Plzen man faces court over fake TikTok video about used car dealership in Domažlice area
A Plzen man filmed a defamatory video about a used Škoda Octavia RS at a dealership and published it on TikTok. An expert assessment proved the car was in good condition – he now faces up to three years imprisonment.
False inspection of used vehicle ends in charges for breach of competition rules
A man from Plzen faces up to three years imprisonment for a roughly five-minute video filmed in 2024 at a used car dealership in the Domažlice area and subsequently published on TikTok. According to Novinky.cz, state prosecutor Pavel Hajný from the Plzen regional prosecutor's office has filed charges against him for the criminal offence of breaching regulations on fair competition.
In the video, the man claimed that the Škoda Octavia RS offered by the dealership was newly painted due to an accident, had rusty brake discs, worn brake pads and deformed wheel rims. However, an expert assessment found no serious defects.
"The accused, for example, deliberately tilted the paint thickness gauge so that it showed values several times higher. He claimed the car must have definitely been wrecked and therefore repaired. However, the assessment showed nothing of the sort. The expert confirmed that although the car has been repainted, it was not because it had been wrecked, but because of scratches and minor cosmetic defects on the original paint," said prosecutor Hajný.
The accused was filming for a company that offers customers inspections of used vehicles before purchase. According to the prosecutor, his inspection was not objective and the video contained false information about the technical condition of the car.
"He expressed himself in a defamatory and vulgar manner about the dealership itself, whilst the false data was capable of causing harm to its owner in the context of fair competition," the prosecutor added.
The negative footage had measurable consequences for the dealership: one customer withdrew from purchasing a vehicle worth two million crowns because of the video.
The owner of the affected dealership refused to comment on the case before the trial began. The head of the company that sent the accused to the dealership told Novinky that parts of the video crossed acceptable limits.
"I only saw it after it was published. I immediately had it removed and ended my working relationship with its author," the businessman said.
Source: Novinky.cz