Traffic Enforcement Centre

3.1 The procedures below should be taken as a guide only and the Service Provider should refer to the TEC Code of Practice for detailed

instructions regarding TEC procedures. A copy of the TEC Code of Practice; TEC Data User File V5 and TEC User Guide 4 can be found in Appendix A; B and C.

3.2 As a minimum, the Service Provider shall be required to:

a) receive batches of debt registrations and warrant applications from participating EAs or their agents and validate the records before their transmission to the TEC;

b) reject invalid records and return them to the issuing EA for correction and re-submission. The Service Provider shall provide reasons for all rejections within a batch;

c) submit batches of valid data to TEC in an agreed format and on a pre-defined basis;

d) receive, validate and match Global Authorisation Certificates and advice note from EAs and submit these in the form required by TEC to allow them to process the EAs’ requests;

e) receive validation information (known as "the Sealed Authority") from TEC concerning the number of batches and valid transactions submitted;

f) prepare information which is sufficient to enable London Councils to authorise its bankers to transfer funds to TEC's bank account (such as the total amount due, plus total by batch by authority);

g) record the appropriate transfer of funds from London Councils ' bank account to TEC;

h) provide reasons for each individual rejection within a batch; and

i) advise EAs of and provide copies of out of time statutory declarations or witness statements, filtering the information so that each EA receives only the details relevant to them.

3.3 There is no requirement for data transfer from TEC to individual EAs via London Councils, as authorisation to issue warrants is despatched from TEC direct to EAs.

87

3.4 Exceptions, which can arise for instance when records or Global

Authorisation Certificates submitted by the EA fail validation checks, should be processed automatically.

3.5 Under no circumstances shall there be communication between London Councils and motorists or registered keepers in connection with county court action.

3.6 All interactions with TEC should be conducted according to the TEC Code of Practice.

3.7 The Service Provider shall control and manage the volumes of registrations according to the TEC Code of Practice.

3.8 An indication of current volumes can be found in Appendix D.

4. TRACE

TRACE is the service provided by London Councils to allow members of the public and other organisations to locate a vehicle that has been towed away.

4.1 Capturing and Maintaining Vehicle Status Information 4.1.1 The Service Provider shall be required to:

a) collate, validate, format and hold data from external parties relating to all vehicles which have been removed;

b) record new information on the TRACE system within 15 minutes of receipt

c) provide the means for relevant parties to submit evidence and communication in real time;

d) acknowledge receipt of each removal notification record, provide them with the details of all records which fail the validation checks and provide an alert mechanism when there is no acknowledgment;

e) collect data records relating to removed vehicles at all stages of the process from removal to release from the pound. The status information maintained should include, but are not limited to, the following:

i. vehicles which have been removed or are en route to a car pound;

ii. vehicles which have been received within a car pound;

iii. vehicles which have been released from the car pound;

iv. transfer of a vehicle to a decant car pound if necessary;

v. relocation of a vehicle to another location; and vi. vehicles which have been sold or scrapped.

88

f) collate and maintain the information in a form suitable for rapid access in order to answer queries from members of the public and other

individuals (such as a police officer or pound supervisor) quickly and accurately;

g) update the database in real time with any relevant information obtained via an enquiry from the driver of a removed vehicle;

h) record the details of calls relating to an individual vehicle on the database;

i) have available for London Councils daily, weekly and monthly status reports on vehicles removed, held or released by the EAs on an individual basis;

j) highlight/mark vehicles that have three or more PCNs outstanding against them; and

k) maintain an auditable trail for all changes.

l) However, this is not an exhaustive list.

4.1.2 Access to the database is required through the internet (including optimisation for mobile devices) by:

a) EAs;

b) the police;

c) the public;

d) London Councils; and

e) The Service Provider’s staff.

4.1.3 Different types of users shall have different levels of access according to rules set by London Councils.

4.1.4 All fields on the database shall be capable of being searched in any practical combination, though the fields available will depend on the user access in 4.1.3 above.

4.1.5 Access shall also be required from those listed above by telephone through the Service Provider’s call handling centre.

