This post is about an email from a car parking app company, suggesting that I seek an MOT for my car. As you will see, it caused me annoyance and puzzlement, for I'd already had this year's MOT done. But in any case, the wording of the email was a cause for concern. The main part of the text describes what my personal reaction was, and how this escalated into distinct worry after discussion with friends.
There was actually no reason to be troubled. I ended up having a good conversation with a JustPark executive, and have since published his written explanation for the apparently-contentious MOT reminder.
It all goes to show how careful one must be when sending communications. Anyone can get it wrong. It's truly a minefield.
I was a bit put out by an email I received this morning from JustPark, one of those online car parking companies who are attached to a car park and let you pay for your parking with an app on your phone.
I have no issue whatever with the notion of car parking apps. It's highly convenient to pay by phone. Much better than with coins, which have been a no-no during the pandemic, and at the best of times unhygienic, dirty from previous fingering by unknown hands that (for all I know) have never been washed. Coins are also weighty and awkward to carry around in suitable quantities, bearing in mind that for car parking the larger £1 and £2 coins are mostly needed. Using a parking app lightens the load, avoids infection risks, and eliminates queuing at the ticket machine. It can all be done from the warmth and shelter of one's car. And an electronic ticket on one's phone saves paper - a small contribution to keeping the planet green.
So I'm basically a big fan of car parking apps, and have embraced them for several years now. The first one I installed was PayByPhone, the one you need for on-street parking in Brighton. RingGo soon followed. RingGo is especially worth having, because this is the app you need for many car parks around the country. But there are plenty of others you might install. Where do you stop? Every one of these apps needs to know your credit card details and the registration of the car you drive. I'm wary of sharing too much information with companies I'm only occasionally in contact with. So if, on my travels, I happen to park in a car park that is linked to a parking company I've never heard of, and whose app (if I install it and set it up) I may never use again, I will pay by other means or move on.
But when in Cornwall in September last year I kept coming across JustPark, and one day when in Falmouth I bit the bullet and installed their app. All quickly done, and the app worked well. But I doubt if I'll need to use it again for a while.
I certainly didn't expect to get this email from them today. These are screenshots from my phone:
This seems rather intrusive! It's meddling in my affairs. And it's making an assumption that my life is so chaotic that I am likely to forget that my car needs an annual MOT. I'm not stupid, nor gaga. It's actually pretty annoying. In any case, they got the MOT date wrong - both of them, as they quote 2nd May in the text and 31st May in the heading. Well, in 2019 the MOT was carried out on 13th May; last year - in accordance with lockdown rules - it was deferred until 1st June; and this year I had it done early, on 29th March. Why didn't they know that? It's bad enough bombarding 'customers' with irritating reminders. It's worse to misquote the date!
And why is the date of my car's MOT any business of a car parking company? Will they be reminding me that I'm seventy next year, and must begin making regular health declarations to the DVLA? I will regard that as a bit of cheek too far.
It may simply be a income-generating ploy. Clearly they have set up arrangements with some garages, and will get a kickback if I book a service and MOT with one of those, using the app. I hear that car parking companies - NCP anyway - are presently in financial difficulties, because lockdown restrictions have so much reduced the demand for town- and city-centre parking. It's understandable that they might wish to try new ways of stimulating their revenue.
But the message contains some words that disturb me:
When you added this vehicle the DVSA [that's the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, not to be confused with the DVLA, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. They are - of course - quite distinct] sent us confirmation of the make and model along with the MOT renewal date to confirm your vehicle was legally allowed to park with us.
'Legally allowed to park with us'? What does that mean? It sounds like a vague threat. Are they saying 'if you are overdue with the MOT on your car, you can't use our car parks'? Why would it matter to them? And what sanctions are they hinting at? Would their staff impose a fine, or get somebody to tow my car away to some compound? As they apparently don't know that I've already had my car MOT'd this year, - over a month ago - would I wrongfully suffer some penalty if I used one of their car parks?
To me, this looks like a try-on of some kind. I've just waded through the terms and conditions for using the app when parking, and there is no mention of cars with overdue MOTs being banned. Nor for any other 'illegal' defect that might make a car unfit for use on a public road, such as no insurance, a blown headlamp bulb, or tyres with too thin a tread.
Regardless of whether or not they have some proper legal angle here, and I doubt it, I don't like their approach.
They do invite me to unsubscribe from getting such 'friendly reminders', but I think I'll hold my hand and see what else they push at me.
I earnestly hope I don't encounter JustPark during my upcoming travels northward! I think I'd rather buy parking time with cash.
Sequel, after discussion with friends
This could be a scam. The hallmarks are there: an unexpected email that looks genuine but contains small errors; an urging to attend to something before a deadline; and suspicious links to tap on - no less than four of them: the green 'local garage list' button; a link to stop the reminders (which must connect with my JustPay account); a link to remove the registration quoted (ditto); and one to unsubscribe (ditto). Any of these might let criminals have access my JustPay account, learn my credit card details, and accomplish something nasty. I'm glad I took no action!
I will think about reporting this email to the DVSA and Action Fraud.
Further developments
I've spoken with a representative of JustPark, Mr Will Smith, and now understand what was going on here. It wasn't a scam.
JustPark's app makes it easy to locate and use a car park, but they also have a contractual duty to the car park owners they work with, to keep unroadworthy vehicles out of their car parks. Apparently the proportion of cars on the road that need an MOT but are overdue for one has lately shot up, last year's lockdown rules confusing many drivers about when to get their vehicles tested. And of course some drivers pretend to be confused. The car park owners don't want to see dangerous or broken-down cars dumped on their premises, and to play their part, JustPark have been taking what they intend to be a low-key but effective approach to the problem - using their vehicle database to send timely email nudges to app users, urging them to do the right thing. It was unfortunate that the email sent to me was unhappily worded, and contained date errors.
I have accepted an apology from Mr Smith for the email causing me puzzlement and concern.
I offered to publish a statement from him on my blog, to give him an opportunity to explain in his own words what JustPark were attempting to do. This has now been done. See my more recent post, A statement from Mr Will Smith of Growth & Partnerships at JustPark.
