Mobile trader owner found guilty after not supplying goods

Media release

Issued 29 November 2016
Release no. 57

Mobile trader owner found guilty after not supplying customers’ goods

Flexi Buy Limited owner Vikram Mehta has been found guilty under the Crimes Act 1961 of being a party to obtaining money by deception, by making false representations to customers.

Flexi Buy sold household and electronic goods door-to-door around the North Island, particularly to consumers who could not get credit elsewhere. It stopped trading after the Commission commenced its investigation.

Three charges were brought under the Crimes Act 1961 where Mr Mehta was charged as a party to Flexi Buy’s conduct. Flexi Buy falsely told customers their goods would be supplied after they made full or partial payments, when it knew that the goods would not be supplied.

The charges cover the period from 1 January 2013 to February 2014. Between late 2012 and early 2014 Flexi Buy entered into over 300 consumer credit contracts, but only nine customers received their goods.

The written Judgment will be available on the Commission’s Enforcement Response Register shortly. As this matter is before the Court, the Commission is unable to comment further until Mr Mehta is sentenced in early 2017.

Background

Flexi Buy was the first mobile trader to be sentenced following the Commission’s Mobile Trader Report. In February 2016 Flexi Buy was fined $50,000 in the Auckland District Court for failing to provide its customers with adequate disclosure of key information about their credit contracts. A further $3,408 was awarded in damages to affected customers. You can read more in the media release.

Flexi Buy sold goods to customers through a catalogue in various North Island locations including South Auckland, Whangarei, Kaikohe, Kaitaia, Hastings, Napier, Hamilton, Porirua, Gisborne, Whanganui, Murupara and Tokoroa.

The Commission has prosecuted 10 mobile traders in 2016 after it developed a strategy to address the industry-wide compliance issues it identified in its Mobile Trader 2014/15 Report.

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