UKPC and fraudulent Photographic "Evidence"

[DBC]

UKPC have finally admitted that some of their "wardens" have been altering the time stamps on photographs used on their PCNs.

 

 

The "wardens" have been sacked and the loophole in the software has been closed.

 

 

This was after the company initially said that all the photos were correct, the time stamps could not be altered, and that the motorist would have to pay up.

 

This story has been featured on the BBC, the Sunday Times and by the Parking Prankster.

 

 

If anyone suspects that they have been the victim of this sharp practice you should contact PPC, but also the BPA and possibly Trading Standards.

[SabreSheep]

http://parking-prankster.blogspot.co.uk/ for reference

[DBC]

Now featured on the BBC :- http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-34172701

[armadillo71]

The Pranksters round up;

 

http://parking-prankster.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/ukpc-story-so-far.html?m=1

[Mr.P]

With any photographic "evidence" bearing a time stamp, questions must be asked:

 

• What is the origin of the time stamp ?
  
• Can the clock be tampered with ?
  
• Is there traceability back to a calibrated & certified source ?
  
• Does the time stamp exist on the original file ?
  

With any consumer device such as a mobile phone or camera, it is trivial to modify the clock and generate a false time stamp. With APNR equipment where there should be safeguards to protect against tampering, one should still be asking for calibration and traceability certificates.

 

The chances of one of these parking outfits being able to demonstrate traceability and tamper proofness of their time stamps is slim at best.

[borisbeaver]

Some of the before and after pictures had the shadows in the same place, and one had the same car with it's boot open in the background.

[ericsbrother]

not being rude about the intelligence of the staff involved but who showed them how to doctor the hand held devices and made it lucrative for them to do so? If I was employed on a minimum wage to plod around a car park it is not in my interest to risk prison by fiddling with the PDA unless someone has told me that it was. So UKPC has really sacked its whistle blowers rather than its miscreants. Be interesting to see if it does make court and who appears for the defence and who appears for the prosecution as witnesses.

[DBC]

UKPC staff are on a bonus scheme and it's in their interest to produce more tickets so they can earn more money. This Parking Prankster blog explains it all:-

 

http://parking-prankster.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/uk-parking-control-warden-explains-how.html

[BankFodder]

UKPC have now put their hands up to this

 

A car park operator has admitted that "a few" of its employees have been altering photographic evidence to unfairly impose parking charges.

UK Parking Control said it will refund everyone potentially given unfair tickets by the employees, who have been changing timestamps on photos.

It operates more than 1,400 sites nationwide but has not disclosed how many of its employees were involved.

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-34220908

 

 

If this was a reputable and productive industry then one might say that UKPC have brought the industry into disrepute - but it isn't and so they haven't.

 

Instead they have exposed the true nature of the industry and the half-hearted self-interested control exercised by their so-called professional body - the BPA

[citizenB]

It has not disclosed where the employees worked, how long they have been altering photos, or how much money has been raised through wrongly issued tickets.

 

 

Well this is a stupid remark to make - the photographs show that at the very least it has been going on since 19 May 2015 and 23 August in Triton Retail Park, Lincolnshire and from 2 July in Newcastle under Lyme because several of the victims have said where they were parked (or not as the case might be)

 

 

 

Simone Riley-Young and Matthew Treacy were accused of staying over the permitted two hours at Tritton Retail Park in Lincoln, but both drivers noticed the times on the photos of their cars were wrong.

[Deadwood]

It would be interesting to know if any of these doctored photographs ended up being presented at County Court as evidence.

 

It's another illustration of how greed and money breed corruption.

[oleg]

Car park admits staff faked fines after fraud team called in

 

Read more: http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/Car-park-admits-staff-faked-fines-fraud-team/story-27781219-detail/story.html#ixzz3ldKa5Tii

 

 

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Edited September 13, 2015 by citizenB
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[pixwix]

It's another illustration of how greed and money breed corruption.

 

It's another example of parking control in this country being run by dodgy firms who are imho 99% criminals. It's just a protection racket - if Capone was still alive, he'd be kicking himself for not thinking of it.

 

There is a lot of thoughtless, even criminal, parking - but the current system isn't solving it. It's just adding more levels of bureaucracy and rigmarole.

[citizenB]

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?453036-Parking-company-stripped-of-power-to-enforce-tickets-after-photo-fraud(1-Viewing)-nbsp