My van is a write off...........apparently!

[Sasquatch]

/

Have you called the police for advice and potentially a crime number? If the DVLA haven't immediately raised an investigation into this then surepy they are complicit?

One needs evidence of a crime first. It could equally be a keying error on the part of the insurers, as was a recent similar case that featured on the consumer pages of the Guardian.

 

[Argent]

Very strange that when writing it off no one has checked the vehicle VIN number (had it been a cloned plate).

 

[Sasquatch]

I got done years ago for a speeding offence which was a mistaken identity of vehicle over 1 letter my car had a G in reg the offending car had a C so it could be as simple as that sort of thing or a fat fingered keyboard operator
OR has the DVLA been HACKED

I got accused of knocking down a telegraph pole in Oldham, a place that at that time I had never even visited.

It didn't occurred to BT that my black Astra Coupe Turbo was not the white Transit the witness had seen.

Fortunately I had been at work at the time and my car was showing CCTV as parked 130 miles from the scene at the moment of the incident.

In the end it took a Shit-O-Gram from the area commander to BT to get them off my back. Being a chief supernintendo he had a bit of juice and demanded the BT investigate why they were chasing the owner of a black Astra over damage caused by a white Transit. Turns out someone had mis-keyed the reg when applying to the DVLA and subsequent BT staff were too thick to be able to tell black from white.

I was fortunate that I had the CCTV ans a senior officer who was indignant that one of his staff was being accused of something they clearly hadn't done. BT weren't listening to me, so without the guvnor my only alternative would have been let it go to court and produce my black Astra as evidence for the court to inspect.

 

[Sasquatch]

Very strange that when writing it off no one has checked the vehicle VIN number (had it been a cloned plate).

My daughters car was recently written off by a drunk driver while parked. It was punted onto her front garden by the force or the collision.

I was there for the assessor as she had to be at work, and he didn't even step off the tarmac of the driveway onto the grass to inspedt it. At the closest point he was still more than a metre from the vehicle (it was smashed to smithereens so very obviously a write off.)

 

[DaveD]

Personally, if it were me, (this is not advice - it's just what I would do) I'd keep using while trying to resolve the issue, on the following basis;
-If you are stopped by Police a quick check of the visible VIN will confirm that your VIN number matches the registration number help on PNC.
-You commit no offence under the Road Traffic Act that I can think of, your vehicle is taxed, insured and MOT'd, you have a D/Licence.
- Police can only seize a vehicle in these circumstances if it is suspected of being "the clone", which is usually a stolen vehicle. The VIN numbers on your van will prove that it isn't.
(I would carry with you in the van a printed copy of an E Mail confirming that you are insured)
- As an entirely innocent party you should not have to stop using your van for an unknown period of time due to either an error or criminal activity.

As a further point, you could, if you wished, pay £29 for a report by a company such as car vertical, which might shed some light on the situation if there are photos of a damaged T6 bearing your registration number. (i.e. a cloned van)

Sample report | carVertical

Want to know what our history checks are all about? Check carVertical sample report and see what information you can get from our full history reports.

www.carvertical.com

It's not a solution and the risk is that it would be £29 down the drain, but it could give you much useful information.

 

[mopardave]

Right gents.........thank you all for your input!
I just got off the phone to DVLA in Swansea. I spoke to a really great lad called Paul. He said he knew that within 5 seconds of me opening my mouth, he knew I was genuine! Here's what he said......and it's one to remember:
It is becoming more and more common that insurance companies are sending the wrong vin!!! It just takes one wrong character and this is what happens. He confirmed my suspicion that the "event" had taken place prior to August last year. That is when I'd have received my road tax reminder for September.......but life being life, I didn't get a reminder and never taxed my van!! I never got my reminder because my van had been declared a write off (Aviva are in the clear)!! Fast forward to 3 weeks ago.......I get pinged by a DVLA ANPR vehicle! So, there's me, driving around like a mong with no tax for 9 months!! Paul at DVLA said I'm fine to use the van.....keep the letter in the van so that if I'm stopped by the five-0, they'll be able to see it's an "active investigation". So, like the decent citizen I am, I'm going to pay the tax I missed.......which is optional but I don't want to risk a fine if all the dots get joined up.....because it was a genuine error that was initiated by some f*ckwit at an insurance company who sent the wrong vin.......MY f*cking vin!! Aside from the stress and my tea (Chinese!!) that went in the bin last night, the final kick in the nuts is that it's cost me a days pay too!! I'll keep you posted but it's now under investigation.
Gents.....you've been warned!
Thanks again for all the support!
Dave

 

[Sasquatch]

That sounds positive.

