Issuing a Verdict Including a Fine, besides Publishing the Offense in the Local Newspapers
The Ministry of Commerce and Investment announced the issuance of a verdict imposing a fine on an auto exhibition specialized in importing new and used cars. The said Exhibition was involved in selling a car not conforming to the standard specifications. It turned out that the sold car does not bear Gulf specifications as claimed by the auto exhibition. This is considered a kind of cheating and misleading the consumer.
Meanwhile, a verdict issued by the Criminal Court in Riyadh, confirming the Auto Exhibition violation of the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law and its Implementing Regulations, also imposing a fine, as well as cancelling the contract and obliging the Auto Exhibition to pay the buyer a sum of SAR (29449) as a compensation, also to pay SAR (56,000) to the installment Company, besides publishing the verdict in two local newspapers at the expense of the violator.
This comes within the Ministry's ongoing efforts to protect the consumers and impose penalties on anyone found to be involved in violating the provisions of the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law.
The details go back when a citizen lodged a complaint stating that he had bought a car from an Auto Exhibition, via an Installment Company, later he discovered that such car did not bear the Gulf Specification, as claimed previously by the seller. Therefore, the court ruled the owner of the exhibition as guilty of violating the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law, also imposing a fine, as well as canceling the contract , and obliging the defendant to compensate the plaintiff and the installment company.
MCI stresses that it will not hesitate in the application of the regulations on offenders and those involved in cheating and deceiving the consumers, indicating that hiding any defects out of the sight of the buyers would make them liable to severe penalties in accordance with the provisions of the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law.
Notably, MCI had already detected some violations on a number of companies and auto agencies that had been proved to repair some of the damaged cars and then resold them as new, without giving any notice to the buyers. Legal procedures had already been taken and penalties were imposed against the violators.
MCI would like to confirm the continuation of the application of legal procedures against anyone found guilty of violating the Anti- Commercial Fraud Law. The Ministry calls on all consumers to lodge their complaints to MCI Consumer Call Center 1900 or through the application of a Commercial Violation Report via their smart phones.