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DVLA (or is it no DVSA?) and Data Protection
ValR123
post Fri, 15 Jan 2016 - 12:48
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My son has a one man business - testing and repairing motor vehicles. He does not buy and sell, but being in this business, he does change cars (for himself, family and his business - e,g courtesy car) on a fairly regular basis and we are fed up with getting LLP's, Parking Fines etc for vehicles which were sold on - one over two years ago! In most cases, we have copy letters and/or documents notifying DVLA of the change of keeper, but as we all know that means nothing if you can't produce the all important acknowledgementletter from DVLA.
So I decided to turn it around and I contacted the ICO and asked whether we were legally entitled to have full details of ALL the data which DVLA had on record - for my son and other family members as individuals and for my son's business. The ICO confirmed that we WERE entitled to this information - in the case of an individual, it would be a ''subject access request'' for which DVLA could levy a charge of £10 and in the case of the business it was a ''Freedom of information'' request, for which DVLA could make a charge, within prescribed limits, depending on the work involved in producing the information. So I submitted the requests - and DVLA (or whatever they call themselves these days) replied saying that they cannot provide this information as they can only search their database on registration or chassis number. How convenient! My son's business operates on a very basic accounting and data package, but even he can search on name, registration number and a host of other parameters. If DVLA can't provide this information, then surely they are operating outside the legislation of the DP and FOI legislation?
I have been back to the ICO but ended up talking to a really patronising jobsworth who constantly interrupted me and kept repeating that I was dealing with a Government Department and so there was no way that they would dare be in breach of any legislation. Yeah right! We all know that Government Departments really are the worst as they a law unto themselves and of course the ICO is also part of our establishmentand it seems they are all determined to stick together like glue in their apparent corruption!
Has anyone else tried making requests for information to the DVLA - and if so what response did you get? Also I owuld be interested to hear any opinions or observations on DVLA's response, especially from the the legal people out there please?
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post Fri, 15 Jan 2016 - 12:48
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Jlc
post Fri, 15 Jan 2016 - 13:17
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The DVLA (for vehicle licensing) will release keeper information under certain conditions - with 'reasonable cause'. This is potentially quite a list but for 'parking charges' and the like this is fairly routine if the requester is part of an Accredited Trade Association (ATA). The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) does have the power to look into misuse of such requests or subsequent handling of the data - primarily covered under the Data Protection Act (DPA). Also, look at this link where the Independent Compliants Assessor (ICA) can look into issues in relation to the DVLA/DVSA and did award compensation.

The DPA concerns itself with the processing of information on individuals and a Subject Access Request (SAR) can be made to the company in question to release what information they have on the subject matter (i.e. the individual). There is a statutory maximum charge of £10 for this.

A Free of Information (FoI) request is quite different. The related Act allows certain information to be given freely from certain public bodies. It should be used to obtain information held by those bodies but there's quite an exception list including that the request would be too costly/timely to produce. Requests would normally be general such as 'please provide the number of keeper requests released to private parking companies per month for the last year' - and not 'what data does the DVLA hold on me' as this would covered by a SAR. However, the DVLA may release certain information for fee outside a FoI or SAR, see here.

Back to the situation, what's the exact issue and the resolution sought?

This post has been edited by Jlc: Fri, 15 Jan 2016 - 13:21


--------------------
RK=Registered Keeper, OP=Original Poster (You!), CoFP=Conditional Offer of Fixed Penalty, NtK=Notice to Keeper, NtD=Notice to Driver
PoFA=Protection of Freedoms Act, SAC=Safety Awareness Course, NIP=Notice of Intended Prosecution, ADR=Alternative Dispute Resolution
PPC=Private Parking Company, LBCCC=Letter Before County Court Claim, PII=Personally Identifiable Information, SAR=Subject Access Request

Private Parking - remember, they just want your money and will say almost anything to get it.
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ValR123
post Sat, 16 Jan 2016 - 21:47
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The exact issue is that I want to know what vehicles are registered to my son and/or his business according to DVLA's database - because it seems that on a number of occasions they have failed to record the change of registered keeper which has been notified to them. Having received a LLP for a vehicle which was sold years ago (even though we had a copy letter and copy of the registration document notifying the change of ownership) I am now worried that there are other vehicles which we have totally forgotten about now, but which are still incorrectly registered ot my son and/or his business.

As I said I contacted the ICO in the first instance and it was the ICO who told me that only an individual can make a SAR - if it is a business which if seeking information, even if it is information about the business itself, then according to the ICO, this cannot be regarded as an SAR and it is deemed ot be a FOI request. Frankly I don't really care what it's called, I just want to know what vehicles DVLA have recorded as being registered to my son and/or his business - and receipt of that informaiton is the resolution which I seek.
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StuartBu
post Sun, 17 Jan 2016 - 01:18
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From what you say above what DVLA need is the Reg Numbers or Chassis Numbers of the vehicles .You say you have paperwork relating to MOST of the vehicles so presumably you will get an answer using those numbers .

How many vehicles ,parking tickets etc are you talking about and what happened with the tickets .parking or otherwise that you received . Those must have still been registered to your son/business so did you get those issues resolved with DVLA .

If the dvla can only search their database using reg'n numbers or chassis numbers and not your sons name or the business name then I dont see how you will get very far for vehicles you dont have that info for .

Can your son not come on here and post himself?

This post has been edited by StuartBu: Sun, 17 Jan 2016 - 01:19
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ValR123
post Sun, 17 Jan 2016 - 09:23
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Can't really see that it's relevant to the issue, but the reason I am posting as opposed to my son is because I am his (unpaid) Company Secretary and so I deal with all his paperwork - otherwise, with the amount of red tape these days, he would never have time do any real work! But there is so much paperwork that it's impossible to keep every bit of paper going back three years - hence these recent LLP/Parking fines have prompted my request to DVLA. We have had three fines in a short space of time - two for parking (one where my son had lent his vehicle to some friends and a parking fine, followed shortly after by an LLP for the same vehicle, which had been sold on a couple of years ago. It just happened that I still had a copy letter and a copy reg document and so I forwarded the parking fine on to the new owner and have heard nothing more. I wrote back to DVLA enclosing copies of our notifications, but they insisted that we were still liable as we could not produce their acknowledgement letter - and so we paid the £ 80 fine.
Having sent the original copy notifications to DVLA, they obviously now know about the change of registered keeper, but they have STILL not issued any acknowledgement letter or sent any confirmation that they have now noted this change - even though I have written repeatedly asking for this (and I will continue asking until I get DVLA's all important confirmation).
I realise that if I know the registration number(s) of any vehicles which have been sold on, I can ask DVLA if they are registered to my son or the business, but after three years of changing vehicles, I am concerned that there could be other vehicles which are no longer owned by, but which are still registered to, either my son or his business.
I understood that under the terms of the DPA if you kept data about anyone you had to provide details of what you had on record if requested - and if that is what the DPA says, then surely you must operate a system which enables you to comply with the law?
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StuartBu
post Sun, 17 Jan 2016 - 12:03
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QUOTE (ValR123 @ Sun, 17 Jan 2016 - 09:23) *
Can't really see that it's relevant to the issue, but the reason I am posting as opposed to my son is because I am his (unpaid) Company Secretary and so I deal with all his paperwork - otherwise, with the amount of red tape these days, he would never have time do any real work!

snipped


I hadn't realised that you had this position in your sons business which is why I suggested him posting .Thanks for explaining .
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