Cloned Plate - Splash and dash - Solicitor letter arrived
Discussion
RichTT said:
It's just been traded in on Friday past so they will have notified DVLA and will be untaxed now.
... in which case the new owner has a shock coming !! 
...
but seriously, yes tell the full story to their solicitor if that's who you are dealing with, and point out how dumb they've been. It took me a few seconds to solve it, they just didn't even bother.
martinbiz said:
aestetix1 said:
If it was mis-read you could be in for a windfall.
Requesting the wrong person's details from the DVLA is a breech of the Data Protection Act. It is their responsibility to make sure they get the right plate.
When this went to court the fine was £750 plus costs. So if it is mis-read you should point this out and suggest that £750 is suitable compensation for mis-handling your personal data and wasting your time.
Here we go! Link to a source for this case would be nice Requesting the wrong person's details from the DVLA is a breech of the Data Protection Act. It is their responsibility to make sure they get the right plate.
When this went to court the fine was £750 plus costs. So if it is mis-read you should point this out and suggest that £750 is suitable compensation for mis-handling your personal data and wasting your time.
RichTT said:
So the debt recovery agency got in touch finally with the evidence. The photo is grainy but certainly looks like the correct reading of the plate.
http://imgur.com/gallery/NEt8VRH
Due to this taking so long I am now overseas until at least early June. I've submitted an online crime report and will wait on hearing back from them before I reply to the email.
Will see what happens next.
Hopefully I'm not being thick here but you have told them that the vrm they've referred to is a bike haven't you??http://imgur.com/gallery/NEt8VRH
Due to this taking so long I am now overseas until at least early June. I've submitted an online crime report and will wait on hearing back from them before I reply to the email.
Will see what happens next.
RichTT said:
Did anyone have any more information on this as I would be more than happy to plug them for some cash as I've wasted a lot of time on this.
I don't have direct experience of this situation, but my understanding is that any professional outfit has duty of care towards what they are doing with data, and this time they didn't even make a basic initial check of a public database to verify similarity. Any reasonable person would say they should do that.Example, if you'd had a dark blue Astra not a black one, then that mistake would be acceptable, and you'd be having a hard time defending it; but they had a duty to check the plate they read against the DVLA public record, which would immediately tell them something's wrong. So they've sent you someone else's data, told you what they've done, and also blamed you for it.
Not only are you off the hook immediately, but you should be recompensed for your trouble and stress.
I'd love to say they owe you a million for that, but more likely nearer £100 if you ask them. And nothing if you don't ask.
Legal fees for pressing it could be prohibitive, but maybe someone will take in on as a no-win-no-fee.
Not entirely relevant, but I went through similar with Islington borough council years ago - I live in the NW.
I'd just traded my Exige in and about a month later I get a letter saying I'd parked illegally, parking fine etc. I wrote to them telling them I don't own the vehicle anymore, supplied copies of the sales receipt etc, but they ignored that and persisted in chasing for a payment. I then requested CCTV/image of the vehicle and to my surprise they sent a photo of a Ducati 999 Nero edition with said plate (handily I'm a big biker and also owned several Ducati's so I knew exactly which model this was).
I politely replied stating that the vehicle that I had sold had 4 wheels and if you check the DVLA database it confirms it was indeed a white Lotus Exige, and that the photo they had sent was indeed a 2 wheeled vehicle, a Ducati 999 Nero Edition no less. I suggested they do their due diligence before accusing someone of parking illegally with a simple DVLA check, and if they persisted to chase for this claim I would be contacting my solicitor.
Needless to say I received another letter with no apology I might add saying they wouldn't be proceeding any further.
I'd just traded my Exige in and about a month later I get a letter saying I'd parked illegally, parking fine etc. I wrote to them telling them I don't own the vehicle anymore, supplied copies of the sales receipt etc, but they ignored that and persisted in chasing for a payment. I then requested CCTV/image of the vehicle and to my surprise they sent a photo of a Ducati 999 Nero edition with said plate (handily I'm a big biker and also owned several Ducati's so I knew exactly which model this was).
