company car - The wrong number plates! In tears! Please help

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Thu 15 Jul 2010 11:53
company car - The wrong number plates! In tears! Please help - Ditzy

I have a company car, the car is owned by a big fleet company, and when the car arrived,there had been an admin error, and one digit on the number plate was different to the log book. I have never seen the log book, as the fleet company keep it, and only realised the mistake when I took it for a service as the plates didn't tie up with the chassis number.

So I highlighted it again and again with the fleet company, who eventually sent me a new set of plates, but they were EXACTLY the same as the originals! Then I went off on long term mat leave, hardly drove very much and didn't really think too much about any of this. I know it's foolish, and naive but I sort of thought it didn't matter, and that my fleet had told DVLA. It's been MOT'd a couple of times and the MOT was signed off no problem each time too.

Anyway, I've got a call from the local council, chasing me for a LOAD of parking tickets! I'm going to go and speak to them in person to discuss it, and explain the situation - I totally admit to some silly parking stuff, but as no one ever contacted me, I just thought that the follow-up on tickets was shoddy, and didn't think anything of it.

But now I'm suddenly TERRIFIED that I might have loads of speeding fines/congestion charges etc that I don't even know about, and could be banned, or even go to jail! I'm so scared! I'm sitting here in tears about it and have no idea what to do! When I spoke to the council, they sort of insinuated that I was probably involved in some criminal activity! Nothing could be further from the truth! I'm just a housewife and mum, and on mat leave again, hugely pregnant with our next baby, and I'm worried sick! I haven't told my husband as he'll go crackers, and don't know what to do! I've spoken to my fleet company and they seem to think that it's nothing to do with them whatsoever even though it was their mistake originally.

What should I do?

Tearfully,

Ditzy

Edited by Ditzy on 15/07/2010 at 11:55

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Thu 15 Jul 2010 12:39
company car - The wrong number plates! In tears! Please help - Peter D

How have they traced you. If the reg is wrong then DVLA would not have traced the fellet company unloss they also own the incorrect reg. I suspect the fleet company registered a bunch of cars and they put the wrong plate on your car. Put the request to ressolve this issue to the fleet company. Quote the Vin Number, request the correct plates and a copy of the V5C.

If the parking fines are genuine then pay them. They have a time limit form the date they are delivered so read them carefully and pay them on time, this is of course if they are actually for you and not the person driving around with your number plate on and the fleet company have named you incorrectly. Many parking attendants take a photo of the car so you could request a copy buy do not go past the payment date. Regards Peter

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Thu 15 Jul 2010 16:06
company car - The wrong number plates! In tears! Please help - Avant

There must be a human being somewhere that you can talk to about this - either your oen boss or company administrator, or someone in the fleet management company. Someone somewhere should be able to talk to you and help.

You're right to get to talk to the council: you need to establish which car was illegally parked - as Peter says, if it was you, then pay the fines, but only if it definitely was you and not another car which could possibly have the same registration number as yours.

Good luck, and let us know how you get on.

Edited by Avant on 17/07/2010 at 00:03

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Thu 15 Jul 2010 17:29
company car - The wrong number plates! In tears! Please help - Ditzy

Thanks so much for your messages. Peter D, I was traced by the council by them looking at my tax disc holder which had the name of my local dealer who does my servicing. They gave them the chassis number, and then went to my fleet company, who for months said my car didn't exist, until finally somone looked at their files and found my car. I got a phone call yesterday from the fleet manager and then spoke to the council.

Today's developments are that I explained the situation to the council, and they have accepted my explanation about why I was driving about with the wrong plates. They have said they have 13 tickets, 6 of which were issued under the 1991 RTA and the remainder under the TMA Act. I understand that under the TMA they have to serve notice within 6 months and the council are argueing that as they have been in contact with DVLA and the fleet company they have processed them correctly. The total is £750 but they have offered to close the matter with a payment of £310. I haven't replied to their email yet but I'm minded to pay it as all of the tickets were in my home town and are highly likely to have been mine.

Then the customer services manager from the fleet company phoned. She very patronisingly told me that my parking and driving was none of her concern, that I'm liable for anything that comes through for my car, (none of which I dispute) and as far as this whole situation is a result of their shoddy admin, well, sorry. And then she had the nerve to say "well you should have chased this more." The conversation was of no value whatsoever, other than the fleet manager being able to vent her spleen on someone she clearly feels is highly stupid and irresponsible (that may well be the case but it's hardly helpful to point this out!!) and so the call ended.

I have no idea what DVLA might have to say - for all I know I might have driven through a 1000 speed cameras and could end up banned and know nothing about it until it all hits in one go. I don't know whether I'd be better to sit and wait for the hammer to fall, or to contact them directly and grasp the nettle. Or what?

I need not to be banned! I could really do without a huge fine but that's much better than not being able to drive at all.

What should I do?

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Sat 17 Jul 2010 09:06
company car - The wrong number plates! In tears! Please help - LucyBC

You cannot do anything else at the moment other than to do a deal with the council on the existing tickets and see what else turns up.

If you are a resonably competent driver you will not have incurred hundreds of speeding tickets or congestion charge penalties and you probably have nothing to worry about.

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