A KwaZulu-Natal man whose R1 million VW Amarok was stolen at a dealership, is still fighting to get his vehicle replaced.
Darrel Shanmugam, from Phoenix, had taken his pre-owned Amarok Aventura 3.0 TDI to the Edwin Swales branch of Barons VW in Durban on September 20, 2024, just a month after purchasing it.
The car was taken to the dealership for dashboard light repairs.
The 32-year-old said his vehicle was stolen on October 28, 2024, the same day he had gone to fetch it.
On the day, Shanmugam said he was taken to an office and shown security footage of two men entering the premises. “The men walked past everything and everyone, including the security guard. They went straight to the service department and directly to my van parked at the wash bay,” he said.
According to Shanmugam, the keys were in the ignition, allowing the men to enter and drive off past security without question. “These were strangers, yet they came in broad daylight and left without anyone saying anything. This was an inside job—how did they know my car was ready?” he asked at the time.
Speaking to IOL during a follow up, Shanmugam said he had reliable information indicating that the dealership was involved in the disappearance of his car.
"A police officer who knows about my case called me and we had a meeting. During this meeting, I managed to speak to the previous owner of the vehicle and he gave me the tracking company information and advised me to call them, when I called the tracking company, I learned that when the car was sold, it still had a tracker. The compnay told me that the tracker stopped working on October 14, meaning it stopped when the vehicle was at the dealership," he said.
"I've always known that the dealership is involved. How did someone know that my car was ready to be picked up and came the same day I had to fetch it?" he asked.
"The people didn't even struggle, they got into my van and just drove off, clearly they were working with someone inside the dealership," he said.
He said he hired a lawyer to assist him to get a footage showing the vehicle being stolen.
In a series of emails between Shanmugam’s legal representative and the dealership attorneys, the dealership asked Shanmugam to provide proof of ownership of the vehicle, clarity on why his vehicle was not fitted with registration plates, clarity on why his vehicle was not insured, confirmation that his vehicle had not tracking device and reasons why it was not active.
The attorneys further wanted proof of where the vehicle was purchased and the purchase price paid.
“Upon receipt of the documents.... we shall take instructions from our client and revert more fully,” read the email.
In response to the demands made by the dealership, Shanmugam’s legal representative, said requesting the documents won’t absolve the dealership from liability regarding the loss of the car.
“Our client’s vehicle had been at your client’s premises for a period of over a month yet at no stage were such further particulars were requested. In any event, we advise you to peruse the job card handed to our client by your client’s service advisor to seek the necessary information,” read the email.
The dealership replied by insisting that it was important for Shanmugam to provide the documents and reasons why the car was not insured.
"The information sought is not controversial not privileged and could hasten an amicable criminal investigation by the South African Police Service (SAPS) and we are in the process of providing same to the authorities. Our client will only release the CCTV footage as directed by the investigating officer," said the dealership through its lawyers.
Shanmugam’s legal representative replied to the dealership saying since the car was stolen, SAPS has never made contact with Shanmugam.
"If it transpires that further information is required from our client for the purposes of investigations, the SAPS is well aware of its capability to do the necessary to acquire such information. We do not envisage that SAPS would seek the services of an attorney to perform its investigation role," said Shanmugam’s legal representative.
Meanwhile, NMI Insurance legal advisor, Pieter Smit, confirmed that they were aware of Shanmugam vehicle theft.
“This is certainly a regrettable incident which we do take very seriously, the circumstances pertaining to which are currently under investigation,” he said.
Smit said they were currently working with the South African Police Service, “our insurers, third party service providers and we are liaising with Shanmugam’s attorneys with a view to trying to resolve the matter.”
“We cannot comment any further at this stage whilst the investigation is under way,” he added.
IOL