Across the country, 500 number plates are stolen every week leaving many motorists facing penalty notices and boxing in for crimes they haven’t committed. The ordeal of recovery and the fines and penalty notices that have to be contested has been described as “incredibly upset[ting]” by one person involved.
Last year 25,000 numberplates were taken from cars, and the figure this year has already reached 22,000 as released by the AA under a Freedom of Information request. Police are now urging drivers to report stolen plates immediately in order to aid investigation and to prevent further accusation of innocent drivers.
Technology increasing theft
Motorists across the country have received numerous penalty notices, fines and more for crimes they haven’t committed as criminal gangs steal and use the number plates to avoid getting convicted for crimes.
Criminals, both individuals and organised gangs, have taken numberplates to conceal crimes such as stealing petrol from forecourts, known as bilking, or reckless driving. Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras only pick up the number plate, as suggested by the name, so any theft, even if its only one plate, should be reported to police.
Advances in ANPR technology mean that numberplate theft is on the rise, Sheffield County noted an increase of 36% from 2013 to 2017 in theft, taking it from 501 thefts in 2013 to 680 in 2017.
Since the introduction and national adoption of ANPR technologies, starting in 2005, stolen number plates value has increased drastically as criminals try to avoid prosecution. Nationwide thefts have risen by 76% since 2005 when the BBC reported a rise in number plate theft, and since then theft has increased risen by approximately 800 thefts annually. Back in 2005, 14,176 number plate thefts were recorded, and the figure of near 25,000 this year is a monumental increase over time.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA said; “While a small percentage of the UK’s national vehicles suffer the inconvenience and frustration of having their number plate stolen, it is an incredibly serious issue.
Stolen plates are often cloned and put onto other vehicles. These are then used to cover up further criminal activity, such as selling stolen cars or burglary. Other instances of criminality under stolen plates include ram raids and even not paying congestion charges.
More than a quarter (28%) of drivers say that if one plate were missing from their vehicle, they wouldn’t report it to the police. Drivers should report any number plate theft as the innocent victim could end up receiving speeding tickets and other traffic fines.”
“A horrible experience”
One driver who was the victim of plate cloning had her car boxed in, while driving on the M1. Tia Kinnard from Dunstable described the ordeal as “a horrible experience.” After the mishap was cleared up, it came to light that a gang had cloned her number plates and used them for numerous burglaries in and around London.
Meanwhile, in Brighton and Hove, Mariam Castle was the victim of number plate theft when the plates were stolen off her VW Polo. While she reported the stolen plates to the police immediately, she received two Penalty Charge Notices (PCN) for driving in bus lanes and had to contest the fines in a lengthy process.
She said: ‘It really shook me up, receiving those penalty notices. Finally, they were dropped, but it was a lot of hassle, and the whole ordeal left me incredibly upset.’
What can you do?
In some cases, there is very little that the motorist can do.
In older cars where the number plate is stuck on with double-sided tape, it is best to add in anti-theft screws to put off thieves initially, as they will be less likely to steal plates that are more secured, the risk of them being noticed is much higher.
Anti-theft number plates are also available to buy. Launched back in 2006 by the then Transport Minister, Stephen Ladyman, they are designed to shatter into pieces upon removal, making them unusable by criminals.
Inspector Craig Clifton, from South Yorkshire Police’s Roads Policing Group, said: “The reason criminals steal number plates, and quite possibly the reason numbers of reported thefts have risen, is because of the advancement in ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) technology. Number plates are stolen for a variety of reasons to mask criminality.
In order to protect your number plate, if it isn’t permanently affixed to the vehicle then it’s vulnerable and because we change plates generally they are not a permanent fixture.
All people can do is make the plates harder to remove, so ensure they are screwed on with anti-theft screws rather than affixed with double-sided tape.
You could also use anti-theft number plates which break upon removal. It’s worth trying to park in less conspicuous areas to make it harder for criminals to hide while removing the plates.”
