Cloned vehicle

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oos_ya_daddy

oos_ya_daddy

Active Member
Posts
146
Hi.

If anyone can offer me any advice at all I would be very grateful as im in a right mess ! :(

I bought my defender about 6-8 weeks ago now off a genuine guy near where I live.

I had a visit from the police on Friday morning. Apparently my car is a clone. It was stolen around a year ago and transferred onto the plates of another older defender that I presume went to the scrap yard.

In theory I loose the car, it goes back to the insurance company and I loose the money I paid for it too. I did a HPI check based on the number plate and the VIN plate under the bonnet. Both of these were fake, so there is nothing the HPI people will do for me.

I have informed the insurance company that I would maybe be interested in buying the truck off them. Taking to account that it will be a newer reg, but also that it will be a Cat D, will have no history, no MOT. insurance will cost more etc. They said that an arrangement could be reached and if I submit receipts for anything I have done to it since I purchased it these would be subtracted from their valuation.

I really don’t know what to do though.

Any advice greatly received !! I am absolutely gutted ! Feel like crying.
 
So sorry to hear this mate.

My best advice would be to have a good cry then try and get a "loan" of as many receipts as you can for as much as possible. Your only other option really is to turn your back on the whole affair and hopefully find some consolation in the old saying "What comes around goes around."

Aw the best and good luck.
 
Genuine guy????How long did he have it??looks like he had his suspicions and got shot quick.Not sure wer you stand but cars always going to have question mark over it.I say it depends on wat you lost and wat extra your going to have to pay.Is the car for the long term or for a short term(problems selling on)?
 
Firstly what an absolute nightmare - so sorry

Striking a deal with the insurer is one option, but don't rule out HPI just yet

Their website claims to cover cloned cars - my understanding is as long as the VIN on the vehicle and the V5 match, and of course whatever HPI advise on the enquiry matches as well there should be some protection

Did the number plate and VIN match to the V5 and HPI enquiry?

Just found this clause which might give them wriggle room if the purchase price was more than £3k and in cash:

The HPI Guarantee will not cover you for "cloned" vehicles (a "cloned" vehicle being a vehicle that has been stolen and given a false identity, normally that of an identical vehicle), where the purchase price of the vehicle was greater than £3000 and the purchase of the vehicle was made with cash. (The other terms of your guarantee are not affected.) We recommend that all vehicles are paid for via the banking system, such as, cheque or Bankers draft.
 
I bought my 90 14months ago and ad the police come to my house on sunday just gone telling me it has been reported stolen by west mercia police. I bought mine from a registered landrover dealer in bolton. Iv yet to have it inspected by the police. i have log book, service history and past m.o.t's. I think mine has been cloned. I got it for £3k and have spent £3.5k in the past 14months restoring it.

Wish you luck mate coz im in the same boat as you.
 
tomroane2003 - you're in a better spot than oos_ya_daddy. He might be reluctant to pursue a neighbour/friend for a refund for breach of warranty of title (s12 SGA 1979). Your purchase was strictly business so you should be down the county court the moment you're sure you have a loss.
 
Cheers steve,

the police spoke to me sunday, not heard ewt back from them so............ it all depends on when the car was reported stolen as this is the first time iv ad any dealing with the police. It would have had to be well over 18month ago that it was reported stolen as the land rover dealer i bought it from had it a few months too.

I HPI'd it and it came back clear. Its fully comp insured in my name n the log book is in my name. never once had any hick ups with the dvla.

just hope its a miss understanding as that car is my pride n joy. blood sweat n tears went into getting it how it is now.
 
tomroane2003 said:
I bought my 90 14months ago and ad the police come to my house on sunday just gone telling me it has been reported stolen by west mercia police. I bought mine from a registered landrover dealer in bolton. Iv yet to have it inspected by the police. i have log book, service history and past m.o.t's. I think mine has been cloned. I got it for £3k and have spent £3.5k in the past 14months restoring it.

Wish you luck mate coz im in the same boat as you.
Click to expand...

Mine was stolen in the same area and reported by west mercia police. Almost certainly by the same guys who nicked it !
 
