Cloned plates / identity theft — V23 process and police report

Where a clone of your registration plate has been used on another vehicle and you are receiving NTKs/charges for events your vehicle was not at: (1) report to police as a crime (action fraud reference); (2) submit DVLA form V23 (Reporting use of another's vehicle registration mark) — DVLA can flag the cloned VRM; (3) gather alibi evidence — toll records, parking receipts elsewhere, dashcam, GPS tracker logs, employer attendance, fuel receipts; (4) demand the operator's photograph and compare make/model/colour/distinctive features. The operator's evidence will normally show a different vehicle.

Legal basis

PoFA 2012 Sch 4 para 9(2)(a): the Notice to Keeper must "specify the vehicle, the relevant land on which it was parked and the period of parking to which the notice relates". Where a cloned plate is used, the vehicle in the operator's evidence is not the keeper's — put the operator to proof that the photographed vehicle is actually yours (compare make, model, colour and distinctive features). Criminal context for your report: Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 s.44 (forgery and fraudulent use of registration marks) and Fraud Act 2006 s.2 (fraud by false representation). Report the cloning to the police (Action Fraud) and to DVLA (form V23).

How to identify this in your case

You have a NTK for a place you weren't; operator's photo shows a different make/model/colour vehicle; you can prove your alibi.

Sample appeal wording

Before you send this

Deadline. A late submission can be turned down without your argument being read. Check your notice for the deadline and how it is counted.
Paying may end it. Paying can count as accepting the notice and can close a challenge already under way. Part-paying or acknowledging an old debt can also revive a time limit that had expired.
The amount can change. Check what happens to the sum if you challenge — it may be held, re-offered lower, or keep rising, and fees or enforcement can continue meanwhile.
Use the official route. Use the method, recipient and form your notice specifies, with any reference, evidence and signature it asks for. Sent elsewhere, it may not count.
Only say what is true. Do not copy any statement of fact unless it is true for you, and check the legal point still applies. Delete what does not fit. It may be treated as your statement.
Careful what you volunteer. Avoid unnecessary admissions — naming the driver or accepting responsibility can remove arguments. But answer anything you are legally required to answer, and do include the evidence your ground needs.
Keep the record. Keep what you sent, the attachments, any receipt, and the reply. Note the next deadline.

Sample wording to adapt and send yourself — it may not fit your notice or the stage you are at. Replace the bracketed prompts with your own details; leave any case citation as it is.

Dear [OPERATOR], Re: NTK [REF] — Vehicle [REG] alleged at [LOCATION] on [DATE] I am the registered keeper of vehicle [REG]. I was not at the alleged location on the alleged date. My vehicle's registration plate has been cloned. Evidence: 1. Photograph of my vehicle showing it is [MAKE/MODEL/COLOUR/DISTINCTIVE FEATURES] — your photograph shows a different vehicle (compare attached). 2. [Toll record / Dashcam / GPS / Employer attendance / Fuel receipt] placing me/my vehicle at [OTHER LOCATION] at the alleged time. 3. Police crime reference [NUMBER] reported on [DATE]. 4. DVLA V23 reported on [DATE]; reference [NUMBER]. Under UK GDPR Art 5(1)(d) my data is inaccurate as to the alleged event. Under PoFA 2012 Sch 4 para 4 you have no claim against me as keeper of the actual vehicle parked, because the actual vehicle is not mine. I require: (a) Immediate cancellation of the charge; (b) A copy under UK GDPR Art 15 of all photographs and ANPR images of vehicle bearing plate [REG] held by you; (c) Confirmation no debt-collection or court action; (d) That you cooperate with the police investigation by retaining the evidence under the data preservation principles. Yours faithfully, [NAME]

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Cloned plates / identity theft — V23 process and police report

Legal basis

How to identify this in your case

Sample appeal wording

Beat It writes this argument automatically

Sources

Related appeal grounds

Next steps