DVLA nets £6m from sale of motorist details

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has revealed that it made more than £6m last year selling access to the names and addresses of motorists to private sector companies such as wheel clamper, bailiffs and debt collection agencies.

That represents a 27 per cent increase on the £5m the DVLA earned from selling vehicle ownership details to the private sector the previous year.

The DVLA currently charges an administration fee of £2.50 to anyone who can demonstrate "reasonable cause" to receive the information from the vehicle database. Once the request is approved a company can submit a car registration number to find out the name and address of the vehicle's owner.

The practice sparked controversy earlier this year when it was revealed convicted criminals and companies that didn't even exist had been granted access to names and addresses from the vehicle database.

This forced the government to announce a review of the regulations covering the release of information because of concern about the breadth of organisations that now have access to the register.

One of the issues is that "reasonable cause" is not defined in the law but a DVLA spokesman said it takes its duty under the Data Protection Act to protect the privacy of motorists "very seriously" and said each request is considered on merit.

He said: "Applicants must provide as much detail as possible to support their request. Insufficient information or use of data outside the 'reasonable cause' provisions will mean refusal of the application. Members of the public are subject to more stringent checks and must provide supporting evidence such as police reports and their insurance details."