Council stupidity and reversing the burden of proof

Cloning of numberplates is very common. It is an absolute pain for the innocent party who has to engage with the police, the DVLA and all the councils where the naughty car committed a contravention. It is usual for there to be multiple PCNs and rather than all representations being accepted or refused you end up with a mix, utterly stupid. Here is a letter which Barnet Council sent after one such representation and far from being bound by a made up time limit the recipient doesn't even have to reply:

As motorists tend to get nervous about not replying Mr Mustard provides some of the information and did so in this case:

 

Providing the log book and the council's own photographs should have been enough but no, the council rejected the perfect challenge in the hope that an innocent party would part with £65 they didn't owe. Not when Mr Mustard is stood behind them they won't.

Mr Mustard marched on. He started an Appeal to the independent adjudicator at London Tribunals on behalf of Miss M for Mini.

Only a week later Barnet Council threw in the towel and cancelled the PCN. They had incurred a tribunal fee of c. £30 which is just money down the drain. The council were never going to win. A person whose car has been cloned, although it is helpful to provide information, is under no obligation to provide any information at all. The council have to prove the car they wish to obtain a penalty for is your one. Here is a comprehensive decision on the subject.

You can send that decision to any council when telling them your car has been cloned and you are providing a reasonably helpful amount of information. You do not have to jump through all of the council's hoops, tell them they have to prove the car in question is yours.

Once you get the first cloned PCN start taking a photo of your car every time you park it so that you then have a comprehensive record of where it was at all times i.e. you parked at home on Tuesday morning and then didn't move it until Friday afternoon (and so on) is easily evidenced by just 2 photos.

Even before then put distinctive stickers in your front and rear windows or on your numberplates, anything you like, a pokemon, your football team colours, baby on board etc etc and then the cloned vehicle will look visibly different to the real car.

Make 2025 the year that you take no nonsense.

The end.