Crooks take motorist for £9000 ride because of DVLA blunder

Apr 13 2008 The Judge

READER Kenneth Dickson is £9000 out of pocket after bungling DVLA officials lost hundreds of blank registration documents.

The V5C certificates - on their way to be destroyed after a printing error - fell into the hands of a gang of car thieves five weeks ago.

Now the first dodgy documents have resurfaced and the gang have gone to ground.

Kenneth and wife Wilma travelled to a flat in Rochdale, Lancashire, where they bought a 4x4 Mitsubishi Warrior advertised in Auto Trader.

But the seller, a John Cook, gave them a doctored document. A day later the car was seized by police as stolen and Cook had vanished.

Kenneth, 45, said: "It took us three years to save the cash. The chassis numbers matched and the registration document seemed fine.

"You don't think for a minute the DVLA could lose genuine documents. It beggars belief."

The DVLA blunder is the latest in a series of government slip-ups.

HM Revenue and Customs lost computer discs containing details of 25million child benefit claimants last year then a DVLA contractor lost millions of learner drivers' names.

The Dicksons viewed the pick-up on March 11 after meeting Cook.

Milkman Kenneth said: "It was advertised as an 06 plate with just 18,000 miles on the clock." He test drove it, checked the paperwork and called his insurer with the registration so he could drive it home.

He said: "They put the reg into their computer and it didn't flag up any problems. They insured it and put a cover note in the post."

The Warrior was advertised at £9250 but Cook accepted £9000 cash.

He took Kenneth into his flat to write out a receipt. But hours later the motor was seized by Cumbria police and Cook had disappeared.

Staff at Kenneth's localDLVAoffice spotted the fraud when he went to register his private number plate.

Kenneth, who has two daughters Alexa, 21, and Kelsie, 16, said: "I felt sick tomy stomach. It had been reported stolen on February 15."

Kenneth and paralegal Wilma, 43, complained to the DVLA and tried to contact Cook. That's when they called me in. Kenneth said: "I have learnedmy lesson the hard way but I want to warn other people.

"If you are thinking of buying a car privately this weekend, bear in mind there are hundreds of these dodgy documents around."

I got on to the DVLA, who insisted the theft of the documents was outwith their control.

They had issued public warnings about it and worked with police to prevent abuse of the system.

Auto Trader handed a dossier to Cumbria Police.

The magazine said: "We conduct checks against any advertiser and vehicle for sale but would like to do more to stamp out crime.

"This requires the DVLA to release more data on the registered keepers of vehicles."

I'm hoping the DVLA and the police will be as slick as the gangsters in sorting this out.

  

HOW YOU CAN SPOT A FAKE

THE stolen documents carry serial numbers BG8407501 to BG8431000 and BG9282001 to BG9305000 on the top right-hand corner. Other problem numbers are BG9167501 to BG9190500 and BG 9190501 to BG9214000.

The V5C/4 tear-off for Notification of Permanent Export on the second page of the dodgy documents is mauve on the front and pink on the reverse.

Legitimate documents are all mauve.

If the V5C does not carry a serial number or has been tampered with, do not proceed.

Check the validity of a certificate by calling the DVLA on 0870 241 1878.