Cloned plate

clint427

Hi All
We have recently found out our numberplate has been cloned.
First we received a parking fine and now a speeding ticket, both up north and we are down south!
Ringing different police departments and the dvla is getting tiresome so I wondered which would be the quickest way to nip this in the bud.
Would getting a cheap personalised plate work? I’m not sure what happens to the old one.
Thanks for any advice.

Half_way

Parking fne from who?

Fruitcake

Cloned plates are not the norm. Usually the failure is with ANPR systems that misread a vehicle reg.

This may not be the case here of course and you may genuinely have had your plate cloned, but it is very unusual.

I suggest you visit a police station in person and report this and get a crime number. If this is a camera misread then no harm done, but if it is genuine then hopefully the police will be able to help you.

Have you contacted the DVLA in writing? Do you have photos of the car in question to compare identifying features such as stickers, dents, scratches, colour, even the garage supplier's name on the plate itself so that you can show this is not your car?

The_Deep

Ringing different police departments and the dvla is getting tiresome

Never use a telephone in these matters, there is no paper trail. If this gets to court judges/magistrates need paper evidence.

clint427

It has been confirmed as cloned, we requested photographic evidence from the parking fine, it shows a similar vehicle but I can tell it’s a different shade of white and the plates are plain with no garage markings.
To be fair the parking company were very good but we have a speeding fine on our doorstep this morning.
We have a crime number from the police and are about to start writing some letters this morning,the car has got a marker on it but how long does this continue as the chances of catching the other car are minimal.

The_Deep

but how long does this continue as the chances of catching the other car are minimal.

As long as it takes. Glad to see you have stopped talking to a call centre in Bangalore. .

Fruitcake

If the parking charge was from a private company then it is not a fine.

If the VRN has been flagged by the police then you may get stopped by them and will need to prove you are the legitimate keeper. Keep a copy of the crime report/number with you just in case.
Hopefully the other car will eventually be stopped with villains aboard, or found burned out somewhere.
Have you contacted the police constabulary in the area where the parking event and speeding event occurred? Is it in you area or somewhere else in the country?

I don't really know what else you can do except continue to go about your lawful business and hope it gets resolved soon.

clint427

It’s somewhere else in the country, we have contacted them but they are not much help.
Hopefully the car will get picked up soon but I doubt it.
Changing the plate is an option but you have to meet certain criteria with the dvla.

Half_way

Who isssued this parking "fine"
second time its been asked.
It's important as private parking companies can not issues fines, and some rely on autoated systems known as ANPR ( cameras)


ANPR cameras often take poor quality photos that are then digitaly manipulated so that a number plate can be recorded - this often leads to many mistkes and errors.


If it is a case of cloning, you will need to deal with this, for a speeding ticket you will need to dael with it via the usual appeals channel.


For the pakrng ticket, this all depends oon who issued it, why and where.
without knowing who issued the pakring ticket - either private or council the possibiliity of getting help is nigh on impossible

clint427

Half_way wrote: »

Who isssued this parking "fine"
second time its been asked.
It's important as private parking companies can not issues fines, and some rely on autoated systems known as ANPR ( cameras)


ANPR cameras often take poor quality photos that are then digitaly manipulated so that a number plate can be recorded - this often leads to many mistkes and errors.


If it is a case of cloning, you will need to deal with this, for a speeding ticket you will need to dael with it via the usual appeals channel.


For the pakrng ticket, this all depends oon who issued it, why and where.
without knowing who issued the pakring ticket - either private or council the possibiliity of getting help is nigh on impossible

Forget the parking ticket for a moment, my issue is the vehicle has been cloned 100% fact.
I’m aware I can just keep writing letters etc proving my innocence etc but I’ve no desire to do this and it gets slightly tedious.

Half_way

You need tostop phoning, and contact your local police - usualy online this is the West midlands site for cloned plates: https://www.west-midlands.police.uk/your-options/cloned-vehicles
you will need to find the equivalent for watever your local police force has.


The parking ticket, as mentioned it is importnt to find out who/wat issued this.
Local authorities should be pretty easy to deal with, especialy with a known cloned plate incident.
private parking companies on the other hand will be a complete pain the backside to deal with as they will just go for the registered keeper without caring about the facts, all they are bothered about is the money and they dont care who they chase to get it.


So if you forget about the parking ticket, and if its a private parking company this is roughly how it could pan out:


You get a parking charge notice in the post, you tell te pakring company your plates been cloned and it wasnt you.
They will turn down the appeal as thats wat they do - or alternativly you ignore the parking charge.


Next step you get a chase up letter

followed by a so called dedbt recovery letter, or letters
this is then followed up with court papers via the northampton county court bulk handling centre - which you ignore as this now means you will have to attend court to stave off the civil action
you thn end up with a default judgement against you for a pakring charge which you do not deserve.
if you continue to ignore you end up with a CCJ aginst you, wreckong yor credit score etc for 6 years, this will be nigh on impossble to overturn, as you would have had every chance to stop it.
even if you pay it off it will remain there blighting your creit record for 6 years (marked as satisfied)


You must deal with the cloned plate issue, but you also must deal with the crap tat spews from it


so who issued the pakring ticket?