Car towed away then returned all caught on CCTV Scam ?
Discussion
A relative in the Warrington area woke up to find her car had gone it was a 2002 Ford KA she believed it had stolen so reported it to police, she then goes to work and when she returns the car is back !!! The car park has gates and CCTV on and today we managed to get hold of the CCTV and we can see the car was towed away behind a black Mitsubishi Warrior it was returned 8hrs later and they take another Black KA from the car park. From the CCTV we can see a person in the KA steering it but the car had no broken windows so they managed to get into the car itself, unfortunately the CCTV didn't capture the reg plate, I recon they made a mistake and took wrong car but they could of easily checked the plate so not sure if its a scam, even if it was a mistake its bad they did it and didn't even own up to it ... ? The owner of the car depends on to get to work and back and was very upset and now even more so she knows someone was in the car, they disconnected the battery so now she needs radio recoded, also her insurance company increased there premium even though the car was not stolen in the end.
Can the owner of the 'other black ka' be contacted.
Might be a case of friends/garage helping tow away a broken down car for repair & simply taking the wrong (but very similar) car in the process?
Ford keys used to be known for their inter-changeability, not sure if the same on that era, also if not trying to start (because broken down) immobilisor wouldn't have been effective.
Might be a case of friends/garage helping tow away a broken down car for repair & simply taking the wrong (but very similar) car in the process?
Ford keys used to be known for their inter-changeability, not sure if the same on that era, also if not trying to start (because broken down) immobilisor wouldn't have been effective.
TooMany2cvs said:
PostHeads123 said:
they disconnected the battery so now she needs radio recoded
TBF, not having the code is her problem. Sooner or later, it'd have become an issue the first time the battery was disconnected for any servicing.OP: See if you can get the serial number from the radio and post it up, I'll provide the code FOC.
TooMany2cvs said:
TBF, not having the code is her problem. Sooner or later, it'd have become an issue the first time the battery was disconnected for any servicing.
Maybe so, but it wasn't "sooner or later" - it was caused by someone else's direct action.It's a bit like me chucking a brick through your window and then using the defence "it was bound to happen sooner or later"...
TooMany2cvs said:
PostHeads123 said:
they disconnected the battery so now she needs radio recoded
TBF, not having the code is her problem. Sooner or later, it'd have become an issue the first time the battery was disconnected for any servicing.AJXX1 said:
TooMany2cvs said:
TBF, not having the code is her problem. Sooner or later, it'd have become an issue the first time the battery was disconnected for any servicing.
Maybe so, but it wasn't "sooner or later" - it was caused by someone else's direct action.It's a bit like me chucking a brick through your window and then using the defence "it was bound to happen sooner or later"...
NiceCupOfTea said:
I've not used a garage that didn't use one of those radio code retainers for years.
Which is fine for a battery swap, but doesn't help one bit if there's some work being done that needs the battery disconnected. Like changing the alternator, or - Ka, did you say? - welding...PostHeads123 said:
A relative in the Warrington area woke up to find her car had gone it was a 2002 Ford KA she believed it had stolen so reported it to police, she then goes to work and when she returns the car is back !!! The car park has gates and CCTV on and today we managed to get hold of the CCTV and we can see the car was towed away behind a black Mitsubishi Warrior it was returned 8hrs later and they take another Black KA from the car park. From the CCTV we can see a person in the KA steering it but the car had no broken windows so they managed to get into the car itself, unfortunately the CCTV didn't capture the reg plate, I recon they made a mistake and took wrong car but they could of easily checked the plate so not sure if its a scam, even if it was a mistake its bad they did it and didn't even own up to it ... ? The owner of the car depends on to get to work and back and was very upset and now even more so she knows someone was in the car, they disconnected the battery so now she needs radio recoded, also her insurance company increased there premium even though the car was not stolen in the end.
Calling bs on this, the insurance company wouldn't put the premium up mid termTooMany2cvs said:
NiceCupOfTea said:
I've not used a garage that didn't use one of those radio code retainers for years.
Which is fine for a battery swap, but doesn't help one bit if there's some work being done that needs the battery disconnected. Like changing the alternator, or - Ka, did you say? - welding...Just a ridiculous comment and rather than hold your hands up and admit it was a bit silly I bet you will defend it to the hilt.
In terms of the keys, I recall a mate and I had different Fords (Sierra and Fiesta I think) and our keys opened each other's car. So not at all surprised if it was a case of mistaken identity. Battery disconnect to stop the alarm going off?
Shame there is no way to track down the Mistubishi, unless you call the local baliffs, if it was a repo?
Shame there is no way to track down the Mistubishi, unless you call the local baliffs, if it was a repo?
MDMA . said:
Since when does anyone disconnect the battery for routine servicing ( oil + filters ) ? Post her reg and i'll get the code from the PDI lad at Ford round the corner. Or just give them a quick call and they will let you know.
Some newer vehicles have a hard-reset in their service procedure and/or it's recommended to reset some systems/clear some conditions or get a 'clean' set of diagnostics (there's no power button on a car otherwise?)It's also standard procedure to disconnect the battery for a number of procedures involving airbags/tensioners/seats/doors as well as for cutting, welding etc. too
Every single service sheet I've ever signed had a disclaimer about radio codes on it - they'd not put it there if it wasn't a likely outcome!?
p.s. the odds of 2 cars in a carpark having the same keys are very small - esp if it's a modern KA (hundreds of variants) but even the late-90s 'slim' keys had dozens...
One thought - is she sure it's the same car she got back?
Returning it HAS to mean they took the wrong car - no-one takes stolen items back for any other reason (e.g. they didn't INTEND to steal it)
Hang on - a Warrior you say? Are you sure they didn't just think it was discarded scrap? Warriors around here clear-up anything left ;0
Returning it HAS to mean they took the wrong car - no-one takes stolen items back for any other reason (e.g. they didn't INTEND to steal it)
Hang on - a Warrior you say? Are you sure they didn't just think it was discarded scrap? Warriors around here clear-up anything left ;0
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