Posted: Tuesday, 03 June 2014
The driving licence you possess is an important piece of documentation that can directly influence everything from your line of work to how much you pay for car insurance. So maintaining the integrity of your licence is paramount. Unfortunately, a gambling addict who claimed to have access to someone who could make driving licence changes recently scammed a number of people in the Greater London area.
Naser Mirza allegedly scammed a number of individuals by telling them he had a relative who could make licence changes as an employee of the DVLA. Mirza would take the documents in question, along with a cash fee, promising to return new documents with the changes affected. He was offering to do things such as remove points and obtain insurance. Instead, he took the money and documents and, essentially, disappeared.
News reports suggest Mirza was heavily in debt due to a gambling addiction. He initially borrowed money to pay off his gambling debts, but eventually had to flee the country for his own safety. His scam was only discovered after his family reported him missing. When police went to his home address, they found evidence that told the whole story.
Mirza has since been arrested and pleaded guilty to a single count of possessing items used for fraudulent purposes. He is set to be sentenced later this month. Judge Stephen Dawson said he hopes to be able to hand down a sentence that not only punishes Mirza, but also makes it possible for him to get the help he needs for his addiction.
What Mr Mirza has done clearly demonstrates how easy it is for a scam artist to convince consumers he or she is offering them a legitimate service. Moreover, while none of the licences in question was ever altered, these clearly could have been. It is entirely possible Mirza could have returned fake documents intended to make his victims believe he had delivered on his promises. They would not have known otherwise unless some circumstance arose that required a licence check.
Had one of the drivers received false documents and used them to apply for a job involving professional driving, the company in question would have no way of knowing unless it also ran a licence check. Failing to do so would put the company at liability risk in the event the driver was involved in any kind of work-related accident. The only way to avoid such liabilities is to check licences prior to hire.
Fleet Licence Check is a company specialising in providing licence check services to UK companies. We currently maintain a client portfolio including more than 50,000 vehicles and as many as 16,000 claims every year. We are one of only a handful of companies now contributing to as many as 700,000 licence checks annually.
If you own or manage a company employing professional drivers, remember that UK law requires you to ensure the safety and well-being of all your workers, as much as is reasonably possible. Also remember that the law looks at driving licence validation as a reasonable measure you can take. Do not expose yourself to liability by ignoring potential driving licence issues. Check all of your drivers before hiring them; run additional checks at least every year or so.
Source: Ilford Recorder