The National Association of Motor Auctions (NAMA), a U.K.-based auction industry trade body, said that fleets could benefit in both conversions and values through the de-fleet process by providing the extra vehicle information that helps dealers comply with tighter consumer protection regulation.

The statement followed a recent trading standards presentation that highlighted how fleet managers must play their part in helping dealers pass the supervision of trading standards. The speaker for the presentation offered an example of when fleet managers give the impression that a vehicle has one previous user, when in fact it is an ex-business used vehicle that may have had multiple previous users.

“There can be no question that consumers are increasingly aware of their rights. Dealers at the recent Used Car NI Conference were unusually vocal in questioning the Trading Standards speaker,” said Louise Wallis, the head of NAMA. “It was clearly the event’s ‘hot topic.’ The NAMA Grading Scheme goes a long way to helping dealers to make an informed buying decision and we urge vendors to help us to help them by providing full information on service history, usage, repairs and mileage with as much supporting information as possible. Accurate information unquestionably helps conversions and where this supports a quality vehicle it can help values as well.”