Have you ever been affected by stolen number plates? Do you think more should be done to protect drivers from this? Let us know below
My car number plate was cloned but not stolen while it was in secure parking with barriers and CCTV near Heathrow. When I returned from a holiday in Sourh Africa I received a penalty for speeding in Bristol while my car was in secure parking and I was in CapeTown. I reported it to the parking company and my car had not moved because the mileage had not changed although at first I thought it might have been taken for a joy ride. I managed to avoid going to Court but,it took a lot of time and telephone calls including written evidence from the airline and the parking company of my presence on the flights and my car in secure parking to get the case dropped. I reported the matter to the police who said I might be stopped in future as the number plate would be listed as cloned!
You didn’t have to do any of that; it was up to your accuser to prove the charges; as you were innocent they would not be able to prove anything. Any evidence they put before a court, you would have been able to have countered null and void. You would have won your case hands down and had your costs awarded and this would have been a lesson for the authorities to respect the law. As far as I am aware, it’s still a case of “innocent until proven guilty”. By the route you took, you actually helped the authorities with their “accusation of guilt now prove your innocence”. It’s ‘win-win’. I can’t wait for someone to clone my plates or steal them and for me to have my day in court and ‘grandstand’ it in front of the jury and bigwig. Think of all the photo opportunities as you enter and leave court. You know it makes sense!
Not if you’re a motorist, you are guilty until proven innocent, which can be impossible to many authorities. Even an audience with the Pope at the time of the offence wouldn’t satisfy them!
“guilty until proven innocent” wow! there really is no hope for you is there?
Also they changed the law a couple of years ago and you can no longer claim back costs on motoring offences. So it’s even more loaded against the poor motorist, unless you represent yourself. Even then it’s a day’s pay wasted.
A recipe for much hilarity then. Get the details of your ‘mark’ (say your nearest business rival or just someone you don’t particularly like). The first the “mark’ will be aware is when they receive a visit for the boys in blue, over all the offences they have been notified of and traced back to the vehicle of the ‘mark’.
“guilty until proven innocent”
and the ‘mark’ won’t be able to claim back court costs on motoring offences as the law changed!
win-win
Now what’s the registration of that Aston that Harry was driving recently…….
You have not had alot to do with the justice system my friend if you don’t believe that
I was accused of illegal parking on a day when my car didn’t leave my garage.
I took a day off work to attend court, they cancelled the hearing.
I took a second day off work, and the court acquitted me.
The Police then wrote saying that if it wasn’t you, it must be someone you know, so unless you tell us, you will have to pay the fine.
I couldn’t afford a third day off, so paid the fine.
In paying the fine, you admitted guilt. I would never pay for something that I had not done.
…especially since you say the court had already acquitted you..!! ???
Am I missing something – why steal the plates off a vehicle and draw attention to that regd number – just find a vehicle same make and colour and get a set of plates made up
You can’t, legally, get plates made up without supplying an original V5 and proof of address, e.g. utility bill, council tax bill, bank statement, etc. Unfortunately there are ways around this…….
Fine, but I don’t think criminals have any scruples about acquiring number plates illegally!
yes you can
I would have a job trying to produce a V5. My car is on the Motability scheme and is therefore not mine so I don’t have a V5. I suppose I would have to contact Motability and ask them for new plates.
you need documents to prove you have entitlement to the plates before you can get them made up now.
Wrong.
You only need all that if you play by their rules.
Seems you’ve not heard of Ebay? Thousands of sellers advertising ‘Show Plates’ which dont require any documentation at all. They can still be fully MOT Legal and 99.9% of people would never know.
I have these on my trailer and van. They are identical to ‘proper’ plates except that instead of having the maker’s code at the bottom they have my website.
Wrong
They were doing exactly that in the early 1960’s, and it continues today. Pick a vehicle from a lonely area …NW Scotland was a favourite ….. and no chance of ‘dodgy’ vehicle being in same area as genuine vehicle
I recently experienced this as my personal numberplate was cloned. No they didn’t remove my plates, they just copied them! I became aware when I received a parking ticket letter. Fortunately the car they used was not exactly the same as mine and I could easily show the differences. However, when I reported it to the local police station, they pointed me to the National Fraud & Cyber Crime Reporting Centre on-line. But once I had reported the crime, they came back to me and said identity theft was not a police reportable crime
…didn’t one of the earlier comments say it should at least be reported to the DVLA…?
