Qatar’s Ministry of Economy and Commerce has shut Doha’s main Toyota/Lexus showroom for one month for alleged commercial fraud, according to its official Twitter feed.
The closure of the Abdullah Abdulghani & Bros dealership on the way to Doha Airport also affects two Toyota dealers on Doha’s Salwa Road – Altadamon Motors and Trading Co and al-Tariq Automobiles Trading Co, it said in a series of tweets on May 28.
According to the ministry, Toyota Qatar had been selling cars to consumers as brand new, when in fact some cars had been in accidents before and been repaired and restored before being resold.
Doha News reported that this is the fourth company in Qatar to face closure for allegedly breaching consumer laws in the past six months.
In January, it said, Domasco Honda’s main showroom at TV Roundabout was shut for one month; two weeks prior to that the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram dealership on Al Matar Street, and the Nissan dealership on Salwa Road were all closed for one month for the same reason.
Companies that do not make consumers aware of prior repairs are reportedly violating a Qatari commercial law that requires suppliers to provide information on the type, nature and components of a product on its label, and forbids them from using false or deceptive marketing terms in an attempt to sell their product.
It is not known whether further legal action will be taken against the Toyota dealers.
Abdullah Abdulghani & Bros has been contacted for comment.
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