Warning over written-off cabs and fake documents as taxi fleet expert nearly falls foul
- Perry Richardson
- Jun 15
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 16
A taxi fleet operator has warned fellow drivers to stay vigilant when buying used vehicles, following a near miss involving a fake V5 and misleading mileage.
The cab expert shared the experience in a recent edition of TAXI Newspaper, explaining how they were offered a low-mileage TXE, allegedly only previously licensed outside of London. The vehicle appeared sound, and online checks didn’t raise any immediate red flags.
But alarm bells rang when the seller insisted on part payment up front. The V5 document handed over was in poor condition and, on closer inspection, proved to be a fake. Further checks revealed mileage discrepancies between the cab and its MOT record. Confronted with growing suspicion, the seller left without completing the deal—leaving the V5 behind.
The incident raises concerns at a time when Transport for London (TfL) is said to be preparing a consultation on whether any written-off taxis or private hire vehicles should ever be relicensed. Currently, there’s little clarity in TfL’s policy on vehicles previously categorised as insurance write-offs.
Insurance write-off codes were revised around five years ago. Category A vehicles must be scrapped entirely. Category B allows for parts salvage but not use of the shell. Categories N and S refer to repairable vehicles. Category N involves no structural damage—such as stolen and stripped vehicles—while S covers those with structural damage.
This case is a reminder that even experienced fleet buyers can be targeted and that online checks, while useful, aren’t foolproof.
The taxi fleet expert wrote in TAXI Newspaper: “Having been caught out many years ago, I never buy anything without doing variety of readily available online checks on a cab’s finance status, mileage, MOT status, etc., and there is now a lot of companies that offer this service including HPI, My Car Check, carVertical, AA, and RAC.
“But despite all of this, I, yet again, nearly got caught out. I was off ered a late TXE that had supposedly only been licensed outside of London. It was low mileage, a good spec, and was eligible to be licensed in London. Th ey called me and even off ered to bring the cab to me, because they were
going to be in London. They made all the right noises about it not being suitable outside of town, but because they never knew the London market, rather than get it licensed themselves they wanted to take the easy option and just sell. I asked them for the registration number and started doing all the searches before they arrived. Everything looked great, and I quickly forgot the golden rule that if a deal looks too good then it usually is. Th ey turned up with the cab, I drove it, checked the obvious, crawled underneath it and all looked as it should.
“It was only because they were so insistent on getting some cash up front and then transferring the remainder that made me hesitate.
“I asked them for the V5, which was badly creased and very dirty, in fact I have never seen a V5 in such bad shape and I started looking deeper. The online MOT checker was showing a higher mileage than that on the cab, and I was now getting very suspicious.
“It must have shown, because they simply got in the cab and drove away without another word leaving me holding the V5. Needless to say, once I had straightened it out and held it up to the light it was a very poor fake V5 which they had tried to disguise with grease and creases!
“I called the police, gave them the reg number and told them about the V5. Two weeks later, I am still waiting for a call back or someone to come to collect the V5, which confirms my suspicions that unless they drive up Park Lane at 24mph, then the police won’t know or care if it exists!“
