Elvis
all shook up over C-charge dodger:
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A
crafty congestion charge dodger has left a Bar Hill
couple all shook up - by impersonating an Elvis impersonator.
He's got the blues: Fed-up Mike Young Mike Young is
a top Elvis Presley tribute act in Costa Blanca and
recently featured on the BBC programme Living in the
Sun.
He
and his wife Evie - also a singer - run a club in the
resort of Torrevieja but were forced to return to England
last week after being threatened with a visit from bailiffs.
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The
couple had received several fines for non-payment of the London
congestion charge - despite the fact that their van has not
been in the country for months. They fear a criminal may have
cloned their number plate and is using an identical van.
But
their own distinctive van has the slogan "The King Lives On"
across the side to advertise their business. They have been
sent five of the fines which have mounted into hundreds of
pounds and despite their attempts to demonstrate their innocence
the fines keep coming.
Evie
told the News: "It started a year ago, last November, when
we were in Spain and we got a letter saying we had not paid
the congestion charge in London, but we hadn't been in London.
"We haven't done anything wrong. Our vehicle is taxed and
insured - I don't understand what we can do. We have been
to the police with documents to prove we were in Spain but
they don't want to know. "My son rang me up and said there
is a letter from the bailiffs to say they are coming in seven
days. I was sitting in Spain saying 'Oh my God, what are we
going to do?'"
Mike
said: "I'm hoping the outcome will be that we will prove our
case and they will give me a new number plate but we haven't
sorted it out yet. Someone has to take notice - no-one has
been helpful. "I haven't seen a bailiff yet but I have had
lots of red letters and threats of imprisonment."
A
spokesman for Transport for London, the organisation which
enforces the Congestion Charge, said they had dealt with rare
cases of plate cloners who find vehicles identical to theirs
and use the same registration number. This fools the congestion
charge cameras but can have more serious consequences for
the unsuspecting victims. If the bogus vehicle is involved
in a hit and run accident they could face arrest.
The
spokesman said: "We always ask members of the public to respond
with a representation where they believe an error has been
made. In that way we can either track down the source of the
problem or, in those cases where a third party has misrepresented
a vehicle, we can bring the matter to the attention of the
police."
(News/Almost Elvis, Source: Cambridge Evening
News)
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