Cloned Number Plates...just a word of warning!

[Agent_zed]

Also worth making sure you have some unique identifier on your car so that if it is cloned to the same model and colour of car the picture will not have the same badges, window stick ons etc that make yours unique.

Unless you've logged a change with DVLA etc it would be pretty hard to argue that the car in the picture couldn't possibly be yours because yours has a sticker on the windscreen. One might question as to when the sticker appeared in your windscreen.

 

[Vulcan]

I had one a few weeks ago. This was a failure of the ANPR system which saw a Y as a V. The car in the image was a different make, model and colour to that listed in the description. So no they don’t check it’s a fully automatic system. The cost of sending a PCN and having the receiver check it is less than employing someone to check.
My gripe is how difficult they make it to contest the PCN. Every link on their websites lead to an enter your credit card here page. To get to the contest form requires multiple clicks and finding well disguised links.

Perhaps you could elaborate. It might help others on here? Don’t worry if it’s too much of a bother.

 

[paulrbarnard]

Perhaps you could elaborate. It might help others on here? Don’t worry if it’s too much of a bother.

Happy to elaborate if I knew which bit.

 

[artie]

A friend who ran a small conservatory and double glazing company with maybe 6 or 8 vans, received a fixed penalty notice, not a PCN I know.

The PSNI wanted the details of the driver. Not wanting to let any of his employees down, he said , he had x vans and y employees each employee could drive any van at any time so he couldn't possibly say for sure who was driving.
After a bit of faffing back and forth he got to see a video of the incident. He said the driver was so clear you could have counted the bristles on his chin. So he had to fess up.

On the other hand, smart parking have been sending demands to SWMBO for years now about a charge which was paid but inadvertently the wrong reg number entered.
Apparently that is the offence whether you paid or not doesn't matter.

It doubles and doubles and then reduces she has told she won't be paying, but they keep trying.

Luckily this nonsense isn't enforceable in NI.

 

[ey_tony]

I know this may be somewhat off-topic but to be perfectly honest I think it's got to the stage where the motorist is merely a cash cow for both the government and private companies and it's about time the owners of the 41 million vehicles on UK roads got together and said enough is enough and refused to be ripped off any longer!

One of the most disgusting of parking charges are those in hospital car parks. It's not bad enough that you are ill or a member of your family may be ill or nearing the end of their life, you still have to pay those parking charges or face the consequences. It's utterly immoral, just like the TV tax or as they call it, the TV licence which should be discontinued.

If the road fund licence we have all been paying for decades had been ring fenced and the revenue raised had been spent on the roads and providing car parking then there wouldn't be a dangerous road or bend or poor road surface in the UK and car parks would be abundant and free to everyone.

The public transport systems outside of the major cities is woeful. Personal transport is the life blood of the many towns and cities and yet the motorist is treated like a leper.

I'm all in favour of rules and safety on our roads but it's about time the motorist stood up and said no, I won't pay any more. If they all did that then the government would have to listen. As it is, the cost of having one's own transport is getting prohibitive.

I live in a rural area. The nearest hospital is over 20 miles away and other than taxi or the occasional bus, a personal vehicle is not a luxury but an absolute necessity for millions of people living in rural areas and it's about time this was addressed.

 

[mcostello]

Wife got a speeding ticket with grainy black and white picture of the side of a car which We could not identify. $180 USD. She was at work and did not clock out, computer card verified it. She paid up, I never would have. The small town was an illegal speed trap, State legislators made rules making it illegal to write tickets in towns like that. No elected officials, just relatives appointed by other relatives.

 

[RonnieI]

I fit trackers on my cars, they're not expensive (about £25) and cost about £4/month subscription. A screen shot when I received a speeding ticket showed my car was about 80 miles away from the site of the alleged speeding offence. Also, whilst the cloned plate was on a Skoda Superb, mine is white, the car in the police picture was black!

 

[wizkid2003]

I know this may be somewhat off-topic but to be perfectly honest I think it's got to the stage where the motorist is merely a cash cow for both the government and private companies and it's about time the owners of the 41 million vehicles on UK roads got together and said enough is enough and refused to be ripped off any longer!

