Car leasing contract issues around data breaches

stevemacfjr

Evening all.

My wife leased a new car two years ago. During the initial paperwork we were supplied a reg number that was changed a few days later. It seems the lease company wrongly recorded this car as hers too by mistake. We're not being charged for it, but somewhere on their system it's recorded as hers. The correct car arrived and is all registered correctly as far as we know with her as the keeper.
Soon afterwards we received a parking ticket for the other car which we complained about and were told it would be handled and the problem rectified with all links between the other car and my wife removed. We received a further two tickets through the first year. Each resulted in a promise it wouldn't happen again, problem rectified, etc and £150 compensation for each. All went quiet for a year until this April.
So far since the end of April we've received three more parking tickets and now today a Notice of Intended prosecution for speeding. We complained after the first ticket with the third ticket and NIP certainly dealt with weeks after that complaint was lodged. The complaints have been made regarding GDPR beaches as well as just general complaints about lack of service.
We still have another year of the lease to go, but I'd like to hand the car back and walk away claiming a breach of contract due to GDPR breeches. Obviously I'd want written confirmation any links to the mystery car had also been removed.
Any one had issues with lease companies that enabled them to walk away due to breach of contract or similar issues around GDPR breaches which they failed to act upon?

Keep_pedalling

I can’t answer your question, but I think you should also post over on the FTLA about the best way to respond to that NIP as if you fail to do so you could end up with 6 points on your licence for failing to supply the drivers ID. 

https://www.ftla.uk/speeding-and-other-criminal-offences/

Emmia

stevemacfjr said:

Evening all.

My wife leased a new car two years ago. During the initial paperwork we were supplied a reg number that was changed a few days later. It seems the lease company wrongly recorded this car as hers too by mistake. We're not being charged for it, but somewhere on their system it's recorded as hers. The correct car arrived and is all registered correctly as far as we know with her as the keeper.
Soon afterwards we received a parking ticket for the other car which we complained about and were told it would be handled and the problem rectified with all links between the other car and my wife removed. We received a further two tickets through the first year. Each resulted in a promise it wouldn't happen again, problem rectified, etc and £150 compensation for each. All went quiet for a year until this April.
So far since the end of April we've received three more parking tickets and now today a Notice of Intended prosecution for speeding. We complained after the first ticket with the third ticket and NIP certainly dealt with weeks after that complaint was lodged. The complaints have been made regarding GDPR beaches as well as just general complaints about lack of service.
We still have another year of the lease to go, but I'd like to hand the car back and walk away claiming a breach of contract due to GDPR breeches. Obviously I'd want written confirmation any links to the mystery car had also been removed.
Any one had issues with lease companies that enabled them to walk away due to breach of contract or similar issues around GDPR breaches which they failed to act upon?

I'm not sure that handing the car back will resolve this issue. As far as the company/DVLA are concerned the "other car" is associated with your wife's name. Ending the lease on the car you have doesn't change that.

Have you tried placing a subject access request with the lease company to find out what data / records they hold on your wife?

paul_c123

You'll have to help me out here, I'm not seeing a GDPR breach.

Regarding the NIPs, is your wife the registered keeper? Or is the lease company?

Car_54

stevemacfjr said:

 The correct car arrived and is all registered correctly as far as we know with her as the keeper.

We still have another year of the lease to go, but I'd like to hand the car back and walk away claiming a breach of contract due to GDPR breeches. 

"As far as we know"? Why don't you know for certain? Does your wife have the V5C? Lease cars are usually registered to the lease company or finance house.

A "breach of contract" does NOT automatically void a contract. Anyway, what does the contract actually say about GDPR, if anything?

user1977

stevemacfjr said:

I'd like to hand the car back and walk away claiming a breach of contract due to GDPR breaches. 

Where did you get the idea that a GDPR breach by one party means the other can walk away from a contract?

Grey_Critic

The dealer who supplied the vehicle to the leasing company has made an error which has not been corrected properly. DVLA will supply the details of whoever is listed as the registered keeper in their records when asked.YOU need to contact the DVLA and copy im the lease company. 

. 

TooManyPoints

...and now today a Notice of Intended prosecution for speeding. 

As above, you need to deal with that as a matter of priority.

There is no "we" in that matter. Whoever it is addressed to (presumably your wife) needs to respond pronto.

The police will only have details of the Registered Keeper of that vehicle and if it is not your wife, whoever it is has named her as the person they believe can help the police with their enquiries.

Do not trouble them with the GDPR allegation - they will not be interested. Your wife  will have to convince them that the circumstances are as you describe. If she doesn't, a prosecution for "failing to provide driver's details" will follow.

As she is not "the person keeping the vehicle" she has a duty to provide them with "...any information which it is in her power to give and may lead to identification of the driver." So she need to tell them everything she knows.

stevemacfjr

Afternoon all, thanks for the rapid replies.

I've already replied to the NIP stating VWFS have incorrectly registered it against my wife's name. We can supply emails that will back this up if required. They will have to go back to VWFS for the correct keeper details.

It's a GDPR breach because they have disclosed personnel data, name and address, to a third party, the parking ticket company, knowing they do not have a lawful reason to do so having already been told about the problem back in Sept 2023. After the first ticket and complaint, VWFS were aware of the problem for which we received a confirmation they'd made a mistake and would rectify it. Unfortunately we received the same reply to the following two tickets/complaints.

"As far as we know" was just an expression. We know my wife's car is registered to VWFS and shows her as being the keeper. This documentation was sent to VWFS after the first complaint to evidence it.  

I can understand that a minor breach doesn't invalidate a contract and give us the right to walk away, but at what point does repeatedly doing so become more of an issue. The reason I want to walk away is that I'm very fed up of VW making a mess of this and having to deal with it. I guess it's simply a case of not wanting to keep paying them for such bad customer service.

Grey_Critic

***It's a GDPR breach because they have disclosed personnel data, name and address, to a third party,***

The DVLA has provided them with the registered keepers name and address according to their files. There is obviously a problem with the records and you do need to contact DVLA urgently 

You say***After the first ticket and complaint, VWFS were aware of the problem for which we received a confirmation they'd made a mistake and would rectify it*** but did you contact/inform them? If not why not? They are the people that have you listed as the registered keeper VWFS do not enter into it. They are the Finance Arm not the people who register the vehicle. Basically you are chasing the wrong division of VW and I think that is the problem.

paul_c123

stevemacfjr said:

We know my wife's car is registered to VWFS and shows her as being the keeper. 

This doesn't make sense to me. There is a "registered keeper", the name and address on the V5. Is VWFS the registered keeper (ie you don't have the V5, they do), or is your wife the registered keeper (ie, they sent her the V5 and she has it, because it has her address on it...)?