Woman who had her £30k Lexus UX stolen from her driveway in London claims Metropolitan Police told her to 'go and pick it up herself' after she tracked it down

• Alexandra Vlad, 32, tracked down her stolen Lexus UV in Hackney using an app 
• Have YOU had to take action yourself after a car theft? Email [email protected]

A woman who tracked down her stolen £30k car using an app claims she was forced to retrieve it herself after police told her to go to the car’s location and officers would ‘meet her there’.

Alexandra Vlad woke on the morning of February 6 to find her Lexus UX gone from her drive in Newham, East London.

She immediately checked a tracking app on her phone and discovered the last location in Hackney – around six miles away.

Ms Vlad, 32, then called police and gave them the information – but alleges she was then told to go there to get the car herself.

She says the whole ordeal made her feel ‘unsafe’.

Alexandra Vlad, 32, awoke on February 6 to find her Lexus UX gone from her drive in Newham, East London. After tracking the car’s location using an app, she says the Met Police told her to go to the location herself

Ms Vlad used a tracking app to find the location of her stolen Lexus UV – which turned out to be six miles away in Hackney. She says police instructed her to visit the location herself

READ MORE: POLICE FAILED TO SOLVE THREE OUR OF FOUR CAR THEFTS LAST YEAR 

Ms Vlad, who works in corporate finance, said: ‘I was more shaken by the experience of dealing with the police than the car being stolen itself.

‘I told them what happened, and that I could see the last location of the engine.

‘They told me they wouldn’t be there for at least an hour. It was a dodgy part of Hackney. I felt unsafe.’

Ms Vlad says the police advised her to go and see if her car was parked but told her not to approach if someone was in it, and to call them when she was there.

She believes they put her in a dangerous position, and says they showed little regard for her safety.

When she arrived at the scene, her car was parked up.

She said: ‘I called them and told them it was there – they said that’s great! Is it running?’

Ms Vlad, who is originally from Romania, decided to take matters into her own hands and approached the car.

She found it totally empty – with no petrol left and lights on the dashboard flashing.

She said: ‘I had no idea what I’d find inside. Drugs? A dead body?

‘The police just told me to go to a garage. It was really unhelpful – it made me more anxious.’

The attempted removal of the tracker from the Lexus UX, pictured by Ms Vlad after she retrieved her vehicle

Ms Vlad is speaking out as she is unhappy with her treatment by a public body.

She said: ‘I was baffled. You pay taxes to pay for police – just to leave it to us to sort out. What are we even paying for?’

The Metropolitan Police said: ‘On Tuesday, 6 February we received a report that a car had been stolen from outside a house in E13.

‘The owner later contacted us to say she had traced the car and collected it.

‘Enquiries continue.’

• Have YOU had to take action yourself after a car theft? Email [email protected]

Read more