Leaky van owner advised to sue seller by Magistrate

Sunday 02 September 2018

A Magistrate has advised the owner of a leaky van that he might want to sue the person he'd bought the vehicle from, as she handed him a £900 fine.

Nelson Dos Santos, who was in the Magistrate's Court this week due to his vehicle's defects, said that he’d bought the white Mercedes van in good faith from a "regular company", but that it was his fault that he hadn’t got a mechanic to look it over.

He was fined because it had a leak and there was an oily substance coming from it, posing a potential danger.

Driver and Vehicle Standards later found the brakes were defective, as were the rear side lights, fog lights, and mirror. There were also problems with the bodywork.

Pictured: Magistrate Bridget Shaw fined Dos Santos £100 for his vehicle's defects in the Magistrate's Court this week.

Magistrate Bridget Shaw told Dos Santos he might want to try and get his money back from the original owner.

She suggested he show the previous owner the DVS report and that they might reimburse him. Alternatively, she said he might considering a civil action – taking the previous owner to court.

She noted all too often people fined for having defective vehicles had bought them believing nothing was wrong with them.