We realised our car registration plate had been cloned after we received parking and speeding fines. Police confirmed in writing the offending car was not ours. We contested the fines, but our auto-pay account with Transport for London (TfL) had already been debited by £400 in Ulez [ultra-low emission zone] penalties. I cancelled auto-pay, and we have now received a demand for a further £200 from debt collectors. TfL refuses to accept it is not our car.
C and FC, London
AW of Northampton is in a similar predicament. She received Ulez fines even though she had never driven to the capital. Photos attached to the fines show a number plate one digit different to her own and each time she appeals, the fines are cancelled. Then new ones arrive. “This,” she laments, “could go on forever.”
TfL tolds me that despite “rigorous checks” before a penalty was issued, it had failed to spot a “bolt” in the number plate which caused a D to be mistaken for a B. It apologised and placed a marker on the account. And it also finally accepted C and FC were not liable. “We apologise for any distress caused,” it said, promising a “full” refund.
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