Cloned Plate - Congestion Charge
Discussion
Hi,
Today I received a Congestion Charge notice, for failing to pay the daily charge. The only problem being, that the car that has the registration only recently required it (after having a Cherished Plate removed), and has been sitting on my driveway, untaxed, with the old numberplate still fitted, for the last month and as such certainly hasn't been anywhere near the Congestion Zone.
I can see the onus is going to be on me to prove that it actually wasn't me or my car in the area. Are these things fairly straight-forward, or (as I suspect) is it hard work proving your innocence (as obviously I'm guilty, for daring to drive my car!
)??
-andy-
Today I received a Congestion Charge notice, for failing to pay the daily charge. The only problem being, that the car that has the registration only recently required it (after having a Cherished Plate removed), and has been sitting on my driveway, untaxed, with the old numberplate still fitted, for the last month and as such certainly hasn't been anywhere near the Congestion Zone.
I can see the onus is going to be on me to prove that it actually wasn't me or my car in the area. Are these things fairly straight-forward, or (as I suspect) is it hard work proving your innocence (as obviously I'm guilty, for daring to drive my car!
)?? -andy-
tvrgit said:
I understand that in the first few weeks of the London congestion charge, a charging penalty notice was sent to an owner of a car museum collection (can't remember who) - the car in question hadn't turned a wheel since 1970-something...
That'll be: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2803699.stm
Looks like you might want to ask for the photos ...
It sounds like you might have been cloned by somebody using a random plate. I *think* that when you remove a cherished registration the car reverts to it's old number (can anybody confirm?), therefore it is unlikely that the car has been "cloned" as such and the photgraphs won't match your vehicle.
Firstly I would write back basically stating all of this (especially that the car has been was on different plates on your driveway at the time) and requesting they check whether or not the car matches the make/model/colour recorded by the DVLA.
If it does you have a bit more trouble, although a statement from somebody else stating that you/the car were nowhere near London on that date might satisfy then.
Gareth
Firstly I would write back basically stating all of this (especially that the car has been was on different plates on your driveway at the time) and requesting they check whether or not the car matches the make/model/colour recorded by the DVLA.
If it does you have a bit more trouble, although a statement from somebody else stating that you/the car were nowhere near London on that date might satisfy then.
Gareth
This happened to a friend of mine, it took him a lot of hassle and a fat folder of docs / pics to prove it. In the end he bought a cherished plate.
1. Tell the police immediately
2. Ask for the pictures, hopefully the guilty car will be a different model. If not look for small differences (My friend noticed that the cloned car had a slightly different badge)
1. Tell the police immediately
2. Ask for the pictures, hopefully the guilty car will be a different model. If not look for small differences (My friend noticed that the cloned car had a slightly different badge)
Slightly different, but about a year ago some w*****r cloned my wifes number plate and put it on an exact same make/model/colour car and then used it a drive-by shooting which resulted in murder. Try explaining that one! It was only the fact that my brother-in-law is a BIB and saw the info on the computer and told CID they must be wrong; that myself and family (3 young children) were not subjected to a raid by the firearms squad.They stil came round, but not in numbers, and were only really satisfied when there was no damage to our car(the other car got sideswiped in the chase).My question is, where did they get the number from? Our car had never been near the city involved and we live down a dead end lane in the countryside - no passing traffic.
We have now had two on our fleet which have been cloned, and for a time there was suspicion that my own vehicle had been similarly affected.
The other two resulted in the innocent keepers being hauled out of their scratchers at dawn by the "robbery" squad.
When mine was suspected of being cloned it was discussed with relevant authorities. In the end we decided not to put a PNC marker on it as that would have resulted in endless pulls. Seems to have been the right decision, but the point is that there is dated/timed discussion about this on record.... hopefully.
The other two resulted in the innocent keepers being hauled out of their scratchers at dawn by the "robbery" squad.
When mine was suspected of being cloned it was discussed with relevant authorities. In the end we decided not to put a PNC marker on it as that would have resulted in endless pulls. Seems to have been the right decision, but the point is that there is dated/timed discussion about this on record.... hopefully.
Oh dear, I'm afraid that I have recent experience of this and it turned out to be an absolute PIA. I'm afraid the onus is in you to prove your innocence on every wrongly issued ticket - which in my case turned out to be 30-odd speeding, bus lane and congestion fines, all within Central London...
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=23&h=&t=110290
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=23&h=&t=110290
g_attrill said:
It sounds like you might have been cloned by somebody using a random plate. I *think* that when you remove a cherished registration the car reverts to it's old number (can anybody confirm?), therefore it is unlikely that the car has been "cloned" as such and the photgraphs won't match your vehicle.
If you take a cherished plate off the DVLA assign a new age-related mark - not the old one.
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