Alberta Transportation sent you a letter regarding the odometer reading for a vehicle you recently registered. The odometer reading is lower than the odometer reading reported by a previous registered owner.

There are two possible reasons for this:
1. A clerical error was made on the previous entry in the computer system.
2. The odometer on the vehicle may have been rolled back.

If it appears that a clerical error was made, please contact the Vehicle Safety Section of Alberta Transportation and speak to them about correcting the record. Transportation may require that you provide documentation to verify the requested change.

Tampered odometers sometimes result in complaints by consumers of used vehicles. Tampering with an odometer is against the law in Alberta. If you bought the vehicle from an Alberta Motor Vehicle Industry Council (AMVIC) licensed automotive business, report the odometer problem to AMVIC. AMVIC licenses sales people and dealerships and will investigate odometer reading complaints.

To file a complaint with AMVIC complete the complaint form on the AMVIC website. www.amvic.org/complaint_form.htm

If you DID NOT buy the vehicle from an Alberta automotive dealer or an automotive dealer not licensed by AMVIC, then you have the following options to consider:

1. Ask the seller to refund your money. Even if the sale is “as is” tampering with the odometer is against the law.

2. If you want to keep the vehicle, ask the seller to pay you for the difference between what you paid for the vehicle and what it would be worth with a higher odometer reading.

3. File a claim in court if the seller will not refund your money.

4. File a police report.

5. Do your part to help prevent odometer fraud. Voluntarily provide Alberta Registries with the odometer reading on your vehicle the next time you register a vehicle or renew a registration at any authorized registry agent location.

The following tips provided by AMVIC may help you spot a tampered odometer. Check for clues especially if a used-vehicle’s odometer reading is unusually low (under 20,000 km/yr).

	Look at the digits. Are they misaligned?
	Is the trip odometer working?
	Are one or more dash screws loose or missing?
	Are there scratches in the area of the odometer?
	If there are oil change labels, check to see if the dates are consistent with the odometer totals.
	Is the vehicle registration information inconsistent with the odometer reading?
	Is the wear and tear of the vehicle in areas like door strikers, floor mats, carpets, driver’s seat and gas/brake pedals inconsistent with the age of the vehicle as indicated by the odometer reading?