Speeding ticket, but I wasn’t where they say I was

[IRememberWhenThisWasAllFieldsAndCakePunching]

Hi everyone, I’ve just received a notice of intended prosecution for speeding, but I’ve looked at the time, date and location and I wasn’t there. I wasn’t even on the same road, for example, the stated road was the A222 but I drove on the road B222 and was a good seven minute drive from the roundabout where it changes from B222 to A222.

on top of that, the time of the incident is listed as 11.10, but I was sitting on the drive of a client, sending an invoice at 11.09 (I can see when I sent it from the app I use.) I wouldn’t have even been on the main B222 road by 11.10.

I’m a bit concerned that either it’s a scam (it looks very official) or I’m going to have to pay for something I didn’t do. Has anyone else experienced this?

I had a similar letter but they sent a photo with the letter. It was clear in the photo that the registration wasn't even mine-one of the letters on the reg plate was different to mine (different make and model too and a city I've never visited in my life !). . It was cancelled but there was a lot of hassle/time involved getting it cancelled.

We got the photo with the letter. No other correspondence.

It was a year ago and my DD and I were in a city that we didn't know that well so were using satnav. Google maps definitely directed her off a roundabout straight into a road that was only for buses! I was with her and saw what happened myself. So we were expecting it as we couldn't just reverse out of it back into the traffic on a very busy city centre roundabout (there have apparently been a lot of complaints to the city council about that roundabout exit, but they have done nothing because it is a good earner for them and that is in the local press).

I wouldn’t call the number on the letter, because if it’s a scam it’ll be the scammers that you’re calling.

Joe Lycett has a very funny bit about being issued a parking fine for somewhere when he wasn't there.

It is odd that a scammer would send a NIP asking for driver details instead of just trying to get money directly. Do not ignore the letter because if it is genuine and you do not supply driver details you will be fined and get 6 points.
As PPs have said the first step is to look at the evidence, it should be obvious if it is not your car, and whether the driver is you. If it is your car then consider very carefully whether to challenge it.

I haven’t ignored it, I would never do that, especially as it is very close to the area that I was in. I’ve emailed (very politely) to ask if I could see the photo. I don’t think that’s unreasonable given that I 100% wasn’t where they said I was. I wonder if it’s possible for them to have mistyped and put A when they meant to type B… but even then, I honestly don’t think I could have been on that road at that time.

This. It is apparently not at all uncommon.

I'm not sure there's any typing going on. The letters are probably automatically produced from the computer detecting the registration plate from the photograph.

But in any case, if you're sure you couldn't have been on that road at that time, either because you didn't use the road at all on that day, or might have done, but definitely not at that time, tell them that. You won't be the first by far because there are a reasonable number of criminals who clone plates for various reasons.

You might have to fill the form in though. I think you have to select from options to say that either, you were driving, you weren't but know who was or something else - so this is where you say you know your car was somewhere else.

Then just deal with correspondence as it comes along, and tell the truth. You're over thinking this and worrying about nothing. To take it further, the police need evidence that you were speeding at that time on that road. If they can't do that, because your car has been cloned, you have nothing to worry about.

I definitely am overthinking it 😂 there is no way I was on that road. I was on that road on 9th Feb, but in a different car as the passenger!

Don't suppose you've put images of your vehicle on Facebook? Made any attempt to sell it for example?

I had this too Op. check the picture closely - in my case the cars were same make different model but they'd got an O and a 0 mixed up.

I also had a letter for the wrong car. I was so stressed and wanted to know my punishment I almost just said it was me before looking at the evidence. It does sound like an official letter, but definitely keep asking for evidence.

please call them tomorrow and explain the situation and they will help you navigate it .
Recently had to do this due to an admin issue on the NIP notice and they were exceptionally helpful .
It seemed to me they were used to dealing with admin blips !

Good luck ..

No I haven’t put my car online, I don’t even put my face online 😁😁 I’ve rechecked the roads I took on my journey and I couldn’t have been on the B version of the A road they’re saying I was on for more than like 45 seconds, between two busy junctions, not long enough to pick up speed to 26mph I don’t think.

Do you think they could have made an admin error and put A222 when they meant B222?

Does your client have a ring doorbell?

You really need to see evidence. Keep pushing for it.

What does your Google timeline on your phone state as your journey for that day?

(Under the gogle icon, go to maps and click on that, then click on the icon to the right of thd camera icon on the top of the screen, select timeline option - go to the day in question to see where you've been)

We had our number plate cloned and received several notices (parking, driving down a bus only road, speeding) all within a few miles of our house.

The photos showed a car of our make and model, with our number plate, the only difference was that we had a chrome edge to our boot door, and the car photos didn't.

Luckily we have internal GPS and could contact the car manufacture to prove the vehicle wasn't in the places it'd been snapped.

It was a pain, but we contested every letter, listed the car as a car with a cloned number plate (i believe with the police), and after the third letter it just stopped.

Off topic but out of interest I just tried to do that and there's nothing, is that something we should all have ?

If there is a clone of your car, the police should be able to prove this to themselves as there will be ANPR data showing that the numberplate has passed cameras in different places with impossible journey times in between.

I don't think there will be an admin error about the time or location. That information comes out of the camera, likely automatically, into a letter.

They would be certain to record this data accurately otherwise you get the self appointed amateur lawyers who have broken the law trying to get off on the technicality that the particulars of the offence are incorrect.

Then provide this evidence to them. My DP got a ticket one time and we were able to dispute it as we could prove there was no way he could have been at point A and then at point B minutes later and, in this case, we had photograph evidence of point A.
They accepted the explanation and cancelled the ticket.

I had this received a speeding ticket for somewhere nearby but not someone I had been. I just phoned the police on the number on the letter. They did some kind of check and decided it wasn't my car within minutes. I assume it was a similar car with a similar numberplate that the machine had misread. They then cancelled it instantly. I was expecting to need to argue but it was a straight forward process.

Did the offence basically occur, but they've loused up the details on the notification? This happens surprisingly often. I'm afraid it isn't necessarily a Get Out of Jail Free card.

The comedian Josh Widdecombe got his number plate cloned and ended up with a lot of parking and speeding tickets. I think he actually had to take legal action in the end to sort it out.

In my case the computer had misread a C for an E because of a badly placed screw.
Just reply and tell them you weren’t at that location at that time.