NIP speeding but car not at the scene.. Options

[bearclaw]

One of the lads in the office has come in with an NIP for speeding, (39 in a 30 limit, fixed camera).

Was last week and the date of the alleged offence he was in the office (as was the car in fact). The location is 300 miles away north of Newcastle - we are in Berkshire...

He can produce evidence in the face of me and a few others as we were sat in a meeting at the time and the minutes show it.

Whats the best way to deal with this? I presume it's either a cloned car (unlikley) or I suspect more probably a misread plate. Is it best to go through the formal return of the NIP and a letter or would he be best phoning up, and asking them to have another look at the photos as he suspects a misread?

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[notmeatloaf]

Drop the camera team a phone call or email - as you say it is 99% a plate misread and they will confirm immediately the matter is dropped.

Do it after fourteen days and you are doing your good deed for the day as then they cannot pursue the other driver.

Some say you should return the S172 anyway to cover your bases but honestly, for me life is to short if you have an email confirming it is there mistake.

This post has been edited by notmeatloaf: Wed, 7 Mar 2018 - 10:49

[666]

Do it after fourteen days and you are doing your good deed for the day ...

No, you're helping a criminal to evade justice.

[andy_foster]

If it is all but certain that the SCP couldn't be bothered to do their job properly, I personally would not be minded to enable them to milk the correct customer. However, if there was any realistic possibility that my plate had been cloned, I would want it sorted out yesterday and to have an appropriate paper trail.

[bearclaw]

He's spoken with the camera people and their informal conversation on the phone was such that it was "very unlikley" that this is a misread as the plate is very clear.


He's asked for the pictures to be sent for helping in ID teh driver - so shall wait and see...

[Stoofa]

He's spoken with the camera people and their informal conversation on the phone was such that it was "very unlikley" that this is a misread as the plate is very clear.


He's asked for the pictures to be sent for helping in ID teh driver - so shall wait and see...

Then the next potential is a cloned plate. So you're looking for distinguishing things about your own vehicle or things on the picture that aren't on your car etc.

[Redivi]

He's spoken with the camera people and their informal conversation on the phone was such that it was "very unlikley" that this is a misread as the plate is very clear.


He's asked for the pictures to be sent for helping in ID teh driver - so shall wait and see...

He would have done better to send them photos of his car along with a letter stating that it wasn't there

Asking for pictures sends the message that he's not 100% sure

[bearclaw]

OK so he has the pictures...

He drives a black Honda. The car in question has a perfectly readable plate that is the same as both plates on his car and his V5. But the car in question is a blue Toyota...

With a little poking at random variations on the plate through the DVLA details checker, we found that if you change his plate letters by one, you get a blue Toyota. Think of a plate ending in HHS and change it to HSS.

Look up that car on the MOT checker and it failed for a deteriorated front number plate last MOT....

He's on the phone now but I dont think they will be sorted out over the phone and while we are happy to go to court it's an awful lot of lost earnings if we all have to go. I've suggested we all provide a signed statement that he was here at the time and a copy of the minutes and actions from that meeting, and he can send the info he's found and the likely cause for it along with the signed s172....

[BaggieBoy]

So the most probable conclusion is that a new number plate was ordered and the VRM was mistyped and no one noticed. Probably not a deliberate clone.

[notmeatloaf]

If they do not sort it out over the phone ask for the email address for the manager of the camera office and write them a concise email outlining the facts and that you expect them to look up the vehicle colour with the DVLA and then for the matter to be dropped.

Make sure the S172 is returned completed with a copy of them email.

You have done more than enough, it is not your colleague car there and it is the police's job to investigate. The normal route for a disputed plate is to ask for photos of your colleagues car to be sent but this is not needed as they can verify the colour without.

[bearclaw]

If they do not sort it out over the phone ask for the email address for the manager of the camera office and write them a concise email outlining the facts and that you expect them to look up the vehicle colour with the DVLA and then for the matter to be dropped.

Make sure the S172 is returned completed with a copy of them email.

You have done more than enough, it is not your colleague car there and it is the police's job to investigate. The normal route for a disputed plate is to ask for photos of your colleagues car to be sent but this is not needed as they can verify the colour without.

We guessed that whoever made the plates up had got it wrong.

The camera people asked for a s172 to be sent back signed and with a covering letter and said that would be the end of it and they would pass the matter to the relevant people - whether that be the DVLA or the police who knows.

So the most probable conclusion is that a new number plate was ordered and the VRM was mistyped and no one noticed. Probably not a deliberate clone.

Thats what we are thinking - it makes logical sense really with the MOT fail.

[facade]

FWIW, I bought a car once with a typo on the front numberplate, had it a couple of years without noticing, MOT'd every year etc. Then I broke the front numberplate, bought a new one using the reg on the back, and when I came to fit the "new" front, noticed that it was different! (it was double letter single letter, and should have been single letter double letter).

Never got pulled in the 2 years, despite the front plate being for a different coloured car.....

[Fredd]

Then I broke the front numberplate, bought a new one using the reg on the back, and when I came to fit the "new" front, noticed that it was different! (it was double letter single letter, and should have been single letter double letter).

How is that ambiguity possible? Could you give a relevant example?

[baggins1234]

Then I broke the front numberplate, bought a new one using the reg on the back, and when I came to fit the "new" front, noticed that it was different! (it was double letter single letter, and should have been single letter double letter).

How is that ambiguity possible? Could you give a relevant example?

Presumably something along the lines of FR** EDD versus FR** EED

[facade]

Apologies, thinking about it, it was the numbers. It should have been something like N533 XXX and the front plate was N553 XXX. It must have been repaired after an accident with a new bumper and reg. plate at the front. I've been looking for a photo of it as I can't for the life of me remember the actual reg.
If I hadn't broken the front plate (I hit something in the garage that hadn't been put away properly) I'd never have noticed as it was close enough to the correct one.
It probably returned the same make of car on a pnc check as they would have allocated a batch of numbers to the dealer.

I just remember the incident as it was out of the ordinary. Probably is quite a common mistake.