Fraud cases send leasing companies all the way to Spain to get cars back

Autor: Voican Razvan 21.03.2011

The leasing industry has seen a significant increase in fraud cases on the auto segment lately, with many companies discovering that many cars had "simply vanished" and starting to look for them across Europe with the help of the Police, says Antoaneta Curteanu, CEO of UniCredit Leasing, the biggest leasing company in Romania.

"There are actual gangs consisting of people who know very well the procedures of a leasing company. For instance, they took advantage of situations where grace periods were granted amid the crisis, and after the grace period was over, we found that the car had simply vanished. We have been quite affected, but we've worked well with the Police and found cars as far away as Spain. Now we have to go to get 23 cars back from Hungary. "

She says this is why monitoring procedures have seen a significant tightening. On the other hand, the industry tends to be stifled by the large number of cars repossessed from clients who no longer pay. "The stocks are increasingly big, which puts pressure on prices, including on the market of new cars. The problem is that 90% of repossessed cars are sold at a loss."