Parking company stripped of power to enforce tickets after photo fraud
DVLA stamps on parking company that cheated
HUNDREDS OF car parks across Britain could descend into a free-for-all after the effective shutdown of one of Britain’s biggest parking companies. UK Parking Control (UKPC) has been stripped of its power to enforce parking tickets after being caught doctoring evidence against drivers.
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The company has been suspended from the list of operators that have access to the government’s central list of vehicle owners. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) took the action when it became the latest organisation to launch an investigation of the firm over allegations of fraudulently issued tickets.
UKPC claims to operate more than 2,000 car parks across Britain for hospital trusts, supermarkets and housing associations. Earlier this month The Sunday Times revealed that wardens working for the company had falsified time-stamps to make it appear that drivers had overstayed in car parks. They then issued their vehicles with tickets.
The ruse was exposed when victims set up a campaign group to highlight cases of fraud and the company confessed that wardens had exploited a loophole in its software to alter time-stamps.
The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau is also looking into one case of doctored tickets involving UKPC.
Motorists who receive a parking ticket from UKPC while the firm is banned from obtaining driver details cannot be traced by the company, even if the suspension is subsequently lifted, the DVLA said.
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