The scourge of fraudsters cloning car number plates took a fiendish new turn when an innocent driver found himself facing punishing financial losses and a legal nightmare.
These came to light when he discovered his legitimate vehicle had been recorded as belonging to someone else and was now likely to be unrepairable and “written off” following an accident.
Crooks use cloning to evade road charges and restrictions. In this case, amid the turmoil of falsehoods and complexities, both the identity and clean driving record of motorist Stephen Gray risked ending up in tatters.
If you’ve been affected by this issue or feel you’ve been a victim of injustice, please contact consumer champion Maisha Frost on [email protected].
The damaging fraud emerged by chance when Stephen tried to sell his Volkswagen Passat. This happened after the driver of the cloned number plate vehicle had been involved in a crash and had decided to make a claim against the other car insured by Hastings Direct.
It recorded the vehicle as unrepairable and a settlement made with the cheat who kept the wrecked car.
Stephen only learned his car didn’t exist in some official quarters – so worthless – when weeks later he tried to sell it. He had received several valuations before being told by the dealer it had a CAT S (write off) marker against it.
As this had been applied by Hastings Direct only it could remove it. The crazy circumstances made it highly risky for Stephen to drive his motor despite it having been registered with the DVLA and covered by insurance.
“My car was nowhere near the place where the accident happened and I can prove that. But from being worth £7,500, its value is now zero,” a desperate Stephen revealed to Crusader.
Lost in mire of intermediaries, claims handling and officialdom, Stephen and his dad Tom who was helping him explained how they were “still in no man’s land despite spending hours with insurers, the DVLA and the police”.
Aside from whom should have checked what, Hastings Direct was asked if it could free Stephen from the bureaucratic stranglehold and depreciation spiral so he could be totally legit again. It responded and the CAT S was removed.
It was also confirmed that the issue had not affected Stephen’s own no-claim bonus which had been another concern.
But while slips happen and the actions of fraudsters exert huge pressures for which we all pay the price, Stephen had also undoubtedly lost out materially.
Hastings Direct re-examined the matter, coming to a much fairer conclusion. Stephen has now accepted a goodwill gesture of £750 for the distress and inconvenience plus £109 for the car’s value loss.
A Hastings spokesperson said: “: “Fraud takes many forms and can sometimes be difficult to spot but ultimately it deceives innocent people and companies. As road users, we should all work together to be vigilant and report any unusual or suspicious activity to help combat fraud.
“As a company, we continue to make significant investments in counter fraud data, technology, and people capabilities to protect honest customers from criminal activity which, in turn, saves our customers money.”
“I realise what happened to me is a rare occurrence, but I felt at first I would never escape the nightmare,” added Stephen. “Crusader was vital in getting my problem understood and my getting a just hearing.”
[names have been changed]
Owners beware: one of the ways car cloning crooks operate is to look out for vehicles left stationary on drives for long periods. That was the case for Stephen’s car and he is now considering covering up the number plate when not in use.
