Each year up to 2,000 stolen vehicles are sold to unsuspecting members of the public who have no way of knowing the history of the vehicle due to the Gardaí not releasing stolen vehicle data. It is for this reason that Cartell.ie is calling for the release of stolen motor vehicle data to the consumer and vehicle history companies alike.
The current predicament, with the Stolen Motor Vehicle Unit of An Garda Síochána (SMVU) withholding relevant information due to data protection concerns, is in stark contrast to the system operated 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, and Cartell.ie has aided in the recovery of UK stolen vehicles that wind up here in Ireland by checking each registration with HPI. This means that, while Irish vehicle history companies are helping to repatriate UK stolen vehicles, they cannot fully assist with Irish stolen vehicles.
"This is a serious problem," says Jeff Aherne, Director of Cartell.ie. "If you buy a stolen vehicle you can lose all of your money as the vehicle may be returned to its rightful owner."
On average, there are 10,000 vehicles stolen in Ireland every year, with 2,000 of these going unrecovered. It is these unrecovered vehicles that are resold to unsuspecting members of the public and because the stolen vehicle data is not freely available, thieves do not even have to swap the registration plates for those of a 'clean' vehicle. The only people who know the car is stolen are the Gardaí and the insurer.
As it stands, Irish vehicle history companies only learn of a stolen vehicle after the insurers have paid out on it, by which time it may be too late for an unsuspecting purchaser. It is for this reason that Cartell.ie is asking the Gardaí to make the registration numbers of stolen vehicles (accompanied with make/model designation and date stolen) available to car history checking companies and the public at large once they are available on PULSE (Police Using Leading Systems Effectively) computer system.