RingGo - inadvertent registration by Instant Access

PlumpTart

Due to failure of contactless card payment at a RingGo parking site, my friend used her mobile to try and pay RingGo (as my phone is PAYG)- she entered my car registration and confirmed its colour but when we entered the site number it came back with 'location unrecognised', so we decided to terminate the call with RingGo and parked in another car park nearby which we were able to pay by cash.   We did not go beyond giving car details and did not register any payment card details with them.

About 1.5hours later my friend got a text from RingGo, about registering, which she did not read in full as we didn't want to use them and thought it was no longer applicable as we had moved car parks to ensure we could pay for our parking, and she deleted the message.  I was concerned that RingGo would have my car registration details, so went online to investigate further, in their T&C's it mentions that they will set up an account for you just by mobile telephone number and car registration by a process called Instant Access and that you will be liable for parking costs and that it's your responsibility to provide payment details etc.  I do not agree to their T&C's so would not want to be registered with them.

My concerns are many but will restrict them to these
1. as they have my car reg and initial attempt to pay by phone, will I get a PCN for 1st car park simply by trying to do the right thing and pay.  

2. Is there now a RingGo account under my friends telephone number registered with them, with my car registration details via the instant access T&Cs.  It also states that phone message delays etc are your responsibility.  How can I check whether this has occurred without exposing my details further?

3. How can you be expected to agree to T&Cs via a phone call when you cannot read them, (my phone is calls and text only so if I had rung would they send me a long text to read first) even if I had data on my phone are people really expected to spend 20mins or so reading T&Cs when all they're trying to do is Park.  Surely this is not reasonable and should be stopped.

Also on checking the local councils car parking T&Cs for the 1st car park, they only allow 5mins Observation time so think I may be getting a PCN from 1st car park.
If I hadn't attempted to pay by phone as well as contactlee they would not have had my car reg details as there is no ANPR at the site.  

Umkomaas

Is this a council car park?  If there wasn't a Civil Enforcement Officer ((Parking Warden) on duty there, there can be no observation period to worry about, councils are not allowed to operate ANPR systems to monitor parking. The CEO would be required to put a Penalty Charge Notice on your vehicle's windscreen. You're also allowed a 10 minute grace period to leave.

Your other Qs about RingGo T&Cs is not a topic dealt with on the forum per se, but you might get some comments. Trading Standards are the right people to advise on such issues, accessed via your local CAB - but TS focus is more likely to be on dodgy videos and knock-off Nikes, good luck!

PlumpTart

@Umkomaas
Thanks for your response.
Yes this is a council car park but I was concerned as RingGo who operate car park on councils behalf and they will have details from which I can be traced using DVLA, and will have my friends original mobile communication with my details and time it was attempted to pay but no payment as we moved.  Reviews on other sites for RingGo are not favourable!

KeithP

Why don't you ask RingGo all those questions?

Their Privacy Notice, easily found on their website, includes...

So my suggestion is that you email their DPO requesting that they delete your data from their systems.

Of course you will have to prove that the data you want deleting really is yours. It might be difficult to demonstrate that someone else's vehicle's registration mark is your data. 

fisherjim

You are overthinking this RingGo are a payment collection service only, they do not manage the car park, they will not contact the DVLA, they do not issue fines, and unless the council had a warden on the ground on foot patrol at the time nothing is going to happen.

PlumpTart

@KeithP

That was my first thought, although I had only found the Support contact, so thanks re the dpo address.

Second thought was I might be asked/tricked to give more information about myself which I do not want them to have, so I decided to ask people on here for advice first.  I'm afraid I'm very sceptical about almost anyone these days.

Thanks again

PlumpTart

@fisherjim

thanks for the reassurance.  I agree about overthinking - it's my biggest flaw, I'm a very anxious person, so things like this that other people can deal with in proportion, are blown up to a massive problem by me.

As the council have contracted RingGo to run the car park; can RingGo inform the council of my car reg (or would that break GDPR) and then the council go to DVLA for details etc.

Thanks for your reply it was much appreciated.

fisherjim

PlumpTart said:

@fisherjim

thanks for the reassurance.  I agree about overthinking - it's my biggest flaw, I'm a very anxious person, so things like this that other people can deal with in proportion, are blown up to a massive problem by me.

As the council have contracted RingGo to run the car park; can RingGo inform the council of my car reg (or would that break GDPR) and then the council go to DVLA for details etc.

Thanks for your reply it was much appreciated.

The council have not "contracted RingGo to run the car park" the council run the car park.

RingGo take the payment and whitelist the VRN on a remotely accessible data base from a start time to a finish time.

As ANPR is banned in council run car parks, council employee comes round with hand held terminal, which can access said data base and any VRN's not on whitelist get on screen PCN.

Why would the council go to the DVLA for your details if you have not been ticketed by council foot patrol?

Further more you stated that the RingGo app couldn't recognise the location so how would they even know where the vehicle was?

In the hens with teeth likelihood of getting a parking fine it's not worth worrying about anyway, flogging has not been used since 1962!

PlumpTart

@fisherjim

Thanks - I hope you're right.  However, as in my initial post - my friend did get a text from them later in the day (1.5hours)- she didn't read it as we had already moved away and paid elsewhere, but it may have been to say they had now recognised the location no.

Unfortunately, I did find a post on another site that said they kept getting car registration unrecognised - but later received a parking fine!  So in the end RingGo must have recognised the car reg, then used this info to trace them and issue a charge.  I don't know if this was a council run car park tho.

So its a case of fingers crossed and hoping for the best! 

fisherjim

PlumpTart said:

@fisherjim

Unfortunately, I did find a post on another site that said they kept getting car registration unrecognised - but later received a parking fine!  So in the end RingGo must have recognised the car reg, then used this info to trace them and issue a charge.  I don't know if this was a council run car park tho.

Still overthinking this then!

RingGo cannot issue PCN's of either kind they are not even members of The BPA or IPC, any PCN in the above example would have been from a PPC not RingGo.

If you want to keep worrying carry on but why come here for advice if you don't want to listen?

 

PlumpTart

@fisherjim

Thanks again, I appreciate your comments