The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has denied
selling millions of registration and vehicle records to Castrol for
marketing purposes.
The oil company was using information held on a DVLA database
for a controversial roadside advertising campaign. This has raised
questions about the DVLA's
handling of data.
Video cameras captured the registration number of cars
travelling on five major routes in London. These numbers and
Castrol's recommended oil products for the associated vehicles were
then flashed on giant billboards.
DVLA data includes the make, year, engine size and model of
vehicle, enabling Castrol to make recommendations for each car.
The DVLA forced Castrol to shut down the planned two-week
advertising campaign on the fourth day after being alerted by the
media.
That information may not used for direct marketing purposes, the
DVLA said in a statement.
"As soon as we became aware that vehicle information had been
used inappropriately, we contacted the organisation concerned to
ensure this was stopped," the statement said.
The DVLA has also denied that it provided any information to
Castrol or received any fee from the company in relation to the
advertising campaign.
"We are urgently investigating the case," the DVLA statement
said.
Privacy watchdog the Information Commissioner's Office said it
would not be conducting its own investigation as no personal
details are involved.
The DVLA does sell registration and vehicle information to five
motor industry data providers for non-marketing purposes.
According to
The Mail on Sunday, Castrol and the DVLA are blaming one of the
data providers for passing the data to a third party in
contravention of the rules.
Both companies are refusing to name the data provider
responsible while the DVLA conducts its investigation.