Highway robbery - DVLA sells your details

[Jonesy Knows]

09 June
Highway robbery - DVLA sells your details



There was a time when we never had to think about where our private details would end up. It was not that long ago but I am finding it harder to remember. Now it is the norm to tick (or un-tick) boxes to avoid ending up on ever-growing and useless mailing lists. But here's the best abuse of this type I have come across in years.... £15million raked in by the DVLA over the last five years by flogging our names and addresses to...clamping firms and car park operators.
Nearly 70 private firms, including bailiffs, debt collectors, solicitors and finance companies, are allowed access to the database of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, which holds personal information about Britain's 38 million drivers. The idea is they can then chase motorists whom they accuse of parking on privately owned land or staying too long in supermarket, hospital and railway car parks.
One of the DVLA 'approved' information recipients is a company called National Clamps, which admits to immobilising 10,000 vehicles a year, London parking enforcer VCS, which won the RAC's "Dick Turpin" award in 2005 for the "legalised mugging" of drivers, and Excel Parking Services, whose claim against a motorist over a £300 unpaid fine was thrown out of court in March after the judge said Excel's high charges were intended to "frighten or intimidate" so were unlawful. Truly, the DVLA does not know a great deal about who is getting their mitts on this info or what happens to it after it has been sold. They are said to turn down just 2% of requests for personal details from the firms they sell to, despite a supposed clampdown by the government on this extremely dodgy money-making scam. Currently, private companies can pay £2.50 per address or £3,000 a year to get online database access.

Fcuking disgrace how our personal details get bandied about by so called trusted Organisations and Local Councils. Why was the Data Protection Act brought into force if these fcukers think they are above it all?

What with identity fraud becoming more and more a bane of peoples lives, no wonder the Police haven't got a cat in hells chance!!!

[philossify]

Looking on the government website that discusses the "valid" reasons for having access to the information then I tend to agree with most of them. The thing that I find really not on - is that (IMHO) theres not sufficient (as far as I can tell) policing of the requests and I would want (in most cases, particularly those requests by anyone other than the various forms of police ) some sort of situation where they inform the owner of the car before they disclose details of who is asking for them and give you (say) a months grace to appeal lawfully against disclosure. Of course that would add to the cost in money and effort and stop them making loadsamoney from this info.

Private car clamping companies are scum in general - transforming what is essentially a low level civil problem into a moneymaking scam - they should never be licensed and should not be allowed to "imprison" peoples private property without first having obtained a ruling from the courts - however, indiividuals and property owners should be able to clamp or have car removed that are infringing their property rights (personally I prefer letting their tyres down) and local authorities should as well (i..e. I agree with traffic wardens etc.) - but private firms whose only form of profit is doing this shouldn't.

[aliando]

all the money paid = taxes being paid


can you really see gordon 'i can save the uk' brown giving a rats?

[Pocket Lady]

That is so feckin wrong.