FOI release

penalty charge notices, car cloning

Some or all of the information requested was not provided because we determined that the cost to do so would exceed the appropriate limit.

Case reference FOI2024/02109

Received 13 December 2024

Published 6 January 2025

Request

I’m looking for information on the number of penalty charge notices that have been cancelled because the driver had been the victim of vehicle identity theft, known as car cloning - where a victim’s car registration plates have been cloned.

Please could I get the following info The number of penalty charge notices cancelled because of car cloning during: 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 (up to December 13, present day) The total combined value of penalty charge notices cancelled because of car cloning during: 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 (up to December 13, present day) The total combined value of refunds paid to drivers who had paid a penalty charge notice but then proved that they had been a victim of car cloning during: 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 (up to December 13, present day)

Response

A: This information is not held in a form that would enable it to be located, retrieved and extracted within the Appropriate Time Limit which equates to 18 hours as defined by the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limits and Fees) Regulations 2004.

Our electronic reporting systems are unable to run a report for this information. To ascertain the data requested officers would need to manually look in to every cancelled case individually to see if it relates to car cloning. There are approximately 800 cancelled cases every year. This would take about 4 minutes per case to look at the history and reason for cancellation. This would actually take approximately 53 hours for each year to complete.

Where the Limit is exceeded Public Authorities are not obliged to supply the information requested by virtue of S12 of the Act. Please take this letter as a refusal notice under S17 of the Act.

If you wish to refine and resubmit your request please do so and I can put this to the Service Area to see if it is something they can provide within the limit.

Documents

There are no documents for this release.

This is Herefordshire Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.

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