The DVLA should be sued under the Data Protection Act

[WebFerret]

The DVLA are the cause of these Private Parking Company scams trying to extract money from innocent motorists by selling personal and confidential data to individuals with seemingly no background checks whatsoever - The DVLA could easily stop this unsavory activity by denying the information to these companies.

Check out the Daily Mail's artical and read the many comments posted:

DVLA still selling personal details to cowboy clamping firms | the Daily Mail

"The DVLA has sold the names and addresses of nearly 8,000 drivers to clamping and car park companies in just six weeks - despite a Government pledge to crack down on the trade."
" The DVLA charges £2.50 for each piece of data, collecting a £9 million windfall for the Government since 2002."
" Information Commissioner Richard Thomas warned the DVLA back in 2002 that the sale of personal details could be illegal but has done nothing to stop it."
"Over the six-week period, one firm alone, Creative Car Park Management (CCPM), obtained the addresses of 2,746 drivers from DVLA. It has contracts with the Co-op, Kwik Save and Aldi, and demands fines of up to £170."
"A DVLA spokesman said: "The DVLA is extremely serious about protecting driver and vehicle data and has introduced procedures to ensure the system for releasing information examines requests robustly." - standard blurb........it's not happening is it?!

In my case the company concerned is Civil Enforcement Limited, registered to a PO Box run by one individual who lives in a very expensive house, has changed the name of his company several times (liquidated), been featured on BBC TV's Watchdog and there are many forum posts about them (complaining) on the net. (not very "robust" in terms of checks then!)

And a year or so ago the Daily Mail newspaper discovered that among those given driver details was a firm run by Britain's most notorious clamping thugs, Gordon Miller and Darren Havell, who were serving seven years' jail between them for extorting money from motorists.

So what the hell is going on with our Government?

Time we people got together and lobbied Parlament to put a stop once and for all to all this extortion & rackiteering thats being fueled by the unsavory (and I believe illegal) actions of our Government.

Write to your local MP - Write to Gordon Brown - Write to David Cameron

And if there is a legal expert out there on the subject, get in touch with me, cos I would like to persue this to the end and sue the Government for what they are doing (you can tell I'm angered) and get a result for the people. - THIS IS SIMPLY WRONG AND MUST STOP

Thank you for your time in reading this thread - together we can do something about this injust treatment of this Governments citizens.

[WebFerret]

I have now written to my local MP as follows:

Dear .............

I hope you can help - I have just been a victim of the well known
private parking company scam in receiving notice to pay money for an
alleged offence. The DVLA have evidently supplied my details to this
(rouge - as confirmed by many Internet posts) company, Civil
Enforcement Ltd.

The Daily Mail ran an artical last year on the subject - link:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=4 24553&in_page_id=1770#Sta rtComments

My question is: How is it that the DVLA are legally allowed to supply
(in fact sell) my details to unofficial bodies (in fact rouge traders
in this case) without my consent when I should be protected under the
Data Protection Act?

I understand that this company has no legal case to pursue the
registered owner of vehicles for alleged offences by the driver and
simply causes stress and anxiety for the owner.

You may like to check out this links:
http://www.consumeractiongroup.c o.uk/forum/parking-traffic-offences/97586-civil-enforcement-ltd-again-11.html
And the post by WebFerret for further clarification.

Considering the enormous number of people being duped into paying
illegal 'fines' which is aided and abetted by this Government, urgent
action is necessary to stop immediately this abuse of personal data and
the support to these criminal activities.

Your view would be very much appreciated.

Yours sincerely,


You can locate and write to your local MP by visiting:

WriteToThem - Email or fax your Councillor, MP, MEP, MSP or Welsh, NI, London Assembly Member for free and entering your postcode.

[WebFerret]

An update - just found this posted 5th Sept 2007

Information Commissioners Office restricts DVLA in handling of personal data

link: Information Commissioners Office restricts DVLA in handling of personal data

It states:

The Information Commissioner's Office (Information Commissioners Office) has issued guidance to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) over what personal information it can release to third-parties.

