Vehicle data checking service Cartell, is calling for the release of stolen motor vehicle data to the consumer. The company says that at present the Irish consumer has no simple way of knowing if a vehicle they plan to buy is stolen and this situation needs to be urgently addressed.

At present the Stolen Motor Vehicle Unit of An Garda Síochána (SMVU) do not forward the stolen vehicle data to vehicle history companies making it virtually impossible for the consumer to know whether the vehicle is stolen or not. If released stolen data would mirror the successful collaboration between UK Police Authorities and Vehicle History Companies in that jurisdiction. Cartell understands that “data protection” issues have been cited for the failure to release this data. However, it believes it is in the “Public Interest” that this information is made available. Jeff Aherne, Director of Cartell.ie, says, “This is a serious problem. If you buy a stolen vehicle you can lose all of your money as the vehicle may be returned to its rightful owner.”

The Garda resistance to release the data is at odds with the situation prevailing in the UK where the police allow access to stolen vehicle data via the Police National Computer (PNC). The PNC pushes data out to car history checking companies such as HPI UK. Cartell has aided in the recovery of UK stolen vehicles which wind up in Ireland by checking each registration with HPI. Ironically it means that while Irish vehicle history companies are helping to repatriate UK stolen vehicles, they cannot fully assist with Irish stolen vehicles. It also means that Irish stolen vehicles are exported to the UK and never recovered.

Each year there are upwards of ten thousand vehicles stolen in Ireland of which two thousand go unrecovered. It is these unrecovered vehicles that are resold to unsuspecting members of the public. Because the Gardai do not release the data, thieves in Ireland do not have to clone the vehicle by using false registration plates of a similar “clean” vehicle.  In other words the thief can leave the existing registration plates on the vehicle safe in the knowledge that the only people who know the car is stolen are the Gardai and the insurer.

In 2010 Cartell.ie set up the Motor Insurers Anti-Fraud and Theft Register (MIAFTR). This contains the registrations of vehicles which the insurers have paid out on due to theft-unrecovered status. If a purchaser checks this database through Cartell it can show up a stolen vehicle, however, as this only contains details of settled claims, many are missed as thieves tend to move on stolen cars very quickly.

Cartell is asking that Gardai data relating solely to registration numbers of stolen vehicles (accompanied with make/model designation and date stolen) should be forwarded to car history checking companies and the public at large. This will assist in recovery and reduce the thieves’ ability to sell on cars undetected.