Leasing scam: he can no longer drive his Porsche
A man from the Var (Fréjus) spent all his savings in 2018 to buy the car of his dreams, a Porsche. Unfortunately, he soon found out that he was the victim of a huge car leasing scam. Today, and since last September, Alexandre V. (the victim of the leasing scam) has had to pay back the monthly instalments on the loan he had to take out to buy his Porsche. And if that wasn't enough, he's also no longer allowed to drive his car. Here's a look at the story of a man who has been living a waking nightmare for the past year.
A used Porsche for €40,000
The misadventure of this employee in the finance department of a company in Saint-Raphaël began in 2018. After saving for years, the man from Frejus finally obtained a loan to buy the car of his dreams. After a great deal of research into the countless second-hand luxury cars available, he finally set his sights on a second-hand Porsche from a private owner. His little automotive pleasure cost him €40,000. Alexandre will now enjoy a few months behind the wheel of his new acquisition, in which all his savings and his loan have been invested.
Car leasing scam
In September 2019, the individual decides to move house. To do so, he decided to change the address on his vehicle registration document with the Agence nationale des titres sécurisés (ANTS). It was then that he learned that his luxury car had been reported stolen. The Porsche belonged to a leasing company (which leased it to a company) and was reported stolen by the company in February 2019. The vehicle was reportedly stolen in June 2012... 7 years before Starlease, the leasing company, lodged a complaint. Starlease waited this long to lodge a complaint in order to gather all the necessary evidence of the theft. Alexandre, the man who bought the Porsche without knowing that he was the victim of a fraud, found out on the ANTS website that the car had been reported stolen in 2012.
What is car leasing? For those wondering, leasing is a popular type of car finance that allows you to 'rent' a car from a dealer or leasing company for a certain period of time and a certain number of kilometres. You usually make monthly lease payments on the vehicle and, in exchange, the dealer allows you to drive it. At the end of the lease, you return the vehicle to the leasing company or buy your lease if you wish to keep the car, if this is an option included in your lease. So the principle of car leasing is that when you lease a car, you are paying to drive a new vehicle, not to own it.
He can no longer drive his luxury car
But back to Alexandre. Convinced that it was a mistake, he went to the police station, where his doubts were confirmed. According to the investigation, Starlease had leased the Porsche to a company, which then decided to stop paying the lease and sell the car. However, the investigation contains a number of grey areas, such as the fact that the vehicle had passed through the hands of four different people beforehand, or the fact that the prefecture (ANTS) had not noticed it beforehand. These questions prompted Alexandre, the current owner of the Porsche, to lodge a complaint for breach of trust.
He is trying as hard as he can to get out of this perilous situation, as the courts are now forbidding him to drive the Porsche he worked so hard to obtain. What's more, Alexandre is suffering the consequences of this scam, as he still has to make monthly repayments on the loan he managed to take out to get his car. This leasing scam forces Alexandre to pay for the car without having the right to use it. A bitter blow for Alexandre.
While he waits for the deal to go through, the man is worried about the future because, as well as paying off his car loan every month, he needs to find a bigger flat for when his baby arrives. This posed a problem for him, as he couldn't envisage taking out a new loan to do so. What's more, he has to deal with a lot of red tape. With the case now in the hands of the courts, Alexandre will be able to drive his Porsche again, but only time will tell.
How can I avoid car scams?
Unfortunately, car scams are becoming increasingly common these days. Especially when it comes to second-hand cars, which can be found on classified ad sites such as Leboncoin, Facebook Marketplace, ParuVendu etc. To avoid falling into the trap of online car scams, we advise you to prepare your used car purchase in advance.
To avoid any scams, using a secure payment method such as Obvy is the best way to ensure the reliability of your purchase. Obvy was created for this purpose. This payment method makes transactions between private individuals 100% secure. No more constraints such as cheques and cash withdrawals for the purchase of your vehicle. Your money is safe in a virtual safe, and all you have to do when you meet the seller is enter the code that will be given to you beforehand. If you suspect a scam or change your mind, simply cancel the transaction (free of charge). What a bargain!