UKPC car parks under investigation for 'misleading drivers'

Firm investigated by British Parking Association for second time in five months.

UKPC car park in Diglis, Worcester

A national car park operator whose staff were caught faking parking time stamps to catch out drivers who had left their cars legally, has been accused of "misleading drivers" for months.

UK Parking Control (UKPC), which runs NHS car parks, has been prevented from chasing unpaid fines due to a temporary suspension from using DVLA data to trace drivers' addresses.

However, an investigation by the BBC found UKPC car park attendants telling people issued with tickets during the ban - which ran from September 18 till November 4 - they would still be pursued.

UKPC has claimed its staff misunderstood an email regarding the suspension and are now aware of the facts.

The company, which runs sites nationwide on top of NHS car parks, is currently being investigated by the British Parking Association (BPA) for the second time in five months after they were made aware of secret video footage taken by the BBC.

The BPA investigated UKPC initially in September 2015 and after a thorough investigation over allegations employees changed the time stamps on photos.

The firm admitted it had cancelled a number of tickets after what it described as an "isolated photgraph tampering incident" by a "few rogue employees".

Following its probe, the BPA concluded expulsion from the organisation "was not warranted".

BPA boss Patrick Troy told the BBC in September: “If there's a repeat of any kind of misbehaviour, that will almost certainly result in expulsion or further suspension.”

UKPC described the time stamp forging as an "isolated photograph tampering incident... by "a few rogue employees".

The Independent has contacted UKPC for comment.