APCOA Hospital Sign

Fergie76

I sent an email to DVLA on Friday complaining that want to make an official complaint about APCOA breaching their KADOE contract by their use of the above sign.

I used the[EMAIL="ccrt@dvla.gsi.gov.uk"]ccrt@dvla.gsi.gov.uk[/EMAIL]email address as stated on the newbies thread, as yet I have not even had an acknowledgement that they have even received yet alone a reply.

I can see on the DVLA website that the aim to reply within two weeks, but do they not usually acknowledge emails so that you know they are received?
[EMAIL="ccrt@dvla.gsi.gov.uk"][/EMAIL]

bazster

Nah, not in my experience. Wait two weeks then escalate to the next stage in the complaints process, which is the Chief Executive:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/driver-and-vehicle-licensing-agency/about/complaints-procedure

Fergie76

Got a reply from the BPA today -

[FONT=&quot]I am writing following our investigation into the complaint you raised with us concerning a parking incident that you experienced with one of our operators – APCOA Parking (UK) Ltd – who is a Member of the Approved Operator Scheme and as such is expected to abide with the terms stated in our Code of Practice. This investigation has been concluded and I wanted to inform you of our findings.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Under this scheme Operators who breach the Code can expect to receive a number of penalty points depending on the severity of the offence. As with driving offences, once an operator’s ‘licence’ has reached twelve points in any given 12-month period, then they are likely to be faced with suspension or expulsion. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I have found that having the word ‘Penalty’ on their signage is a breach of our BPA /AOS Code of Practice, and I have applied disciplinary action against them, and requested that rectification made with the signage at this location.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I am sure you appreciate that such disciplinary action is confidential so I am unable to inform you of any specific details including the number of sanction points applied. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Furthermore I hope that you appreciate that we are primarily a member services organisation, not a regulatory body and as such have no legal authority to control the activities of our members.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention and endeavouring to assist us in our efforts to drive up standards in the parking industry.[/FONT]

So no mention about about not having the BPA/AOS badge on signs.

I was also at the hospital today and this is the sign now -



I also took a clearer picture of the T&C's -

Dee140157

Still no BPA logo then!

Umkomaas

Under this scheme Operators who breach the Code can expect to receive a number of penalty points depending on the severity of the offence. As with driving offences, once an operator’s ‘licence’ has reached twelve points in any given 12-month period, then they are likely to be faced with suspension or expulsion.

Completely untrue - once a driver's licence reaches 12 points in a 3-year period then they are likely to face .............. a ban.

More smoke and mirrors!

bazster

So they've been out with the blue tape again!

Unfortunately the sign now fails to mention at all that there will be a [STRIKE]penalty[/STRIKE] charge for breaching any of the myriad T&C's you can only read with a magnifying glass, let alone what the charge might be.

It does say that Parking Enforcement Notices are in operation. What are those then? Machines that sweep up the leaves or what?

If BPA Ltd. is going to deal with the CoP breaches one at a time APCOA will get enought penalty points for a ban from this one sign alone!

Fergie76

I'm not going to bother contacting the BPA about the issues they haven't addressed. I'm just going to try and get an invoice from them instead as I will be visiting this site quite a lot over the next few months.

Dee140157

You sound like you're spoiling for a fight! Good on you.

Fergie76

Had a reply from the DVLA and what a disappointment it is (although not unexpected). I specifically stated that I was complaining that the were breaching their KADOE contract by not adhering to the BPA AOS COP, but they have decide to ignore that and taken it as complaint about breaching the COP.

Also they have stated that as the land is NHS land, the BPA AOS COP does not apply.

So how is any company able to gain access to the DVLA databse for NHS invoices if the COP does not apply?

Here is the reply:

Thank you for your recent correspondence concerning alleged breaches of the British Parking Associations (BPA) Code of Practice by APCOA.

Please be aware that the British Parking Association membership and Code of Practice is for companies managing or operating private land for the purposes of parking. In this instance the land that is being managed is for the National Health Service (NHS) and is not covered by the BPA Code of Practice for private land.

As the land is owned by the NHS, you would be required to appeal to the NHS directly in the event the management company does not deal with your appeal correctly, the BPA would not be able to intervene or offer their assistance in this instance, and placing the BPA logo on the signage would be misleading to the motorist.

Therefore in this instance it would be inappropriate for the DVLA to take any action unless you are able to provide further details and supporting evidence showing that APCOA have obtained or misused your details illegally.

Kind regards

[FONT=&quot]Brian Dodge[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Vehicle Data Customer Assurance and Compliance Practitioner[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Strategy and Policy Directorate (SAP)| D16 | DVLA | Swansea | SA6 7JL[/FONT]

I will obviously be escalating the complaint, so any help would be appreciated. I haven't posted the complaint I sent, but can do or can PM it, if need be.

bazster

That's the biggest load of bollox ever. All the crap about BPA AOS CoP not applying on NHS land is sheer fiction.

The next level of complaint is to the Customer Complaint Resolution Team:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/driver-and-vehicle-licensing-agency/about/complaints-procedure

You need to make the point that it is pure nonsense to suggest that NHS property is not private property, and accordingly Mr. Dodge's argument that the BPA AOS CoP does not apply is sheer fiction. Stress that it is DVLA and ICO policy that registered keeper details are only supplied to parking companies belonging to an ATA and conforming to the ATA's code of practice, so if DVLA wishes to persist with Mr. Dodge's ludicrous contention that the BPA AOS CoP doesn't apply on NHS property then, clearly, DVLA is in breach of its own policy (and possibly the DPA) by releasing keeper details in relation to parking on NHS property.

Furthermore, your complaint is not about APCOA obtaining your details, illegally or otherwise, it is about APCOA being in breach of the BPA AOS CoP (which most certainly DOES apply), and hence in breach of its KADOE contract with DVLA.