The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Car park operator suspended by DVLA
Investigation into data misuse allegations after time stamps controversy
The company in charge of a Dundee car park dubbed a hotspot for “unfair” ticketing practices has been suspended by the DVLA over allegations of data misuse.
Multi-million-pound firm UK Parking Control (UKPC), which runs more than 2,000 car parks around the country, has been the target of furious motorists, ticketed after using the Gallagher Retail Park facilities.
The company has launched numerous small claims cases against drivers who, it claimed, failed to display tickets at the retail park. They were later abandoned and an “urgent review” was launched by the owners of the site.
It has now been revealed by the DVLA that parking attendants misled drivers in various parts of the UK, telling people they would be pursued for fines despite the company being temporarily prevented from accessing drivers’ details.
The temporary ban had been imposed by the DVLA after UKPC admitted faking time stamps on tickets to catch out drivers in 2015.
The firm claimed a number of employees had used a “loophole” to alter times and fine those who had parked legally.
One such case was that of Kate Canavan, who, despite evidence showing she took a pay-and-display ticket at 11.05am, entitling her to two hours’ free parking, was issued with a £60 fine at 11.57am at Gallagher Retail Park.
Assuming it was an honest mistake, she sent the valid pay-and-display ticket to UKPC, but received a response asking her to pay a compromise fine of £15 “in consideration of the information”.
UKPC cancelled the fine but refused to say why it was issued in the first place or why the driver should have to pay £15 despite providing evidence that the original penalty was invalid.
Parking at Gallagher Retail Park is free for the first two hours but motorists face private parking charges of up to £100 if they fail to properly display a ticket.
The parking company is now suspended again while a further investigation takes place.
This means they cannot access vehicle keeper details from DVLA and, if subsequently reinstated, cannot access details for the period during which they were suspended – essentially making any fines during that period unenforceable.
A DVLA spokesman said: “We have suspended UKPC while we investigate concerns.
“While this is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
UKPC and Gallagher Retail Park managing agents Cushman and Wakefield have been asked to comment.
News that a private car parking operator has been suspended by DVLA for “data misuse” will come as little surprise to those who have been forced to defend themselves against predatory ticketing firms.
UK Parking Control, which has a retail park in Dundee among its portfolio of 2,000 properties, has been caught falsifying time stamps on tickets.
Wardens have altered times on tickets to fine drivers who have parked legally. Bizarrely, the firm brands this practice a “loophole”, rather than the brazen criminality it implies.
Many of those “caught” will have endured the stress and expense of fighting relentless demands for payment.
DVLA has acted correctly in refusing to cooperate with UKPC until the matter is resolved.
But questions remain over why the government agency is feeding these firms information in the first place.
The relatively unregulated private parking system leaves the public at the mercy of sharks, operating without scruples in the pursuit of easy profit.
Those caught up in the feeding frenzy are left with the option of paying exorbitant charges or risking court action.
Too many private parking firms know the former is likely to be the outcome, no matter how solid the motorist’s defence.
It must be hoped this is the start of a crackdown which will fish out offending firms and end the private parking menace for good.