DVLA divulging your details to parking companies

[johnny37]

What is the latest on this? Surely it is illegal for DVLA to divulge your details to anyone except the police. I have just renewed my car tax on line and you have to give permission for them to access you insurance details. Surely the same should apply to then giving you details out to anyone. Have any of the motoring organizations started a test case?

[NORMANTHEDOG]

the dvla have been selling details of car regs for years,and NO it is not against the law,they do not just give out the info to anyone,it is only to certain councils,parking companies etc,and if you dident give your permission for them to check you are insured on the car you want to tax,then,you wouldent be able to tax it on line.why would there be a test case,about what ?what they do is legal.

[daffy654]

If you didn't park illegally it wouldn't matter whether they gave your details out anyway.

[johnny37]

Norman, I know they do it but I believe it is against the law in the same way that it is illegal for any other government department like the Inland Revenue to give out your tax details or Department of Employment to divulge your NI number without your permission. Even your employer cannot do this. You misread my last point - I was willng to give permission for them to access my insurance details. If not there is an alternative - go to the post office.

Daffy - councils maybe, but private parking companies? They have no more legal right to this info than Joe Bloggs down the pub.

[pauln90]

This is the DVLA website that details who they will give details to & its pretty extensive.

http://www.dvla.gov.uk/foi/relinfo.aspx

The government did say a number of years ago that they would look into restricting the number of cases in which details would be disclosed but like anything else it has now become a lucrative money spinner for them so don't hold your breath !!!

[gouldc]

It falls under Section 29(3) of the data protection act - the detection and prevention of crime.

We use this to obtain information when investigating dodgy claims, but you must have a valid reason for requesting the info or it won't be released. Equally, the police have to request information from us via this medium - it's designed to ensure that info is only released to people who have a valid need/requirement to obtain it.

As daffy has noted, if you park illegally, you're liable for prosecution - it doesn't matter if it's a private company or a council - if a private company are employed to enforce parking in a certain area, they are within their rights to obtain this information as you have broken the law in your actions.

[Androcles]

But gouldc, how do you know if is is a private company asking for the info, that they are telling you the truth? I could contact you and say I am xyz Clampers and need the details of the owner of DD 00 XYZ who was illegally parked in AA's car park and how would you know that I wasn't a crook targeting that car and needed the home address so I could go and nick it - I suspect the answer is that you neither know nor care as long as you get the fee?

[Ethel]

I have paid my few pounds and accessed this information from DVLA on three separate occasions - I had only to show I had proper cause for needing to know.

The law states it is illegal to abandon an untaxed vehicle on the highway or public place. When untaxed vehicles have been dumped on my land it would be illegal to get them towed away and scrapped without giving the owners' proper notice. I cannot simply tow them off on to the highway without breaking the law.

The police aren't interested because it is private land.

I had to inform the owners of my intention before getting the vehicles scrapped - impossible to do without the info from the DVLA.

[joejsmith]

If its not a DVLA/ council parking ticket ignore it. they have no legal right to enforce it even if they have managed to get your details. only the DVLA can register somewhere as parked illegally so any shop car park or private car park cannot be enforced unless they have a DVLA certification. i usually ignore anything other than these. if you still feel uncomfortable with ignoring them contact the appeals and say that you feel this is not a legal DVLA registered parking area. they will usually contact to to let you off only to tell you not to do it again.