Hungarian Penalty Charge Notice

Watchkeeper

OK, the notice sent by EPC plc refers to to Decree No 36/2007 (III.26) as the effective legislation. It is available in English online and includes the following paragraph:

(6) 48 The operator or, in the absence of an operator, the owner of the vehicle (in the case of vehicles with Hungarian number plates, as registered by the road transport registration body at the time of the unauthorised road use) shall be responsible for the subsequent payment of the fine. In the case of a combination, if, due to the vehicle category corresponding to the tractor vehicle of the combination, the trailer falls into category U, and the Toll control body establishes unauthorised road use by the trailer, the fine shall apply to the combination and shall be payable by the operator or, in the absence of an operator, by the owner of the tractor vehicle.

The Hungarian authorities, therefore need to establish who was the owner or who was the operator at the time of the incident. What EPC plc has obtained from the DVLA is the name of the registered keeper, and the registered keeper is not liable under the legislation.

Manxman_in_exile

Is this a commercial truck then?  (I'm thinking about the references to "operator", "trailer" and "tractor vehicle").

Is it in Hungary frequently?  (I guess not for a while...)

Watchkeeper

No, it's not a truck, it's a private vehicle.

[Deleted User]

Does seem like the Hungarians are screwed. Can't prove who was driving, illegally obtained OPs details...

Watchkeeper

The DVLA provides a document, "Giving people information from our vehicle record", containing the following:

01 You are the current registered keeper and you need to know the history of your vehicle ...4
02 You are the previous keeper of the vehicle ...5
03 You are a private individual asking for the name and address of a vehicle keeper following an incident ...6
04 You are a private individual asking for the details of a vehicle abandoned on your property ...7
05 You are a private individual making an enquiry about a vehicle trespassing on your property ...8
06 You are a private individual acting as the executor of a will or as administrator of the estate of a person who has died ...9
07 You are a company making an enquiry about a vehicle trespassing on your property ...10
08 You are a mileage company ...11
09 You are an insurance company, solicitor or legal aid agency investigating fraud or trying to establish the condition of a vehicle before an incident ...12
10 You are an insurance company, solicitor or legal aid agency wanting to establish liability and recover costs following an incident ...13
11 You are a solicitor investigating personal claims injuries ...14
12 You are a solicitor acting on behalf of finance and insurance companies ...15
13 You are a solicitor or legal aid agency wanting to establish liability and recover costs for matrimonial purposes ...16
14 You are a solicitor or legal aid agency confirming assets when a court judgement is served ...17
15 You are a solicitor or legal aid agency acting as the executor of a will, or on behalf of the administrator of the estate of a person who has died ...18
16 You are a housing and estate management company wanting current keeper details of a vehicle abandoned or parked on private land ...19
17 You are a petrol station ...20
18 You are a motor repair shop or garage ...21
19 You are a vehicle manufacturer carrying out a safety recall ...22
20 You are a finance company or bank wanting to trace your property or find out when the person with finance sold the vehicle ...23
21 You are a liquidator, administrator or trustee in bankruptcy looking for individual or company assets ...24
22 You are a private car park enforcement company ...25
23 You are a debt recovery agent for parking ...26
24 You are a motor dealership ...27
25 You are a company investigating the misuse of a petrol fuel card ...28

The number after the ellipsis is the relevant page number. The only section that comes even close is 22. On page 25, under "Why DVLA can give you this information", we have:

We can give you this information to establish liability and recover costs where a vehicle has breached the terms and conditions of a private car park.
DVLA data is disclosed in order to:
• follow up charges not paid when the ticket is left on the vehicle
• issue the charge to the motorist when captured on ANPR or CCTV.
All private car parking management companies must be a member of a DVLA Accredited Trade Association (ATA) and operate in compliance with the association’s code of practice.

On the face of it it looks like "driving without a Hungarian vignette" is not a valid reason for divulging my data. I'll contact DVLA to see what they have to say.

Car_54

Watchkeeper said:

The DVLA provides a document, "Giving people information from our vehicle record", containing the following:

01 You are the current registered keeper and you need to know the history of your vehicle ...4
02 You are the previous keeper of the vehicle ...5
03 You are a private individual asking for the name and address of a vehicle keeper following an incident ...6
04 You are a private individual asking for the details of a vehicle abandoned on your property ...7
05 You are a private individual making an enquiry about a vehicle trespassing on your property ...8
06 You are a private individual acting as the executor of a will or as administrator of the estate of a person who has died ...9
07 You are a company making an enquiry about a vehicle trespassing on your property ...10
08 You are a mileage company ...11
09 You are an insurance company, solicitor or legal aid agency investigating fraud or trying to establish the condition of a vehicle before an incident ...12
10 You are an insurance company, solicitor or legal aid agency wanting to establish liability and recover costs following an incident ...13
11 You are a solicitor investigating personal claims injuries ...14
12 You are a solicitor acting on behalf of finance and insurance companies ...15
13 You are a solicitor or legal aid agency wanting to establish liability and recover costs for matrimonial purposes ...16
14 You are a solicitor or legal aid agency confirming assets when a court judgement is served ...17
15 You are a solicitor or legal aid agency acting as the executor of a will, or on behalf of the administrator of the estate of a person who has died ...18
16 You are a housing and estate management company wanting current keeper details of a vehicle abandoned or parked on private land ...19
17 You are a petrol station ...20
18 You are a motor repair shop or garage ...21
19 You are a vehicle manufacturer carrying out a safety recall ...22
20 You are a finance company or bank wanting to trace your property or find out when the person with finance sold the vehicle ...23
21 You are a liquidator, administrator or trustee in bankruptcy looking for individual or company assets ...24
22 You are a private car park enforcement company ...25
23 You are a debt recovery agent for parking ...26
24 You are a motor dealership ...27
25 You are a company investigating the misuse of a petrol fuel card ...28

The number after the ellipsis is the relevant page number. The only section that comes even close is 22. On page 25, under "Why DVLA can give you this information", we have:

We can give you this information to establish liability and recover costs where a vehicle has breached the terms and conditions of a private car park.
DVLA data is disclosed in order to:
• follow up charges not paid when the ticket is left on the vehicle
• issue the charge to the motorist when captured on ANPR or CCTV.
All private car parking management companies must be a member of a DVLA Accredited Trade Association (ATA) and operate in compliance with the association’s code of practice.

On the face of it it looks like "driving without a Hungarian vignette" is not a valid reason for divulging my data. I'll contact DVLA to see what they have to say.

Precisely what I pointed out five days ago ....

[Deleted User]

Watchkeeper said:

On the face of it it looks like "driving without a Hungarian vignette" is not a valid reason for divulging my data. I'll contact DVLA to see what they have to say.

You can also contact the Information Commissioner's Office and make a complain about misuse of your data.

Watchkeeper

Car_54 said:

Precisely what I pointed out five days ago ....

Indeed you did, and I thank you for it. Now I have documentary evidence to wave under DVLAs collective nose.

Incidentally, "where are you"? 

Watchkeeper

[DELETED USER] said:

You can also contact the Information Commissioner's Office and make a complain about misuse of your data.

Yes. DVLA does not publish an e-mail address so I've started the process through the Resolver website:

https://www.resolver.co.uk/

Car_54

Watchkeeper said:

Car_54 said:

Precisely what I pointed out five days ago ....

Indeed you did, and I thank you for it. Now I have documentary evidence to wave under DVLAs collective nose.

Incidentally, "where are you"? 

It seems we're both very old