The professional criminals are not stealing plates from cars, they are cloning them! I informed the police when this happened to me and was told there was nothing that they could do and that ‘I’ should provide ‘them’ with proof! I have been in and out of court for 2 years, what can I do???
Strange how the burden of proof is no longer on the prosecution, eh? It appears to be on the defendant.
Still, I guess that’s what happens when you enter their legal world rather than requiring them to act lawfully.
Short answer is to either sell your car or change its registration mark. it is infuriating that people get landed with this sort of thing. the DVLA should issue a new number free of charge when people have proven that their plates have been cloned. DOesn’t help if it is a cherished number mind.
About 15 years ago I got a phone call at home one day from police in Northumberland. After ascertaining that they actually were police I was asked if “reg-number” was my car. I said “yes”. They then asked if it was an Escort XR3-I. I answered No and pointed-out to them that they should know from DVLA that it was a Sierra Sapphire 2.3D. How do they choose the people that they employ to be police ? Obviously no common-sense required.
My car’s registration was cloned, as I received a PCN for driving in a bus lane, with photo. Fortunately I could prove it was not the same car as mine, and I had Google Maps location logs (known as Timeline) to prove I was elsewhere.
An easy solution is for DVLA to be the only supplier of registration plates, sent directly to the registered address. The current system of private suppliers is wide open to fraud.
That’s how it is in some EU countries.
The problem with Google location is that they are sometimes sort of accurate and sometimes so far off the mark that they are useless.
That’s all very well but it won’t stop people taking plates off cars will it?
Don’t forget trailers and caravans, often loaned to family members need number plates too!
Not an issue, if you have a tow hitch and want to tow, you request a trailer plate (you could go one further like Netherlands) and make the trailer plate only a different colour, so it cannot be used otherwise. Then the person borrowing places their plate on tow item. Netherlands do yellow front and back of car, then white on trailer; but in UK, that might mean coming up with an alternate, or with a marker ‘T’ on plate for example.
I agree with your DVLA option. The problem however with this & all other brilliant suggestions is getting them enacted, especially when politicians are so busy swanning round London filling their pockets with our gold.
We could Adopt the system as in Germany, where you Register your Car Annually, which also contains your Vehicle Insurance details, so that they can be picked up by those cameras on the roads.
Sadly making a set of plates is very easy – all you need is an A3 laser printer or even inkjet and either some perspex and a cutting tool or just use some extra wide tape and an old set of plates!
Article should have been proofread , to avoid getting acquitted, less conspicuous.
No need to steal plates they must be the easiest thing in the world to make illegally, but you have to jump through hoops to buy replacements legitimately.
£12 a pair off ebay, easy !
This beggars belief but having purchased a car from Sytner in Leicester last month they claimed to be unaware of Anti-theft security screws that I insisted they fitted before taking delivery, a cost to the garage of under £2.00!!!
If manufacturers put security screws in the glove box of every vehicle produced perhaps this would help.
I still have the information gathered during my previous involvement including correspondence with Leics Police, Patrick McLaughlin then minister for transport, MIRA, various MP’s, and media etc etc.
My petition to have Parliament introduce obligitory anti theft fixings fitted to vehicles at point of sale and MOT gathered thousands of signatures, is it time to have another attempt at making anti theft screws fitted to vehicles obligitory?
The ultimate target is that all UK vehicles should have their registration plates made secure by the use of ant-theft fixings. A simple enough target if the MOT required security screws to be fitted as part of the MOT test or when purchased from a dealership.
If Petrol Prices are serious about pushing this forward then I am willing to give a helping hand.
Eric Tindall
What a great idea. I think I’ll support any action that increases the chances of owners’ of valuable cars having the whole car stolen which may involve mugging, burglary or possibly stabbings.
Britannia tyres have the anti theft screws in tubs on reception for free!
