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Press releasesHelp on a plate to beat new car crimeMotorists are being given help ‘on a plate’ to combat a new-style car thief. Vehicle owners are being advised by one of the country’s leading car breakdown services, Autonational Rescue, to take extra precautions against the escalating crime of “car cloning”. This is where licence plates are stolen or copied and attached to another car used to commit motoring offences or other, more serious crimes. Last year there were more than 14,000 confirmed thefts of number plates, although this is thought to be well short of the actual total stolen. “Cloned” cars are then used to avoid congestion charges, parking and speeding fines and account for the loss of over £14 million to petrol station owners from ‘drive offs’. Thieves have taken to the streets since a 2002 DVLA clampdown on the practise of buying a new licence plate, with minimal proof of identity. Drivers can now only get new plates from registered dealerships on producing ownership documentation, although the loophole remains of being able to order UK number plates from abroad via the Internet, or different design ‘show plates’ bought without proof of vehicle ownership online or over the ‘phone. The DVLA are now also developing theft-proof licence plates designed not only to be difficult to remove but shatter if the thief is successful, and trialling ‘electronic’ number plates with a unique chip. The advice from Autonational Rescue’s marketing manager Ronan Hart is: “Don’t dismiss missing number plates as irritating vandalism, think the worst and always assume they have been stolen to clone your car’s identity. “And you should report any loss immediately to the police. Don’t ignore mystery parking or speeding tickets. “If they cannot possibly refer to you, contact the issuing authority and explain the situation, and if you have earlier reported a number plate theft, quote any crime reference number the police will have issued. “If you have been a victim of car cloning, carry proof of ownership of the car with you in case your vehicle is spotted on Automated Number Plate Recognition equipment and you are pulled over by the police. “In the event of protracted harassment as a result of cloning you can request the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to re-register your car and issue a new registration number.” Ends
For more information about Autonational Rescue, the car breakdown service with the no claims bonus, call 07000 999 911 Issued by CPR Works |
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