Number plate cloning

[wandle MG4 trophy]

There are several horror stories in the media about owners of cars receiving parking/speeding/box junction fines etc after their number plate has been cloned. It appears to be very difficult to prove your innocence as "evidence" you present about you or your car being elsewhere is usually circumstantial.

Does anyone know if GPS journey history is stored anywhere in MG cars and if so is it accessible after the event by plugging in some sort of OBD reader?

I guess that to stand any chance of being accepted as "evidence" the GPS data needs to have been extracted from the vehicles on board systems. A portable GPS logger might be helpful but would not "prove" anything.

 

[T1 Terry]

Can't a photo of the whole vehicle be requested and should show enough that it is a different vehicle ..... over here, simply a photo of the plate is not enough, it must show the vehicle the plate is attached to committing the offence.

We have more of a problem with number plates being stolen, generally the front one and the owner doesn't realise until weeks later when a fine appears in the mail ..... if it is a similar looking and similar colour, then it is often a few trips to court trying to prove it wasn't your car and the plate was stolen ....

T1 Terry

 

[wandle MG4 trophy]

Can't a photo of the whole vehicle be requested and should show enough that it is a different vehicle ..... over here, simply a photo of the plate is not enough, it must show the vehicle the plate is attached to committing the offence.

We have more of a problem with number plated being stolen, generally the front one and the owner doesn't realise until weeks later when a fine appears in the mail ..... if it is a similar looking and similar colour, then it is often a few trips to court trying to prove it wasn't your car and the plate was stolen ....

T1 Terry

In the UK I believe photos are sent along with the fine but if they have put your plates on an identical model and colour it is difficult to prove especially if the photo was taken in low light, in rain or when the car was speeding.

 

[5teep]

Unlikely that an MG5 owner with the same model and colour as yours will want to clone your number plate so they can go speeding. The UK press prints clickbait and controversy to drive sales, not to inform.

 

[maskull]

You're phone should show your location history . You could use that to back you up ,especially if you were in a different area .

 

[Anon70]

I guess there are a couple of easy ways to differentiate your car from a clone. One would be to put a sticker in the corner of the front and rear windscreen. Another would be a low price modification like the front fangs. This makes your car more unique. It is highly unlikely a cloner will know your car has these differences unless they have actually seen them. Even the position of a dashcam (that can be seen through the windscreen) would tell someone it is not your car.

 

[siteguru]

You're phone should show your location history . You could use that to back you up ,especially if you were in a different area .

The prosecution has to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt ... location history of your phone may be enough evidence to cast doubt.

 

[salty]

Don't see the problem, as already said above. Unless they have the Exact same model/colour as your car. Which is highly unlikely. They can check your car easily. To confirm it wasn't you. Or is that to simple?

 

[GaryMG4]

I had a letter from Thames Valley police informing me my MX5 had been recorded by a community speed watch in Steeple Claydon (Bucks) and that my details had been added to a database in case it happened again. I contacted them and told them although the car had been purchased in that area it had been in Norfolk for most of the following 6 years, they agreed to remove it from their records and agreed to operator probably needed to go to Specsavers.

 

[T1 Terry]

I did have an occasion that I received a photo camera speeding ticket when my car was in at a repair shop, so I forwarded it in to the Police prosecutions dept with copy of the invoice from the workshop ..... 6 mths later, they came back with video evidence, that at the time of the incident, my car was on a hoist in the workshop, they had 24 hr security surveillance ..... and they asked me to explain how this could have happened ....... all I could do was, put all the paperwork together and send a short reply .... "Are you serious? I would love to take all this to court, but it wouldn't be me who had to do a lot of explaining" A few weeks later I received an official notice, the incident had been reviewed and it has been decided to dismiss the case on this occasion ..... In other words, we can not admit there has been some sort of error, nor can we have such a thing on court records .... so it has been swept under the carpet

T1 Terry

 

[Bam Bam]

This is why I blocked out my number plate on this forum.

It is very rare. There are maybe only a few people out there who clone numberplates to avoid fines and tickets, but by covering up the plate I make it less likely to be our car that gets cloned.

Someone could still go past the car on the driveway and note down the number, of course.

However, this forum is going to be the first place an MGEV cloner is going to look for a fake numberplate!

 

[salty]

This is why I blocked out my number plate on this forum.

It is very rare. There are maybe only a few people out there who clone numberplates to avoid fines and tickets, but by covering up the plate I make it less likely to be our car that gets cloned.

Someone could still go past the car on the driveway and note down the number, of course.

However, this forum is going to be the first place an MGEV cloner is going to look for a fake numberplate!

Fair enough. But the chance of it happening is very very slight. I've never bothered, but each to their own.

 

[Ian Key]

A friend of mine who had a blue Audi TT was visited by the police as his car, or a car with his registration, had committed a number of driving offences. They had picked his car and the impostor's car up on various ANPR cameras. They knew they were two different cars as one had a GB sticker and wanted to see which was which.

Luckily for my friend his was the one with the GB sticker and wasn't the one they were after.