ICBC staff bought repaired vehicles at rigged auctions

At least 22 of the 98 wrecked vehicles repaired at the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia's Burnaby facility were bought by ICBC managers at rigged auctions, an internal investigation has revealed.

ICBC spokesman Doug Henderson said Tuesday that the Crown corporation's investigation determined that proper policies and procedures were not in place to govern the sale and repair of vehicles.

"Employees are no longer able to purchase salvaged vehicles whether it be directly or indirectly from ICBC," he said.

When repaired cars or trucks were sold at auction, Henderson said an ICBC staff member, working with a vehicle broker, would ensure they were given the final bid on certain cars to outbid any other prospective buyer.

"They wouldn't know the final bid. They would just be able to guarantee to put in a final bid $100 more than that final bid," he said.

In February, the Crown corporation closed its Burnaby training and research facility when it was learned that repaired vehicles were being sold without full disclosure of their accident history. The facility was closed until an investigation could be carried out.

Some of the vehicles were sold to owners who were not provided with accident histories of the vehicles. Since closing the Burnaby facility, ICBC has called everyone who bought one of the salvaged cars or trucks, offering to buy them back or to have full disclosure of the vehicle's history, Henderson said.

ICBC refused comment on reports that at least three managers were fired over the scandal, but said PricewaterhouseCoopers is auditing the research centre's activities and the findings will eventually be made public.

Newly-appointed Solicitor General John van Dongen, who's responsible for ICBC, confirmed Tuesday that the government plans to look into the ICBC scandal.

"I haven't had a chance to be briefed on any of the issues, but we'll be doing that as soon as possible," he said.