Seller beware!
 

Just a quick heads up for anyone that may be considering selling their car soon.

I listed my S60 for sale on here a few weeks ago and also Gumtree as I have recently bought another car.
I have had plenty of timewasters via gumtree in contact but nobody as yet has viewed the car.
Today I received a penalty charge for driving in a bus lane and also a speeding fine from a police force that's a good 3 hours from where I live, indeed a part of the country I have never been to in my life.

I have had to talk to my local police for an incident number as it appears my car has been cloned.
The photo on the bus lane camera shows the car as same colour and reg as mine.

If it helps anyone please blank out your reg when posting pics of your car to save the hassle I now have to deal with.

Regards, Craig.

now theres an idea...
can park anywhere y like too

A timely warning, 'V70Craig', but it is not only sellers who should be aware. It seems this issue, or variants of it, are becoming increasingly prevalent.

I attended our local Parish Council meeting the other evening and the first item as always was a report by the Police officer present. On this occasion he reported a number of cases of number plate thefts from vehicles parked outside overnight. These plates were then used on similar vehicles for illegal purposes, such as driving off without paying for fuel.

The Police are obviously aware of the problem, but there is little that they can do unless they catch the miscreants red-handed. In an attempt to counter the problem, our local council distribute 'tamper-proof' screws to members of the public upon request. Apparently, if so secured, a number plate may only be removed by destruction.

Regards, John.

Sounds like a good idea but sadly would not have been applicable in my case. The distances involved mean the miscreant has had plates made up from photos of my car seen online in for sale ads. I am able to provide evidence of the fact that my car has not been used at all in several weeks and have photographic evidence of the mileage, which has not increased sufficiently to cover the distances involved.

I'm hoping there isn't more to come :(

When I sold my old Volvo I had a lady text me saying she would do a transfer and send a currier round to pick the car up. She was buying it for a relative apparently.
I was like you need to sign the log book and its cash only. Then the excuses started rolling so I just said turn up with cash otherwise no sale. Anyway she didn't, obviously some sort of scam.

That’s an old scam, if the seller agrees to this the story changes slightly saying the transport company need to be paid by the sender so they will send you the money for the car and the delivery cost. The poor seller gives over the car and pays the uplift fees then the transfer falls through and the seller has lost the car and the collection fee.

The increasing reliance on number plate recognition as the only way of law enforcement means it is inevitable that number plate cloning will increase. Do these clowns not realise that its extremely easy to have number plates made up for you on the internet?
Just wait when road pricing starts (what else do you think all these ANPR cameras on 'smart motorways' are for?).
Note how overhead 'Gatso's' have been replaced by small platform mounted units on the gantry uprights.

I think you are right, 'Grimble'. Am I naive if I believed the same checks apply to all sources of replacement number plates, including those purchased on the internet? When I needed a new plate for my trailer after changing my car, the dealer required sight of my passport, driving licence and the vehicle's registration document in my name (not the slip that you're given on purchase) before selling me one.

Regards, John.

As an update, I received a further notice from the police regarding yet another speeding incident today.
As a follow up from the original incidents they have also sent me clear pictures of the car involved. There are thankfully several differences including the badging which indicates a different model to mine.

Most likely there will be more to come, it's such an inconvenience at this moment in time :(

If possible stop the insurance it so they get picked up by ANPR cameras. Police will soon have them.