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London's car cloning crisis: Car cloning incidents in London more than double

Sarah Tooze
Written by  Sarah Tooze
5 min read
Updated: 12 Jul 2024

Cases of car cloning in London have more than doubled over the last three years, new research has found.

The number of innocent drivers receiving penalty charge notices (PCNs) in London because their number plate has been cloned has more than doubled in the past three years, new research has found.

Car cloning means that a criminal has copied (cloned) the identity of a legally registered vehicle and put the fake plate on a stolen vehicle of the same make, model and colour to either sell the vehicle, carry out further illegal activity or to avoid paying for fuel or fines.

Criminals have increasingly been dodging PCNs for London’s Congestion Charge, Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) and the Low Emission Zone (LEZ), as well as Red Route penalties and the Direct Vision Standard (DVS), which applies to HGVs above 12 tonnes.

In 2023, 6,761 vehicles with cloned plates racked up a total of 16,264 PCNs in London – more than double the numbers in 2021 (3,251 vehicles with cloned plates and 7,262 PCNs), according to a freedom of information request we submitted to Transport for London (TfL).

ULEZ accounts for 75% of fines

The majority (75%) of the fines in 2023 were for the ULEZ, which was introduced in 2019, then extended to 18 times its original size in October 2021, and expanded to cover all London boroughs in August last year.

A driver can be fined up to £180 (£90 if paid within 14 days) for driving within the ULEZ in a vehicle that does not meet the emissions standards and they haven’t paid the daily charge.

TfL says that the number of penalties cancelled due to cloning is less than 0.5% of all penalties issued.

However, as the figures are only for cancelled PCNs (when the innocent driver was able to successfully prove that their number plate had been cloned) they do not reveal the full extent of car cloning in London.

Car cloning is not just an issue in London – up to two million drivers could be doctoring number plates across Britain, according to police reports.

Every driver has a statutory right to challenge the penalty by submitting a representation to TfL but anecdotal evidence suggests many innocent drivers simply pay the fine or don’t have the evidence they need to prove their vehicle has been cloned.

TfL says that a driver needs to provide evidence such as specific pictures and a crime reference number from the police as part of an “established process”.

Its policy is for no PCN to progress after evidence of vehicle cloning has been provided. However, if no evidence is provided or TfL is unable to verify the claim that the vehicle has been cloned it will reject the representation. The driver is then granted a right of appeal to an independent adjudicator at London Tribunals.

Car cloning is not just an issue in London – up to two million drivers could be doctoring number plates across Britain, according to police reports.

The number of Clean Air Zones (CAZs) has grown in recent years with major cities like Birmingham and Bristol charging drivers of older petrol and diesel vehicles to enter their zones, which increases the likelihood of drivers trying to dodge fines.

Record fuel prices amid the cost-of-living crisis have also caused incidents of fuel theft to rise, with car cloning one of the methods used.

How can you protect yourself from car cloning?

There are a number of ways to help prevent becoming a victim of car cloning or to gather the necessary evidence to prove your innocence, such as:

  • Fitting anti-tamper security screws to your number plate to help stop criminals physically stealing it.

  • Parking your car in a garage if you have one so it’s harder for criminals to steal your number plate or make a note of it.

  • Not posting any images of your car on social media or when selling it online without blurring the number plate.

  • Photographing anything distinctive about your car which would show it was different to a cloned vehicle.

  • Fitting telematics or a dash cam to prove where your car has been at the time of an alleged incident.

Find out how to avoid buying a cloned car


Sources

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/09/06/ulez-speed-cameras-number-plates-doctored-by-driver/