One of the most disgusting of parking charges are those in hospital car parks. It's not bad enough that you are ill or a member of your family may be ill or nearing the end of their life, you still have to pay those parking charges or face the consequences. It's utterly immoral, just like the TV tax or as they call it, the TV licence which should be discontinued.

If the road fund licence we have all been paying for decades had been ring fenced and the revenue raised had been spent on the roads and providing car parking then there wouldn't be a dangerous road or bend or poor road surface in the UK and car parks would be abundant and free to everyone.

The public transport systems outside of the major cities is woeful. Personal transport is the life blood of the many towns and cities and yet the motorist is treated like a leper.

I'm all in favour of rules and safety on our roads but it's about time the motorist stood up and said no, I won't pay any more. If they all did that then the government would have to listen. As it is, the cost of having one's own transport is getting prohibitive.

I live in a rural area. The nearest hospital is over 20 miles away and other than taxi or the occasional bus, a personal vehicle is not a luxury but an absolute necessity for millions of people living in rural areas and it's about time this was addressed.

Fully get your point here about paying for parking in hospitals....and here comes the dreaded...however... One of the main reasons hospitals or indeed any amenity charge for parking is because usually what happens is people park there then bugger off to work for the day leaving no parking spaces available to hospital goers.
I live beside a major hospital and have,thankfully, free parking on our road (road is too small and narrow to install paid parking). This however means that vehicles park on the road and are gone to the hospital for the day (cos its free) , sometimes across driveways and on more than one occasion blocking the end of the road to the point that bin lorries had no access resulting in non collection of bins.
So free parking at hospitals may still result in no parking availability.

 

[deema]

As I understand it, you MUST display a valid number plate on the Kings Highway, but not on private land. There is absolutely no reason to display a number plate either entering or leaving a private car park. No need for fake number plates, just a simple cover. Now, I’m not advocating theft by defeating PCN parking charges.

 

[GuitardoctorW7]

Fully get your point here about paying for parking in hospitals....and here comes the dreaded...however... One of the main reasons hospitals or indeed any amenity charge for parking is because usually what happens is people park there then pipper off to work for the day leaving no parking spaces available to hospital goers.
I live beside a major hospital and have,thankfully, free parking on our road (road is too small and narrow to install paid parking). This however means that vehicles park on the road and are gone to the hospital for the day (cos its free) , sometimes across driveways and on more than one occasion blocking the end of the road to the point that bin lorries had no access resulting in non collection of bins.
So free parking at hospitals may still result in no parking availability.

When my Dad was on his last legs, he was in QA Hospital Portsmouth. The ward staff would give me a chit that gave me reduced parking by about 80% which I thought was fair.

 

[Agent_zed]

As I understand it, you MUST display a valid number plate on the Kings Highway, but not on private land. There is absolutely no reason to display a number plate either entering or leaving a private car park. No need for fake number plates, just a simple cover. Now, I’m not advocating theft by defeating PCN parking charges.

A lot of carparks are APNR to let you in. If you cover your plate I would assume it won't open the barrier.

 

[Agent_zed]

Perhaps you could elaborate. It might help others on here? Don’t worry if it’s too much of a bother.

I had a letter/fine from the london congestion zone as it incorrectly read a numberplate. The car in the picture had an F which had dirt or something making it look like a P, and hence match mine.

As I don't have direct access to DVLA records I went on eurocarparts and used their numberplate system to show my car is a silver peugeot and the car in the picture was a white vauxhall, although it was probably easy enough to see the car in the pic wasn't a peugeot.

Just emailed this info back to them contesting the charge.

As others have said got a letter back saying they would 'let me off this time'??? Let me off what? not being anywhere near london or driving the car in the picture! How gracious of them.

 

[treeturner123]

I regret to say, a few years back, on holiday in the Lake District, out of season, I found a way of defeating the ANP system at a car park. I inadvertently went in via the exit to a small car park, parked, went round the town, came back to pay, entered my number and was very surprised to see the machine say, 'Number not Recognised'. It was only then that I realised my mistake!!

