EBay seller who bid against himself to be sentenced

12 April 2012

The first British eBay seller to be prosecuted for online auction fixing will be sentenced today.

Paul Barrett, 39, from Stanley, County Durham, bid against himself on the online auction website to drive up the price of his goods.

Barrett, a minibus hire firm boss, was investigated by North Yorkshire Trading Standards after a complaint that he advertised and sold a minibus on eBay with false low mileage.

Officers found he was selling goods on the auction website under the user name "shanconpaul", then bidding on them under the identity "paulthebusman" - a process known as shill bidding.

He will be sentenced at Bradford crown court.

Barrett pleaded guilty to 10 offences at Skipton magistrates' court and admitted another charge relating to the sale of the minibus.

He told the court he did not realise bidding on his own items - which included a pie and pasty warmer priced at £127 - was a criminal offence.

Barrett was charged with breaches of the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008 and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

The two laws were brought into force two years ago to tackle growing internet fraud after an EU directive to bring British consumer protection up to European standards.

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