Government clamps down on rogue parking firms

The government has published the Private Parking Code of Practice, which sets out the requirements that parking operators must follow when enforcing restrictions in England, Scotland and Wales.

Currently there are two parking trade associations – the British Parking Association and the International Parking Community – and each has a Code of Practice that their members are required to abide by, leaving motorists vulnerable to bad private parking practices such as deliberately poor signage and unfair parking fines.

The government’s Parking Code of Practice provides new standards, including a maximum cap for parking fines, a 10-minute grace period before a late fine can be issued, and a requirement for parking firms to clearly display pricing and terms and conditions.

In England outside of London and in Wales, charges will be reduced from £100 to £70 or £50, depending on the seriousness of the breach.

In addition, a new, simpler appeals process is also being created, to make it easier for disputed fines to be cancelled.

Private firms that breach the new code could even be barred from collecting fines from motorists at all.

Minister for Levelling Up, Neil O‘Brien MP, said: “Private firms issue roughly 22,000 parking tickets every day, often adopting a system of misleading and confusing signage, aggressive debt collection and unreasonable fees designed to extort money from motorists.

“The new Code of Practice will set out a clear vision with the interests of safe motorists at its heart, while cracking down on the worst offenders who put other people in danger and hinder our emergency services from carrying out their duties.”

Private parking companies who do not follow the Code by the end of 2023 could be banned from accessing Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency data.