Apologies, I hadn't noticed the reply.
Volkswagen Financial Services (VWFS) has now confirmed three important things:
1. They agree that your lease agreement is a "hire agreement" as defined in the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA), Schedule 4 Paragraph 13. This means they know that they can legally transfer liability for a private parking charge to you as the hirer if they provide the right documents.
2. However, they also admit that their policy is to refuse to provide those documents (the hire agreement), even though doing so would allow them to legally pass the charge to you and avoid being held liable themselves. Because they choose not to do this, they say they won’t rely on PoFA at all. In effect, they are intentionally blocking the use of a legal process that protects customers like you.
3. Despite not complying with PoFA, they still pass on your personal details to the private parking company. Then, if the charge escalates, they just pay it and invoice you. This means your personal data is being shared even though there’s no valid legal basis to hold you liable. They justify this by saying their privacy policy explains it, but that doesn’t make the data sharing lawful under UK data protection law.
In short, VWFS admits it could legally transfer liability to you using PoFA, but chooses not to. They still hand over your data to a private parking firm, even though that firm has no legal right to pursue you unless PoFA has been complied with. Then VWFS either leaves you to deal with it or pays and charges you. This approach puts you at risk of being unlawfully pursued for a parking charge when the law was designed to protect you from exactly that situation.
Here is what you should now do...
First a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman. You can send it by email to complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk and make sure you also CC yourself:
Subject: Complaint Regarding Volkswagen Financial Services – Ref: FLE-747262
Dear Financial Ombudsman Service,
I am submitting a complaint against Volkswagen Financial Services UK Ltd (trading as SEAT Financial Services) regarding their handling of a parking charge issued while I was the hirer of a leased vehicle.
The company has confirmed in writing that my agreement is a “hire agreement” under Schedule 4 Paragraph 13 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA). This means they have the legal ability to transfer liability for a private parking charge to me by providing the required documents to the parking operator.
However, Volkswagen Financial Services also admitted that they have a policy of refusing to provide a copy of the hire agreement to private parking companies. Because of this refusal, they knowingly choose not to rely on the PoFA process and therefore do not legally transfer liability. Despite this, they pass my personal data to the parking company anyway, or pay the charge themselves and then invoice me.
In other words, they choose not to follow the legal process that protects customers and still leave me exposed to liability for a charge that, under PoFA, I may not legally owe. This is unfair and potentially unlawful. I was never given the opportunity to contest the charge properly under the statutory process because they refused to provide the necessary documentation.
I believe this practice is unfair, unreasonable, and not in line with FCA expectations or principles. I am asking the Financial Ombudsman to investigate whether Volkswagen Financial Services’ policy of refusing to provide hire agreements in these cases is acceptable, and whether I have been treated fairly.
Please find below the relevant reference details:
• Complaint reference from VWFS: FLE-747262
• Vehicle registration: [Insert registration]
• Agreement number with VWFS: [Insert agreement number]
• My full name: [Insert full name]
• My contact details: [Insert email and/or phone number]
Please let me know if you require any further information or supporting documents.
Yours faithfully,
[Your name]
Second, you send the following to the BVRLA at info@bvrla.co.uk and again, CC yourself:
Subject: Complaint Regarding Volkswagen Financial Services – Unfair Treatment of Hirers in Relation to Private Parking Charges
Dear BVRLA,
I wish to submit a formal complaint against Volkswagen Financial Services UK Ltd, a member of your organisation, in relation to their handling of private parking charge notices issued to vehicles leased under hire agreements.
VWFS has confirmed to me in writing that my lease agreement is a “hire agreement” for the purposes of Schedule 4 Paragraph 13 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA). This means they have the legal ability to transfer liability for a private parking charge to the hirer by providing the necessary documentation to the parking operator.
However, they also confirmed that their internal policy is to refuse to provide a copy of the hire agreement to private parking companies. Because of this, they do not rely on PoFA to transfer liability, despite admitting that they could. Instead, they pass on the hirer’s details anyway, and if the parking charge escalates, they may pay it and invoice the customer.
This practice leaves the hirer exposed to enforcement action by private parking operators even when no legal liability has been transferred. It denies the hirer the opportunity to benefit from the protections provided by PoFA and increases the risk of unfair pursuit and financial loss.
I believe this approach is unacceptable for a BVRLA member. It contradicts the principle of treating customers fairly and creates a serious imbalance in the rights and responsibilities between lease companies and hirers.
I am therefore asking the BVRLA to investigate whether this policy breaches your Code of Conduct, and whether Volkswagen Financial Services’ handling of private parking charge notices is compatible with the standards expected of a member organisation.
Please let me know if you require any further information. I am happy to provide the relevant correspondence from VWFS on request.
Yours faithfully,
[Your full name]
[Your contact details]
[Vehicle registration and/or agreement number, if needed]
VWFS complaint ref: FLE-747262
Third, a complaint to the ICO at casework@ico.org.uk and again, CC yourself:
Subject: Data Protection Complaint – Volkswagen Financial Services (VWFS) – Unlawful Disclosure of Personal Data to Private Parking Operator
Dear ICO,
I wish to raise a concern about Volkswagen Financial Services UK Ltd (VWFS), who I believe have unlawfully disclosed my personal data to a private parking company without a valid lawful basis, in breach of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
I am the hirer of a vehicle leased under a hire agreement with VWFS. A Parking Charge Notice (PCN) was issued against the vehicle by a private parking company. VWFS, as the registered keeper, disclosed my personal details to that company in order to pass liability to me.
However, Schedule 4 Paragraph 13 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA) sets out the only lawful basis for transferring liability from the keeper to the hirer in these cases. VWFS has confirmed in writing that my agreement is a “hire agreement” under that legislation, but they also admitted that they have a company policy of refusing to provide the required documentation (namely, the hire agreement) to parking operators.
As a result, they are knowingly refusing to meet the legal conditions required to transfer liability, yet they are still disclosing my data to third parties as if those conditions have been met. This makes the data disclosure unlawful, as it is not necessary or proportionate for the stated purpose, and is not supported by a valid lawful basis under Article 6 of UK GDPR. Once they have decided not to rely on PoFA, there is no remaining lawful reason to share my personal data.
I believe VWFS’s policy and actions amount to a misuse of personal data and a failure to comply with the data minimisation, purpose limitation and lawfulness principles under UK GDPR.
I would be grateful if the ICO would investigate whether VWFS has breached data protection law in this case and whether their general policy of refusing to comply with PoFA, while still disclosing hirer data, is compatible with their obligations as a data controller.
Please let me know if you require further information. I can provide a copy of their written admissions on request.
Yours faithfully,
[Your full name]
[Your contact details]
[Vehicle registration and/or agreement number, if needed]
VWFS complaint ref: FLE-747262
