Car cloned - anything we should do?
Discussion
A member of my family appears to have had her car number plates cloned.
The first indication of this was when she received a Bus lane infringement ticket from a Council about 10 miles away (she's never been to that town). The second indication was when her Insurance company phoned her up, asking her to provide details of the "accident she had been in", which she hadn't.
Her car was recently up for sale on Autotrader so I'm guessing that's where they got the details from. She's told the Council and her InsCo that it wasn't her. She's also reported it to the Police. is there anything else she can do to try and stop this from continuing?
The first indication of this was when she received a Bus lane infringement ticket from a Council about 10 miles away (she's never been to that town). The second indication was when her Insurance company phoned her up, asking her to provide details of the "accident she had been in", which she hadn't.
Her car was recently up for sale on Autotrader so I'm guessing that's where they got the details from. She's told the Council and her InsCo that it wasn't her. She's also reported it to the Police. is there anything else she can do to try and stop this from continuing?
Countdown said:
Thanks for that suggestion.
Apparently the Bus Lane camera only showed the number plate and grille of the car. You couldn't even tell what make the car was
She's still hoping to sell it but it's a good suggestion in the mean time.
Had the same thing when selling - don’t pay any fine no matter how small (mine was a £2.50 dart charge) as you’re effectively admitting to the offence and if there is a subsequent matter (used in a robbery or an accident in this case) you are putting yourself in the line of fire. Apparently the Bus Lane camera only showed the number plate and grille of the car. You couldn't even tell what make the car was
She's still hoping to sell it but it's a good suggestion in the mean time.
Log it with the police, give the reference number to your insurer, take loads of photos of the car from every angle in case you sell it , etc etc
As said already, make her car distinctive from any potential cloned cars. 'GB' or even a Pistonheads sticker in the rear window perhaps 
It's an easy crime to commit I suppose, and one commonly committed amongst those in the travelling community... In my case, someone had an identical car to mine and came across mine on Autotrader. They had some identical plates made up, no doubt with one of the 'novelty plates' sellers on ebay etc., and had a couple of free tanks of fuel and some trips around London without paying the Congestion Charge. Thankfully, I was able to prove with the help of CCTV that the car was parked on my drive when each offence was committed.
At least if the genuine vehicle is distinctive in some way then she can prove to the police with great certainty that it has been cloned.
It's an easy crime to commit I suppose, and one commonly committed amongst those in the travelling community... In my case, someone had an identical car to mine and came across mine on Autotrader. They had some identical plates made up, no doubt with one of the 'novelty plates' sellers on ebay etc., and had a couple of free tanks of fuel and some trips around London without paying the Congestion Charge. Thankfully, I was able to prove with the help of CCTV that the car was parked on my drive when each offence was committed.
At least if the genuine vehicle is distinctive in some way then she can prove to the police with great certainty that it has been cloned.
Hammer67 said:
Buy the cheapest private plate you can find and transfer it to the car.
I see the logic behind this but it's still what, £250 for a plate and all the retention stuff? A few hundred quid is too much to pay for this type of crime for me, especially when it's absolutely not your fault. RazerSauber said:
Hammer67 said:
Buy the cheapest private plate you can find and transfer it to the car.
I see the logic behind this but it's still what, £250 for a plate and all the retention stuff? A few hundred quid is too much to pay for this type of crime for me, especially when it's absolutely not your fault. As above, just use a sticker or similar to make your car easily identifiable in ANPR images. Even if you don't it's not particularly hard to see when a car is cloned for someone who knows what they're doing but a small sticker or similar at both ends would at least assist with those who don't for example the bus lane infringement or things dealt with by the council which may take longer for them to accept the clone.
I wouldn't bother with the expense of a personal plate. It costs more and is easier to replicate by the offender on the off chance it's been cloned by someone walking by and not from the Autotrader add, which is plausible given the bus lane infringement is from only 10 miles away.
Have you informed the old bill?
I wouldn't bother with the expense of a personal plate. It costs more and is easier to replicate by the offender on the off chance it's been cloned by someone walking by and not from the Autotrader add, which is plausible given the bus lane infringement is from only 10 miles away.
Have you informed the old bill?
BertBert said:
Are you sure?
Here was my situation:- I receive a £2.50 fine (if paid within x time) or otherwise it was I think £200 fine.
- After being really annoyed I thought, is it worth the hassle, should I just pay it?
but then I thought......
What if the car then got caught speeding 10 minutes later at 100mph. I've just admitted to being a few miles down the road by paying the fine. How can you then claim you aren't driving?
In the end, I:
- Reported it to the police
- Provided DART with the police number (they were actually alright didn't hear any more from them)
- Took a print out of my calendar at work (as it happens, I was actually in an interview at the moment the car went through which was well documented formally)
- Took a print out of all of my security clearances at work (scanning in and out of the building etc that showed I was on site.)
- I even managed to get a couple of CCTV print outs from work showing my car coming into the car park that morning (making it physically impossible that I was 120 miles away an hour later).
Properly overboard I'd be the first to admit but I was really worried the car was involved in a crime or something so whilst the information was all there, I took it - I just kept it just in case, didn't cost me anything.
I also took a photo of my number plate which compared to the one in the picture was aligned more centrally, the cloned one was off centre. I did provide that to the police contact I was assigned who was actually quite effective.
sebdangerfield said:
As above, just use a sticker or similar to make your car easily identifiable in ANPR images. Even if you don't it's not particularly hard to see when a car is cloned for someone who knows what they're doing but a small sticker or similar at both ends would at least assist with those who don't for example the bus lane infringement or things dealt with by the council which may take longer for them to accept the clone.
I wouldn't bother with the expense of a personal plate. It costs more and is easier to replicate by the offender on the off chance it's been cloned by someone walking by and not from the Autotrader add, which is plausible given the bus lane infringement is from only 10 miles away.
Have you informed the old bill?
Old Bill informed - small sticker now added.I wouldn't bother with the expense of a personal plate. It costs more and is easier to replicate by the offender on the off chance it's been cloned by someone walking by and not from the Autotrader add, which is plausible given the bus lane infringement is from only 10 miles away.
Have you informed the old bill?
joropug said:
- I even managed to get a couple of CCTV print outs from work showing my car coming into the car park that morning (making it physically impossible that I was 120 miles away an hour later).
I mean this is Pistonheads, so I assume you have some sort of Supercharged Jag, of course it is possible. 
Tyre Smoke said:
What proof is the window sticker?
Get pinged in your genuine car in a bus lane, go home stick a PH sticker in the window.
No Guv, wasn't me, my car has a distinctive sticker in the window. Must be a clone.
Won't wash 99.9% of the time, I reckon.
Ive just remembered she does have CCTV covering the car port....I'm pretty sure it records but not sure how long it retains it for.Get pinged in your genuine car in a bus lane, go home stick a PH sticker in the window.
No Guv, wasn't me, my car has a distinctive sticker in the window. Must be a clone.
Won't wash 99.9% of the time, I reckon.
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