CAR CLONING - YOUR NUMBER'S UP
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| Cloned plates fool congestion charge cameras |
High fuel prices, traffic jams, parking costs and fines - British motoring doesn't come cheap. And if you live in the capital, there's the largely despised congestion charge to contend with too. But for some motorists, driving has become even more of an expensive luxury. Hundreds of pounds worth of congestion charges, speeding and parking fines have been landing on the doormat of innocent motorists. So who has been racking up these fines and charges how are they getting away with it? Inside Out enters the murky world of the ringer to find out. The world of the ringerCar cloners or "ringers", as they are known, are motoring bandits. They spot a hapless motorist, note the number-plate of the car, then get duplicate plates made. Sporting the new plates, they cruise the streets with impunity. Meanwhile, the unwitting motorist is watching fines and charges hit the "wipe your feet" mat at home. This is just the situation Leon Ruiz found himself in. Personal experience
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| Whilst Leon takes the train, his cloned plates clock up bills |
Leon journeys regularly in and out of London, but he takes the leisurely train. Meanwhile, his car, or should we say, a car with his number-plates, has been equally as regularly triggering the congestion charge cameras. Leon says "I was quite amused with the first one that turned up. I had heard of this sort of thing happening. "But, by the end of the week, I had four of them." Leon now has a very expensive doormat. He reckons that if he had paid all of them, it would have spiralled to £8,000. And it wasn't just congestion charges that he was receiving. "This guy went into the congestion charge zone, to my knowledge, no fewer than 28 different occasions," says Leon. "He also got two speeding tickets on the M62 for speeding through roadworks that I got the benefit of," he says, with tongue firmly in cheek.
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| "I jumped out of bed, looked out of the window and there was someone pointing a gun at me." |
| John Cahill |
Wake-up call with a differenceJohn Cahill was also a victim of car cloning, but it wasn't a parking fine that landed on his doorstep, it was an armed police squad. John's car had supposedly been used as a getaway vehicle in an armed robbery, making John the prime suspect. With the house surrounded by armed officers, John was escorted to the police station. He was released after five hours when police confirmed his alibi. They now knew that another cloned car was out on the road and the perpetrators of the crime were ringers. Pick a number
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| Congestion charges could be landing on your door mat |
In order to get a pair of plates, or even one for that matter, the law demands that you provide your registration document with proof of identity. But with some dodgy dealers, law goes out the window. They will provide number-plates over the counter for a few used notes without that vital documentation. Essentially, there are three in the chain. The user of the dodgy plates, the supplier of the plates and the plate manufacturer - all equally as culpable in the dirty deed.
| How to avoid buying a cloned car |
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Advice to anyone considering purchasing a used car privately: Always have sight of the registration document V5 prior to purchasing a used vehicle. Be satisfied that the seller owns the vehicle or is entitled to offer it for sale. Ask the seller for proof of identity. View the vehicle at the address shown on the registration document. Check the vehicle identification number (VIN) - sometimes called the chassis number - corresponds with the number on the registration document.
This number can usually be found on a metal plate under the bonnet. If you have limited knowledge of vehicles take an experienced person with you. Be wary of handing over cash to someone who has been contacted through a mobile number. Check if the vehicle has been seriously damaged, notified as stolen or is subject to outstanding finance. The following companies provide this service for a fee - Carwatch UK Limited (Vehicle History Check) - 0870 010 7899*, Experian (Car Data Check) - 0870 6000 838* and HPI Limited - 01722 422 422. If anyone is offered a vehicle for sale accompanied by one of the stolen registration documents, you should contact the police immediately. Source: DVLA |
Stopping this practice would be easy - if those who supply them to the public would play the game. But this is a game with no rules. So, to hunt them out, the Inside Out team goes undercover. On the trailThe team's reporter, Paul, finds that Tower Hamlets Council has been losing thousands of pounds in honestly earned (if that's not too far from the truth) parking fines. His suspicions of the reasons why are confirmed. The ringers. Paul visits a dealer he has been tipped off about in Stratford. For £30, Paul buys a pair of plates that, in a fairly short space of time, could have saved him hundreds of pounds - if he had been that way inclined. When Inside Out confronts the shop in Stratford they say they hadn't sold us the plates. They also add that they weren't aware until recently that they needed to fully check the ID of a purchaser of a blank plate. UnenforceableWith car cloning escalating and the police seemingly powerless to prevent the sale of false plates, the likelihood of becoming a victim is rising rapidly. So if your letterbox is groaning with congestion charge bills, fines and other dubious financial delights of motoring - and the car has been nailed to the floor in the garage all the time - you may have become the latest victim of the ringers. | 
Inside Out Extra: Monday March 21, 2005