Stolen registration documents - buyers beware!
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DVLA wishes to draw readers' attention to the theft of blank vehicle registration documents, commonly
known as log books, sent by the Agency for secure destruction. There is now concrete evidence that an increasing number
of these documents have accompanied the sale of stolen cloned vehicles to both dealers and private individuals, many of
which have been Ford Transit and Mercedes Sprinter vans.
Many of these vehicles were purchased privately in the Yorkshire, London, West Midlands, and Leicestershire areas
as well as some areas of Scotland. The fact that they were accompanied by false documentation was detected often only
after innocent purchasers had sent them to DVLA to register themselves as the new keeper.
The stolen vehicles have had their identity changed to match that of a legitimate vehicle, a practice known as "cloning".
The cloned vehicles are then sold on privately to unsuspecting members of the public who suffer significant losses when
their vehicles are later confiscated by the police.
Police investigations are continuing, but indications are that there are at least several hundred of these documents in
circulation.
For more information see this webpage : www.dvla.gov.uk/public/press_releases/warning_v5.htm
Article by Jan Chandaman, taken from DVL Today - Issue 26 - Reproduced under Crown Copyright
Sun, 6 Feb 2005
