Gahhh my toy was a ringer...

[hairytriker]

So here's a "caveat emptor" to anyone buying an ATC (or any toy for that matter). Always make sure the frame & engine numbers are real and original, not just a well stamped fake. I found this out to my dismay a couple of days back when some self rigteous prig decided to call the police as I was testing out the effect of cleaning & tuning the carb. All was well, the sergeant who attended was very understanding & they were going to just give me a warning until they put the frame & engine numbers throught the computer & it didn't exist. On closer inspection you could actually see the file marks under the paint so I had to concede that it was stolen & let them take it away.

The thing that hurts most about this though is that, as the numbers have been changed, they cannot locate the actual owner (if they could I'd have been most happy to return the thing myself, having had a bike stolen myself a few years back) so they're just going to crush the damn thing. What a fecking waste of a perfectly good ATC. Still, just wait till I find out who decided to call the law & it will NOT be a pretty sight...

[Frankencelery]

You didn't KNOW it was stolen, did you?

Dunno if I agree with their action. While it pretty obvious that a machine with the VIN filed off is stolen, it seems crappy that they just take it when they can't verify what the original VIN is. I guess if they didn't, then it would encourage people to just grind off the VIN and claim ignorance.

Still sucks though. Sorry to hear you lost your machine. How about taking it out on the seller? Do you have access to his sorry ass? I think I'd have to have a "conversation" with him!

[mohadib]

That sucks man. Hope you pointed them to the bloke you got it from. Thanks for the heads up.

[Lukeatc185]

if you had a bill of sale or ownership they cant just take it away right away.

[plastikosmd]

this brings up a question i have...so say i want to check the vin on 3 of my bikes...go to the police station?

thanks

[Jonpin]

Thats what im saying is there a way to run them online .

[Macs]

Police station or DMV.


I wander if you told them that it had an aftermarket frame and it has never been titled or registered. What could they do then?????

They will not crush it, what they will do is assign it a VIN and then auction it off after the holding period. You have to prove that it is yours ( since they cannot prove ownership ) before the holding period expires. Which in Texas is 60 days i think. The reason they took it is because ownership cannot be proved.


Email from a friend when i was trying to get my stuff back last year,

"When i got robbed a few years ago, i had a similiar issue. I could not prove ownership on half the things they recovered. I had to put together a case, with all bill of sales, any ownership history, proof of how long i had the bike etc. I ended up getting all of them back but two this way. One was actually reported stolen in the 80's and claimed on insurance. I bought it back from the insurance for $200 with a clear title now. Another one had no numbers, by the time someone had suggested that i claim it was a custom build, that has never been registered or titled or assigned a VIN it was already gone. So i suggest you try this route. Keep in mind though you will be responsible for towing and storage fee's."


I just noticed you were in england so my advice probley will not work.

[Hair Bear Bunch]

I'm a bit baffled by this. If it wasn't road registered then of course it won't be on the PNC database. I think you need to be doublechecking with your local force and make sure those who confiscated it were genuine police, then start asking questions as to why they think it's stolen. It can't be stolen if it's not been reported stolen. You'll probably find someone somewhere is trying it on ("Hello friendly policeman. There's a guy up the road making a bit of noise with his bike. Can you take it off him? Thanks."). Talk to your family solicitor, the police should have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the machine is stolen and that you are not the rightful owner.
I've got 3 tractors here, I can absolutely guarantee they won't appear on the PNC. My 70 has an engine from an old cub in it, that will show up as it was road registered, but the frame it's in now is an aftermarket so no frame no.
Make sure it's being stored under cover, any damage to it before it's returned to you is their responsibility.
Don't sweep this under the carpet, the longer you leave it they'll think they've got away with it. Challenge it at every level, even the Police complaints comission if neccessary.
Good luck.

[Hoosier_Daddy]

You guys seem to be missing that the original poster is from England. They can't do that to us here in the states to the best of my knowledge, and I'm currently going to school for criminal justice/law enforcement. If the vin does not exist then they can't prove it was stolen any more then you can prove it's yours. The British government is socialist while we are not. Not yet anyway. And our law enforcement doesn't have the power to confiscate anything from us without proof of ineligible ownership. In other words, our government can't take away our belongings based on an assumption. There is no laws that force us to register the vins of our off road vehicles. The only time it is required is if you want to register it to ride on government land etc.

That being said, I feel bad for you hairytriker. I hope Obama fails in his attempt to make our government more like the British.

[Jonpin]

You guys seem to be missing that the original poster is from England. They can't do that to us here in the states to the best of my knowledge, and I'm currently going to school for criminal justice/law enforcement. If the vin does not exist then they can't prove it was stolen any more then you can prove it's yours. The British government is socialist while we are not. Not yet anyway. And our law enforcement doesn't have the power to confiscate anything from us without proof of ineligible ownership. In other words, our government can't take away our belongings based on an assumption. There is no laws that force us to register the vins of our off road vehicles. The only time it is required is if you want to register it to ride on government land etc.

That being said, I feel bad for you hairytriker. I hope Obama fails in his attempt to make our government more like the British.

If Obama fail America wins. "sorry for the politics"

[TrailerRider]

US or not, if you have a bill of sale, bring it to them and possibly get your stuff back or the theif will get his due..

[Hair Bear Bunch]

You guys seem to be missing that the original poster is from England.

Well aware of that!

[Hoosier_Daddy]

Well aware of that!

My intent was not to insult. I was simply pointing it out, because the laws are very different because of the two styles of government.

[Hair Bear Bunch]

My intent was not to insult. I was simply pointing it out, because the laws are very different because of the two styles of government.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Oh dear, the shortcomings of the internet.
No offence meant or taken, I should have used some smilies.
What I was getting at was that we're only to painfully aware that a lot of our laws do seem to go against pure common sense.

Sorry, off topic.

[Hoosier_Daddy]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Oh dear, the shortcomings of the internet.
No offence meant or taken, I should have used some smilies.
What I was getting at was that we're only to painfully aware that a lot of our laws do seem to go against pure common sense.

Sorry, off topic.

Ok. It's all good. I hope to be able to visit the Uk someday. It's on my "to do" list.