Car dealer and mechanic both jailed for clocking miles off of Audi TT cars and altering MOT certificates

Dealer Alexander Harvey and mechanic Amit Mistry were both jailed after what a judge at Warwick Crown Court described as ‘a meticulous investigation’ by Warwickshire Trading Standards.

Harvey, 28, of School Lane, Priors Marston, near Southam, who had admitted four charges of fraud, two of making or adapting articles for use in fraud, and two consumer protection offences, was jailed for 12 months.

Mistry, 38, of Timken Way, Daventry, was jailed for six months, after he had admitted two offences of making or adapting articles for use in fraud.

Prosecutor Tony Watkin said Harvey concentrated on the sale of Audi TT cars, trading as Alex Harvey Specialist Cars.

“Mr Harvey accepts his business was not run entirely on an honest basis, but the prosecution accept the entire business was not run on a dishonest basis.

“But there were systematic breaches by him of consumer trading regulations,” said Mr Watkin, who pointed out that Harvey had twice been given guidance which included a warning not to use misleading disclaimers such as ‘sold as seen’.

Mistry was a mechanic who began running a business called Car Teck Vehicle Solutions at premises in Oxford Street, Daventry, in 2010.

Mr Watkin explained that Harvey, who the court was told operated at ‘the bottom end’ of the market, sold vehicles at inflated prices which then soon developed faults.

And on two occasions he and Mistry were involved in fabricating or altering MoT certificates or service records to back up his bogus descriptions of cars he was selling.

On one of the cars, Harvey had Mistry alter the mileage from 98,000 to 67,323 with further false claims that it had a new cam belt and water pump.

Judge Alan Parker told Harvey: “What makes this case particularly serious was not only the creation of false invoices to describe a history which was untrue, but that it also involved, as part of a joint enterprise between you, the creation of a false MoT certificate or the doctoring of an MoT certificate.

I have no doubt the public look to the courts to ensure that the integrity of the process where cars are tested has to remain unimpeachable.

What you and Mr Mistry were doing was seeking to undermine the integrity of the information which is stored and provided to members of the public.

You abused the responsibility you had not to mislead people.”

And he told Mistry: “Your role was less involved than that of your co-defendant, but you acted together to create false invoices and a false MoT certificate, which strikes at the integrity of the Ministry of Transport tests.”