Expired landowner contract

fabs35

I did win....!

Decision

Successful

Assessor Name

Michael Pirks

Assessor summary of operator case

The Parking Operator has issued the parking charge notice (PCN) as the motorist overstayed the 60-minute maximum free stay period in breach of the terms and conditions of the car park.

Assessor summary of your case

The appellant has provided documentation supporting their appeal and the issues they have raised. The appellant lists the following grounds of appeal with a fair amount of detail. I have assessed each point made when reviewing this information. The appellant states that: • The minimum grace period was not considered • There is no evidence of landowner authority, which the operator must provide in accordance with the British Parking Association (BPA)’s code of practice. • The PCN charge is punitive and out of proportion. In their response to the operator’s case file, the appellant has reiterated their grounds for appeal in further details.

Assessor supporting rational for decision

By issuing the appellant with a PCN, the operator has implied that the motorist has not complied with the terms and conditions of the car park in question. It is the duty of the operator to provide evidence to POPLA of what the terms and conditions are at the site and that the motorist did not comply with such terms. I have to assess the appeal on the reason that the PCN was issued. The operator has issued the PCN as the motorist exceeded the maximum free time. The British Parking Association (BPA) has a code of practice, which sets the standards for its parking operators. In their appeal, the appellant has questioned that the operator has landowner authority. As such, I need to ensure that the operator manages the land that the appellant was parked on. As the appellant has referred to as part of their grounds for appeal, section 7.1 of the BPA Code of Practice outlines to operators that they must have the written authorisation of the landowner, or their appointed agent, in order to manage the site. The written confirmation must be given before operators can start operating on the land in question and give authority to carry out all the aspects of car park management for the site that the operator is responsible for. In particular, it must say that the landowner (or their appointed agent) requires operators to keep to the Code of Practice and that authority is permitted to pursue outstanding parking charges. The operator has provided me with an agreement for supply, showing that it has landowner authority to manage the car park. The contract does say that the initial start date for the agreement is 1 January 2016 and will expire after a five-year period however, there is no mention of contract rolling on following the end of the five-year period, which would have been 2021. I would also like to highlight that large sections of the contract are redacted and therefore, I cannot see any information that may indicate the agreement extends beyond 1 January 2021. It is the responsibility of the operator to show me that a valid landowner agreement was in place for the date of the parking event. In the absence of any evidence to support otherwise, I am not satisfied that this agreement meets the requirements set out in the BPA Code of Practice. As I cannot establish that the operator has sufficient authority, I cannot confirm that the PCN has been issued correctly. I have not considered any other grounds for appeal, as they do not have any bearing on my decision. Accordingly, I must allow this appeal.

Umkomaas

That's a great win against Carflow whose CEO is on the board of directors of the BPA. 

Now, return the aggro and report them to the DVLA for operating a car park enforcement scheme for which they hold no current authorisation. As a minimum, the DVLA should consider sanctions as well as instructing Carflow to refund any charges paid at that particular car park for parking events after the date of contract expiry. 

Email to:

ccrt@dvla.gov.uk (and) KADOEservice.support@dvla.gov.uk

Send to both.

fabs35

Will do....I have prepared a draft - will this do?

Dear Sirs

I had received a private parking charge for allegedly overstaying at St. Peters Court in Chalfont St. Peter (in Buckinghamshire). The company that issued the ticket is called Carflow. I requested proof from them that they have the authority to issue parking charges from the landowner (as required by the British Parking Association). They have sent a redacted copy of the contract, which clearly shows that the contract had expired on 31st December 2021 and so they have incorrectly been receiving private keeper information from the DVLA and issuing charges without the right to do so. 

I then appealed to POPLA (i.e. Parking on Private Land Appeals) who confirmed that Carflow did not have the right to issue parking charges and therefore upheld my appeal. Please see their summary judgement below.

I hope that the DVLA is able to sanction Carflow and insist that they refund any charges collected since the expiry of the contract.

Kind regards

fabs35

Should I also write to my local MP? 

Carflow had also sent this...(after the decision came through) - 

Following POPLA's allowing of this appeal, this parking charge has been cancelled, no further action is required on your part.

Can I ask Carflow how I can make a complaint against them?

Umkomaas

They have sent a redacted copy of the contract, which clearly shows that the contract had expired on 31st December 2021 and so they have incorrectly been requesting and receiving private keeper information from the DVLA and issuing charges without the right to do so for that site.  

I hope that the DVLA is able I would anticipate that the DVLA will to sanction Carflow and insist that they refund any charges collected for that site since the expiry of the contract.

Some suggestions. 

Kind regards

Nah, business letters should never end with such chumminess, which seems to be creeping in everywhere, this is a formal complaint. ' Dear Sir(s)/Yours faithfully'.

Should I also write to my local MP? 

Yes, definitely. Tell them that DVLA systems and procedures to protect personal data are extremely slack, and this is a classic case of a private parking firm continuing to harvest personal data when the know, or should have known, that with the expiration of the landowner contract they had no entitlement to do so - a serious breach of the GDPR principles. 

Can I ask Carflow how I can make a complaint against them?

Better than that, issue a Letter of Claim for the breach of the DPA/GDPR principles. Read the following:

SUING FOR A BREACH OF THE DATA PROTECTION ACT?

https://www.parkingcowboys.co.uk/data-protection-act/

http://parking-prankster.blogspot.com/2017/05/motorist-awarded-900-for-data.html

http://parking-prankster.blogspot.com/2017/08/cp-plus-lose-data-protection-claim.html

http://parking-prankster.blogspot.com/2018/04/parking-awareness-do-not-contest-535.html

Fruitcake

I would suggest you replace "requesting and receiving" with "obtaining and processing".

Your complaint should be twofold.

One complaint is against Carflow for unlawfully obtaining and processing your personal data, and the other is a complaint against the DVLA themselves for unlawfully releasing (selling) your personal data. 
Warn both DVLA departments that you want this investigated and will report them to the ICO if they do not take action against Carflow.

You should also complain to the BPA about the unlawful actions of one of their members.

Umkomaas

👆 Excellent advice and adds considerably to your proposed actions.  Thank you @Fruitcake. 

fabs35

Brilliant feedback - will follow up as and when I get responses.

Thank you for taking so much of your time to help everyone!

Coupon-mad

Coupon-mad said:

Don't expect to win v Carflow.  Just to warn you! 

Haha, as above I wasn't expecting that!

Congrats!