Car was stolen - police trace it down to an innocent party - Police tell me it’s a civil matter?

rossmx31

Hi

A while ago I had a car stolen from me

The police have tracked the car down to someone they believe is an innocent purchaser

It seems my car has somehow been sold on several times before being tracked down

The innocent purchaser has told the police they have spent lots of money buying and improving the car; as a result the police have left the car with him, and placed a police injunction on the car from being sold by the current keeper

The police have told me I must issue legal proceedings against the innocent purchaser to gain some kind of court order to reclaim my car!?

This seems crazy?!? So I have to spend money issuing legal proceedings to reclaim my stolen vehicle!? Any advice other than the obvious “speak to a solictor”?

Thanks

RichardD1970

Did your insurance pay out? If so I believe it's their car now and for them to sort it out. (May be wrong though)

rossmx31

No. It’s quite a complicated theft, which has confused matters within the Police force somewhat.

The car was fraudulently stolen from me.

I swapped my car for another car. The car I acquired turned out to be stolen.

The police seized the car I had innocently acquired, and advised me that my original car I had swapped for it, had therefore been fraudulently stolen from me.

Now fast forward 8 weeks, the police have traced my original car, but are now acting in a completely different manner.

I’m at a complete loss. Obviously not keen on going down the civil route as a) it’s costly, and b) it really doesn’t feel right that I have to bare lots of expense to try and recover a car that was stolen from me

DUTR

rossmx31 wrote: »

No. It’s quite a complicated theft, which has confused matters within the Police force somewhat.

The car was fraudulently stolen from me.

I swapped my car for another car. The car I acquired turned out to be stolen.

The police seized the car I had innocently acquired, and advised me that my original car I had swapped for it, had therefore been fraudulently stolen from me.

Now fast forward 8 weeks, the police have traced my original car, but are now acting in a completely different manner.

I’m at a complete loss. Obviously not keen on going down the civil route as a) it’s costly, and b) it really doesn’t feel right that I have to bare lots of expense to try and recover a car that was stolen from me

If you are swapping cars , surely (or not so) you would check the car the same as if you were paying cash money???

Mercdriver

I seem to recall a similar thread a month or two back. Is this the same incident?

rossmx31

DUTR wrote: »

If you are swapping cars , surely (or not so) you would check the car the same as if you were paying cash money???

Yes I did - usual HPI / VIN checks all done and checked out fine. Unfortunately as the car had been cloned it passed the HPI checks.

rossmx31

Mercdriver wrote: »

I seem to recall a similar thread a month or two back. Is this the same incident?

I posted a thread a couple of months back - I thought the situation had been resolved - alas, the situation has changed and the police have found new ways to surprise me

Mercdriver

rossmx31 wrote: »

I posted a thread a couple of months back - I thought the situation had been resolved - alas, the situation has changed and the police have found new ways to surprise me

It is usually better to post in the original thread so people can see the whole incident in one place.

Retrogamer

It seems police will seize a stolen car from you when you are an innocent party, however they will not treat the person who currently has your car the same way

SandraX

Do HPI checks not come with a guarantee of a payout if the car is not it is said to be?

Also, I'm a bit baffled, the car you got was seized yet the other is not.

The swap, if you don't mind me asking what car did you have, why did you swap and what was it swapped for, their values and how did you come across the person you swapped it with?

Did you not make a claim on your insurance re the car you swapped as it was stolen.

ATB

antrobus

rossmx31 wrote: »

.....

The innocent purchaser has told the police they have spent lots of money buying and improving the car; as a result the police have left the car with him, and placed a police injunction on the car from being sold by the current keeper
......

That would be the difference.

If the innocent purchaser of your stolen car has spent money on improving your car, a new set of tyres, a new gearbox, a flux capacitor, whatever, they are entitled to some compensation.

All you can do is ask them how much they want and for what.

You can always consider taking legal advice.