Foriegn Parking tickets issue:

LincolnshireYokel

I didnt know this, does this affect the advice we give out regarding foreign parking tickets?

A DVLA spokesman said: ‘The DVLA does not release driver and keeper information to non-UK authorities to deal with parking enquiries or speeding penalties.

‘However, a company called Euro Parking Collections, which is based in Great Britain, makes requests of DVLA for the registered keeper details of vehicles to pursue cases of parking contraventions on behalf of public sector authorities in EU member states.’

Its a whole new can of worms. In any of these countries, what is the position regarding liability of the driver or RK ?

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2160834/How-DVLA-makes-thousands-month-helping-catch-UK-drivers-fined-holiday.html#ixzz1y8NKA350

pogofish

It sounds like a PPC-type operation to me. Euro Parking Collections are picking-up legal, civil tickets from certain countries and using the usual non-enforcable scare tactics to try and mop-up payments here.

And strictly, the DPA forbids them from passing any RK info back to those countries, so it is unlikley they will be pursuing any further enforcement here.

The other very pertinent issue is that they are issuing their demands on a UK-look alike NTO form. Which also raises serious questions about any legality and maybe even fraud?

LincolnshireYokel

Yes.

"Under data protection laws, driver information cannot leave the UK, but EPC gets around the rules because it is based in this country."

So it sounds like they are fronting the operation and scamming the payments, then taking a cut and send some back to the country of origin. That or they buy the details outright like debt collectors buy a debt. But if at any point they supply RK details to a foreign country they break the law

We need to make sure whats going on here so we can provide proper advice. Wheres Alexis when you need him.

*edit*
i've emailed Rip Off Britain, since they are collecting stories for there next series, be interesting to see if they pick it up.

*edit*
another thought, inspired by another reply in another thread:

If ECP exercise their rights under the provisions of the Reg. 27(1) Road Vehicles (Registration & Licensing) Regulations 2002 to obtain details of the registered keeper of a vehicle from the DVLA then, because they are a private company, they have to have sufficient interest in the private land on which they purport to enforce parking regulations to be able to comply with the "reasonable cause" test set out in that regulation. To this end they require contract with the owner of the land that gives them a considerable interest in the land as per the UTT ruling. As this is public land in a foreign country they cannot possibly have sufficient legal interest then to obtaining of information about the RK is unlawful and this must be a breach the Data Protection Act.