For help, advice and discussion about stuff not related to aviation. Play nice: no religion, no politics and no axe grinding please.
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By eltonioni
#1873377
Some thoughts and advice from the hive mind please.

I received a parking ticket from a private car park operator the other day with my (quite distinctive) registration on another car miles away in Dartford and photos to prove it. No mistaking a Porsche for a Ford Mustang so the parking company quickly cancelled the ticket. This happened once before, on the QE Dartford Bridge crossing but with a Mercedes, and presumably the same chancer. Anyway, so far so good.

But they also advised me to report it to the police so I "won't be held liable for other offences committed by the vehicle". I can see the attraction that I won't be held liable but I also don't fancy having my numberplate marked for every panda car with an ANPR camera, so doing nothing sounds like the best plan.

Whaddyathink?
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By skydriller
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1873379
My parents had friends whose numberplate got cloned. IIRC they found out because they were sent several speeding/parking tickets from the other side of the country in a week. It took them ages to sort out (how do you prove a negative, the onus is on YOU) and they informed the police as part of this hassle.... who then regularly stopped them for about a month afterwards... :roll:

Your call...
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By riverrock
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1873384
If you tell the police, they should add it onto the PNC so when your number is spotted via ANPR (in car version) they should check if its the correct manufacturer / model and if not, stop them.
There will be a reason they are using false plates, so expect a knock at your door from the police at some stage if you don't tell them first!
DVLA will also keep a note, if you provide them with the crime reference, which might help when others ask them for your details.
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By TravellerBob
#1873389
riverrock wrote:DVLA will also keep a note, if you provide them with the crime reference, which might help when others ask them for your details.

Good one.

In the olden days, when Wales worked, DVLA would have kept a note. Not so much nowadays.
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By skydriller
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1873390
riverrock wrote:If you tell the police, they should add it onto the PNC so when your number is spotted via ANPR (in car version) they should check if its the correct manufacturer / model and if not, stop them.


In theory. But the story I heard (2nd/3rd hand admittedly) is it doesnt really work that way in practice...
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By Flasheart
#1873396
I guess the choice is to either let the criminal get away with it, and potentially get speeding tickets etc forever, or risk getting stopped occasionally for a while.

I'd probably choose the latter.

I'm surprised that the do nothing approach is your favoured option. Imagine getting into a hit and run with a car on a cloned plate.
Last edited by Flasheart on Wed Sep 29, 2021 4:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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By Propwash
#1873397
My advice would be to inform the police (but you knew I'd say that didn't you? :wink: )

You might get stopped at some point, but in reality if they are using it on a different make/model/colour you shouldn't, but they should. It might be a minor inconvenience, but being pro-active in reporting it before the doppelgänger plate is used in something more than a minor traffic or parking infringement could save you being woken up in the middle of the night with a red dot on your chest. :lol:

Just sayin' :wink:

PW
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By PeteSpencer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1873401
Tell the cops:
Risk the occasional stoppage .
No booze/grass/hash or charlie whatsoever before driving in the meantime.

The crims'll soon get nobbled when ANPR spots discordant details. :thumleft:
And once they're nobbled you'll come off ANPR special watch I'd imagine.
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By rikur_
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1873424
Happened to my dad.
He was still turning the bailiffs away from the door 2 years later chasing up parking debts that hadn't been cancelled on the system, despite speaking to someone at various parking companies who assured him they had been cancelled.
If I recall correctly, he got a letter from DVLA confirming that the plate had been reported as cloned which the parking companies would accept as evidence, but not the bailiffs as they'd just been sold a debt with no care whether it was right or wrong.
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By TheFarmer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1873437
Quite a few years ago we had a letter from a parking company telling us we owed them £50 for parking Vauxhall Carlton registration xxxxxxx without a ticket, on a street somewhere in London.

We ignored it, because that registration was actually a combine harvester….

The number plate had been cloned and, and we had a couple more of these before we reported it to the Police.

As an aside, is this why sometimes we see car transporters on the road with crashed cars on them that have the number plates obscured by gaffer tape?
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By GAFlyer4Fun
#1873443
A bigger problem would be if the crims had a hit n run accident that killed someone and a witness got the plate and maybe the vehicle colour but not the make/model.
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By nallen
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1873453
Report it. Civic duty.

TravellerBob wrote:I'd be wary telling the filth anything as it will probably be used against you somewhere, somehow.


Charming. I'm not an undiluted fan of the police, but I don't see that bandying this term about advances the march of civilisation at all.
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By Boxkite
#1873484
Back to the subject.
This is why Ebay sellers etc cover up their reg numbers. It's really easy for the crims to find a car of the same type and colour and copy the number. It then gets through a cursory ANPR system without flagging up a problem. That also means it's more difficult for the genuine owner to prove innocence.