Is it illegal to have fake number plates on a car in a private car park?

[VivaLeBeaver]

Related to parking issues/tickets at work.

If I buy an old banger, get some magnetic number plates made up, sell the car to a scrap yard and SORN it with the DVLA.

Then drive my proper car to work, park in an illegal space and put my magnetic number plates on the car - can I legally get into trouble with the police for having fake plates on the car? I wouldn't drive the car on the highway with fake plates. No CCTV at work.

Why would you even feel the need to do this?

The scrappy should issue a Confirmation of Destruction notice, you wouldn't be able to SORN it as well.

Because I'm getting so many parking tickets. I'm annoyed that I have to pay a monthly sum for a permit and then there are no spaces. So I park in other spaces where my permit isn't valid and get a ticket. I'm ignoring all the tickets but am worried that by the time I owe £1000s in fines they may take me to court.

Destruction notice would be fine. I don't want a fake plate which is going to land someone else with tickets.

Are the tickets coming from the council or a private company?

Who is issuing the parking tickets? Is it a dodgy company that you can comfortably ignore or what?

I;m fairly sure having false plates on your car is illegal, viva.

It does smack that several laws might be broken, not sure which ones.

Also consider someone smacking into your parked up, false plated car. There would be issues with the insurance, no? And the banger number plate would be able ti be traced back to you.

And the scrap yard, iirc, should obtain the V5 from you or inform the DVLA that they have bought the car from you.

And I think private car park used by employees is still seen as a public place.

My gut instinct is screaming Nooooooooo, park round the corner and walk!

It is a dodgy company that loads of websites say I can ignore. But I'm worried once I've amassed loads of tickets that they may take me to court. I've read they don't normally bother as it costs them more to take someone to court than a £60 fine would get them but what if I have 20 tickets and owe them £1200?

If it is a private car park the police won't be interested. The question will be are you trying to defraud someone by misreprentation?

Can't park round the corner - its all resident parking only for about a 2 mile radius.

I would risk the remote possibility of being taken to court rather than the very real possibility of being in deep shit for having false number plates. When the dodgy parking company realises that you're using false plates (which they will quite quickly as they'll be traced via the scrapyard) they'll take great pleasure in coming down on you like a ton of bricks.

So do you think that even if I get umpteen tickets its still unlikely I'll get taken to court?

I think you need to raise it with your employers and the management company who service the building/are responaible for the permits. To be fair, they shouldn't be Issuing more permits than there are soaces. Are your colleagues also getting hit? Is car sharing an option?

Or at my DH's office, everyone has a dat of the week that they can't use the car park, to give everyone a fair chance at a space. On a Thursday he has to park three miles away and get public transport in to the office.

A private company on a private road may try to recover their "losses" but it is unlikely. You have made it easier to prove in a civil court however by switching number plates.

Viva,
at risk of outing myself I once bought a car that turned out to have been paperworked as scrapped.
It all turned out OK
BUT
you never, ever, ever want as much police attention as I had for those three months.
weekly visits and because of the numberplate, every traffic queue I got picked out.
I was legit and they were cheery
and it was ten years ago
there are now plate cameras everywhere now _ I give you three days to a prosecution.

Personally in your circumstances I'd park somewhere legally a mile or so away and cycle to work.

Colleagues getting hit as well. Some people getting 2 permits a week.

I certainly can't car share. Nobody near me and I work different times to my colleagues.

I can understand your frustration but dont do it!!!! Its awful that you've paid for a permit and cant park

Ok, I won't do it. Will carry on getting ticketed and hope they don't chase me for payments too much!

If it is a hospital car park and the company employed by the Trust are issuing tickets, you will be prosecuted, fined and taken to court, and end up with a CCJ against you. I know this from bitter experience. Even if you have paid for a permit.

Seriously? Everyone's told me they'll never take anyone to court.

Viva
this is what you are up against
www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/9800753.Spy_cameras__hurting_businesses_/

It happened this year to my DH. He couldn't get time off to attend the hearing, so he was found guilty in his absence (It would have been a day's AL as the company is based about 3 hours travel away). The fine was about £40, but the CCJ is the significant thing because it affected our credit rating. It is still outstanding because he is still contesting the fine, having paid a permit fee every month for years. On this particular day the permit had fallen off the dashboard though, so maybe that is different to your situation. The fine was for not displaying.

Really annoying, because the Trust has records to prove they deduct the parking permit fee from his salary every month. They don't care though - the private parking company they employ are a law unto themselves.

Oh god, there is even a video on YouTube of watchdog, Ann Robinson saying not to pay the fine, the company can't do anything, etc. Martin Lewis says the same.

Well - we haven't managed to get the CCJ removed, and the fine is still outstanding. As I said, the CCJ was granted without DH being able to go to court and give his side of the story.

He continues to have his parking permit fee deducted from his salary. At no time has he not paid for parking.