South Burnett woman allegedly sold lemon by car dealer, Mezin Hadad
A notorious Brisbane car dealer banned for life from the Qld motor industry has allegedly struck again, this time selling a lemon to an unsuspecting regional mum, leaving her isolated and thousands of dollars out of pocket.
Police & Courts
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Trinity Stockdale never imagined the simple task of buying a second-hand car, something she had done many times in her life, would land her with a lemon that would cost thousands of dollars to fix and ensnare her in a legal battle.
But that’s the position she finds herself in after buying a Kia from Mezin Hadad - the man she now understands to be a notorious, banned Brisbane car dealer.
The 46-year-old mum has been left living 20km from the nearest town in the South Burnett, without transport and forced to rely on friends to help her out when she needs a lift.
“I’m an adult,” she said this week.
“I should be doing this (stuff) for myself and taking my daughter shopping and like usually I do stuff for myself … (But now) I’m relying on other people … It’s a whole ordeal.”
Ms Stockdale was in the market for a new car after damaging her Citroen in a large trench left on the road amid repeat extreme rain events in late 2024.
After spending a few months saving up a decent deposit, she found advertisements for cheap, second hands cars on Facebook through what appeared to be a legitimate car dealership.
One weekend, she travelled to Brisbane with a friend and went to a physical car yard in Bowen Hills to finalise the deal.
She “thought she was safe”.
“I’m 46 years old. I think I’ve got a little bit of nous behind me, like I know how to spot a scam,” Ms Stockdale said.
“But when you walk into a building with a motor vehicle dealer licence on the window, you think you’re alright.
“I wouldn’t transfer somebody $4000 online, but you go into bricks-and-mortar, you think you’re covered a little bit.”
After test driving a few different cars, Ms Stockdale chose a 2010 red Kia Rio with 104,000km on it and they agreed on a price of $5650.
She paid $2800 in cash and was planning on putting the remaining funds on finance.
This was when she said she first felt like something unusual was happening.
Mr Hadad said she didn’t need to apply for finance and that she could make monthly payments directly to him.
Ms Stockdale was surprised when she didn’t get any paperwork given to her on the day, however she said Mr Hadad told her the office staff would email her all the relevant documents, and he would transfer the ownership once she had paid the outstanding balance.
Fifty days later – and another $1000 in repayments – she said the car’s transmission failed.
“When it first played up, I reset the battery, and it was fine. And then I’m coming down Kingaroy Barkers Creek Road, only doing 80km/h, and it slipped into neutral,” she said.
She took the car to a mechanic, who quoted her up to $3000 to fix the problem.
After some “back and forth” with the dealership where she said promises kept being broken and no real solutions were offered, she turned to Google and found out the dealer, who she alleged was Mezin Hadad, had been banned from selling cars.
According to the Office of Fair Trading, Mezin Hadad has been banned for life from working in the motor industry in Queensland.
A media release published in January 2024 announcing the ban said, “Mezin Hadad and his company Best Buy Auto Group Pty Ltd have been permanently banned from working in the motor industry”.
In 2023, the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal found Mr Hadad was “unsuitable” to hold a car dealership licence, and he and his company had committed numerous breaches of consumer law.
The findings included providing false or misleading information to consumers, harassment and coercion, failing to repair consumers faulty second-hand vehicles under warranty, and failing to provide consumers important documents such as contracts, clear title documentation and statement of ownership.
The tribunal heard Mr Hadad once responded to a customer complaint by saying, “I know people all over the place and I know where you live”, and that his company failed to repair vehicles that were still under warranty.
In an undated written statement submitted to the tribunal, Mr Hadad either refuted or didn’t comment on each of the nine separate claims presented to him.
In one instance he wrote, “(I’ve) never had an issue with the Department of Fair Trading or my customers, and (have) always acted in good faith and abided by the (Motor Dealers and Chattel Auctioneers Act 2014)”.
He declined to be interviewed or give evidence during the hearings and claimed to be in ill health and in “no condition” to be interviewed.
Mr Hadad and his company have been fined $60,000 and he has been ordered to repay more than $67,000 to unhappy customers.
Fair Trading Commissioner Victoria Thomson said she welcomed the outcome and thanked consumers for coming forward with their evidence.
“This outcome should serve as a warning to motor dealers that if they do the wrong thing by consumers, they can lose their licence and their livelihood,” she said.
“Motor dealers are expected to know and meet their legal obligations as the laws exist to protect consumers and honest traders.”
Ms Stocksdale said she found the car advertised through Carwoo, an online dealership which appeared to be operated by Mr Hadad.
The dealership licence number listed on the CarWoo website, 4707582, does not match any active records found on the Queensland industry register or any other register in the country.
There were also no records of licences found connected to Mr Hadad’s name or the company names associated with the business, which included CarWoo, Best Buy Auto Group, and Fair Dinkum Autos.
After telling her story to friends and family, Ms Stockdale said she was encouraged to start a fundraiser to help her file a claim with the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which can cost almost $400 and take up to 40 weeks to process.
She said she cannot sell the car as the dealership never transferred the ownership to her and it could impact her QCAT case.
In the meantime, she has been left without reliable transport since the beginning of March, a car she feels would be dangerously unsafe to drive sitting in her yard and she has to start saving again.
“I got done in by a dodgy car dealer and a story of unfortunate events,” she said
“I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place; my only option is to file a case and wait.”
Mr Hadad has been contacted for comment through the dealership, CarWoo.
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