Sorry!

Phil

 

[MikeJhn]

When receiving Oncology treatment at my local hospital I only needed to take my parking ticket to Oncology Reception to have it verified for free parking, seemed the only thing I have won this year.

 

[user 36867]

In the 50s there was none of this. What a state this country has become GREED

 

[paulrbarnard]

In the 50s there was none of this. What a state this country has become GREED

In the 50’s there wasn’t the density of vehicles there is today. Parking charges are largely to encourage you not to take a vehicle in to town. For sure they are also a revenue source and some councils/companies take the piss but free parking would just result in no spaces available. It’s a two way street. How many now store their cars on the street for free making it difficult to drive in some places?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I was selling my house and the agent (who was a friend) said he couldn't send anyone around with a woman who only had a day to look at it would I mind. I said no. fine, I just want to sell it. I realised while speaking to the woman that the sale was going nowhere - the house was too big and to small at the same time - and she mentioned parking. Is parking easy here? Yes, it's usually fine, though sometime we have to park a little way down the road as four of the near neighbours have four vehicles and it gets a little congested on the odd occasion most of them are parked on the road at the same time. Four? That's ridiculous, she said. I have a garage and one off road space at the back, how many cars have you? Four ...

 

[stuart little]

Fully get your point here about paying for parking in hospitals....and here comes the dreaded...however... One of the main reasons hospitals or indeed any amenity charge for parking is because usually what happens is people park there then pipper off to work for the day leaving no parking spaces available to hospital goers.
I live beside a major hospital and have,thankfully, free parking on our road (road is too small and narrow to install paid parking). This however means that vehicles park on the road and are gone to the hospital for the day (cos its free) , sometimes across driveways and on more than one occasion blocking the end of the road to the point that bin lorries had no access resulting in non collection of bins.
So free parking at hospitals may still result in no parking availabil

Fully get your point here about paying for parking in hospitals....and here comes the dreaded...however... One of the main reasons hospitals or indeed any amenity charge for parking is because usually what happens is people park there then pipper off to work for the day leaving no parking spaces available to hospital goers.
I live beside a major hospital and have,thankfully, free parking on our road (road is too small and narrow to install paid parking). This however means that vehicles park on the road and are gone to the hospital for the day (cos its free) , sometimes across driveways and on more than one occasion blocking the end of the road to the point that bin lorries had no access resulting in non collection of bins.
So free parking at hospitals may still result in no parking availability.

The same reason for supermarkets charging. The local Aldi has a 1.5hr time limit, supported by NPR, but as the store is next door to a council Pay & Display car park, which, in turn is next the swimming pool/gym, with a pedestrian gate, folk will park in Aldi for free then go to the gym/pool.

 

[stuart little]

I recently read an article where a driver drove into Bristol airport car park to collect his wife, he had to stop a temporary traffic light on red, while waiting for it to change his wife came out, & as he was opposite the exit, she got in the car. When the lights changed they drove off, days later they received a fine. Probably because he didn't need to park, so subsequently he hadn't bought a ticket, as there was no need.

 

[Agent_zed]

The same reason for supermarkets charging. The local Aldi has a 1.5hr time limit, supported by NPR, but as the store is next door to a council Pay & Display car park, which, in turn is next the swimming pool/gym, with a pedestrian gate, folk will park in Aldi for free then go to the gym/pool.

Morrisons in ross-on-wye had free parking for years and people would park there and go into town as well as shop at morrisons. The carpark is huge so not really a problem, it was normally quite full but you could get a space.

Someone in management decided to implement a paid system where you got your money back if you bought something in morrisons to stop people parking and going into town. So they installed the pay and display machines and all the expense of monitoring etc.

As soon as it was implemented, everyone abandoned Morrisons. Literally decimated their trade overnight. People voted with their feet (and cars).

Their trade dropped so much that after 2 weeks they abandoned the plan to charge and put covers over the brand new pay and display.