[pitbulladams]

Some idiot in a Alfa decided to add some go faster stripes to my car and then drive off, not impressed.

Parked up in local my beefeater & holiday inn to grad some lunch, came out to find a note on the car saying i've just seen someone hit your car, there was a contact number on the note so i gave it a call. The guy on the phone said he saw the Alfa pull out and hit my car and just drive off [] he manged to right down the reg, but by the looks of it its a letter short.(police check then confirmed its not correct)

He had X130 GH

As the carpark is covered by CCTV i popped in the holiday inn to see if they can check, the lady at the counter said she would get the night porter to go over the tapes and call me next day.

Well got the call, was told they can see the car pull out and hit mine the driver than gets out looks at the damage, looks around then gets back in his car and drives off. The best bit is the CCTV image is not clear enough to get any of the cars reg off it..

Looks like the bumper fix and respray will be coming out of my own pocket then..

God help the old boy if i see him

 

[shiuming]

That is so often the case with CCTV footage, makes you wonder what is the point. I had my car scraped by some idiot recently and he/she also did a runner so I ended up paying for the repair. Parked in a street, no CCTV at all. Hope you catch your suspect. Keep an eye out for a damaged Alfa, I suppose, and check with your local bodyshops if they have been booked to repair an Alfa fitting the description, report your case to them, get the police involved if needed.

 

[pitbulladams]

Its not looking like i'll be able to find him, police have confirmed the reg i have is not correct.

Also police are not bothered about checking CCTV, i know there are worst crimes going on, but as the holiday inn will not release the tape to me only to the police when i reported the accident the officer called the inn, the total conversion was

"Hello its the bedfordshire police calling about the hit and run you have on cctv on the date X at time X can the reg be seen"

About 2 sec paused as person on the phone replies

" Thank you "

And hangs up

 

[Butcher]

if it's just the last letter missing have you tried going here?

http://www.rac.co.uk/web/carbuying/vehicle_data_search

you could enter what you have and try and "guess" the last letter and see if any alfa's like the suggested one come up

 

[STV5]

Was that in Priory Marina by any chance?

Tell me what sort of Alpha it was and I'll keep my eyes peeled!

Based in Bedford too....
cheers
s

 

[Gti Jazz Blue]

if it's just the last letter missing have you tried going here?

http://www.rac.co.uk/web/carbuying/vehicle_data_search

you could enter what you have and try and "guess" the last letter and see if any alfa's like the suggested one come up

Yes there are going to be less than 26 ending letters as some aren't used.

The daft thing is that you'd think that the police could do a wildcard search as it is only the last digit missing and you know it is an Alfa and I'm assuming that you have the paint colour [][:'(].

The CCTV would probably give you the exact Alfa model too, no brainer to do that kind of search in IT so I'd be supprised if the DVLA system couldn't do a wildcard search. It is times like this that the Police need to be reminded that they serve the public, OK so they have more pressing crimes to investigate, but surely a civilian member of staff could investigate the possible vehicles on you behalf.

 

[jimsg60]

Just tried GHA-Z and apparently none of those plates are registered to any cars

 

[Gti Jazz Blue]

Try CHA-Z worth a go they may have miss read the G or the other way round i.e. A-ZGH they may have only got the last two letters.

Keep going its worth a go.

 

[Dubswich]

if it's just the last letter missing have you tried going here?

http://www.rac.co.uk/web/carbuying/vehicle_data_search

you could enter what you have and try and "guess" the last letter and see if any alfa's like the suggested one come up

Yes there are going to be less than 26 ending letters as some aren't used.

The daft thing is that you'd think that the police could do a wildcard search as it is only the last digit missing and you know it is an Alfa and I'm assuming that you have the paint colour [][:'(].

The CCTV would probably give you the exact Alfa model too, no brainer to do that kind of search in IT so I'd be supprised if the DVLA system couldn't do a wildcard search. It is times like this that the Police need to be reminded that they serve the public, OK so they have more pressing crimes to investigate, but surely a civilian member of staff could investigate the possible vehicles on you behalf.

Well said, what are WE paying them for, its not just for murders and terrorists, ALL crime needs sorting out. This is simple detective work and it doesn't suprise me that you have to do it yourself. However, if you go round the guys house to confront him, then you will be in the wrong !!!! Or at least in the eyes of the 'law'. Tread carefully !!

The Alfa guy is a complete t$&T

 

[jimsg60]

Try CHA-Z worth a go they may have miss
read the G or the other way round i.e. A-ZGH they may have only got the
last two letters.

Keep going its worth a go.

Tried both variants, still nothing! Sounds like Joe Public didn't really clock it at all!

 

[johng]

The PNC has a facility to carryout searches as part registrations. The result will give all vehicles which match that part registration.

I don't understand why people start to criticise the police when they do not have an understanding of the subject they are talking about.

