Bouchaib Moussaid, a care worker from St Albans, Hertfordshire, was on the verge of losing his £8,000 Kia Sportage to bailiffs after becoming a victim of car cloning. The practice, which motoring experts say is on the rise, involves criminals copying another vehicle's registration plates and attaching them to their own car, allowing them to drive without detection.
Moussaid received a series of penalty fines for driving in London's ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) 12 times, despite never having taken his car into the capital. Transport for London (TfL) agents seized his vehicle in January, even after he provided evidence that his car had been cloned, including a witness statement from a neighbour and proof that the car was declared off the road at the time of the alleged offences.
His sister-in-law, Lauren Hine, described the ordeal as 'ludicrous', noting that both Hertfordshire and Metropolitan police were aware of the cloning but TfL continued with enforcement. Only after the Guardian intervened was the vehicle returned and all fines dropped, leaving Moussaid in tears on his birthday.
Another victim, an 88-year-old woman, saw her insurance double to £1,259 after her cloned Ford Fiesta was involved in an accident on the M25. Despite reporting the cloning to police and providing her whereabouts at the time, insurer Zurich refused to remove the claim until the Guardian stepped in.
Simon Oliver from north London has been targeted twice, receiving penalty charge notices for bus lane and other offences he did not commit. Experts attribute the rise in cloning to increased motoring costs, including high insurance premiums and the £12.50 daily Ulez charge, which encourage unscrupulous drivers to adopt false plates.
A TfL spokesperson apologised for the distress caused to Mr Moussaid, acknowledging that the evidence was submitted after the statutory deadline but stating that all penalty charges should have been cancelled. They have since returned his vehicle.
