A MUM has revealed how her son was slapped with a £700 driving fine in a city 200 miles from his home due to a terrifying crime.
Thomas Fryer was even threatened with bailiffs but insists it was not him behind the wheel and that he’s never even been to the scene of the alleged offence.
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Thomas’ mum wrote a heartbreaking letter to This is Money, claiming that her son had been slapped with a penalty in relation to London’s ULEZ scheme despite living 200 miles away in Lancashire.
She wrote: “Our son has had a letter from a debt collection company saying he has an outstanding penalty notice from Transport for London for non-payment of ULEZ charges.
“He hasn’t been to London, and while the car in the image looks similar to his and has the same number plate, it is a different vehicle.
“He moved house and has only just been made aware of the issue. It has gone to court and bailiffs were due to visit.
“He and his wife were both very worried about the letter they received, so they paid £708 to the debt collection company.”
TfL later accepted Thomas’ appeal as it seems there was something much more sinister at play.
The distraught mum shared her suspicions that Thomas had been targeted by a terrifying car crime that has been on the rise in the last few years.
She suggested that his number plate may have been cloned after he put his car up for sale online.
Photos of the motor attached to the listing displayed the number plate, which she claimed could have been used to steal his identity.
As the name suggests, car cloning is when crooks steal the registration number of another car and create fake plates bearing the same digits.
This means that they can commit driving offences with impunity as ANPR cameras will identify the car as belonging to someone else entirely.
According to the latest DVLA figures, more than 12,000 drivers were issued a fine, letter or other penalty as a result of someone else using their registration between January 2021 and December 2022.
Thomas claimed that he had never driven the car that received the fine to London and, indeed, that he hadn’t visited the capital at all for more than seven years.
A side-by-side comparison of the two cars shows that those actually responsible for the fine used a very similar silver Honda to try and avoid the clean air charge.
Fortunately, TfL accepted Thomas’ appeal and he has since been issued a full refund of £708.
How you can protect yourself from car cloning
According to Jake Smith, director of Absolute Reg
- Be cautious online – don’t post your number plate on social media
- Attach your plate with anti-theft screws
- Be careful where you park to stop thieves accessing your plate
- If you suspect your plate has been cloned report it to the police and DVLA as soon as possible
A spokesperson for the body said: “We’re sorry that Mr Fryer has been a victim of vehicle cloning.
“Unfortunately, as we did not receive a representation with evidence of cloning from Mr Fryer within the required time frames, the case progressed to an enforcement agent.
“When Mr Fryer did contact us, he was advised to file an Out of Time Statutory Declaration with the Traffic Enforcement Centre.
“Having reviewed the case, we are satisfied that it is a cloned vehicle and have cancelled both PCNs and issued a full refund to Mr Fryer.”