There is concern that the vehicle licensing agency is releasing information too freely, and breaking privacy laws as a result.
The Information Commissioners Office says the DVLA can pass on individuals' personal details if "there is good reason", such as the prevention or detection of crime.

The guidance explains to individuals the circumstances where the information might be shared without breaking data protection rules.
The DVLA keeps a register containing details of all vehicles licensed for use on the road and can pass details from the register to a third-party for a number of legitimate reasons.


Legitimate reasons include to identify vehicles on the road to help prevent and detect crime, to investigate suspected insurance fraud, to improve road safety or to ensure that vehicles are properly taxed.
Although the DVLA does not have to obtain permission before passing an individual's details to other people, the person or organisation requesting the information must prove that they have "reasonable cause" to obtain an individual's details.

For example, a company requesting information to enforce parking fees must also provide evidence that a parking charge scheme actually exists and that drivers are made aware that the scheme is in force.
Phil Jones, assistant commissioner at the Information Commissioners Office, said, "The DVLA passes on information from its register to third parties for a variety of legitimate reasons. However, the person or organisation requesting the information must always provide evidence to the DVLA which shows why their request is reasonable."

It is an offence under the Data Protection Act to mislead the DVLA as to why information is required. The DVLA has made millions of pounds from selling personal information to third-parties from its database of drivers and vehicles. This practice has now been limited after an outcry, following revelations that criminals had paid for such information.

So the heat is on.........

[Sidewinder]

The DVLA have evidently supplied my details to this
(rouge - as confirmed by many Internet posts) company, Civil
Enforcement Ltd.

How is it that the DVLA are legally allowed to supply
(in fact sell) my details to unofficial bodies (in fact rouge traders
in this case) without my consent.

Nothing wrong with the letter - I would love to know what response you receive.

I don't normally bother about spelling, but if it is going to your MP you may want to correct 'rouge' to 'rogue' as they mean two entirely different things!

[perky88]

I think you need to consider the comment "Innocent Motorists" - parking on land you are not supposed to be on and getting a ticket/invoice then ignoring it ... you are hardly innocent.

DVLA will release information only if there is good cause, when an application is made to DVLA from a PPC the following needs to be sent for EACH and EVERY request:

v888x3
Copy of Signed license agreement between PPC & Site
Copy of Signage on display at site
Copy of ticket conditions that state DVLA request will be made after xdays
Confirmation of time & date ticket was applied
Reason why charge was issued (refer to sign & ticket conditions)

If ALL of these are not sent then DVLA will not send RK details.

So ... Innocent motorosts, I can not see a vehicle in the street take its reg number/make/model and just write to DVLA asking for info .. as there is not reasonable cause.

The reasonable cause for PPC is a sign on display, the notice attached stating that DVLA will be contacted for RK details and the PPC is asking for their details so they can enforce the ticket/invoice attached to vehicle in accordance with the signage/ticket conditions.

The online users have a slightly different method of getting the information but again, they need to show reasonable cause and if any motorist feels their information has been accessed incorrectly they have a right to contact DVLA and ask why they released it.

[petej2811]

Originally Posted by perky88

I think you need to consider the comment "Innocent Motorists" - parking on land you are not supposed to be on and getting a ticket/invoice then ignoring it ... you are hardly innocent.

DVLA will release information only if there is good cause, when an application is made to DVLA from a PPC the following needs to be sent for EACH and EVERY request:

v888x3
Copy of Signed license agreement between PPC & Site
Copy of Signage on display at site
Copy of ticket conditions that state DVLA request will be made after xdays
Confirmation of time & date ticket was applied
Reason why charge was issued (refer to sign & ticket conditions)

If ALL of these are not sent then DVLA will not send RK details.

So ... Innocent motorosts, I can not see a vehicle in the street take its reg number/make/model and just write to DVLA asking for info .. as there is not reasonable cause.

