Excel signage in Prestwich impossible to read, IAS thinks not....!

DVLA RESPONSE

For anyone who is interested, here's a transcript of my complaint to CEO of DVLA, Mr Oliver Morley, sent by email on 5 Oct 2015

Dear Mr Morley,
I have recently written to the DVLA to complain about the Independent Parking Committee (IPC) and to ask how they are regulated and who by, in order to ensure that they continue to meet the requirements of an ATA?

Unfortunately the response does not answer the question therefore I have cascaded it to you. Who regulates the IPC and ensures they are monitoring their own members in order to treat consumers fairly and professionally. Who investigates when someone provides evidence that this is not the case? I have previously complained to IPC about one of their members, Excel, not complying with their own code of practice. However IPC did not respond, and I'm assuming did not therefore investigate the complaint, despite the fact that Excel were a new member and therefore should have been on probation and also have a very bad record of complying with the code of practice such that they have been banned by the DVLA on a number of occasions from accessing keeper details?

The DVLA response states that it is the motorists responsibility to park in accordance with the terms and conditions that apply. Surely to balance this, the parking company should also have responsibility to make sure that the terms and conditions are clear, not misleading, fair and fully visible at all times they apply. If a consumer reports that this is not the case, why does no-one believe them or even investigate? I am also concerned that in Paragraph 5 of the DVLA response, it seems to be implying that motorists who are unhappy with the IPC/IAS can continue to fight for justice through the civil courts. I thought the whole point of having an 'independent' parking body was to reduce the number of court cases, not increase them?

If the industry is self-regulated then it is clearly not working, and is a national disgrace.

Regards[/I]

.......and here is the response from DVLA, received by email today, sadly Mr Morley must have been too busy to reply so the response was from someone else.....

Thank you for your e-mail of 5 October to Oliver Morley. I have been asked to reply.
Further to the previous reply from DVLA, I can confirm that it is not within DVLA’s remit to regulate the private parking industry. However, in relation to the disclosure of DVLA data to parking operators, DVLA does have requirements in place before data is disclosed. The requirements include the need for operators to be a member of an Accredited Trade Association and offer an independent appeals process that is binding on the operator but not binding on the motorist i.e. if unhappy with the outcome of an appeal the motorist can continue to dispute any charges.

In terms of regulation of the parking sector you might be interested to know that the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is looking at practices in the parking industry, as private parking policy now falls within its remit. DCLG issued a consultation earlier this year and the results are awaited. The consultation can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/parking-reform-tackling-unfair-practices .
Regards,

.......so here is my response, sent just now.......

Thank you for your response, but once again the DVLA have completely failed to answer the questions I asked. For the benefit of doubt, I repeat them below:
Who regulates the IPC and ensures they are monitoring their own members (the parking companies) to ensure motorists are being treated fairly and professionally?
Who regulates the IAS and ensures their decisions are indeed independent and impartial?
When a motorist has a complaint, supported by evidence, about a parking company, the IPC and/or the IAS, who can they complain to, as the former ignore all complaints and simply reply with template letters?
Parking companies are passing personal information obtained from the DVLA onto third parties, such as debt collection agencies, when no debt has been proven in court. Is the passing on of such information to third parties not in breach of the Data Protection Act?
I would very much appreciate a response to these four simple questions,
Best regards,

IAS RESPONSE
Sent a complaint to IAS on 6th Oct, received a response by email today, see below. My comments are in italics.

...appeals to the IAS are not able to be reviewed by either party (I was asking IAS to review, not either party?) and the decision of the individual adjudicator is final. If the motorist wishes to challenge the appeal then they must do so outside of the IAS by instructing solicitors who will advise on any matters they wish to raise (surprised they didn't offer me Gladstone's phone number at this point).

I can also confirm that the IAS is an accredited by Chartered Trading Standards Institute as provider of Alternative Dispute Resolution (their grammar not mine).

Signed by Mr Lead Adjudicator who has clearly changed his name by deed poll as he really really wants to remain anonymous!