So where’s the link to your petition please?
A great idea, I would support it.
The police say report it and yet they do nothing to imideatly verify and confirm no action would be taken against you the victim.
The DVLA bafoons that created the chronically flawed system are impervious and act as a giant money rake not caring who they rake. Their slogan on the envelopes Depicts their inflexible authoritarian attitude “TAX it or loose it”. “We scrap untaxed cars”.
There can often be very many valid excusable reasons and mistakes by dvla for a car not being taxed!
The relentless financial attack over the decades on the inocent motorist led me to replace my car with a combo of uber/ cycle / puplic transport. If you own a car you are a sitting duck for :- Ever changing and increasing car TAX, VED, insurance, Gap insurance, petrol, depreciation, maintenance, fines, MOT, congestion charges, liability etc etc . In short you are a sucker at the mercy of the authorities and criminals. I recommend BLA BLA car ride sharing app you can get a ride from london to Munich for about £25!
My front and back, screwed on, plates were stolen 10 years ago in North London, while I was away for a few days. My car was parked in a very public place close to where I was living. I reported it as soon as I got back, and was given a crime number. I was lucky, in that no incidents appear to have been reported using my plates.
Just goes to prove an oft made point…the “yoof” of today doesn`t have a handle
on good old plain english !
In France it is an offence to not have number plates permanently fixed to a vehicle. Pop riveting is the official method, but even then with a cheap to buy cordless drill, rivets are easily removed. A gendarme can issue on the spot fine for plates fixed with screws or sticky tape but common sense prevails for visitors to France, or one would hope!
The ANPR technology needs to be smartened up.
DVLA know the colour and make of vehicle the plate was issued for. Even if the technology only checked the colour range, police vehicle ANPR could catch many of these crooks, and other ANPR could alert the authorities that a plate has been cloned.
The crims attach the stolen plates to a car that is the same make, model and colour.
Not all of them, I had a grey Carlton, someone nicked the plates and used them when they did a robbery of a petrol station in luckily a blue escort. It saved me from saying not me offficer.
ok but the owner’s car number plate could have a kind of logo unseen from thieves but seen from the authorities !! something like that……. we need a design working idea and cheap.
Back in the late 80’s / early 90’s there was a plan to have totally standard number-plates that were embossed and could be read from the road-side. At the time it was not made known how they would be read from the road-side. Probably some form of government psycho-babble to appease the motor industry that wanted better security of car registration-plates. It never happened… The only embossed number-plates I ever saw at the time were returning BFG members that had bought their (cheap) RHD cars out in Germany before returning to the UK. So-much could have been done then by just making ALL number-plates embossed.
Embossed number plates existed as normal in the UK in the 1970s and before, and still do in other countries for same reasons you mention. Sometimes progress is not always forwards.
Good idea. I’m not sure what would happen with my car which most people I’ve asked scratch their heads and say “champagne?” when asked the colour. DVLA says it’s purple!
I would love to see purple champagne. I wonder if it tastes as good as it sounds.
All because they decided we must produce paperwork to fit one of their identifying plates to our cars.
To this day, I never buy plates from official sources and frankly I wouldn’t bother reporting theft of a plate. They will have to actually start showing up for reported crimes first.
Last year my plates were cloned I had fines and a police visit, I had also sold the vehicle as well so the new owner was blighted by the same things, The car had been used in a crime, hence the police visit, fortunately by that point the car had been sold and was at the other end of the country [ebay sale] to where the crime had been committed and the new owner was in police custody!! It took months to sort the mess out, whilst the police were very good the private parking firms wernt so if it happens to you expect a lot of hassle and wasted time
“the police were very good…..” doesn’t sound like it Peter. The police took an innocent party into custody. Sounds like wrongful arrest to me.
‘Man up’ and stand up for your rights, while you’ve still got them!
They don’t need to be physically stolen. All they have to do is take a photo and order some new plates printed off the internet. You’ll never know your car has been cloned.
You’re safer if you drive an uncommon car in an uncommon colour.
You don’t even need to take a photo, you just have to be able to read and write. Oh… wait a minute… yoof of today…. Yeah take a photo.