Iv just rang cheshire police who have no record of my car being stolen!!!!!!!!!!!!! nothing on their PNC. So iv done a bit of digging and decided to ring west mercia who were alot more helpful. they said it was odd that the officer did not ask me for i.d and did not give me a producer given the severity of the allogation. They are very confused and said some things dont add up. So be warey of impersonating police officers guys.

ill thread again when they have been in contact with me

tom
 
tomroane2003 said:
Iv just rang cheshire police who have no record of my car being stolen!!!!!!!!!!!!! nothing on their PNC. So iv done a bit of digging and decided to ring west mercia who were alot more helpful. they said it was odd that the officer did not ask me for i.d and did not give me a producer given the severity of the allogation. They are very confused and said some things dont add up. So be warey of impersonating police officers guys.

ill thread again when they have been in contact with me

tom
Click to expand...

Watch out in case they come back and tell you that they need to take your vehicle away for examination or whatever. They may even ask to take the MOT and/or V5 with them. Be prepared to ring your local police HQ to prove they are genuine.
 
this whole thing is rife in the LR world... I used to work for a company who are taking old reg vehicle, mostly pre f regs swopping the vin and id onto a brand new vehicle while dropping it onto a galv chassis and exporting them to the states. the 'donors' were then sold complete with just the chassis number dodgily ground off the dumb iron and the vin plate removed... needless to say, i think ti is only matter of time before they cock up and have a dual vehicle running around here in the UK, plus I also no longer work there as i do not agree with the way they do things... sorry to hear baout your scenario mate and stay vigilant as there are plenty of unscrupulous individuals out there looking to make a quick buck at other peoples expense...
 
Had call from bromsgrove police who have shed a bit of light on the situation, they basically said they have some men currently on bail for cut n shut, on their p.c there was info n stuff bout my car n others too. i mentioned the name of the guy who previously owned my car n he is one of the men under investigation. im having it looked at on friday to establish whether or not it is a stolen vehicle. if so then i will have to buy it back from the insurace which takes the **** when i bought the car from a registered dealer.
 
fleck said:
I used to work for a company who are taking old reg vehicle, mostly pre f regs swopping the vin and id onto a brand new vehicle while dropping it onto a galv chassis and exporting them to the states. the 'donors' were then sold complete with just the chassis number dodgily ground off the dumb iron and the vin plate removed...
Click to expand...

Is that legal?
 
So................ took my fender in to be inspected n p.c dumb n dumber couldnt find ewt at all. No markings or numbers to match it to the stolen landy and no numbers to match it to being the car its supposed to be lol.

If i were looking for engine number or any distinguishing marks to match it to my car where would i have to look guys????????

police are **** n dnt know what they are doing so i might as well do it my self n save them the time. As it means iv got to book yet another days holiday from work just for them to inspect it.

any help would be greatful. Its supposed to be a '87 plate 90 with a 2.5td engine if that helps
 
tomroane2003 said:
So................ took my fender in to be inspected n p.c dumb n dumber couldnt find ewt at all. No markings or numbers to match it to the stolen landy and no numbers to match it to being the car its supposed to be lol.

If i were looking for engine number or any distinguishing marks to match it to my car where would i have to look guys????????

police are **** n dnt know what they are doing so i might as well do it my self n save them the time. As it means iv got to book yet another days holiday from work just for them to inspect it.

any help would be greatful. Its supposed to be a '87 plate 90 with a 2.5td engine if that helps
Click to expand...

take it to smith down lane land rover squad on Merseyside thay will tell you exactly wot it is an if its legal....normal beat bobby's don't know there arse from there elbow have a look at this How can I check my land rovers authenticity?
 
tomroane2003 said:
Hi everyone, so........ finally iv got the result i was hoping for. After alot of research n relentlessness i got a letter back from the visa company confirming they are going to pay me back the full amount of £6330.29 under section 75 of the consumer credit act which covered me for consequential losses too.

If anyone ever needs any help with the same situation i was in, dont hesitate to drop me a line for a bit of guidance n what to do next.

thanks to everyone on here for helping me too


Tom
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