AN MAN from Tredegar has been prosecuted for unfair trading offences.

Ralph Edward Corbett pleaded guilty to five counts of selling items on Ebay giving false information about them under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

The 78-year-old was sentenced at Cwmbran Magistrates’ Court on Monday, January 8 following an investigation into the sale of a Swift Lifestyle motorhome by Corbett.

The investigation and prosecution was undertaken by the joint Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen Trading Standards service.

Corbett, of Lindsay Gardens, in Tredegar, was a motorhome dealer advertising vehicles on the selling website eBay.

In April 2017 he advertised the Swift Lifestyle motorhome for £21,995, describing it as being in near mint condition inside and out.

And, when the prospective customer viewed the vehicle Corbett informed him it was free from damp and produced a habitation certificate to support this.

But a few weeks after the purchase, the steps to the vehicle fell off the chassis, the court heard.

And when the purchaser took it to a motorhome specialist they informed them that the vehicle’s flooring was affected by excessive damp penetration.

The customer attempted to get the money back from Corbett, but he refused.

A complaint was made and passed on to Trading Standards to investigate.

The motorhome received an assessment from a second motorhome expert and was found to have damp level readings of 100 per cent in certain areas.

The maximum reasonable levels are considered to be at around 25 per cent.

Mr Corbett was fined £150 in relation to each of the first four offences under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 which were reduced to £100 each for early guilty pleas - a total fine of £400.

No separate penalty was given in relation to the fifth offence.

Full prosecution costs were awarded to the council in the sum of £1,905 .

Corbett was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £30, making the total amount he owed £2,335.

It is payable within 28 days.