Cloned Plate - Splash and dash - Solicitor letter arrived
Discussion
So it looks like some scrote has cloned the plate on my motorbike and performed a splash and dash at a petrol station 500 miles away from me in London.
I've received a letter from QDR solicitors demanding payment within one week. Letter is dated 16th Feb and I only returned home from work today on the 27th.
Several items prove my innocence in this regard. Firstly that I wouldn't have been able to fit £56 worth of petrol in my bikes tank, secondly i was under self isolation at home and thirdly it's 500 bloomin miles away.
I don't want this to impact credit scores or anything like that so when I phone them Monday is there anything I need to be further armed with in order to ensure this gets dealt with quickly?
I've received a letter from QDR solicitors demanding payment within one week. Letter is dated 16th Feb and I only returned home from work today on the 27th.
Several items prove my innocence in this regard. Firstly that I wouldn't have been able to fit £56 worth of petrol in my bikes tank, secondly i was under self isolation at home and thirdly it's 500 bloomin miles away.
I don't want this to impact credit scores or anything like that so when I phone them Monday is there anything I need to be further armed with in order to ensure this gets dealt with quickly?
QDR are a firm that almost exclusively deal with private parking ticket “debt”. I assume they’re therefore also dealing with ANPR “penalties” for petrol station drive-offs. Not sure they’re going to be particularly easy to deal with.
I would contact the Police first and foremost and report the potential cloning.
I would contact the Police first and foremost and report the potential cloning.
British Oil Security Syndicate operate the cameras, rather than the petrol station, as I thought.
https://bossuk.org/
https://bossuk.org/
Toaster Pilot said:
British Oil Security Syndicate operate the cameras, rather than the petrol station, as I thought.
https://bossuk.org/
Dont think they do - they merely chase debt on behalf of the garages for a cut of the takings. I used to deal with them regularlyhttps://bossuk.org/
Don’t pay yet. Contact them for more details of cctv in particular.
Why the different sums too? £56 fuel but £74 total?
Ask them why.
If they have traced you via DVLA using the reg plate then ask for confirmation of cctv matching your bike to the vehicle that cctv shows.
My guess is a misread of the plate. The solicitors don’t mention vehicle details at all. Getting you to pay would be an easy option for them based on a misread plate. There are enough potential holes in their claim for you to contest with your proof of not being there plys the £56 sum for a small tank bike!
Why the different sums too? £56 fuel but £74 total?
Ask them why.
If they have traced you via DVLA using the reg plate then ask for confirmation of cctv matching your bike to the vehicle that cctv shows.
My guess is a misread of the plate. The solicitors don’t mention vehicle details at all. Getting you to pay would be an easy option for them based on a misread plate. There are enough potential holes in their claim for you to contest with your proof of not being there plys the £56 sum for a small tank bike!
Not sure how other petrol stations operate, but the one I worked in (big supermarket chain) had really poor CCTV. When we had a drive-off, we had to get the plates from the CCTV, and fill out a form. After a week, the details were passed to a debt collection agency, who took a big chunk of anything they could collect from the driver.
Because the CCTV was so bad, we nearly always had to guess at one or two digits of the plate, then type our "guess" into the government MOT checker to see what car make and colour came back. If they tallied with the car we could see on the CCTV, we'd use those details. If not, we'd guess another plate and try again.
Because we had to fill in the make, model, colour and plate on the till to clear the transaction, we nearly always got everything correct, and it prevented obvious errors like the OP's.
Because the CCTV was so bad, we nearly always had to guess at one or two digits of the plate, then type our "guess" into the government MOT checker to see what car make and colour came back. If they tallied with the car we could see on the CCTV, we'd use those details. If not, we'd guess another plate and try again.
Because we had to fill in the make, model, colour and plate on the till to clear the transaction, we nearly always got everything correct, and it prevented obvious errors like the OP's.
sospan said:
Don’t pay yet.Contact them for more details of cctv in particular.
Why the different sums too? £56 fuel but £74 total?
Ask them why.
If they have traced you via DVLA using the reg plate then ask for confirmation of cctv matching your bike to the vehicle that cctv shows.
My guess is a misread of the plate. The solicitors don’t mention vehicle details at all. Getting you to pay would be an easy option for them based on a misread plate. There are enough potential holes in their claim for you to contest with your proof of not being there plys the £56 sum for a small tank bike!
Don't pay at all if it's not your debt.Why the different sums too? £56 fuel but £74 total?
Ask them why.
If they have traced you via DVLA using the reg plate then ask for confirmation of cctv matching your bike to the vehicle that cctv shows.
My guess is a misread of the plate. The solicitors don’t mention vehicle details at all. Getting you to pay would be an easy option for them based on a misread plate. There are enough potential holes in their claim for you to contest with your proof of not being there plys the £56 sum for a small tank bike!
It's likely a mis-read and their CCTV will show a car/van filling up and leaving with a similar registration number.
But if it is the same registration number, it's clearly not a motorcycle being fueled, so they should realise, it's not you.
M4cruiser said:
Yes, just as with speed cameras, I think you are entitled to a picture of the offending vehicle.
That should sort it.
Late wife had this a few years ago, about 1 day later a letter from Cheshire Plods finest with a lovely constabulary envelope arrived asking her to sort it out or be prosecuted for theft.That should sort it.
Looks like something else the BIB don't bother/ can't be bothered with nowadays
She had gone on and 'paid' but the card transaction failed due to 'computer says no'
speedyguy said:
M4cruiser said:
Yes, just as with speed cameras, I think you are entitled to a picture of the offending vehicle.
That should sort it.
Late wife had this a few years ago, about 1 day later a letter from Cheshire Plods finest with a lovely constabulary envelope arrived asking her to sort it out or be prosecuted for theft.That should sort it.
Looks like something else the BIB don't bother/ can't be bothered with nowadays
She had gone on and 'paid' but the card transaction failed due to 'computer says no'
It also explains why most petrol stations won't take the suggested measure to stop this from happening.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/p...
Superleg48 said:
Driving off without paying for fuel (Bilking) is a criminal offence.
Why would you not receive a visit from a Police Officer, or at least an invite for tea and biscuits at an appropriate Police Station?
Seems odd that you would just get correspondence from a Debt Recovery Company.
That was my thought too.Why would you not receive a visit from a Police Officer, or at least an invite for tea and biscuits at an appropriate Police Station?
Seems odd that you would just get correspondence from a Debt Recovery Company.
I once received knock on the door from plod about a week after driving off without paying once . Like an ejit I'd filled up then went into the shop, looked around for lunch, queued for a few minutes, paid for lunch and completely forgot about the fuel (I wasn't asked either like they normally do).
The police officer told me he'd reviewed the CCTV footage before heading over. Luckily for me he was more interested in my car at the time. I drove back and paid straight after he left!
I would, in order:
Contact debt recovery, tell them it's not you
Request CCTV footage
Review footage and if it is your reg call up police and get a crime reference number
Pass CRN back to recovery agency
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