The incidence of clocking is on the rise as a result of car buyers on PCP schemes avoiding excess mileage penalties, according to Glass’s.
The company said drivers are using mileage adjustment firms with specialist equipment to reduce the number of miles showing on the odometer. Glass’s said the most frequently tampered with vehicles have been sourced from new and are less than three years old, so have yet to have their first MoT. Typically they also only have one service stamp.
“Some drivers facing a PCP returns charge may consider clocking as an easy way of avoiding payment but their actions are illegal,” said Rupert Pontin, Glass’s head of valuations.
“The issue tends to come to light when the car is prepared for sale either by the original dealer or another who has subsequently bought the car, probably at auction. When they plug the vehicle into their diagnostic rig, as part of their standard vehicle preparation procedure, an error code will show what has occurred.
“This places the dealer in a very difficult position because it is next to impossible to prove when the clocking took place. It is often too late to take any action against the driver because the PCP returns paperwork has already been processed and they will usually just deny that they have clocked the car.”
Glass’s said it had come across several cases of clocking in recent months and recommends that dealers build in clocking checks as part of their PCP return process.
“One solution is for dealers to check vehicles for clocking as part of their standard PCP returns procedure. This would effectively ‘prove’ that the vehicle had been clocked during the contract period, placing the onus on the driver for what is, after all, a form of fraud and quite a serious crime.”
