APCOA Hospital Sign

Fergie76

Think I will miss out the CCRT as that is who I emailed in the first place. I used the email address in the newbies thread - 'ccrt@dvla.gsi.gov.uk'

And in the subject line I put - Official Complaint - Breach Of KADOE Agreement By APCOA

So they should have been in no doubt as to what I was complaining about.

I said the reason that I think they are breaking there KADOE agreement is that they are not adhering to the COP and then listed 4 things where I think they are breaching the COP.

Fergie76

I wonder if because the CCRT passed it down the food chain, if that means it hasn't been recorded as an official complaint.

Might be worth someone doing an FOI to see how many official complaints DVLA received about APCOA in June.

bazster

OK fairy nuff, your next stop then is the CEO of DVLA!

Umkomaas

Brian Dodge - a rather apposite surname! :cool:

Fergie76

Any more thoughts or comments on anything I should include to the CEO before I submit email?

Coupon-mad

Fergie76 wrote: »

Any more thoughts or comments on anything I should include to the CEO before I submit email?

Sorry to reply late but this is wrong as others have said:

''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.'

Errrrrm if that's the case why does the BPA have this?

http://www.britishparking.co.uk/News/CHARTER-FOR-HOSPITAL-PARKING-LAUNCHED-TO-ENSURE-BETTER-STANDARDS

Oooo, look under point #7 of the Hospitals Parking Charter (the actual Charter itself is on a PDF somewhere, easy to find):

''Such enforcement activities must adhere to the BPA Approved Operator Scheme Code of Practice''


Hmmmm...

Fergie76

So had a reply back from CEO's Office, still no mention of breach of the KADOE contract in their reply...

Also the mention about APCOA having reasonable cause to request my details, even though I have never said that I have received a ticket.

I have been passed your email and am answering on behalf of the Chief Executive in line with Agency procedures.

I can confirm that this particular hospital car park falls within the definition of private land and is managed as such by APCOA in line with BPA’s Code of Practice. I must apologise for the incorrect information that my colleague responded with. NHS land can be managed by a private car park operator or is sometimes managed directly by NHS themselves. This is allowed because the NHS have an appeals process in place. It may be an appeals process that usually covers medical negligence but it is still an appeals process.

DVLA are currently working with DfT to try to get consistency around local authority land and NHS land and how they are managed.

I have spoken to BPA and they have advised me that they looked into this thoroughly and have awarded sanction points to APCOA for the use of the word Penalty in line with a breach of their Code of Practice. This doesn’t mean that APCOA didn’t have reasonable cause to request your information and when contacted by BPA they amended the signage immediately with a full explanation.

I hope this answers your complaint and thank you for bringing this to our attention.

Kind Regards


Also had a look at parking on the hospital website, which makes interesting reading -

Vehicles not driven by disabled persons, irrespective of whether they display a Blue Badge or time recorder, are not entitled to park in designated blue bays and may be issued with a penalty notice.

Now in my case, my wife is the one registered disabled, but does not drive, so according to the above, she is not entitled to use disabled bays.

http://www.nwlh.nhs.uk/patients-visitors/northwick-park-and-st-marks-hospitals/

bazster

More codswallop. These people really don't know their a**e from their elbow. Landowners "managing" their own land don't need to be either members of the BPA or to have an appeals process in place.

If this idiot really believes that having an appeals process in place is mandatory you should ask him why DVLA continues to dish out data to Proserve and Ransomes.

Fergie76

So I emailed back the DVLA saying wasn't happy with their reply and this is what they replied with...

At no point have I ever said that I have received a ticket.

Thank you for your email responding to Elizabeth Symons’s email concerning APCOA. I am responding on behalf of Elizabeth Symons, who is currently unavailable to answer your response.

It may help to understand that the DVLA releases data where reasonable cause has been demonstrated, which in this case APCOA have complied with. As your complaint was about the signage being in breach of the British Parking Associations (BPA) Code of Practice, this would be referred to the British Parking Association for investigation.

As Ms Symons has confirmed, APCOA have been found to have breached the British Parking Associations Code of Practice, which resulted in sanction points being issued. Should APCOA be found to continue to breaching the Code of Practice, the BPA may issue further sanctions which may result in suspension from the Approved Operator Scheme and ultimately access to the DVLA register.

The KADOE Contract, states that the DVLA may suspend or terminate the KADOE service ‘if any sanctions are applied or points placed on the Customers membership licence, or if its membership or Approved Operator Status is suspended or ended’. In this instance, the DVLA has been satisfied that the issues have been addressed appropriately and does not warrant suspension or termination at this point. As Ms Symons stated in her response to you, the breach in this circumstance does not negate whether APCOA had reasonable cause to request your data.

Of course, if you believe that your data has been mishandled in contravention of the Data Protection Act 1998 or the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002, you may present your concerns to the Information Commissioner. You can find further information at the following web address: http://ico.org.uk/concerns.

As, my colleague Ms Symons also pointed out, currently if land is managed by the NHS Trust and they have an appeals process in place, there is no requirement for them to be a member of an Accredited Trade Association. This is being reviewed by the Department for Transport, which will identify what changes would be needed in policy to ensure that the motorist is treated fairly. In this instance the hospital car park is managed by a private party, who are currently members of the British Parking Association.

If you wish to escalate your complaint, I have attached our leaflet, ‘How to contact us or make a complaint’ (INS 101), which gives details on how to do this. You can also find additional information at the following webpage: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/driver-and-vehicle-licensing-agency/about/complaints-procedure.

Kind regards,

[FONT=&quot]Steve Hopkins[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Data Sharing Team[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Strategy & Policy Directorate | D16 | DVLA | Swansea | SA6 7JL[/FONT]