… or have a memory for seven characters, unlike that of a goldfish!!
I had two police officers at my door last year, demanding to know why I hadn’t reported the accident I had in the next town, and why I drove off without stopping. I invited them in to discuss it and asked them to examine my car. One did, came back and apologised for wasting my time. I didn’t mind, as it proved I was innocent. My plates had been cloned, the first time I was aware of the scam.
did they demand, or did they ‘ask’ ?? (…although I do appreciate that’s not actually the point of your comment..)
They did neither. Oldun said he asked them to examine his car.
And another thing, why can’t a valid Tax Disc be displayed on the windscreen (yes, that again), so we know who is legit to drive, along with a sticker from your insurance company (like in France with the green ticket) showing you have valid insurance, and a sticker to show your MoT is valid, too? And another thing, like in Switzerland, a small sticker to show you have paid a nominal fee (let’s say, £50 per year) to access the motorway network, which could go some way to alleviating tax revenue on fuel!
In Dublin all vehicles had a Tax Disc an Insurance certificate (provided by the insurance company )and a MOT certificate if needed just a few months ago
Nice in theory;…. but it’s the ‘lack’ of police resources where the next problem would be, perhaps…(?)
I once bought a van that had last had an MOT in Northern Ireland. That documentation did not come with the van due to the normal very-sloppy admin associated with LEASE COMPANIES, but it was obvious that it had an MOT as it had been recently taxed. I wanted a copy of the MOT so phoned the equivalent of DVLA in NI. Not only did I get answered by a REAL PERSON, but the very next day I got the copy of the MOT (£10) in the post, which also had a windscreen disc to be displayed (obviously only needed in NI).
Quote ” when the BBC reported a rise in number plate theft, and since then theft has increased risen by approximately 800 thefts annually”, perhaps less publicity wouldn’t spark an increase?
In France, plaques d’immatriculation, as they are called MUST be pop riveted to the vehicle. Less prone to falling off and take longer to steal.
Drilling out a pop rivet with a battery powered drill is probably quicker than unscrewing it.
So ANPR is not as great as they claim, bring back police highway patrols and roadside spot checks.
yes more should done to protect the motorist. they can do this – have made or create smaller number plates, install them in your vehicle- inside so they are visible. you can have as many plates as you like. i am going to paint a set on the vehicle. NOW lets see how the crooks get on!
I don’t get your logic. It’s not YOUR car that will be used for crime, so showing extra number plates inside will achieve nothing. The criminals assume your car is taxed and insured so copy your number onto their similar model and masquerade as you. If your plates are stolen it’s best to report it and improve the chances the cloned car will be pulled. Well, we can live in hope!
Not if you live in Surrey…
I am shocked that innocent people are having their plates cloned. Get rid of the technology and bring back old style policing with beat bobbies etc. We need more officers on the ground not so called modern technology
Indeed, have the number plate registration emblazoned on the roof in indelible paint, like ambulances and police cars have reference numbers there! Surely, it’s pretty obvious when a number plate clone has been used in a criminal act; the vehicle is not the same make, model, colour, etc, as the offending vehicle, so why accuse the innocent? If criminals were clever (!!), then they would clone the plate from a VERY similar car, maybe they do, but I do not mix in those circles.
What’s more, who cares who is on the new £50 note, as no one ever gets to handle one, do they?!!
Maybe ‘smart motorways’ will help!!!!!
I had a car stolen with private plates and the car was found in a scrapyard with plates of another car. I got my personalised plates back and put them on my replacement car that was the same as my original stolen car.
I then received a speeding ticket and contested it and am now due to go on trial next month for Perverting the Course of Justice.
I am looking at 3-7 years prison for being a victim.
I have no criminal record and have a clean license for 20 years.
I still don’t understand UK Law and how the CPS believe someone would risk there freedom over 3 points and £100 fine.
Dear Justin, I find the scenario ridiculously laughable and do hope it will take the judge less than 5 minutes to throw the case out. I personally think there are too many people associated (ultimately) with government who act according to ‘..jobs worth’ and perpetrate their own existence [job-wise]. Good luck Justin.
