Bought for €23,000, reported stolen

In September 2026, RTL info told the story of a Belgian buyer. It shows what can happen when everything seems to be in order.

What happened

A man buys a used car from a private seller, for €23,000. He meets the seller and looks at the vehicle’s documents. Nothing alerts him.

He pays. Then he wants to register the car in Belgium. That is when he learns that it is reported stolen in France. He sums up his situation in one sentence: “I’m paying for it and I can’t use it.”

Source: RTL info, September 2026 (translated from French). This summary sets out the facts as they were reported by the press.

Why this is possible

A theft report made in another country does not appear on the documents the seller shows you. And the buyer often discovers it at the time of registration, that is, after paying.

Vehicles that have come from abroad call for more attention. In Belgium, they accounted for 12.7% of the Car-Pass documents issued in 2025, but 37% of the odometer frauds detected.

Source: Car-Pass, annual report 2025.

What you can check yourself

• Compare the chassis number stamped on the vehicle with the one on the documents.
• Ask for the complete registration certificate and the certificate of conformity.
• Insist on the Car-Pass: it is compulsory for the sale of a used car in Belgium.
• Check that the seller really is the person whose name appears on the documents.
• Pay by bank transfer, never in cash, and not before you have checked everything.
• Be wary of a price well below the market and of a seller in a hurry.

Our comment: what NUR Label does to avoid this

This is exactly the type of situation NUR Label exists for. Here is what the protocol does, before payment:

• It looks for a theft report in the Belgian and European sources available, not only in Belgium.
• It compares the car with its papers: the identifiers read on the vehicle are checked against those on the documents.
• It checks whether a lien or a credit is still attached to the vehicle.
• It checks that the mileage and the documents tell the same story.
• It flags the import as a point to watch on the certificate.

With this verification, a vehicle reported stolen in the sources consulted appears on the certificate before purchase. The buyer knows before paying, not at the time of registration.

A Document Check costs €99. A Full Inspection, with examination of the car on site, costs €199. In this story, the mistake cost €23,000.

This comment describes the NUR Label method. It passes no judgement on the people concerned, and the result of a verification always depends on the information present in the sources at the time it is carried out.

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