Andy Malone - Editor Posted April 10, 2021 Share Posted April 10, 2021 Not Westfield related but thought I'd share. My Mum (in her 70s) just found both her front and back plates on her Toyota Aygo have been carefully unscrewed and stolen last night. No other damage on the car, screw threads in the plastic still intact so not forced off. Very strange as it's a nice place, really quiet little private car park and directly in front of about 12 flats and their windows. Also no other cars seem to have been touched. We've reported it to the police and they were largely unsurprised and noted it down and even said as it's on the system she can now drive the car without issues until her replacements arrive. It just seems weird. It's not the sort of car you'd be looking to clone for a getaway or theft as I can probably walk faster than it! I've no idea how common it is. Our neighbours said to me earlier they have had the same thing at a restaurant years ago and the plates turned up in a bin on a town 10 miles away. Anyway, thought I'd share. Good job is wasn't my Westfield as the velcro on those would prove no trouble at all. 🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy - a15cro Posted April 10, 2021 Share Posted April 10, 2021 Was it a cherished number? I always thought they would have been less likely for theft. We have a local petrol station who gets hit now and again with false plates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO Posted April 10, 2021 Share Posted April 10, 2021 How strange as you say. However All types of cars get pinched and cloned etc. At least she's reported it, hence if/when she starts getting parking tickets etc, she should hopefully have an easier time getting them closed down etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Westwood Posted April 10, 2021 Share Posted April 10, 2021 My friend had his plates stolen and the thief's used them to get fuel without paying. He had the police knock on the door and accused him of driving off without paying. Luckily he had reported it to the police earlier. It wasn't even the same type of car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeg Posted April 10, 2021 Share Posted April 10, 2021 I’ve heard that they just use them to show it’s taxed , insured and mot’d for the benefits of ANPR cameras Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted April 10, 2021 Share Posted April 10, 2021 A former colleague had his Ford Fiesta cloned, he woke up one morning to his car clamped by DVLA's representatives for unpaid fines and tickets, he took the fine for not changing his address on the chin but the Dart crossing charges and speeding camera tickets turned very quickly into a weekly pain in the arris for him, the easiest way to stop having to prove all of these tickets and fines weren't his was to put a personal plate on the car, the plod never did tell him if they caught anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff oakley Posted April 11, 2021 Share Posted April 11, 2021 If they end up on a car exactly the same she will get lots of tickets which will be hard to defend, so keep records and put something on her car that is unique like a sticker. The police do catch people but usually if it is on a vehicle that is clearly false, ie a different make. Many do buy a cheap plate and swap to avoid the hassle. The reason they unscrew them is that it is not as easy as it once was to get plates made Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Malone - Editor Posted April 11, 2021 Author Share Posted April 11, 2021 She's got her crime number all registered so I'm hoping that mitigates any issues that may pop up and I'm ordering a replacement set of plates and some security screws today for her to get her car sorted again so she can feel comfortable using it again. The plate is a bog standard 66 plate from the factory so nothing special at all. One benefit is she barely uses the car so if things start popping up on ANPR in a certain area other than her town she'll be able to easily identify that is isn't her. I just hope she doesn't get a ton of hassle from this as she's stressed enough with corona, etc... without dealing with criminal shenanigans as well. If that happens I'll probably sort another reg for her as you say. Very annoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dombanks Posted April 11, 2021 Share Posted April 11, 2021 with the massive increase in cameras monitoring everything from the local chipp car park to smart motorways I often wondered how likely you would be to get caught with the wrong plates on. especially if your car was something generic like a silver focus or the like. Someone nefarious only needs have a ready supply of numbers and change them every so often? Ive got no idea how the systems work but am assuming that if the car they belong to is insured and taxed you'd be able to go about speeding/bridge crossing etc for a while especially if they matched the right car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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