Local man's cloned number plates lead to ID theft, fines and bureaucratic hell

CapeTalk's Lester Kiewit speaks to 'Peter' (a pseudonym), who shares his experience and the challenges of fighting a cloned number plate case.

Listen below:

Peter alleges he has fallen victim to an identity theft scam which includes cloning his car's number plates.

He says he has received four speeding fines with his name, each with photographic evidence, ranging from R600 to R1000... only to realise the car in the images wasn’t his. 

Peter says he drives a Hyundai Tucson but images on all speeding fines show a silver Mercedes Benz.

The speeding fines total R3,400.

He says he has not received the fourth fine of R1,000 yet 'because the traffic department won't release any details about the fine'.

After regular visits to the traffic department to dispute these fines, Peter got caught up in a bureaucratic nightmare with no resolution.

Peter recalls his first attempt at disputing his case with the traffic department...

"When I went there the first time, I was sent to the Motor Vehicle Recovery Department which is on a different floor at Gallows Hill... and that's where I had to fill out a form and explain the situation," he explains.

On the form, it just showed an email address and a list of necessary documentation.

Upon Peter's further research, it seemed that the email address given to him was not in use, and there were no other contact details available.

After more inquiries, Peter says the department's search results said...

"All it says here is something about 'verification rejected, safety cam'. I have no idea what that is and it's a different number to what you would normally register your traffic fines under, there's no court date, no information, all that's on here is my license plate."

Peter also went to the police station to lay a charge of identity theft...

After getting a notice about having to appear in court to pay these fines, Peter says he went to the police station for advice, wanting to lay a charge of identity theft.

"I showed them all the documents I have, pictures of the vehicle... and the police officer told me that it should be reported at the nearest police station where the crime occurred.

"It happened on the N1. Must I go to the nearest police station where the camera was on the N1?" he asks.

No one can help...

"I'm not getting any answers from the traffic department," Peter says.

"From what I gather, the Motor Vehicle Recovery Unit on the first floor which investigates these things is non-existent. When I went there the second time, the person that takes the general enquiries said to me, I'll have to go to court to prove my case."

Is there hope for Peter to clear his name?

Peter knows where the car with his cloned number plates is, but doesn't know what to do.

"I have now tracked down where this car is and I know where this car is but for my own safety, I do not know what to do."

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the full conversation.