November 8th 2024.
A Sydney driver recently went through a harrowing experience when her number plates were stolen and used to commit multiple traffic violations, resulting in thousands of dollars in fines and a significant number of demerit points on her record. Emily McKay, a resident of Homebush, woke up on the morning of October 24th to find that her plates had been replaced with different ones. She immediately reported the incident to the NSW Police and informed Service NSW on October 28th, providing them with the necessary police report number.
McKay thought that the worst was over once she reported the theft, but unfortunately, that was not the case. She began receiving fines for various offenses, all of which were issued after she had reported the stolen plates to both the police and Service NSW. The fines amounted to a whopping $4,000 and included a $2959 speeding ticket, four separate offenses worth $334 each, and a $145 fine. On top of that, she was also hit with a total of 17 demerit points.
The largest speeding fine was issued on October 31st for an offense that took place on October 26th, just three days after McKay had reported the theft to Service NSW. She was understandably stressed and anxious about the situation, constantly checking her mail for any new fines. McKay shared, "I was so stressed when the plates were gone, and now I'm stressed checking the mail every day in case there are more fines. I dread it... I don't want to open the mailbox and see another one."
To make matters worse, McKay had to manually dispute each fine with Service NSW, and each dispute could take up to 42 days to resolve. She expressed her frustration with the process, stating that the drop-down options for disputing the fines did not include a category for stolen plates or cars. She had to select "other" and explain the reason for her dispute every time. McKay, who described herself as "poor," worried about the possibility of receiving more fines while waiting for the current ones to be resolved.
The offenses occurred in different areas of Sydney, including Burwood, Croydon, Petersham, Haberfield, and Parramatta Road. McKay found it concerning that the authorities did not question the sudden increase in traffic violations, especially since she had reported her plates as stolen. She shared, "They didn't think it was weird that I had reported the plates stolen, [the fines] are in a different area, and I haven't had a speeding ticket in three years... then I get five in five days."
The car photographed with her stolen plates was a white Hyundai i30, the same make and model as McKay's car. However, McKay's car had a unique STR badge on the back, which should have been enough to identify it as a different vehicle. She stated, "When they are issuing fines, they need to look at the car model; they have that in the registration. Even I can obviously see the difference, and I don't know anything about cars."
After 9News.com.au brought the situation to their attention, Service NSW contacted McKay and informed her that they would waive the fines. However, McKay felt that this was not enough and called for a change in the fine-issuing system. She stated, "The [fines] that were issued after I went to [Service NSW]... it shouldn't happen, especially in this automated system. It should be in there that I didn't have the plates on those days. It's not okay... so many people must go through this."
9News.com.au reached out to Service NSW and Revenue NSW for comment on the situation.
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