Car stolen - need advice

[AnonymouslySped]

Hey,

my car was listed for sale,

 

2 men came to view it yesterday and somehow managed to switch the spare key and they took our car before we realised.

 

The car insurance company is requesting some documents and any keys I have.

 

What shall I do?

Do I send the duplicate fake key the 'buyers' switched my genuine key with too?

 

 

[dx100uk]

it would prove your point

 

[BankFodder]

What disadvantage might there be if you supply this information to the insurer. After all you are making a claim.

It's rather interesting though. Presumably these thieves must have arrived prepared which suggests to me that the car that you are selling was either unusual or valuable because they must have visited you on a prepared plan having cut the necessary key in advance so that it was sufficiently similar to your own genuine key that they were able to trick you.

Did they steal the car after the visit – in other words, did they come back? Or did they steal the car during the visit?

Certainly if you are going to give the keys to the insurer then I would suggest that you start off by taking photographs and also photocopies of them so that you have a very clear record of what you have supplied.

Tell us a bit more about the car and the circumstances of the theft – even just by way of satisfying curiosity.

[unclebulgaria67]

This is a well known way these thieves operate. Has been featured on Watchdog and other programmes.

 

Thieves see the car advertised and in preparation have loads of fake keys of different car makes available, so owners of the car do not realise the real key has been swapped. The thieves come back within minutes of the car owner going back inside their homes, to drive the cars away. 

 

The Insurers should be fully aware of this way cars are stolen.

 

 

[AnonymouslySped]

Under our eyes they somehow managed to swap the genuine spare key with a dud. It was in a wallet and looked like it was the same in the dark. Only when the Insurance company asked for the keys we realised it is not our spare key. They didn't take the car immediately and waited til after midnight.

 

So sending back keys, logbook, mot history, purchase receipt etc. Is all normal protocol right?

[BankFodder]

Well I don't see that you will progress and insurance claim without this info.  I would take copies as I have already suggested but I would send the original next day tracked delivery.

 

However wait for my colleague @unclebulgaria67 to confirm this advice 

[AnonymouslySped]

Alright thank you. 

We're also waiting on some CCTV footage today that should identify the 2 men and if they came in another vehicle. Shall we wait for this before filing out the insurance report or just fill it out with the info we have and then add the CCTV footage findings to the police report?

[dx100uk]

neighbour has that done on a few years ago on an ecosport

took three week to get the payout.

even got paid for the extras he was selling with it like sat nav etc 

 

[AnonymouslySped]

Promising stuff.

Also even though the local businesses agreed to helping out with cctv footage shall we go ahead and retrieve the footage or wait for the police to do so? 

[unclebulgaria67]

Quote

So sending back keys, logbook, mot history, purchase receipt etc. Is all normal protocol right?

 

Yes send the items requested by the Insurer by recorded delivery.  Take pictures, scan documents, so you have copies of what you are sending.

 

No harm in securing the CCTV ( ask for it to be retained) and contact the Police, to see if they want you to get hold of it or they have to obtain it themselves.

 

 

[slick132]

Do what you can yourself to save any CCTV footage as this may not be a high enough priority for the police.

[AnonymouslySped]

9 minutes ago, slick132 said:

Do what you can yourself to save any CCTV footage as this may not be a high enough priority for the police.

Ok well I've gone to one shop who agreed to give me the footage yesterday, declined today and switched the story and said their cctv system doesn't record Even though they said it does yesterday. Frustrating. Why have cctv then? What's the drawback of giving out the footage? 

[slick132]

Loads of places have dummy cameras or systems that don't record anymore.

 

Frustrating ? ......... Oh Yes !!

[labrat]

I was working in a well known cinema chain once - someone had parked a brand new car directly under the camera and it was stolen 

 

Went to get the footage off with the manager, turns out when they put the new system in a few months back he had assumed it was like the old one and automatically overwrote

 

It didn't and had ejected a tape months back which no-one had noticed

 

Errors are common with cctv systems so it could quite easily have happened - most shop systems are basic dvrs and depending on the number of cameras and the hdd size can easily be overwritten in a couple of hours and he may not have realised this previously