The reasonable cause for PPC is a sign on display, the notice attached stating that DVLA will be contacted for RK details and the PPC is asking for their details so they can enforce the ticket/invoice attached to vehicle in accordance with the signage/ticket conditions.

The online users have a slightly different method of getting the information but again, they need to show reasonable cause and if any motorist feels their information has been accessed incorrectly they have a right to contact DVLA and ask why they released it.

Here we go again, the ill informed and over-agendised Perky and his misgivings about law, life and what's what...

Innocence, as a legal term, is assumed. If you're suggesting that any person on this forum is not innocent then I challenge you to produce evidence that suggests otherwise and present your case to a court. Until then you aren't a District Judge, you're not the man who decides who is and who is not innocent.

Indeed were I feeling pedantic I'd encourage anyone you suggest is not innocent to sue you for your libelous remarks. Just who do you think you are?

All those documents asked for are proof of absolutely nothing. They bear no more relevance than the size of my socks to the argument at hand. These are all as flexible and malleable as each other and all open to abuse by over zealous parking companies. Ineed, it is in the parking company's interests to manipulate these mechanisms. If the tickets I am told about are anything to go by it is clear the information is being released for less than legitemate purposes. It is clear the DVLA does not understand contract law, nor do they understand the Data Protection Act. They, as the parking companies are both chums together, out to make money at the expense of INNOCENT (don't you dare suggest otherwise, young man) motorists.

You can, in fact, see a vehicle on the street and send all of those doucments off. Nothing in those documents suggests they have to be true, does it? Again, if many of the tickets I'm dealing with at present represent the standard then I would against suggest that the DVLA are duped into handing over a great many details.

The fact is the PPCs don't want the data for a legitemate purpose. They want it to commit criminal offences of harassment in many cases, to commit fraud by misrepresentation, in others and to pursue debts that they are not owed in the vast majority of the remainder of cases. In short, the DVLA sell our details to criminals, debt collectors and people of less than honest standing. The DVLA has no interest in self regulating when it comes to this. It produces too much revenue. Rather I urge you all to complain to your MPs, the Data Commissioner, the OFT and to copy these letters, should you so wish, to the Prime Minister.

Selling Data without your consent is a crime. Looks to me like the DVLA are no more than state legitemised information peddlers. Who knows, they might sell your national insurance numbers if the ID card sheme is ever introduced!

I urge you all to take anything Perky says on this site with a massive dose of salt. The man is affiliated with parking companies and uses this site to pursue what I suspect to be his working/company agenda. His advice, in my opinion, is bad and furthers his own interests in having you pay these tickets.

Please read around this subject from as many sources as you can and learn for yourselves what these people can and cannot do to and because of you.

All the best,

PJ

[perky88]

PJ,
Is this post relating to payment of any parking charges .. No.
Am I advising any person to pay a charge .. No

I explained what needs to be produced to DVLA to show reasonable cause.

Please try and keep to the topic of the thread.

[demon_x_slash]

To be fair, you did implicitly accuse anyone who doesn't pay a civil invoice to be 'guilty' of something. 'Innocence' and 'guilt' are terms used for criminal cases, not civil.

Also, what does the DVLA define as a 'good cause'? Aiding a company to unlawfully harass and intimidate people into paying an invoice of debatable validity is not, in my very humble opinion, a good cause. If a bank sold address details to all and sundry simply because all and sundry asked for them, the bank would be up before the Information Commissioners Office for non-compliance with the Data Protection Act, their data license revoked and the controllers responsible would face gaol time. As the DVLA are not exempt from the Act by any means, does the fact that they are a 'Governmental' agency play any part in their not being hauled before the Information Commissioners Office...?

[perky88]

I accept that criticism demon - The use of 'innocent' was incorrect.

[WebFerret]

Originally Posted by perky88

I think you need to consider the comment "Innocent Motorists" - parking on land you are not supposed to be on and getting a ticket/invoice then ignoring it ... you are hardly innocent.

