Stolen Cars / Bought With Stolen cards & Other Scams

[Andy Entwistle 96]

All

 

People stealing cars from us, using fraudulent credit cards, or just simply being brazen enough to drive the car straight off the forecourt seems to be on the increase. We are seeing stories on a regular basis of dealers having vehicles removed from them through all manner of fraudulent means.

 

Clearly, the first port of call should be to notify the police, who in turn will put this on the PNC so that HPI can update their records. However, this section of the forum is available for any dealer to place details of any cars that may have been stolen, or to help warn others about any scams in your local areas. 

[GreenGiant 287]

I've always wondered why there is not a system available to the Trade where we can check all offered cars (potential p/x or otherwise) against the PNC?

I understand HPI and Experian sort of cover this, but if the Police/Border Control/Interpol were on the lookout for specific non-stolen vehicles(eg a car suspected of being involved in an accident, child abduction, trafficking etc), we could check what comes in on a daily basis against the 'wanted' list.

I can't see a down side or am I being too simplistic?

[Andy Entwistle 96]

The police don't allow public access to the PNC, its actually a fairly complicated database and not user friendly. This is where the provenance companies like HPI come into it, they take the raw data out of the feed and turn this into something useable.

 

Most of the stolen data you see on HPI etc comes from the insurance companies, its far more comprehensive and accurate than the PNC and updated far quicker, the PNC info simply fills the holes where the vehicle isn't insured.

 

You woudl be amazed how difficult it is to get data from the authorities. For example in ireland there is no central record of stolen vehicles available like the UK, the data the provenance companies use come from insurance companies rather than the police and in the UK there is no separate register for trailers and caravans, they are held on one huge register along with all other reported home theft item.

[GreenGiant 287]

Yeah, but that only looks after vehicles with insurance claims against them.

 

It's no surprise that the PNC is waaaay to complicated; that's what happens when you just keep bolting on 'upgrades' year after year to ancient systems (sound familiar guys?) rather than to start again with a clean slate and new technology.

I just think there must be another way of helping to find 'wanted' vehicles. separate from the PNC.

Maybe an opportunity for someone?

[used car seller 8]

Heard of many a drive off during test drives, thats one to watch out for, i have a set routine, i drive first, tell them they can drive back, get in, go uproad, show them the controls, let them play with the switches etc, then ask them if they would like to drive back, if they do, i pull up in a safe place, wait till theyve got out, then i remove keys and stand by drivers door being courteous holding it open for them, by the time ive got round to passenger side and myself seated theyve got comfy in there seat, and i hand them the keys.

Many a time though weve arrived back at base and ive "forgotten" to offer them the drive back, 2 reasons, well 3 actually, 1, its my insurance, 2, most people tend to speed on test drives, and 3, i hate being a passenger !

[Ian 15]

I'd never, ever let a person drive any of our motors unacommpanied. I always let them drive though - after careful vetting.

[TheCarCo 1]

A few high end cars have gone missing in Leamington Spa in recent weeks. First, a Range Rover Sport went from a garage next to the train station & then an Audi S3 got taken from one in Lillington. We've not heard anything in 4-5 days but it's fair to say we're being rather vigilant at the moment!

[James Baggott 227]

Thanks for sharing the warning.

[used car seller 8]

I'd never, ever let a person drive any of our motors unacommpanied. I always let them drive though - after careful vetting.

my insurance says must be acommpanied.

[Ian 15]

Sound guidlines.

[umesh 336]

Stolen parts being sold : A Few years ago I went to an Audi dealer to pick a car up and saw the top part of the parking area all cordoned off with crime scene tape ! I asked the sales manger looks very serious what happened !

the place has security cameras / night watchman / heavy flood lights ..but these cleaver thieves knew exactly what to do - disarm the alarm on the 'Brand New Audi' all the front end Bumper/ bonnet , front wings carefully taken off - can you imagine the shock next morning!

2nd twist to this a few miles away ..... another Audi dealer - same model car - same colour - yeap rear bumper and back lights/ boot gone ! now that's very cleaver 'parts sourcing' down to the colour match too !!

[AutocarsHull 7]

As well as a routine registration/mileage hpi/vmc check, make sure you protect against stolen/cloned cars by doing a V5 check on HPI using the document reference number from the V5. This ensures the V5 is not stolen, and that is the latest and correct issue of V5 for the car you are checking.

[AmeerReed 0]

Thanks for sharing the warning. I've also heard stories about high end cars being stolen.. A friend of a friend drives a 2015 BMW ActiveHybrid 7 and had caught the carnapper trying to open his car door, on the CCTV of the building he works for. Reported it and still hasn't caught the guy who did it. Pretty sneaky. His locks was damaged but it could have been worse.

[emmagloor 1]

It makes perfect sense. If you leave your car unlocked, and people steal your stuff what do you do? Hopefully you call yourself an idiot and consider it a lesson paid for. But chances are you call the police and even lie to say it was locked. Waste their time over your irresponsibility. 
Maybe the police shouldn't need to be like your mommy and tell you how to be an adult, but then why did they feel the need to implement this plan?

[Johno 1]

On 03/04/2016 at 11:09 AM, emmagloor said:

It makes perfect sense. If you leave your car unlocked, and people steal your stuff what do you do? Hopefully you call yourself an idiot and consider it a lesson paid for. But chances are you call the police and even lie to say it was locked. Waste their time over your irresponsibility. 
Maybe the police shouldn't need to be like your mommy and tell you how to be an adult, but then why did they feel the need to implement this plan?

[brittneywood 0]

This is covid time. We should be protected by wearing a mask when going out likewise before buying a used car we should go for a car check. Vehicle check will allow you to know whether your car is stolen or not. Every day, nearly 30 cars are marked as stolen and linked to the Police National Computer. If your car is one of them, the police have every right to seize it. This critical stolen car check will let you know if there is a theft status for the vehicle you intend to purchase.

[oldmarcus 22]

6 hours ago, brittneywood said:

This is covid time. We should be protected by wearing a mask when going out likewise before buying a used car we should go for a car check. Vehicle check will allow you to know whether your car is stolen or not. Every day, nearly 30 cars are marked as stolen and linked to the Police National Computer. If your car is one of them, the police have every right to seize it. This critical stolen car check will let you know if there is a theft status for the vehicle you intend to purchase.

Good to know

- if we see someone entering a car without a mask it's probably some scallyway thief then - you should alert the police right away to this ground breaking discovery