The previous owner hadn't neglected them I don't think. Only two of the wheels were kerbed, once each, maybe it didn't get washed often enough in the winter.
I took the car to my local VW dealer at first to ask if the unkerbed wheels would be covered under warranty as the car is still under 3 years old and I was told the previous owner must have had "rim protectors" on the wheels and this caused the flaking lacquer.
To be honest I knew I would probably get fobbed off by the VW dealer because they didn't sell the car originally and I'd bought it privately.