‘I was fined more than 120 times after criminals cloned by number plate’

A woman said she felt “completely helpless” as she faced an avalanche of traffic fines every day after her car’s number plate was copied by criminals.

Heather Caddick was issued more than 120 penalty notices for her Saab in Bristol over a six-month period for driving in bus lanes, speeding and unpaid clean air zone charges.

Although the first batch of fines were successfully appealed, fines continued to be issued until Ms Caddick was forced to re-register her vehicle with a private number plate.

“I was upset and worried about the first penalties, but by the end I was feeling angry,” he said. Independent.

“I was getting so many fines, up to 12 a day. I even had to explain to the postman what had happened. Each fine required a response to dispute and cancel the payment. It became another job.”

Miss Caddick’s story is not unusual. Last year DVLA data was seen by: Independent It showed 11,402 reports were made by people receiving fines or penalties unrelated to their vehicles; this number was up 53 percent from 7,430 in 2021.

Plate copying, one of the reasons behind reports sent to the DVLA, involves criminals stealing or copying another car’s registration, often belonging to a similar-looking vehicle, to avoid fines and penalties for motoring offences.

The app allows the offender to drive without being detected for criminal activities until they notify the police.

But it also creates distress and frustration for victims, who often live hundreds of miles from the crimes and only learn that their vehicle ID has been stolen when they receive a penalty notice.

The fines started coming for Ms Caddick almost immediately after she purchased the Saab vehicle privately. He believes the criminal got the license plate from an online list.

He received more than 120 fines from February 2024 to July 2024. Almost all were from Bristol City Council; Around 80 were for entering a bus gate in one area of ​​Bristol and 40 were unpaid charges for the city’s Clean Air Zone.

Ms Caddick, who lives in Keynsham, three miles from Bristol, was also issued several speeding tickets by Avon and Somerset Police and a fine for illegally leaving Bristol Airport.

“At one point I thought ‘wait, if I’m not successful with these applications I might have to pay thousands of pounds’,” he said.

He objected to each report by detecting the model difference of the car in the CCTV pictures attached to the notices. In many cases, he was asked to provide more information to support each objection.

“It was very sad,” he said. “There would be a few more in the letterbox when I got home. You know, they all have that threatening tone to them about what will happen if you don’t pay. I’m lucky I’m computer savvy. I hate to think how old people will deal with this on their own.”

“This went on until I bought a special number plate for £250, then it stopped.”

Ms Caddick called on authorities, including councils and the police, to work more closely to support victims. It also wants forces to strengthen the use of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras to prevent drivers being harassed.

Avon and Somerset Police said it had since strengthened its approach to dealing with reported cloned vehicle registrations with the launch of a dedicated online tool. The reports led to markings being placed on number plates that ANPR-equipped officers could use to identify suspicious vehicles.

If police encounter a marked vehicle, the opportunity to stop it will depend on a number of operational factors, including time of day, location and availability of police resources, he said.

Inspector Matt Boiles said: “We recognize how distressing and frustrating vehicle registration cloning can be for those affected. “Victims may find themselves receiving penalty notices or correspondence for crimes they did not commit, which can understandably cause significant distress.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council said it was aware criminals were using methods such as copying number plates to disguise a vehicle’s identity and police were “working hard” to tackle the crime. At this time, several police forces were involved in operations targeting criminals, including proactive patrols and “hot lists” of vehicles to be stopped.

A spokesman said: “We continue to work closely with the government and our partner organizations to identify how we can best work together to put an end to this crime.”

The DVLA said it was committed to ensuring all number plates were displayed legally, adding that it was working with the police and the council trading standards team to take action against plate suppliers who did not comply with the law.

An application was made to Bristol City Council Independent for comment.