Mileage fraud may be more prevalent in UK than previously thought, with the practice risking driver safety as well as costing millions of pounds every year.
Carly – Connected Car, the world market leader in mobile car electronics, has found the top four UK hot spots where 18 per cent of vehicles are displaying the incorrect mileage, three per cent higher than the national average of 15 per cent, equating to nearly five million vehicles in total.
According to the data collected from a study of over 150,000 vehicles in the UK, part of a larger survey of one million cars: London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds were identified as the top four overall UK regions for mileage fraud.
One of the reasons for the rise in mileage fraud is likely to be the increasing popularity of affordable car finance plans. Personal Contract Purchases and Personal Contract Hire deals often come with strict mileage limits where each additional mile can be charged at as much as 30p.
This has led to some owners turning to ‘mileage correction’ firms that offer to dial back the odometer to avoid expensive financial penalties.
It means the person handing back a car avoids higher penalty charges but it gets put into the used market with potentially many more miles of wear on the vehicle leading to unexpected repairs.