§ Viscount Simonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What measures are being taken to counter "clocking" of vehicle odometers. [HL1882]
§ Lord WhittyThe Government are committed to stamping out the practice of clocking vehicle odometers to make recorded mileage more attractive to prospective purchasers of second-hand cars. It is already an offence for traders to misrepresent the mileage of a vehicle, and trading standards officers can take action against offenders under the Trades Description Act 1968. Any car dealer found to have been involved in clocking also risks losing his consumer credit licence.
113WAWe are also committed to making more information on mileage available to the public. Mileage information is already recorded on the MOT test certificate and the current MOT computerisation project will make this more accessible in the future. Details of a vehicle's mileage is also requested when a change of keepership is notified to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). By the end of the year, this information will also be requested on the forms used when vehicles are relicensed each year. This will greatly increase the amount of mileage information that can be made available to the independent mileage recording companies. We are also currently considering how best to make the provision of mileage information a mandatory requirement on all DVLA's vehicle documents.