I’ve been issued a ULEZ penalty discover, however my plates have been cloned
- Thomas Fryer paid £708 to a debt assortment agency when threatened with bailiffs
- Criminals copy legit license plates, utilizing them to drive comparable automobile fashions
Our son has had a letter from a debt assortment firm saying he has an excellent penalty discover from Transport for London for non-payment of Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) costs.
He hasn’t been to London, and whereas the automobile within the picture seems much like his and has the identical quantity plate, it’s a totally different automobile. The image is of a silver saloon, whereas he has an property, and the automobile has a sunroof whereas his doesn’t.
Thomas bought the automobile in July 2023, and the supposed offence occurred in June 2023. He marketed the automobile on AutoTrader, displaying the quantity plate, and I believe somebody has discovered his particulars and copied his quantity plate.
He moved home and has solely simply been made conscious of the difficulty. It has gone to court docket and bailiffs had been as a consequence of go to. He and his spouse had been each very fearful concerning the letter they obtained, so that they paid £708 to the debt assortment firm.
What can he do to get his a refund? Ok.F and T.F, Preston
Key distinction: Thomas Fryer’s automobile is an property mannequin, whereas the automobile captured by ULEX cameras was a saloon
Harvey Dorset of This is Money replies: Since the introduction of ULEZ costs in 2019, quantity plate cloning has been on the rise.
Unsurprisingly, the tide of costs has additionally given rise to a minority of people that will do something to keep away from paying their approach, even when it means throwing anyone else beneath the bus.
According to the DVLA, greater than 12,000 drivers obtained fines, penalties or letters as a consequence of different automobiles displaying their registration between January 2021 and September 2022.
Criminals copy legit license plates, utilizing them to drive comparable fashions of automobile – typically stolen or getting used for legal exercise – to be able to keep away from congestion costs, automobile parking costs and dashing tickets.
When the automobiles are caught on digital camera, fastened penalty notices are posted to the tackle of the harmless proprietor of the unique automobile, typically leaving them lots of of kilos out of pocket or dealing with a go to from the bailiffs.
In the case of your son, he paid the penalty discover somewhat than danger coping with bailiffs despatched by a debt assortment firm, regardless that he knew he had by no means pushed his automobile the 200-mile journey to London, from the place he lives in Preston.
Similarity: Criminals search for comparable automobile fashions to be able to get away with parking costs, dashing tickets and ULEZ penalties – however there are some small variations between the automobile that Thomas owns and the one which was captured on digital camera
In truth, Thomas instructed This is Money that not solely has he by no means pushed the automobile in query to London, however he additionally hasn’t even visited the capital up to now seven years.
I received in contact with Transport for London, which administrates the ULEZ cost, to indicate it the proof you had despatched me and ask if it might repay your cash.
I’m happy to listen to that it has now issued you a full £708 refund after concluding that you weren’t the driving force violating ULEZ guidelines.
However, plate cloning stays a rising problem, and increasingly more individuals are falling sufferer to this crime yearly.
A TfL spokesman stated: ‘We’re sorry that Mr Fryer has been a sufferer of car cloning.
‘Unfortunately, as we didn’t obtain a illustration with proof of cloning from Mr Fryer inside the required time frames, the case progressed to an enforcement agent.
‘When Mr Fryer did contact us, he was suggested to file an Out of Time Statutory Declaration with the Traffic Enforcement Centre.’
‘Having reviewed the case, we’re glad that it’s a cloned automobile and have cancelled each PCNs and issued a full refund to Mr Fryer.’
Don’t put up on-line
Avoid posting photographs of your automobile on-line that can be utilized to establish it.
Bryn Brooker, head of street security at dashboard digital camera firm Nextbase, says: ‘Putting an image of your automobile on-line along with your license plate quantity in view make it far simpler for criminals to repeat your license plate quantity, as they usually attempt to match plates to precise fashions and makes.
‘Make positive you obscure your license plate quantity or go away it out of the image when posting any photographs of your automobile on-line.’
Small measures: Bryn Brooker says including identifiable options to your automobile can assist you keep away from paying another person’s nice
Customise your automobile
You do not want headlight eyelashes or neon lights adorning your automobile – however including identifiers could make your license plate harder to clone.
Brooker suggests including a rustic flag or different authorized badge, which can make it barely tougher on your plate to be cloned precisely.
‘Make positive to take a photograph of your automobile with the additional element plate instantly so you’ll be able to show you have not added it on to keep away from the nice,’ he says.
‘A small however clearly seen sticker in your decrease windscreen may assist you to to distinguish your automobile from anybody who spoofs it and is caught by a pace or congestion cost digital camera.’
Invest in a dashcam
Apart from the opposite advantages {that a} sprint cam would possibly supply, similar to defending you towards insurance coverage claims and deterring theft, they may also be used to show that your automobile has been cloned.
‘Dash cams timestamp their footage, providing you one other simple option to show that you simply weren’t anyplace close to a pace digital camera or crash that occurred with a spoofed plate,’ Brooker says.
‘It is also extraordinarily helpful if somebody tries to truly steal your plates or comes close to your automobile – as it would begin filming the second the automobile is knocked or somebody will get too shut.’
