Watch Out - Congestion Charge

[No6]

Last week had a summons to pay London congestion charge.

However, it wasn't our car. It was someone who had copied our plate and put it on another C-class. I guess they saw the car awaiting delivery from the South London dealers and cloned it.

I'm in Hong Kong and been that way for a year. Our car was delivered in October - was driven by my wife once following delivery.

Reason for writing this - be careful.

 

[grumpyoldgit]

Let's hope it pings up on the ANPR system and they are caught.
(That's assuming the police have been informed by the GLC).

 

[No6]

Excellent point. Wife contacted local police - who said write to GLC. Imagine it will have arrived today.

 

[BTB 500]

This is the principal reason for people obscuring reg. numbers on pictures posted on make-specific owners forums (like this one).

You can get plates made up with any registration you fancy (no checks) via numerous internet companies. The small print will describe them as "show plates", not legal for road use

 

[No6]

This is the principal reason for people obscuring reg. numbers on pictures posted on make-specific owners forums (like this one).

You can get plates made up with any registration you fancy (no checks) via numerous internet companies. The small print will describe them as "show plates", not legal for road use

Not relevant in this case. No photo on the net - with reg showing.

Good point though.

 

[Mr E]

Excellent point. Wife contacted local police - who said write to GLC. Imagine it will have arrived today.

Hope she didn't - the GLC don't exist any more, and the correct authority is TfL (Transport for London).

Did you not receive any previous letter about it?

Regardless, either let it go to court and show that it was not yours, or fill out the relevant Out of Time and Statutory Declaration forms and send them to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (Traffic Enforcement Centre statutory declarations). They will inform TfL, and action will be suspended / stopped. If you can show that the forms have been sent to the wrong address, you were out of the country, etc, then TfL have to start again by issuing a penalty notice from scratch.

Personally I'd send the forms in as it takes all the time pressure off - you need to pop into a local court to swear the statement is true but that costs nothing but a few minutes. They can even be sent after the court date as, once the form is received by the TEC, any enforcement or recovery action is stopped straight away.

I had to do this a couple of time with my previous car as all notices were being sent to the office to which I never go by the lease company - they would get mailed to HQ, who would eventually mail it to home. Any parking fines, etc, would always end up out of time, so I'd fill in the form, pop into town, send it off, and that would reset the clock. I had no issue paying the fine (if it was correct) but wasn't going to pay the hugely inflated fines they eventually end up asking for.

 

[st13phil]

Personally I'd send the forms in as it takes all the time pressure off - you need to pop into a local court to swear the statement is true but that costs nothing but a few minutes.

I'm in Hong Kong and been that way for a year.

Could be a little tricky...

Which actually raises the question of how would you do a Stat Dec if you're out of the country

 

[smillion]

This is the principal reason for people obscuring reg. numbers on pictures posted on make-specific owners forums (like this one).

You can get plates made up with any registration you fancy (no checks) via numerous internet companies. The small print will describe them as "show plates", not legal for road use

I guess this makes our own " Has anyone seen any good number plates lately "
thread a mine of information

Marc