Selling your car? First check the cheque: Police

If you’re planning to sell your car this summer – beware. Dubai Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is warning the public of handing over possession of their ‘sold’ vehicles before encashing the cheque.

“Many people sell their cars in the summer and some buyers pick up the car in the afternoon and give the seller a cheque,” Brigadier Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, head of the CID, is quoted as saying by Gulf News.

“When the seller tries to encash the cheque the next day, he finds that it is worthless because the buyer has no funds in his account, but it is too late to act because by that time, the sold car would be smuggled to a neighbouring country,” he warned.

Police have in the past advised against accepting personal cheques as payment when selling your car. There have been a number of reports of people losing their car and receiving no money as a result of the cheque bouncing after the purported sale has been made and the vehicle registered under the new owner’s name.

Dubai Police have also warned drivers against leaving their cars unattended with the engine on, and revealed that 45 such cars were stolen last year when drivers left the engines turned on and went nearby to run errands, while another three were stolen in the first three months of this year.

“The negligence of car owners is the main reason behind these crimes, as they leave their cars running to keep them cool until they return, especially in the summer months,” Gulf News quoted Brig. Al Mansouri as saying.

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