Latest Car Scam – But With A Twist by Graham Hill
Tuesday, 6. May 2014
Here is an interesting scam that is apparently on the rise. Crooks are buying cars from dealers, often using stolen credit cards, then selling the car privately to an unsuspecting buyer. When the dealer realises that the payment has bounced the car is listed on the Police National Computer (PNC) and the police alerted that the car has been stolen.
Thinking of a change but unsure as to the best way to finance your car? Then you need a copy of my car finance book, Car Finance – A Simple Guide by Graham Hill. Click on the link below to buy the best car finance book on the market, available as a Kindle Book and Paper Back.
Following this, and often with the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (APNR) Cameras the police apprehend the innocent driver and confiscate the car. But there is a question mark over the legality of this confiscation. If a crook stole a car from say a car park and sold it to a third party title doesn’t pass and the owner has every right to recover the vehicle.
However, if a car is sold by someone who has HP on the car and the buyer wasn’t aware of the HP at the time of purchase then he is regarded as an ‘Innocent Buyer’ and title passes but what happens if the car is bought with a credit card and therefore subject to finance does title pass?
The question for the police to answer is, ‘Has the car been obtained by fraudulent means or by theft?’ Theft is clear cut – title does not pass but where the transaction is fraudulent then title can pass to the innocent buyer. The problem for the buyer is that it can be hard to trace whether the car was stolen or not.
You may be able to locate the last owner but he may have sold the car privately, to a dealer or through auction and it could have passed through several hands before ending up on a dealer’s forecourt from whom the car was either fraudulently purchased or stolen.
As always you should check with HPI to see if the car has been written off or on finance when buying privately, also if the person selling you the car isn’t the person to whom the car is registered check the previous owner and find out who bought the car from him and check that title has passed. Better still lease a new car from me – so much easier and trustworthy. By Graham Hill