There is 1 simple instant solution to crime in the UK. Stop pathetic lenient sentences. If i was to rob, steal petrol or burgle property, with a high chance of a slap on the wrist I’d take that chance. Not really much to lose. This country really needs to stop being a soft touch state and come down hard on crooks. Knowing that for any of the above and more you’d get a minimum of 10 years MINIMUM it would certainly end in a flash. Governments look aftet criminals. Snooker, pool, gyms etc in jail. Really??Hard labour is what we need.Take a leaf out of Dubais book. You wouldn’t even contemplate crime because your hands would be off or you’d get a propert jail term. I promise now that if anyone was caught in my house they would leave decesaed. Everyone should do the same. Cross that line, face the knife!
Pete,Use a weapon and you join them, in nick,good old fisty Cuffs, sorted the guy out that broke into my house, 2 days Intensive care, 2 weeks in Hospital.
Tony Martin ring any bells with you?
Yeah, he went wrong by not making sure second one was dead. Then burying um in a big hole somewhere.
Today no punishment fits the crime Fines are a waste of time Get very tough with all wrongdoers once again Life must be life not just a few years
Take a leaf out of Dubai’s book, you mean like, accuse someone of spying, force them to sign a confession in Arabic, and give them a life sentence. Then have to climb down, when you realise you have made your country look foolish, and release the victim with a pardon.!!
That would not happen here as “we” bow-down to all “low-life” as-if they are the agreaved ! Makes me think that living in Florida or Texas would be a lot better as you can apparently shoot anyone you like there if they ring your door-bell at night or look dodgy ! Oh, sorry.. Cannot do that.. Tony B(Liar) stopped any of us having any form of self-protection during his diabolical reign…
It would not be hard for manufacturers to fit an anti-tampering device that detects plate removal and sounds the alarm if it has not been disarmed from inside. I suggest you send this article to the Japanese manufacturers who operate in the UK as it’s the sort of gadget they might lke.
Most of the new “smart” vehicles today have a built-in mobile-phone device that will “bubble” you if you have an accident (if it is enabled.. OnStar etc). There were cases (needs looking-up but I cannot be bothered at the moment) of american car manufacturers building “data-phones” into their cars many years ago, allowing that car to be disabled (remotely) by police if they thought necessary. Some high-end alarm-systems for lorries etc allow that to be done nowadays… Why is this not a normal facility built-in along with this OnStar stuff.
The vehicle could be “pinged” at-will by “the authorities” and shut-down if required if stolen or suspected of any dodgy crime.
It probably can be done, but all the “do-gooders” that we have to suffer nowadays will not allow it to be implemented. Ian.
If your number plate is clowned, you are automatically guilty of the offences committed by the thief. Under British law I thought you were innocent till proved guilty.
I think you mean CLONED? on second thoughts, CLOWNED might just have a place…
Why not suggest to the manfacturers that they fit an anti-removal device thats set off the alarm when activated?
Why not have a rfid chip embeded in the plates coded to the car cpu / alarm in some way?
I have in the past twice found my number plate lying in the road while parked.
It having fallen off as a result of the used double sided tape holding it on had lost it strengh. Ended up bolting it on. No wonder they are easy to steal, if they only stick them to the car. Mine was an Audi, expecteed better
You can get plates made up at dodgy back street garages. With no docs. So this makes life a lot easier for criminals. Give police guns. And lock criminals up for life.
Mine where stolen in August no comebacks yet. Fingers crossed
Mine where stolen in August. No comebacks yet. Fingers crossed
Don’t you mean ‘park in MORE conspicuous areas..? surely LESS conspicuous areas make it easier for criminals to act unseen.
we just changed our car, went online to buy some mats and touch up paint, put the reg in and it said our car is a peurgeot. wich is wrong.
I took it to a friend who owns a garage, he put it into his laptop, which should tell him the history of the car. same thing Peurgeot.
He said I should contact tyhe DVLA. I typed it into the DVLA check your car, they got it right.
