some very reputable car traders in Peterborough and I would urge all residents to do their research when it comes to finding a car trader they can trust.

"The Citizens Advice Consumer Service offers great advice.”