The case against Decidebloom Stoneacre, of Scunthorpe, dated back to July, 2007 and was brought by Wrexham Council Trading Standards Agency. Stoneacre has an outlet on Plas Acton Road, Pandy.
Neil Cameron, defending, told magistrates the advertisi
ng that fell foul of the Consumer Protection Act had been the responsibility of the then branch manager, who had since left the company.
Mr Cameron said an outside agency which worked on producing the advert should also have acted as an auditor and checked with trading standards to ensure everything was in order. Stoneacre was fined a total of £2,000 with £500 costs and £15 victim surcharge.
Two further charges were brought against the firm, under the Consumer Credit Act and Trade Descriptions Act, which it denied and was found not guilty.
A complaint had been made after Stoneacre advertised a Fiat Grande Punto for £7,795 with five years 0 per cent APR, no deposit required.
The advert was accompanied by an image of a blue Punto, when the deal only applied to a model which came exclusively in white. And even then a potential customer who responded to the promotional campaign was told by a salesman he would have to wait up to six weeks for delivery of a car as there were none readily available for sale.
The customer asked if he paid an extra amount of cash for a metallic colour could he get the same deal and was refused.
However, Mr Cameron stressed that the advertisement came with an important disclaimer saying the model shown was for illustration purposes only.
"If it was too small to be read or on another page of the paper you could say the advertisement was misleading. But it is on the same page just two inches away from the part complained about and could not be clearer.
"Stoneacre can't help it if a customer just reads the headline and not the rest of the advert," Mr Cameron said.
The other complaint centred on an advert for a Renault car which featured a picture of a more up to date model than the one being put up for sale.
However on both charges magistrates decided the case against Stonceacre had not been proven and the necessary disclaimer was in place. They also awarded costs from central funds.
The full article contains 416 words and appears in Evening Leader Wrexham newspaper.
