UK: Mercedes spies on drivers by secretly installing tracking devices in leased cars
THERE'S A SPY IN YOUR MERCEDES
Mercedes spies on
drivers by secretly installing tracking devices in cars and passing information
to bailiffs
EXCLUSIVE
Ben Leo & Rob Pattinson 19 Aug 2019, 22:30 Updated:
20 Aug 2019, 1:12
MERCEDES has sparked a privacy row by
admitting it spies on drivers with tracking devices covertly installed in its
cars.
The secret sensors, fitted to all new and used
motors sold by the firm’s dealers, pinpoint the vehicle’s exact location.
Mercedes will
not say how long it has used the sensors.
And it insists they are only activated in
“extreme circumstances” — when finance customers have defaulted on their
payments.
But it admits sharing car owner information
and vehicle location details with third-party bailiffs and recovery firms who repossess
the cars.
Ex-Cabinet minister David Davis today
called for the Government to investigate.
He added: “This is not the first time big
business has behaved like Big Brother — but it’s rare to be quite as deceitful
as this.
“I have to question whether it is even legal
to pass on information to other people such as bailiffs.
“I would think the relevant minister ought to
look very closely at the legality of this procedure.”
Human rights group Liberty said Mercedes’
actions were disturbing and part of the “creeping growth of surveillance”.
Legal experts also raised concerns. Stefano
Ruis, civil law partner at Hickman & Rose solicitors, said: “This appears
to be another worrying development in the way companies handle what should be
private, personal data.
“Modern technology means our ability to keep
personal information private is under threat like never before.
“Organisations that handle personal data need
to be completely upfront about what they are doing. That Mercedes appear not to
have been so in this case is concerning. Its customers may start to worry about
what other personal information the company may be gathering, then passing on.”
It’s a shocking revelation and definitely gives a creepy uneasy
feeling knowing somebody, somewhere can track me down at the touch of a button
Karl Edwards, Mercedes Driver
Mercedes’ rivals including BMW, Jaguar
Land Rover and Volkswagen have
all said they do not carry out similar tracking.
The row will again raise questions about how
huge corporations handle our privacy and data.
Last month a Sun investigation revealed Amazon staff can listen to Alexa recordings of British
couples rowing, discussing private family matters — and having sex.
Mercedes dominates the UK car leasing market,
with an estimated 80 per cent of their new vehicles sold on finance plans.
The secret sensor technology is not linked to
either anti-theft Tracker devices or the online Mercedes Me service sold as
optional extras by dealers.
Tracking a vehicle without its driver’s
knowledge is illegal under EU data protection laws.
But Mercedes customers who buy cars through
the official financial arm give their permission when signing lengthy terms and
conditions — which often go unread. Mercedes says a clause about “location
sensors” is in bold print just above a customer’s signature on finance
contracts.
But Andrew Bridgen MP said Mercedes should
specifically tell customers about what the technology does.
He said: “If Mercedes wishes to install this
privacy-surrendering tech in their cars, that’s fine. But surely they have a
duty to explicitly tell their customers beforehand — and not hide it away in
their terms and conditions.”
Karl Edwards, 30, from Portsmouth, Hants, said
he was stunned to learn about the tracker on his C200 AMG. He said: “It’s a shocking
revelation and definitely gives a creepy uneasy feeling knowing somebody,
somewhere can track me down at the touch of a button.” Mercedes
Benz said sensors are not used to permanently
track customers or access real time data.
It added: “When a customer chooses to finance
the purchase of their car this way they sign a contract and agree to the
location sensors in the car being activated in the event that they default or
breach their agreement.
“Locating
the car is part of the repossession process and is not permanently tracking
customers.
“It is only activated in exceptional
circumstances where the customer has breached their finance agreement and
repeatedly failed to reply to requests to contact us.”
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