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Smart Parking Ltd
Unit 43, Elmdon Trading Estate
Bickenhill Lane
Birmingham, B37 7HE

[Date of sending the letter]

Letter of Claim

Re: Unlawful Acquisition of Personal Data and Compensation Demand

Dear Sirs,

I am writing to formally notify you of my intention to take legal action against Smart Parking Ltd, should this matter not be resolved within 14 days of the date of this letter.

As outlined in my previous correspondence dated [date of your initial letter], your company unlawfully obtained my personal data from the DVLA in connection with Parking Charge Notice (PCN) reference [PCN Reference Number]. The vehicle identified in your ANPR image (registration number XK69XXX) is not mine, and I have never owned or driven the vehicle in question.

You have acknowledged in writing that the PCN was issued in error and confirmed the cancellation of the charge, as well as the deletion of my personal data. However, you failed to address my request for compensation for the distress and anxiety caused by your unlawful actions.

Legal Basis for Claim

Under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), individuals are entitled to compensation when their personal data is processed unlawfully and results in distress. By failing to perform the required manual quality control checks under the British Parking Association (BPA) Code of Practice (CoP), section 21.5a, your company had no lawful basis for requesting my personal data from the DVLA. This constitutes a breach of the KADOE contract and the Data Protection Act.

Your failure to comply with these legal obligations caused me significant distress and anxiety, for which I am entitled to compensation.

Demand for Compensation

In light of the distress and anxiety caused, I am seeking compensation in the amount of £300.

If I do not receive a satisfactory response, including the compensation sought, within 14 days, I will issue proceedings against Smart Parking Ltd in the County Court for damages under the Data Protection Act 2018.

This letter serves as a formal Letter of Claim. Please be advised that should you fail to respond or resolve this matter within the specified timeframe, I will take legal action without further notice.

Yours faithfully,

Can you please show us the wording of your complaint to the DVLA.

Unlawful Releasing of Data.

Good Afternoon,

I am writing in relation to your recent releasing of my personal data to “Smart Parking Ltd” under the terms of the KADOE contract, on issuance of a PCN to my registration XK69 XXX from the aforementioned company dated 19th August 2024. I bring to your attention the following points:
Lack of Reasonable Cause: The vehicle captured in the ANPR image sent to me has a registration number XC59 XXX and is of a completely different make and model than my vehicle. I have never owned or driven the vehicle in question, nor have I ever visited the location stated in the PCN. This clearly indicates an error on your part in assessment of reasonable cause to release my personal information to Smart Parking Ltd.
Unlawful Release of Personal Data: Given your failure to enforce your terms or to assess reasonable cause, my data was released unlawfully and a breach of the Data Protection Act 2018 has occurred.
Misuse of Personal Data: As Smart Parking Ltd failed to Adhere to BPA Code of Practice, specifically section 21.5a(d), which mandates manual quality control checks of ANPR images, they have unlawfully processed my data and have sent me a predatory Parking Charge Notice due to your unlawful release of my personal data.
Distress and Anxiety: The actions of the DVLA have caused me significant distress and anxiety and I believe I am entitled to compensation for this.

I now demand that you:
- Immediately cease any further release of my personal data to any third parties, including but not limited to Smart Parking Ltd, as it is clear there is no enforcement of terms related to assessment of reasonable cause to release my data.
- Cancel Smart Parking Ltd’s KADOE contract due to their failure to adhere to BPA Code of Practice 21.5a(d).
- Compensate me for the distress and anxiety, specifically for damages under the Data Protection Act 2018.

Yours faithfully,

How about responding to Mrs Harris with the following:

Quote

Dear Mrs Harris,

Re: Response to Your Letter Dated 16 September 2024 – Unlawful Acquisition of Personal Data by Smart Parking Ltd

Thank you for your letter dated 16 September 2024, regarding my complaint about the unlawful acquisition of my personal data by Smart Parking Ltd under the KADOE contract. While I appreciate your review of the matter, several critical issues remain unaddressed, and I would like to clarify the core concerns.

1. The Core Issue – Failure in Post-DVLA Data Processing by Smart Parking

The key issue here is not the initial request by Smart Parking for my personal data but their failure to verify that data once they received it from the DVLA. While Smart Parking may have had reasonable cause to request the data due to a misread of the vehicle registration number (VRM) by their ANPR system, the breach and unlawful use of my data occurred when they failed to compare the data they received with the actual vehicle captured in their ANPR images.

After receiving my details, Smart Parking had an obligation under section 21.5a(d) of the British Parking Association (BPA) Code of Practice (CoP) to check that the make, model, and colour of the vehicle in the DVLA data matched the vehicle identified in the ANPR image. This simple, compulsory check would have immediately revealed the mismatch, as the vehicle associated with my personal data was not the vehicle in the ANPR image. Smart Parking's failure to perform this check resulted in the wrongful issuance of a Parking Charge Notice (PCN) to me, of a vehicle I am not the registered keeper of and have never owned or driven.

This failure constitutes a breach of the BPA CoP and the KADOE contract. Had Smart Parking performed the required check, no PCN would have been issued, and I would not have been subjected to the distress and anxiety caused by their unlawful actions.

2. Concerns Over DVLA’s Revenue and Conflict of Interest

Another critical concern is the financial relationship between the DVLA and private parking companies like Smart Parking. In the financial year 2023/2024 alone, Smart Parking submitted 513,696 KADOE requests at £2.50 per request, generating significant revenue for the DVLA. Given this substantial income (from this relatively minor player), there is a concern that the DVLA may be prioritising revenue over its duty to safeguard individuals' personal data and ensure that private parking companies comply with their legal and contractual obligations.

This situation raises the question: Is the DVLA more concerned with protecting its income stream than upholding individuals' rights to privacy and ensuring that their data is only used lawfully? The fact that Smart Parking clearly failed to verify the data they received before issuing the PCN represents a serious breach of the KADOE contract and the BPA Code of Practice.

I would like to know what sanctions the DVLA intends to impose on Smart Parking for this failure. If no meaningful action is taken, this suggests a worrying lack of oversight and protection for the public in favour of protecting the DVLA's revenue sources.

3. Misrepresentation of the Parking Charge Notice (PCN) as a "Penalty"

Finally, I would like to correct an inaccuracy in your response. You referred to the charge issued by Smart Parking Ltd as a "penalty charge notice." This is incorrect. The notice I received was a Parking Charge Notice issued by an unregulated private parking company, not a statutory penalty issued by a public authority. Parking Charge Notices from private parking companies do not carry the same legal weight as penalties issued by local councils or government bodies. This misrepresentation is important and should be corrected in any future correspondence.

Conclusion

While the DVLA may have had reasonable cause to release my data to Smart Parking in the first instance, the key issue here is Smart Parking’s failure to verify that data after receiving it and then unlawfully using it. The DVLA now has a responsibility to investigate this breach of the KADOE contract and impose appropriate sanctions on Smart Parking for their failure to comply with the requirements for processing the data.

I look forward to your response and confirmation that the DVLA will take appropriate action to address this issue and prevent future breaches.

Yours sincerely,

So that's DVLA off the hook.