No one ever expects their car to be stolen but unfortunately, this can (and does) happen to lots of people. It’s an unpleasant event and therefore completely understandable that as a victim you want the next stage to be as simple as possible.
After all, the last thing you want to do after having your car stolen is deal with lengthy phone calls or confusing paperwork. But the car cannot go unreported.
So if you do find yourself in this situation and you're not sure what to do next, we’re here to help.
In this guide, we’re going to take a look at the five steps you need to follow should your vehicle get stolen.
Double-check that it has been stolen
Now, you might be thinking ‘what do you mean double-check, the car was there one minute and gone the next’ but there could be another explanation. For example:
• Has someone in your family taken your car without you knowing?
• Were you parked somewhere you shouldn't have been and therefore your car has been towed?
• Have you simply parked it somewhere new and now you’ve forgotten the exact location of the car?
Take all of this into account before you panic and assume that it has been stolen. It might seem silly but this will help you to determine what you need to do next.
Call the local police
OK, so now you have double-checked and determined that the car has definitely been stolen, the next thing you need to do is to call the local police.
Although the theft of your car might be an emergency and huge inconvenience to you, it is not a 999 worthy call so instead call 101 and ask them to put you through to your local police station.
Be sure to have your vehicle’s make, model, colour and registration to hand so you can give the officer all the details. If you have a black box in your car it’s also worth letting them know as this can be used to help track down the vehicle.
Once you have reported the car stolen to the police you will be given a crime reference number which you will need later for insurance purposes.
Contact your insurance company
The next step is to contact your insurance company to start the process of making a claim. You may be asked to recall what was in the vehicle when it was stolen so try and make a list of this as soon as possible to reduce the risk of forgetting.
The insurance company will then ask you a few more questions about the vehicle and begin to process your claim.
Inform the DVLA of your insurance claim
If the insurance claim goes through OK before the car is found and you then receive a payout for the vehicle, you must inform the DVLA. This is because the car now belongs to the insurance company and not you.
You can tell the DVLA either online or by filling in the yellow ‘sell, transfer or part-exchange your vehicle to the motor trade’ section of your vehicle logbook. You can send this to the DVLA with a letter explaining that you have received payment for the stolen car and providing them with the details of your insurer.
If however, the insurance company asks for your whole logbook including the yellow slip, you will still need to write the DVLA a letter that outlines:
• Your insurer’s details
• The date of your claim
• The make, model, colour and registration number of your vehicle
• Your signature
What if I had a personalised number plate?
The last thing to note is that if you had a personalised number plate and you want to keep it, once the vehicle is recovered you can get this back off the car before informing the DVLA that the insurance company has paid out.
However, if the car has not been recovered by the time you’ve made a claim, you can apply to have the registration transferred to a replacement vehicle after one year.
Then of course the final step if you haven't already is to get yourself a replacement vehicle.