'Clockers' caught in Watchdog sting

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A pair of crooked car dealers have been caught 'clocking' used cars in order to add thousands of pounds to their resale value, in a joint sting carried out by HPI and the BBC's Watchdog programme.

According to the investigative team behind the programme, Ashley Singh and his brother embarked on a complex criminal enterprise in which they adjusted the mileage of cars to boost their resale value.

The pair allegedly used fake identities to sell the vehicles from home via used car websites after clocking the mileage of the cars.

Watchdog caught the pair by selling them a car for £2,300 with a mileage of 128,000 miles, only to find the Singhs selling it for £6,000 with a mere 47,000 miles on the clock.

Vehicle history experts HPI said clocking not only jeopardises car insurance policies, it can also result in drivers buying cars that are in a potentially dangerous condition owing to missed service intervals.

Nicola Johnson, Consumer Services Manager for HPI, comments: "Unscrupulous sellers like Ashley Singh see the clocking of a vehicle as an easy way to raise its price and make some extra cash by putting thousands of pounds on to the price tag.

"The most worrying thing is that clocked vehicles may be dangerous. Vehicles with incorrect mileages may have more wear and tear than the buyer realises and may have missed important services and part replacement dates."

Copyright © Press Association 2010

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