A used car dealer whose payments for privately-bought stock cars repeatedly came up short has been ordered to pay £15,000 in compensation and issued with a six-month suspended jail sentence.

Coventry City Council’s trading standards took Guiseppe Randino to court after an investigation revealed that he failed to deliver promised payments to the people he bought vehicles from, the Coventry Telegraph reported.

Warwick Crown Court heard how the 35-year-old, of Woodway Lane, Woodway Park, Coventry, who had already pleaded guilty to 18 counts of misleading consumers, contrary to the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, would arrange to collect the vehicles after a price was agreed.

But after taking possession of the vehicles and registration documents Randino often failed to deliver the agreed sum.

One customer’s car was advertised on eBay before he had been paid the £500 he was owed.

Another was only paid £250 after agreeing a £2,500 sale price with Randino, the court heard.

Randino was ordered to pay £12,000 costs, £3,185 in compensation and also received a six-month prison sentence suspended for one year along with a 12-month period of supervision.