Despite the constant tightening of penalties for vehicle theft, the number of such crimes not only has not decreased, but is constantly growing. Moreover, the circumstances of the commission of this unlawful act can be very different: an unintentional or deliberate crime committed alone or with the involvement of a group of persons.
The first panic question that arises for the owner of a stolen vehicle is: what to do. Unfortunately, only a small number of car owners can immediately act correctly and rationally, but the ability to find a vehicle or receive an insurance payment directly depends on the speed and accuracy of decision-making.
Car theft - what to do
First of all, it should be noted that if there is no car in the parking lot, it is not a fact that it was stolen. If the parking was illegal, then it is quite possible that the vehicle was taken to a impound lot.
Regardless of the possible reason for the absence of a vehicle at its intended place, you first need to contact law enforcement agencies and report the incident. This can be done in writing - by contacting the nearest territorial department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and writing a statement, or orally - by calling 102 and reporting what happened.
If the car was indeed stolen, then law enforcement officers carry out the following algorithm of actions:
- an “interception” operation is organized;
- all posts are provided with vehicle data;
- A patrol is sent to the crime scene.
Important - traffic police officers need to provide all the information about the car, as well as the things that were stored in the cabin, including valuable equipment, if there was any.
Expert opinion
It is not recommended to carry your PTS with you in your car. In case of theft, scammers can take advantage of the situation, enter a new owner in the empty columns and sell the car to the first inattentive buyer. Even if the vehicle is found, it may be difficult to return it to the original owner. You will have to prove in court that the owner did not sell the car to anyone. The theft report should indicate that the vehicle was also stolen. Then you need to start restoring the documents.
What to do if your car goes missing
What to do if your car is stolen? This is precisely the question that first arises in the mind of a person who discovers that his vehicle is missing.
First of all, the car owner must call the duty station. All conversations on number 102 are recorded, so such a call is the basis for initiating a case within the framework of criminal proceedings. Based on the results of this conversation, an authorized person will be instructed to look into the application, which means that the victim will have a specific person to contact in order to understand the situation.
Operational activities
When discovering the theft of his car, the owner must act as quickly as possible, because the result of another operation – “Interception” – depends on him. As practice shows, the highest chances of finding a stolen car are in the first few hours after the crime.
During such an operation, information about the stolen vehicle is transmitted to all departments of the traffic police and police, taxis, emergency and rescue services. In addition, various operational inclusions are made, which include:
- Verification of all persons who were previously convicted of similar crimes.
- Checking car repair shops and parking lots where a criminal can repaint a car or perform other actions aimed at concealing the fact of car theft.
- Identifying eyewitnesses of the crime, searching for evidence (viewing CCTV cameras along the supposed route of the stolen vehicle).
During such events, police officers not only search for the car, but also check whether the theft was imaginary (for example, in order to obtain insurance).
After this call, the owner of the car must go to the department or wait for the police to arrive in order to make a statement in writing. In response, the car owner is issued a coupon confirming acceptance of the application.
Based on the results of consideration of the application, the authorized police officer must give a response, supported by references to the current legislation: on the initiation of a case or on the refusal to initiate it.
Half the success when finding a car is timely reporting of the incident. As practice shows, 70% of the vehicles found were found without delay.
Also, even a slight change in the position of the vehicle can be considered theft. Regardless of the method of execution (starting the engine, pushing).
Submitting an application
The search for a car begins only after a case of theft has been opened. The basis for opening a case is a written statement from the injured party. The application is written on a special form of the established form, it indicates the following:
- personal data of the car owner;
- circumstances of the theft;
- complete information about the vehicle;
- information about liability for giving false testimony;
- date and signature.
The column “information about the vehicle” must be filled out especially completely. Here you should indicate:
- data to identify the machine;
- number plates;
- method of purchasing a car;
- information about what was contained in the cabin;
- information specified in the vehicle passport;
- information about those who were allowed to drive a vehicle;
- information about witnesses, possibly video from surveillance cameras;
- information about the location of the theft;
- estimated time of theft.
In general, the application must indicate in detail everything related to the theft of a vehicle - the more detailed everything is stated, the greater the chance that the car will be found soon.
Next, a law enforcement officer will check the application, accept it and issue a certificate stating that the application has been accepted and search activities will be initiated.
How to act in case of theft if you have CASCO insurance
Unfortunately, having a CASCO policy for a car can only complicate the procedure after the theft of a vehicle. In such a situation, the only insured event will be the theft of a car (the car was taken by criminals for the purpose of profit).
In accordance with insurance legislation, the owner of the car must immediately notify the insurer of the theft. Then, within 2 days, you must contact the insurance company’s office to give the employee:
- Notification of car theft.
- Sets of keys and key fobs from the anti-theft system that have been preserved by the owner.
