HPI not always what they are cracked up to be.

[oldred]

A colleague of mine recently purchased a Nissan pickup, and being a cautious sort of guy arranged an HPI check. All appeared OK until several weeks after he submitted the log book etc to the DVLA, he received a call from his local police station asking to look at the car, as his was identical to one in the other end of the country. He had no problem with this, thinking the DVLA had cocked up with a duplicate reg no. Imagine his horror when it appears his truck is stolen, and all documentation including the VIN plate has been cloned from another pickup truck. The vehicle has now been taken off him and he is awaiting further developments. The question is I appreciate how easy it must be to clone a number plate, but the reg documents, VIN plate etc. He felt he may have some recourse with the company that ran the HPI check, however it seems they are only liable for the £20 fee he paid. I guess as the legitimate vehicle had not been stolen, as far as the HPI company were concerned, everything was OK. How difficult would it be for the HPI company to say "oh yes the vehicle is legitimate and should be residing within this postcode"

Oh and as a PS, the police complained they had called around several times but the vehicle was never there. My colleague said "that's because it is parked in the police station car park every day, my wife works there"