Whether you are affiliated with parking companies or the DVLA, or indeed have a finacial interst in these uncrupulouse goings on, I do not know. But, in my view, what is certain from your comments, is that you do not sit on the same side of the fence with regard to this topic!

To suggest that I, need to consider my comment "Innocent Motorists" - ha - is just plain laughable! and not in anyway supportive of the flavour of this forum.

Many many people have INNOCENTLY gone about their daily lives to shop, buy a Big Mac, have a coffee ect and parked quite INNOCENTLY on land providing 'free' parking facilities by the vendor - as the vendor would indeed wish, to attract custom.

These INNOCENT people have not abused the parking facilities (like some commuters do) they have simply used them in accordance and in relation to the 'shopping' facilities provided at the sites. They have been oblivious to any alleged signage reported to have been displayed, because it is never obvious, if indeed exists at all, and specifically designed that way I suspect to entrap motorists!

These INNOCENT motorists have not been ticketed at the time of an alleged offence - so the first thing they know is when the first letter drops through the letterbox of the registered keeper, demanding a disproportionate amount of money to an alleged parking offence that in reality has no legal basis to stand up in court.

These rogue (thank you for the spelling Sidewinder) companies, with the apparent blessing of our Government (aka DVLA), then pursue these INNOCENT motorists with nothing more than bully tactics in the hope they are scared into paying.

The unfortunate thing is that many INNOCENT people do pay out of fear - and the scam has then worked.

People come to this site for help and support from these crooks at what is a very stressful time for them; and you, perky88, do nothing to help support and encourage them in my view with your comments here - so thanks for your input, but I like petej2811 response much better!

But I'll take it all back if you prove to me that you've supported us and written to you local PM on the subject - lol

[WebFerret]

Originally Posted by Sidewinder

Nothing wrong with the letter - I would love to know what response you receive.

I don't normally bother about spelling, but if it is going to your MP you may want to correct 'rouge' to 'rogue' as they mean two entirely different things!

Hi Sidewinder

Letter already gone - but I suspect they should guess I used spellcheck and did not pick the correct word up - my mistake and thanks for pointing it out.

I will indeed keep you all posted on any responce I receive.

[petej2811]

Originally Posted by perky88

PJ,
Is this post relating to payment of any parking charges .. No.
Am I advising any person to pay a charge .. No

I explained what needs to be produced to DVLA to show reasonable cause.

Please try and keep to the topic of the thread.

YTou'll note that this very much keeps to the topic of the thread. Do you parking people not read or understand anything presented to you in written form?

PJ

[green_and_mean]

Originally Posted by petej2811

YTou'll note that this very much keeps to the topic of the thread. Do you parking people not read or understand anything presented to you in written form?

PJ

Data Protection is not really a Parking or Traffic topic anyway this should be in the DVLA forum?

[Bernie_the_Bolt]

Originally Posted by green_and_mean

Data Protection is not really a Parking or Traffic topic anyway this should be in the DVLA forum?

Apart from that fact that the OP was about the release of personal data by the DVLA to facilitate private parking ticket enforcement.

How does the release of the RK's data by the DVLA assist the PPCs in the enforcement of their charges against the driver?

I suspect that this is a point that the Information Commissioner has not really thought through.

I feel some template letters of complaint to the DVLA and to the Information Commissioner coming on . . .

[petej2811]

Originally Posted by green_and_mean

Data Protection is not really a Parking or Traffic topic anyway this should be in the DVLA forum?

Of course it is.

Praking companies request details from the DVLA in contravention of the Data Protection Act. Ergo, ipso facto, QED the Data Protection Act and the DVLA are linked and to do with parking companies.

If we listenned to you we'd put threads to do with parking under cars... Cars, clearly and plainly have nothing to do with parking, do they?

I swear your posts become less and less sensible as time goes on. Do I really need to explain this to you?

I said it once and I'll say it again, I read some of your posts and feel like a teacher explaining things to the thick class.

PJ