- Documents for the car (a copy of the receipt if the car registration certificate was taken by the police).
- Valid CASCO policy.
If the documents were stolen along with the car or seized by the police, then the insurance company has the right to refuse to pay insurance compensation (usually this possibility of refusal for this reason is reflected in the contract).
However, often a copy of a receipt for the seizure of documents and car keys or a resolution to include them in the case as evidence is sufficient for the insurer to change its decision. In this case, the owner of the car will not be denied compensation, but will be asked to wait until all original documents are returned to him.
Trial
If the insurance company for any reason refuses to pay the money, the car owner can go to court. In this case, it is necessary to start by filing a pre-trial claim, which once again reflects the desire of the car owner to receive compensation for the loss caused.
As a rule, in the case of theft, insurers almost never change their decision. When considering a case in court, in most cases the claims of the plaintiff are satisfied, since, in fact, the insured event has already occurred, and the provision of documents is an additional condition that does not have any decisive significance.
The period for payment of insurance compensation also depends on the regulations of the insurance company. Some insurers are waiting for a decision to close the case, some simply wait 30 days from the date of theft, and others need to bring a document about deregistration of the car.
How to put a car on the wanted list without documents
Lack of documents is not a reason for refusing to search for a stolen car. Moreover, all documents for the vehicle can be inside the cabin.
How to put a car on the wanted list without documents? In this case, the algorithm for conducting search activities is the same, but the application must indicate that the documents for the car were in the cabin of the stolen vehicle.
After the case is closed, document recovery should begin. There is no point in postponing this matter, since without documentation for the vehicle it will be impossible to issue a policy and other papers necessary for the legal driving of the car.
You can find out whether a car is wanted or not online. To do this, you should enter the VIN code on the website of the state traffic inspectorate, and the system will provide all the relevant information.
What should the police give the car owner?
After a person has written a statement, law enforcement officers must register it and give the victim the following documents:
- a coupon confirming a person’s request for help;
- a resolution confirming the initiation of a criminal case regarding the theft;
- written confirmation of the fact of theft;
- an act of confiscating car documents and keys from the owner.
Attention : The presence of these papers allows the victim to contact the insurance company, if there is CASCO insurance, and the tax office, to stop paying the duty.
Provocations from scammers
Many vehicle owners additionally advertise in the media about the theft of a car in order to find witnesses to what happened or to discover new information about what happened. After this, scammers may start calling you with an offer to provide information or even a car for a certain amount.
In the case of such factors, it is better to contact the investigator who is leading the theft case and inform him about the circumstances. Law enforcement officials will check the information, and you will not make the mistake of wasting extra money.
Do I need to pay a fee?
According to clause 7, Article 358 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, vehicles that are on the wanted list are not subject to duty.
In order not to pay the state tax for a car that was stolen, after writing a statement about the theft to the police and receiving the relevant documents from law enforcement officers confirming the theft, the owner should contact the tax inspectorate with a statement about the need to suspend the accrual of tax due to the fact that the car is wanted.
After submitting this document, the person will be exempt from paying the duty until the property is returned or for a period of one year, after which it will be necessary to confirm the fact that the funds are wanted.
In order not to have to confirm your right to tax exemption every year, you can additionally temporarily deregister the car with the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate due to its loss, then annual information will be submitted to the tax office automatically, without the participation of the owner.
Self-search for a car
If you wish, you can search for a car yourself. Naturally, this is not necessary, but if you put in extra effort, your chances of success will increase.
Report the theft to the residents of your city. This can be done for free using thematic websites, forums and groups on social networks. In your appeal, ask witnesses to the theft to respond, as well as drivers whose DVRs recorded the movement of the stolen car.
In principle, this is all that the driver can do immediately after the theft.
Search for cars that fled the scene of an accident using the traffic police database
State traffic police vehicle search database. The number includes the following data:
- Vehicle parameters (year of manufacture, model, technical characteristics).
- All car owners.
- Participation of a car in transport accidents.
- Loans and financial obligations to various organizations.
- Technical data inspection.
This database covers absolutely all regions of the country. It is used to search for cars that fled the scene of an accident, when buying a new vehicle or to check an existing car.
Report the theft to the police
This should be the very first action you take after discovering the loss. Don’t delay this, because the sooner you call, the sooner the Interception operation will begin to search for the car after the theft.
It is better to contact the local air traffic control department directly. By dialing -112- or -02-, you waste the time needed to search for stolen cars. For such emergencies, always keep your dispatch number with you.
Law enforcement agencies have a clear sequence of actions in case of theft. They produce:
- Visiting the scene of the incident and interviewing the owner of the car and witnesses.
- Distribution of orientation to the nearest posts and patrols.
- Search for cars using the traffic police database.