If the insurance company ever let slip which insurer it was that dropped a testicvle you could always go after them for the lost business.

 

[mopardave]

That sounds positive.

If the insurance company ever let slip which insurer it was that dropped a testicvle you could always go after them for the lost business.

They'll never tell me mucka. I would if I could though. It's a bugger when honest people are subject to this kind of thing.......it's my problem to resolve!!

 

[Sasquatch]

They'll never tell you ordinarily, but once this is done submit a subject access request and there's a very good chance the papers will reveal their identity, and also provide you with the proof you need to anally invaded them for some compo for their incompetence.

 

[Howzat]

I got done years ago for a speeding offence which was a mistaken identity of vehicle over 1 letter my car had a G in reg the offending car had a C so it could be as simple as that sort of thing or a fat fingered keyboard operator
OR has the DVLA been HACKED

I was thinking the same because surely an insurance company isn't going to write off a vehicle based on the reg alone. Has to be VIN checks, no?

Glad it's all sorted @mopardave

 

[russ_e]

I used to be involved with vehicle write-offs for insurance companies and was just going to post that this is most likely due to fat fingers on a keyboard.

It's hard to believe now but we used to use carbon copy paper in the 90's and write the reg and VIN by hand.

 

[Sackmycook]

Somerset motorhomes missed a digit out on my vin on my order form for my Vivante, something identified by @Pauly when I asked for the build sheet.
As a former PNC operator for 2 police forces and front line end user, its reasonably common for input errors leading to this sort of situation. Garbage in, garbage out.

 

[The Flying Scotsman]

They'll never tell me mucka. I would if I could though. It's a bugger when honest people are subject to this kind of thing.......it's my problem to resolve!!

Every year I get half a dozen letters from insurance companies and finance companies as well as speeding tickets for vehicles that are insured in my name.
I have to phone every company up and explain I don’t own or have insurance on a van in London
I can’t afford not to in case I get markers against my name.
Pain in the arse sitting for hours on the phone trying to sort it all out.

 

[Curlynot]

Glad this is getting sorted for you, what a pain.

It seems odd tho that if the "event" happened pre August last year that there has been no correspondence with you being the registered keeper of that vehicle until now, not even a refund of any road tax if applicable. All a bit scary really.

 

[JumpShip]

Make sure you get this in writing for when your insurance is due again and they query all this .

Sounds good though Dave , actually getting somewhere now

 

[Rich20]

What an absolute nightmare for you. It’s worrying that we have so little control in matters like this due to someone making a simple error. We are in the hands of someone at the end of a phone hoping they care enough to help rather than saying “computer says no”. The offending insurance company obviously had your address to send you the letter. Shame they didn’t despatch an assessor to actually inspect your vehicle before deciding it was a write off. They should then be the one who authorises the letter to be sent confirming the vehicle a write off. I’m sure the mistake would have been quickly rectified if this procedure was in place with minimal distress and distribution to the victim.
Im glad you managed to sort it out fairly quickly and you can get back to earning a living.

 

[Pauly]

Time for a private plate ?
Would that refresh the paperwork trail ?

 

[Bargy62]

Time for a private plate ?
Would that refresh the paperwork trail ?

maybe not if its been written off by the vin number

 

[Lubrown]

Make sure you get this in writing for when your insurance is due again and they query all this .

Sounds good though Dave , actually getting somewhere now

Especially if sticking with Aviva. With me, after following their rules, they seemed to want to misrepresent what I had told them.
I moved away from them as it felt they were looking for any excuse to increase my premium and basically making stuff up.

From my experience they believe a notification is the same as a claim, even when they pay nothing out.

 

[Alster]

I think they are all just as bad. We’re with Admiral and last year my son was considering doing some delivery work for evri so we contacted them to get an idea of the cost implications for his insurance- we immediately said no when they told us but they still added it to the policy!! Took about three hours on the phone to get it removed!!