Could there be peurgeot with our number plate?
My plates were stolen recently, I now park with front or rear up tight against a wall so only one plate can now be taken. One plate only is no good to the villains, they need both.
My wife’s car was cloned, no need to pinch the plates.. we had to trade it in for a different car, got fed up with the police knocking on the door at all hours. First it was speeding then jumping a red light, fail to stop at 1:30 in the morning got out of bed by the police. Then to top it off had two tyres on the car and drove of with out paying. Three police forces involved, they don’t seem to communicate with each other.
I had to change my car and retire my private plate because of my cloned car.
Printed in to the number plate a veacle colour make type.
Like Hackney taxi-plates that state the colour and make… in most areas around where I live. Ian.
Cost cutting by the scrapping of physical of VELs doesn’t help.
During my service as a Police Officer, the lack of a VEL on the windscreen was a trigger for more in depth investigation and almost always resulted in uncovering issues from minor matters to solving serious crime .
ANPR is great but not the be all and end all.
Having said that, there are no longer the Police numbers to do any pro active policing.
Everything on the cheap, and as ever we end up paying the price
I had number plates stolen in Leicester about 25 years ago. I reported it at Braunstone police station. It was a Saturday afternoon and, in those days, very few Car spares shops were open on Saturday afternoon. I had to drive 4 junctions up the M1 and was told by the officer that the local bobbies wouldn’t do anything but the motorway police probably would but I had the crime number if there was an issue. Luckily I was not spotted!
I had my number plates stolen in 2003. Police found them stuck on the same make and model of my car in a drive way 5 miles away. Took my statement which had to state I did not give these thieves permission to take them. They were brought to court. I was told I would get the money it cost me to replace them. Never saw a penny,
I was sent a fine for parking at Stansted a place I’d never been or know where it is. My number plate had not been taken of my car. A photo was shown of a car with my number on it. The car with that plate on it was a car that didn’t look like my car.
So how’s about that then.
I received a large fine for dumping refuse about 100 miles away from my home. Considering that there is a tip not more than half a mile away from where I live why would I drive so far down South? I could prove that I was at work that day but with no video surveillance on the car park I could not prove that my car had not been elsewhere!!. I was lucky that the person I spoke to at their council listened to reason and quoshed the fine, he advised that my number plate had been either misread or cloned. I asked for and received a letter confirming the details of what had happenned – in case of further occurrences.
You dont actually need to steal the plates!!!
The pros just look for a car; usually in car parks the same make, colour and model if they are doing it properly as the one they are using then they take your registration number with a smartphone camera – there are numerous dodgy websites and places who will then make up a set of plates for £20 – its not rocket science. There is a place in the Glasgow Arches run by a pakistani gang that has been doing it for decades and the cops can’t do a thing about them!
I am an ex BTP officer by the way not a crim lol
Hi I live in Birmingham I left my car outside my friends house to give alift to work after I come back from work I found my number plates gone and immidiately I reported to the police; however I suggested to fix my plates with anti theft screw rather than tapes could be more safer
My number plates have not been stolen but they have been cloned and are in use on another vehicle – as i found out when I received two parking fines in a carpark that my vehicle has never been any where near – I spoke to the police and they told me there is not a lot I can do apart from disputing any fines I receive and obtain police ref crime numbers to help support my case.
Need more traffic police
ANPR does not catch idiots
I purchased a 2 year old lexus from a dealership in bristol, within a month i started to receive fines, 4 in total. The offences were taking place in London about 100 miles from where I live. I tried a number of times to report to police as I had a concern the criminals would maybe hurt someone. Police said the offence was not mine to report, it was down to the issuing local authority. But clearly this is a kind of I’D theft.
I would blame the dealer, they advertised the car showing the number plate on my car, so it was easy to find a version and colour match.
Long story but, managed to can all 4, with proof from Google, photos of differences in number plate styles as well as using clocking times from work.
I applied to DVLA for new plate registration, they initally rejected but changed their mind after be persistent. DVLA also agreed to report to police. 2 months to resolve.