Tiger Wheel & Tyre acknowledges, with regret, a recent incident at one of its service centres, where a vehicle was fraudulently collected by an unauthorised individual posing as collecting said vehicle on behalf of the owner.
“We understand and share the concerns this has raised among our customers and the broader community. We are working closely with the South African Police Service (SAPS) to investigate this matter thoroughly.
“Our company has stringent security protocols in place, designed to protect our customers’ vehicles and ensure their safe return using state of the art technologies. However, any security protocol is only as secure as its weakest link, and in this case due to human error or oversight, these protocols were regrettably not followed on this occasion. We take this extremely seriously and have and continue to further reinforce our security protocols across all locations nationwide to minimise the risk of similar incidents occurring in the future.
“In support of the police investigation, we are currently reviewing all call & video recordings and related records in the hope that this data may assist in identifying the individual /s responsible. To protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation, we cannot presently share specific details in this regard.
“We also acknowledge the public’s concerns regarding the possibility of an “inside job” contributing to this incident as suggested on some media and digital platforms. At this stage, we cannot and do not rule out any factor, and our investigation is considering all possibilities to establish the full scope of what occurred.
“Above all, we want to make the point crystal clear – Tiger Wheel & Tyre stands firmly behind our customers and their interests. We are 100 percent committed to supporting the customer affected by this unfortunate event and to ensuring they are not further disadvantaged by this incident.
The senior leadership of TiAuto Investments commented: “As part of a broader warning to other fitment centres, automotive dealers, car washes, and automotive businesses, we strongly urge heightened vigilance at this time. While this is certainly not the first such incident of which we are aware to affect our and other companies, we have become aware that it is part of a concerning trend impacting numerous automotive businesses and their customers in South Africa. We urge our industry colleagues to reinforce their own security protocols to prevent similar incidents and protect their customers’ interests.”
Tiger Wheel & Tyre says it remains committed to transparency and to upholding the highest standards of security and customer service. We will continue to work diligently with the SAPS and other stakeholders to ensure the safety of our customers and their interests.
We remain hopeful that the SAPS will do its work diligently to bring the perpetrators to book swiftly, and that the Justice system will act with purpose.