4.1.6 The System shall be able to record anomalies, such as vehicles with foreign number plates, as well as be able to perform validation and reporting functions.

4.1.7 The Service Provider shall ensure that all the information required to handle a particular enquiry is readily available. This will typically be to establish the presence of the vehicle within the system (i.e. in the control of an external

89

party), track its movements if it has been removed and provide information on how to secure the release of the vehicle.

4.1.8 Allow EAs and Pounds to view all information held in relation to their EA/Pound.

4.1.9 The Service Provider shall provide the public with multiple means of accessing information from the TRACE database, including, but not limited to, web-based applications and SMS.

4.2 Handling and Responding to Telephone Enquiries.

4.2.1 The Service Provider shall be responsible for providing a suitable telephone call management system and service between agreed hours capable of:

a) handling incoming calls;

b) identifying separate call streams;

c) holding calls in queues and answering queued callers in turn;

d) allocating calls to staff;

e) handling straightforward queries without recourse to London Councils;

f) effective call routing to London Councils staff;

g) giving recorded information to callers who are being queued;

h) voice recording all enquiries, logging each call and retaining the

recordings and log for a period of not less than three Months; measuring performance against the Service Levels, including the measurement of calls which result in a substantive response the first time; and

i) providing ‘Minicom’ or other suitable facilities/service to enable people with hearing or speech disabilities as well as other disabilities to use the service in accordance with accessibility requirements as set out in the Disability Discrimination Act.

4.2.2 The Service Provider shall use the Enquiry Centre number provided by London Councils (currently 0845 206 8602).

4.2.3 The Service Provider shall respond to enquiries in an appropriate and pleasant manner and seek to provide a substantive response on the first call.

4.3 Maintaining Reference Information

4.3.1 The Service Provider shall be required to collate all external party reference information necessary to support the system (for instance, the location of the pound, its opening hours, the motorist’s identification requirements, payment methods, public transport access and the external party details required to carry out record validation checks).

90

4.3.2 The Service Provider shall enable EAs and Pounds to view/access only their own reference information in 4.3.1 above so that each EA take responsibility for maintaining the accuracy of their own data.

4.3.3 The Service Provider shall establish a procedure for updating the information set out in 4.3.1, as and when required by Authority staff.

4.3.4 The Service Provider shall establish a procedure for reviewing and updating the information set out in 4.3.1 above on an annual basis, irrespective of changes made under 4.3.3.

4.3.5 The Service Provider shall maintain a log of all changes to the information held under 4.3 recording the name of the individual/EA/Pound making the change, the date and time on which the change was made, and the information changed on each occasion.

4.3.6 The Service Provider shall ensure that the information held under 4.3 is available to the public via the Enquiry Centre, the website and SMS.

4.4 Handling and Responding to Complaints

4.4.1 On receipt of a complaint in relation to section 4, the Service Provider shall be responsible for logging and investigating that complaint and drafting a

response. The draft response shall then be sent to London Councils to respond to the complaint formally.

4.5 Archiving and Deletion

4.5.1 The security strategy shall incorporate the need to archive data for storage and possible retrieval. An archive facility is therefore required.

4.5.2 Access to the archive shall be supported by the Service Provider, who will ensure that suitable procedures are in place to meet the operational needs for archive access.

4.5.3 The Service Provider shall be responsible for the security of the data in all of the databases and systems. A schedule for archiving data will be established and agreed between London Councils and the Service Provider at the start of the contract. The suitability of the archiving schedule should be considered on an annual basis.

4.5.4 Security of data shall include taking copies of the required files, maintaining a security methodology and the use of off-site storage.

4.5.5 Archived records shall be indexed and searchable.

4.5.6 The security strategy shall also incorporate the need to delete archived data.

An agreed schedule for deleting data shall be established and agreed between London Councils and the Service Provider at the start of the contract. The suitability of the archiving schedule should be considered at least once a year.

4.5.7 Actual TRACE data shall be deleted 3 months after the release or destruction of the vehicle.

91