A PRESTATYN man’s campaign to protect motorists from vehicle ringing has been given the thumbs up.
Vale of Clwyd Labour MP Chris Ruane and Conservative parliamentary candidate Matt Wright have backed Tony Flynn’s bid to change the law after the van he bought off internet auction site eBay was confiscated by Cheshire Police.
Mr Flynn, 55, of Grosvenor Road, had paid for a HPI check and was left shocked when he discovered the vehicle, which he used for his egg delivery business, had previously been stolen and there was no way of protecting against vehicle identity theft.
He said: “Now I have bought my van back and got it all legal. The fact is no one knows when they buy a vehicle if it is stolen and that has put the wind up a lot of people. Everyone agrees the law needs to be changed.”
Mr Ruane revealed that Mr Flynn had contacted him with a series of questions and suggested solutions to avoid other motorists finding themselves in his predicament.
He said: “I think Mr Flynn makes some excellent suggestions. I have written to the transport minister and hope he will give careful consideration to them.”
Vehicle ringing, where identification numbers from written-off vehicles are used to disguise stolen cars, accounted for a quarter of the 147,342 cars stolen in the UK during 2008/09.
Mr Wright said: “There are three ways things can be improved to avoid loopholes. Firstly to include in the MOT a check on key aspects that relate to the identity of the vehicle and a standardised process agreed with the government and manufacturers, for example in the form of an electronic chip.
“Secondly to put clearer rules on the requirement on insurance companies to cover the costs in the case of such cases and thirdly to review the processes in relation to traders who hold vehicles for a long period of time before selling them.”