Successes12

A "reported stolen" 1999 Frontera 4x4 was recovered by police and taken to a storage facility close to Gatwick Airport. My client sent the keys for inspection - one key had its blade and transponder missing (only the plip remained and the battery in the plip was flat) - the second key was intact. Vauxhall Motors Ltd. confirmed for us that the key number matched their records for the vehicle. The initial engineers report detailed "substantial damage to the steering lock and column" hence I was assigned the task of finding out if this was a true theft or a fraudulent set-up. I attended site and upon initial assessment, the vehicle was in very poor condition (all tyres less than 2mm tread, severe panel damage, front crash damage, bonnet siezed shut and the interior was coated in mud, rubbish, beer cans and the like).
The steering lock had been broken into pieces with possibly a hammer and screwdriver (broken screwdriver found in car) but interestingly the steering column had been sheared inside the steering wheel itself leaving a small splined section and the thread & nut fixing the wheel to the column still on the wheel behind the airbag. The ignition switch was smashed to pieces - I could only bring the ignition live by holding a wire jumper across between terminals. There is NO WAY this vehicle could have been driven in this condition. Theft entry damage was limited to a broken NSR 1/4 window - the locks were intact and the complete key / plip worked the locks & worked electronically.
The odomoter reading was puzzling - 004057 miles - for a 9 yr old car? In this condition? Also the vehicle knew no immobiliser keys. I can only conclude that a DIY diagnostic session (to "clock" the mileage and / or teach a new key) went horribly wrong for the PH and it seemed easier to "stage" the theft of the vehicle rather than pay to put it and the general condition of the vehicle right. The ECU and immobiliser were intact and undisturbed - all the trim covering them and the trim screws were intact.

"Woooooow wo woooooaaaah, my Passat's on fire..."

One "flaming" fibber of a PH submitted a claim for the loss of his 2001 Passat. He claims it was stolen, only to be found abandoned with minor interior fire damage. There were no signs of a break in.. because the PH drove the car to the burn locus himself, set fire to the interior, shut and locked the doors with his key and then "hot footed" it away. The fire quickly went out due to a lack of oxygen due to the doors and windows being shut. He should have spotted the CCTV camera... it spotted him!!