I don't see any other types of employment slagged off on the the forum.

If you do not think you have recieved a good service from the police then write a letter of complaint. That will have the desired effect.

 

[craigGSI]

Lets not get into another "the police are crap" argument

I find it weird that none of those reg combos came upi any car at all

i would go and and ask the police very nicely if they can do a part check with all the cars with that description in the area on an X plate and see what comes up

they can do it when it has been a hit and run with a person so i know they can defo do it

 

[Dubswich]

The PNC has a facility to carryout searches as part registrations. The result will give all vehicles which match that part registration.

I don't understand why people start to criticise the police when they do not have an understanding of the subject they are talking about.

I don't see any other types of employment slagged off on the the forum.

If you do not think you have recieved a good service from the police then write a letter of complaint. That will have the desired effect.

The police get slagged off regularly, everywhere !! I don't blame the rank officers (who, I have great admiration for), but the people in charge. They do not provide a good enough service for the amount of council tax we have to pay. When you want a minor crime investigated, they dont want to know.

'Other types of employment' are not serving the members of the public so poorly, which is why they dont get criticised and perhaps the way the government, whom, the police represent choose to treat the motorist does not help members of the police who wish to partake in a motorists forum.

If the PNC is able to carry out a part search, then why aren't the police following this up ?? It seems to me, like very simple detective work.

1) check for owners of Alfa's using the PNC part search with the Reg given.

2) check the colour and locality of the registered owner match, the CCTV and area.

3) go round to the registered address and check the car for damage or freshly painted bodywork and question the person as to where they were on the day in question.

Need I go on

If the poor guy whose car has been smashed up, was to confront the guy I'm sure he would be up in court faster than you could blink !!! The law in this country is a joke !!

 

[petevr6]

could the reg have been X13 OGH? instead of X130 GH.. or have you tried that?

 

[gulfstream11]

could the reg have been X13 OGH? instead of X130 GH.. or have you tried that?

Nice one..

Same thing happened to me at work on my old 1.8T..Took my wing mirror clean off drivers side.Review the CCTV tapes.They were that corrupted and running in a 4x speed you could,nt even tell it was my car.Now heres the strange thing...they hit me,parked up then came back for the mirror and still u could,nt see it on the tapes.Like a snowstorm...We now have state of the art digital but too late..Cost me over ?300 that one.

I feel for u mate.

 

[Vincec79]

I just tried CarWatch to see if I could get any results by adding extra letters by no joy, so the reg must be something different.

If you get bored just try variations on the letters, as this site lets you put in a reg and then tells you the manufacturer & model before it asks you to pay for anything so you should be able to find an Alfa and its model if you guess the right reg

 

[Gti Jazz Blue]

The PNC has a facility to carryout searches as part registrations. The result will give all vehicles which match that part registration.

I don't understand why people start to criticise the police when they do not have an understanding of the subject they are talking about.

I don't see any other types of employment slagged off on the the forum.

If you do not think you have recieved a good service from the police then write a letter of complaint. That will have the desired effect.

If that was aimed at me - I wasn't slagging them off - I was offering constructive criticsm ( I do have a lot of respect for most of our police officers, and even count two coppers in my circle of friends) , I even suggested that perhaps a civilian member of support staff at the local station could look into it. At the end of the day a crime was carried out - criminal damage - his vehicle was damaged and he will be out of pocket. Unfortinately in the eyes of the general public refusing to assist in such matters doesn't help the polices case, granted this is a management priority issue not the bobby on the scene, but it doesn't make the guy who is out of pocket feel any better. Yes I know all the argument issues about if my child / partner was raped murdered missing etc that type of crime should be a priority, but what kind of message does it send out if someone can get away with these types of minor crimes due to police priorities.

Paul

 

[pitbulladams]

Cheers guys

I've been trying just about every combo i can think of..

The witness said he had run into the pub and grabed a pen to write on his hand, which was X130 GH

He was not 100% sure it was the full reg.

For anyone in the Bedord area its a silver Alfa 156

 

[maxGTI]

Hi Pitbull - sorry to hear this news, doesn't make it any more comfortable for the rest of us on here anyway. Just a thought....you could make a list of all the Alfa dealers in the Bedford/Bradford area (I am sure there can't be that many listed in the Yellow Pages) and ask them if they have sold a car matching the description you have. Owing to the Data Protection act, you won't be able to get names and addresses but if any of those dealers say yes, you could get the Police involved then who would be able to look up names and addresses. I know this is probably a bigger pain than you would want to land yourself into but if the damage is substantial, then it might be worth it.

~ Maxie

 

[Golfgirl]

could the reg have been X13 OGH? instead of X130 GH.. or have you tried that?

I was just about to suggest that myself. He may not have a middle name so couldn't have a normal plate as they all end in 3 letters. I've seen some people space their plates illegally like that one. Might be worth trying X13 OGH