Personalised Number Plate Information

NUMBER PLATES:

A businessman who bought the No.1 limited edition licence plate in Abu Dhabi for Dh31 million has been sentenced to three years in jail for issuing a dud cheque to the organisers.

The Emirati man had bought the special number plate at an auction last year.

The Abu Dhabi Misdemeanour Court handed down the sentence to the Emirati man after he was found guilty of fraud and issuing a bounced cheque.

Abu Dhabi public prosecution had ordered for the detention of the 32-year-old man after organisers of the auction filed a complaint that he issued them a cheque after buying the number plate, even though he didn't have enough balance in his bank account.

Prosecutors had detained the businessman. He was charged with fraud and issuing a bounced cheque.
And during interrogation, the Emirati admitted to giving the cheque to orginisers despite being aware he didn't have sufficient funds in his account, said prosecutors.

"He said he was planning to re-sale the rare number plate at a profit so he could pay the value of the cheque to the organisers and maintain enough balance in his account," said a prosecutor.

Authorities, however, said one can only re-sale a number plate bought in an auction after one has paid the full amount and that any resale before making the payment is considered illegal.

The auction, which generated Dh99 million, was hosted by Emirates Auction in cooperation with Abu Dhabi Police on November 19, 2016 at Emirates Palace hotel to commemorate the Abu Dhabi Government's Golden Jubilee.

And the Emirati beat several bidders for the coveted plate after starting at Dh1 million. The limited-edition golden jubilee plates all featured the number 50 in the top left corner.

Fifty vanity Abu Dhabi number plates were up for grabs at the Emirates Auction event.

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As popularity grows, the prices reached for the most expensive plates are always increasing. As of 2008, the record price for a number plate is £397,500 paid at auction in September by an anonymous buyer for the plate S 1. This was originally owned by Sir John H A MacDonald, the Lord Kingsburgh and was Edinburgh's first ever number plate. Car design entrepreneur Afzal Kahn paid £375,000 on 25 January 2008 for F 1 previously owned and sold by Essex County Council and affixed originally in 1904 to the Panhard et Levassor of the then County Surveyor. £330,000 was spent on M 1, sold at auction in Goodwood on 7 June 2006.

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A businessman who bought the No.1 limited edition licence plate in Abu Dhabi for Dh31 million has been sentenced to three years in jail for issuing a dud cheque to the organisers.

The Emirati man had bought the special number plate at an auction last year.

The Abu Dhabi Misdemeanour Court handed down the sentence to the Emirati man after he was found guilty of fraud and issuing a bounced cheque.

Abu Dhabi public prosecution had ordered for the detention of the 32-year-old man after organisers of the auction filed a complaint that he issued them a cheque after buying the number plate, even though he didn't have enough balance in his bank account.

Prosecutors had detained the businessman. He was charged with fraud and issuing a bounced cheque.
And during interrogation, the Emirati admitted to giving the cheque to orginisers despite being aware he didn't have sufficient funds in his account, said prosecutors.

"He said he was planning to re-sale the rare number plate at a profit so he could pay the value of the cheque to the organisers and maintain enough balance in his account," said a prosecutor.

Authorities, however, said one can only re-sale a number plate bought in an auction after one has paid the full amount and that any resale before making the payment is considered illegal.

The auction, which generated Dh99 million, was hosted by Emirates Auction in cooperation with Abu Dhabi Police on November 19, 2016 at Emirates Palace hotel to commemorate the Abu Dhabi Government's Golden Jubilee.

And the Emirati beat several bidders for the coveted plate after starting at Dh1 million. The limited-edition golden jubilee plates all featured the number 50 in the top left corner.

Fifty vanity Abu Dhabi number plates were up for grabs at the Emirates Auction event.

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Overseas territories

Some of the British overseas territories, including Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands, use similar number plates to the UK, with the same colours and typeface.

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So why do so many Territorians choose to pimp their plates?

To date, there are more than 20,000 personalised plates registered in the NT, making up 11 per cent of registered vehicles.

Part of the reason there are so many could be because of the price — $185 for a variety of designs and up to seven characters.

In Queensland a seven-character personalised number plate will set you back more than $3,000.

But according to Eduardo de la Fuente, a lecturer in creativity and innovation at James Cook University, the fact personalised plates were relatively inexpensive in the NT was not the only reason they were so popular.

"Through popular culture and culture more generally we invest a lot in motor vehicles [because] they're fetishistic objects," he said.

"They become vehicles, if you pardon the pun, for communicating something about ourselves.

"One way of differentiating yourself from the pack via the purchase of a motor vehicle is to buy something extremely exclusive.

"Most of us however are not in a position to buy a Lamborghini, so we may use other means to customise or personalise a car [and] a number plate is a relatively cheap way of doing that."

When Vivien Joseph moved to Darwin in 2011 she was immediately struck by the number of quirky personalised plates.

"It was the very first thing I noticed; it was like a signature for all of Darwin, a free comedy show on the road," she said.

Over the next four years she collected more than 10,000 number plate images, eventually compiling them into a book.

Ms Joseph's explanation of why more Territorian drivers choose to personalise their plates lies in the surrounding landscape and the identity of those living within it.

"It's so different to everywhere else and there's a freedom of spirit, maybe a greater sense of fun and a greater sense of getting away from the norm," she said.

"I guess they [Australian states and territories] all have their own spirits but the Northern Territory seems to have a sort of special quirky one."

As well as collating pictures, Ms Joseph asked some people to tell her the story behind their number plates.

One of the first stories she was told was of a number plate that read CARPDM.

"It was somebody who'd been unwell and depressed and sad but picked their life up again and chose a starting point by buying a new car and a new number plate," she said.

Other number plates that were among Ms Joseph's favourites were POOGURU — a man who wanted to illustrate he was often in trouble with his wife — and FUNSIZ — a young woman with a sense of humour about her height.

Personalised number plates in the NT, and the reasons people choose the combinations they do, is a fascinating topic for Simon Moss, an associate professor of psychology at Charles Darwin University.

He said while no formal studies had been conducted it was clear that Territorians liked to be unique.

"The [Northern] Territory is about expressing yourself, much more so than other states and territories," he said.

"I think a lot of people move to the NT because they don't want to conform and in some ways the amount of personalised plates here reflects that.

"It's a phenomena I'd like to look into a bit further."

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Number Plates as an alternative investment

Investing in car registration plates may seem like an unorthodox way of making money and a considerable statement in the process. Nevertheless, hundreds of investors and drivers now choose to purchase car registration plates with significant future returns available. The most obvious reason for purchasing car registration plates is to personalise your vehicle, to make you stand out from the crowd.

Even a mere decade ago, drivers with personalised registration plates were seen as wealthy and successful. In the present day, car registration plates are now more accessible and economical for the everyday working man to purchase. Drivers looking for a potential investment must keep in mind that the registration plate they purchase must be easy to sell on in the future.

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