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What to Do When Your Car Gets Stolen
Nobody walks out of their home in the morning or heads back to their car after a day at work and expects their car to have disappeared. But sadly, car theft is on the rise in countries across the world.
Although there are steps that you can take to keep your car as thief-resistant as possible, you can’t always prevent theft. With this in mind, it’s important to familiarise yourself with the steps that you should take if your car ever gets stolen.
It’s never easy finding out that your vehicle is in the hands of an unknown thief. However, taking the following steps will maximise the chances of you getting your car safely back in your hands (or on your driveway) as quickly as possible.
Check That It’s Actually Been Stolen
This first step might sound a bit odd. Surely, you know when your car has been stolen…
If you’ve gone out for the day and you’ve parked your car somewhere that you thought was safe and secure but you return to find that your vehicle has disappeared, it may not have been stolen. It may have been towed away.
Parking somewhere illegal, such as on private land or double yellow lines, may result in your car getting removed from the premises and taken elsewhere. It’s important that you check whether or not this is the case before you take further action.
You’ll need to figure out where your car has been taken. You can do this by calling the local authorities or your national non-emergency number. They will have the full record of your car’s location.
Call the Police
If your car hasn’t been towed anywhere and you conclude that your car has been stolen, the first thing to do is call the police. You may have already been on the phone with them, in which case they will be aware that a thief is on the loose with your vehicle.
The police will confirm the type of car that you drive, as well as its colour and registration number so that they know which exact vehicle to search for.
If you have a black box inserted in your car, this might make the process of locating your vehicle quicker and easier. However, if you don’t have a black box, the police have alternative methods to track your car.
Call an Enquiry Agent
In the meantime, you can get in touch with one of the local enquiry agents. They are private investigators that will thoroughly research your situation to gather information about your enquiry.
The agents will do everything that they can to ensure the safe recovery of your vehicle and the prosecution of the thief or thieves. They may go door-to-door searching for witnesses or obtain CCTV evidence from any cameras in the nearby area.
Using an enquiry agent can speed up the process of finding your stolen vehicle, even if you have already contacted the local police. They can assist in the search and may also liaise with your car insurance company to resolve the issue.