I politely replied stating that the vehicle that I had sold had 4 wheels and if you check the DVLA database it confirms it was indeed a white Lotus Exige, and that the photo they had sent was indeed a 2 wheeled vehicle, a Ducati 999 Nero Edition no less. I suggested they do their due diligence before accusing someone of parking illegally with a simple DVLA check, and if they persisted to chase for this claim I would be contacting my solicitor.
Needless to say I received another letter with no apology I might add saying they wouldn't be proceeding any further.
Rushjob said:
Hopefully I'm not being thick here but you have told them that the vrm they've referred to is a bike haven't you??
Yeah discussed this with the chap I spoke to on the phone when I first got the letter through. But wanted the evidence before I made any other moves. I mean even he hadn't seen the evidence CCTV shots. They just get handed the slip with the supposed vehicle details and I'm assuming they go to the DVLA from there.55palfers said:
Is a "payment processing fee" allowed for payment by card over the phone?
They're not allowed to charge surcharges for credit/debit card payments if not charging for payment received by other methods, i.e. you can't charge £10 for cash and £12.50 for card - Worth noting this only applies to the public, business to business charges can still include card surcharges.The application of a payment processing fee can still be done, though it's a dick move.
Regardless of this, the OP just needs to report suspected cloned plates and provide the crime ref number to QDR and be done with it. No payments to be made and QDR can write it off and go back to chasing people for parking fines.
A motorcycle tank that could take that much fuel would be awfulto ride on anything other than the motorway, there's a reason that even big tourers tend to have <25L tanks.
I replied to the email with the evidence on the 8th of April. Last night I received a reply from them. At least it was within the stated 28 day response time. I mean really, how long does it take to read and respond to an email?
[quote]Dear XXX,
Our Client: British Oil Security Syndicate Limited
Location: COCKFOSTERS SF CONNECT
Client Reference: XXX
Our Reference: XXX
Outstanding Balance: £74.42
We write further to your recent email.
In light of the comments you have made, we have referred this matter to our client, and will return to you in due course. The above account has been placed on hold during this time.
Should you require any further information, please contact us
[/quote]
[quote]Dear XXX,
Our Client: British Oil Security Syndicate Limited
Location: COCKFOSTERS SF CONNECT
Client Reference: XXX
Our Reference: XXX
Outstanding Balance: £74.42
We write further to your recent email.
In light of the comments you have made, we have referred this matter to our client, and will return to you in due course. The above account has been placed on hold during this time.
Should you require any further information, please contact us
[/quote]
RichTT said:
I replied to the email with the evidence on the 8th of April. Last night I received a reply from them. At least it was within the stated 28 day response time. I mean really, how long does it take to read and respond to an email?
[quote]Dear XXX,
Our Client: British Oil Security Syndicate Limited
Location: COCKFOSTERS SF CONNECT
Client Reference: XXX
Our Reference: XXX
Outstanding Balance: £74.42
We write further to your recent email.
In light of the comments you have made, we have referred this matter to our client, and will return to you in due course. The above account has been placed on hold during this time.
Should you require any further information, please contact us
[quote]Dear XXX,
Our Client: British Oil Security Syndicate Limited
Location: COCKFOSTERS SF CONNECT
Client Reference: XXX
Our Reference: XXX
Outstanding Balance: £74.42
We write further to your recent email.
In light of the comments you have made, we have referred this matter to our client, and will return to you in due course. The above account has been placed on hold during this time.
Should you require any further information, please contact us
t, please find enclosed an invoice for £250 for my admin fee for doing your job for you. Rest assured that I will be donating it to a homeless charity of your choice should you have The goodwill.in you to note that your error has caused immense stress at this difficult time in my life. Regards RichTT
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