Leasing fraud

Need professional help with suspected leasing fraud?

Because you want to …

get systematic defaulters quickly.
locate and/or recover missing lease vehicles.
proceed with immediate debt collection (for which we are actually licensed).

Buytaert & Partners is committed to eliminating your last doubts and providing immediately deployable and legally usable evidence.

Tackle leasing fraud effectively

As you know, leasing fraud is pure contract fraud where one of the parties does not comply with contractual obligations. The longer this drags on, the more financial damage your company suffers. So it’s important to address these issues effectively.

The most common forms of leasing fraud are:

Non-payment: customers fail to or are unable to meet their monthly leasing payments. They also no longer respond to your contact attempts.
Breach of trust and vehicle theft: customers sell their leased vehicle before the contract ends. This only comes to light when it is too late, and often the vehicle turns out to be missing as well.
Identity fraud: fraudulent individuals rent a lease vehicle with stolen identity details, do not pay the monthly fees, and vanish.

Leasing fraud cases are not limited to cars. Agricultural vehicles, excavators, forklifts, fitness equipment, mobile phones, laptops, PCs, etc. are also subjects of leasing contracts. A thorough investigation is required as soon as something goes wrong on the client’s side.

Investigation into leasing fraud: is it allowed?

Of course, you may investigate leasing fraud, as long as you adhere to the law. Ensure you take no actions that violate privacy legislation or the provisions of the lease agreement.

If you suspect leasing fraud, you may proceed based on all available elements from the client’s file: name, address, email, phone, etc. Try to approach the client and resolve the issue. In the best case scenario, you receive a response and come to a resolution together.

Recovery of a lease vehicle is legally much more challenging (once you know where the car is located). For example, you cannot simply pick up a vehicle yourself, especially when it is on private property. This is considered trespassing and is therefore punishable.

Why hire a detective agency?

Leasing fraud cases are unique and typically require a lot of time and energy:

Time your team may not have in abundance? Our private detectives are available 24/7 to go on-site, conduct neighborhood inquiries, dig deeper … until they find exactly what you are looking for.
We are licensed by the Federal Public Service Economy “Amicable Debt Collection”. Our experts may immediately collect debts or recover a vehicle, as long as no deliberate fraud has been committed.
As a professional investigation partner, we are also an objective intermediary who approaches your customer. We conduct a legally correct and thorough investigation that leads to a constructive solution.

Tracking the true course of leasing fraud is extremely time-consuming for your internal department. Buytaert & Partners is expert in digging deeper and licensed for direct debt recovery. Eliminate arrears & malpractices.

Investigation into leasing fraud: what and how?

1. Initial Consultation

Email or call us completely free of obligation to present your leasing fraud case to us. Together with you and your Accounts Receivable Management team, we’ll discuss how Buytaert & Partners can work complementarily to your services. After this conversation, you decide whether to proceed with us.

2. Leasing Fraud Investigation

An investigation into leasing fraud always starts with contacting your customer in a low-threshold manner.

If phone calls, emails, or site visits do not yield the desired information, we proceed with neighborhood investigation, observations, follow-ups, … Our private detectives have all the knowledge and skills to uncover the truth.

Each day, we provide you with a detailed daily report with supporting evidence (photos, videos, interviews, etc.) and a clear summary of the costs incurred, so that you can easily recover them. At the end of the assignment, a final report follows. All reports are legally usable.

3. End of Assignment

When the investigation is precisely completed depends on the circumstances. Sometimes the reason for the alleged fraud is quickly uncovered. Sometimes it turns out to be a misunderstanding that is swiftly rectified by the client. If a leased vehicle is missing, the investigation generally takes longer.

We cannot guarantee immediate success, but we commit to a best-efforts obligation. As our client, you remain closely involved in the investigation.

That's why you choose Buytaert & Partners, experienced private detectives

30+ Years of combined experience

Our detective agency is a highly trained team of experienced professionals who immerse themselves in your case.

Legal expertise

With a Master’s in Law and Criminology, we demonstrate our added value in legal cases.

Personal & client-oriented

Before, during, and after: your private detective is always approachable. The intake conversation is free and without obligation.

Total transparency

From start to finish, you know exactly where you stand. No surprises with us. We keep you updated.

What does research into leasing fraud yield?

An anonymous selection from our cases …

Case 1

Our detective services were called upon for default on a lease car. After investigation, it turned out the couple had meanwhile divorced. The man had received a restraining and contact order, while the woman had gathered all the leasing invoices (in her ex-husband’s name) unopened in a drawer. Not conscious fraud, but a clear case of negligence that could be quickly rectified.

Case 2

A construction company had a lease for an excavator but was no longer paying. Our private detective conducted a site visit and heard a story of bad luck and adversity. Due to a series of events (slow-paying clients, extreme rainy weather, and illness), the small company was barely keeping its head above water. The lease was terminated, and an arrangement was made for the debts.

Case 3

Our agency was engaged to support a major case regarding identity fraud. It turned out to be a drug dealer who had leased the car with a stolen ID card and had attached false license plates to it. The vehicle had been signaled for some time, and through the chassis number, we were still able to locate the vehicle. The car was towed away and returned to our client. Leasing case resolved.

Frequently asked questions about leasing fraud investigation

How long do leasing fraud investigations typically take?

The duration of an investigation depends on the complexity of the case and the amount of available information. For complex cases, it can take several weeks to months to gather sufficient evidence. This time is also necessary to ensure thorough and precise work.

Good collaboration and smooth communication enhance the investigation process. We work efficiently until a solution is found, but you can decide to terminate the investigation at any time.

How will the privacy of the parties involved be ensured?

Private detectives are first and foremost bound by a duty of discretion, meaning only you as the client are informed about the case. All data is handled confidentially and used solely for the purposes of the investigation. Additionally, all investigation methods are legal. We do not violate the privacy of the individuals involved.

What documents do you provide to prove the leasing fraud?

According to the Private Detective Act, we are required to create detailed investigation reports supported by various pieces of evidence, such as photos, video recordings, witness statements, written or digital correspondence, etc. Everything that is relevant to prove the alleged leasing fraud. All evidence is obtained legally, is admissible in court, and is therefore perfectly usable in legal proceedings.

What does a leasing fraud investigation cost?

Buytaert & Partners operates with fixed hourly and mileage rates. No additional costs or flat fees. This ensures that you, as a client, always know what to expect. We highly value transparency and open communication. Read more about our approach as a detective agency.

What other detection services do you provide?

In addition to leasing fraud, we also investigate workplace theft, sickness absence, non-competition clauses, and illicit work. We also support individuals and lawyers.

Engage these private detectives to investigate your leasing cases in a discreet, transparent, and results-oriented manner?