Cloned Number Plates?

KatieDee

About a week ago, I received a parking charge for an area which I had never visited, at a time when I was tucked up in bed. I have appealed this charge on the grounds that it was not me. I considered that perhaps my number plate had been cloned but was advised by a fair few people that this was incredibly rare, and it was more likely a misread of my number plate.

Today I came back to yet another parking charge, for another area I have never been to (although coincidentally, is just two miles from my house). Again, I was at home at the time and can show this by Googlemaps tracking on the day (not foolproof, but still!).

The photo given in the first parking notice was very dark and unclear, so it could have been any vehicle. The only clear difference was a logo on my number plate and the positioning of the screws. On the newer parking notice, the car in photo is identical to my car but again, the number plate is different (and matches the photo in the first PCN perfectly).

Is it safe to assume my number plate has been cloned? I spoke to the police earlier who gave me an incident number and said they would make notes on the system stating that they believe it may have been cloned, but told me not to worry because "generally the people who used cloned cars don't use them for long" :eek:

I'm a bit anxious now - if the person currently driving around with my cloned plates on commits a significant crime, am I likely to be a suspect, or would the notes on the police systems be adequate? Should I speak to the DVLA tomorrow and request that my number plate is changed? And if so, is this likely to affect anything else, such as my insurance?

facade

Yes you would be a suspect- how can they tell if it was the clone or the real car?


You may get stopped if you encounter one of those rare "Police Cars"- they sometimes stop vehicles flagged as being suspected clones, make sure you have ID with you if you are the keeper, otherwise the V5.


I don't think it would affect your insurance. Normally the cloning is so the other car doesn't need to bother with tax & insurance, ( or parking/speeding fines ), but as a rule, they keep a low profile with offences, because when you start getting the tickets you will apply for a change of number, and they wouldn't know it was invalid.



Number plate cloning is very common, ( although "they" keep playing it down ), as it is ridiculously easy to find a suitable number, given a little common sense and the helpful tools the DVLA and MID provide.

KatieDee

facade wrote: »

Yes you would be a suspect- how can they tell if it was the clone or the real car?


You may get stopped if you encounter one of those rare "Police Cars"- they sometimes stop vehicles flagged as being suspected clones, make sure you have ID with you if you are the keeper, otherwise the V5.


I don't think it would affect your insurance. Normally the cloning is so the other car doesn't need to bother with tax & insurance, ( or parking/speeding fines ), but as a rule, they keep a low profile with offences, because when you start getting the tickets you will apply for a change of number, and they wouldn't know it was invalid.



Number plate cloning is very common, ( although "they" keep playing it down ), as it is ridiculously easy to find a suitable number, given a little common sense and the helpful tools the DVLA and MID provide.

Thanks Facade, this is really useful.

So frustrating how much the police down play the issue. I have a really rubbish, older car and assumed it would only be the posh newer cars targetted - the policeman I spoke to said it's the opposite.

I wouldn't say he was unhelpful as such, but he didn't really have much of a suggestion other than "hope they don't do anything else wrong". He said he didn't want to put a mark on the car because it would probably result in me getting pulled every time a police car drove past.

Unfortunately I am a bit of a worrier, so I might give the DVLA a bell tomorrow and ask about changing my number plates. So far it has been relatively easy to prove my innocence but I don't think it would be as simple with a speeding fine or worse.

Johno100

KatieDee wrote: »

s it safe to assume my number plate has been cloned?

Nope, I assume these are tickets from private parking companies using ANPR cameras? There've been plenty of similar cases on the parking sub-board and usually they turn out to be camera mis-reads rather than cloned plates.

KatieDee

Johno100 wrote: »

Nope, I assume these are tickets from private parking companies using ANPR cameras? There've been plenty of similar cases on the parking sub-board and usually they turn out to be camera mis-reads rather than cloned plates.

What, two parking tickets within a few days, identical car, different kind of number plate, all within a few miles of my house? I get how one could be a mistake in regards to ANPR cameras, but two? Am I just ridiculously unlucky?? :rotfl:

facade

KatieDee wrote: »

I have a really rubbish, older car and assumed it would only be the posh newer cars targetted - the policeman I spoke to said it's the opposite.

If it is fairly old (so a lot of its peers have been scrapped), likely someone has actually seen the car about and cloned the number on a similar car, so they will be local.


The DVLA may if they are happy that it has been cloned issue a "new" number, but they don't have to, and probably won't for a couple of parking tickets.



You can buy a "Personalised" number from the DVLA for £250, these are less likely to be cloned as they stand out a bit. Then you can transfer it to your next car for £80 (Actually, you pay £80 to remove it before you sell it and can then put it on another car whenever you like)

KatieDee

I spoke to the DVLA for some further guidance and they told me to write into them, explaining the situation, and they would put a note on their files to state the plates "may" have been cloned. I asked about the process of changing plates, whether the DVLA would assist with this or if I had to do it myself and she said I should write in first, at which point somebody at the DVLA would provide an alternative address.

I explained that I had received two parking notices in a week, which I have spent a number of hours appealing, and I didn't want to leave it to chance that it wouldn't happen again. She eventually relented and provided me with another address, stressing that it was at their discretion whether they offered new plates.

It's the strangest thing. Somebody has committed a crime, cloned my plates (or purchased cloned plates) and is driving around on an uninsured, possibly untaxed vehicle. Anything that happens is entirely down to me to prove my innocence, while they're able to continue doing this as there is literally no way to catch them in the act. The police don't want to know, despite telling me how common it is becoming, and the DVLA aren't interested and are making active attempts to avoid changing plates.

Incredibly frustrating all round. Crime obviously pays.

Car_54

KatieDee wrote: »

It's the strangest thing. Somebody has committed a crime, cloned my plates (or purchased cloned plates) and is driving around on an uninsured, possibly untaxed vehicle.

Not necessarily.

Annie35

We've had this very recently on an old car that was in pound just hadn't got it's destruction cert registered yet.

Assume the plate was poached off it's eBay listing as it got a parking ticket other end of country.

Police couldn't care less. It had been taxed & insured. It got it's death cert next day!

Tbh I think it is rare, as years in the industry 1st time it's ever happened here .... but it does obviously happen.

consumers_revenge

K reg carlton - 2004 it was happening.


seen twice in London whilst it was parked in a car park in Bristol with 50+ people in with me.


Eventually, after numerous phone calls and letters, told by the DLVA that they would make a note and I should also to report it to the police.


Lady officer on desk really couldn't have cared less. I pointed out that its ok if used in a hit and run then etc. Pretended to show some interest.


I did have a letter from the DVLA registering that they could have been cloned so never worried about it anymore and it stopped after a few months.

marlot

I'm surprised that cloning doesn't happen more.


Find a car the same make/model as yours. Clone the plates. Check online that the original car is taxed, MOTd and insured from time to time. The chance of being pulled over must be very low.