Private parking firms are issuing over 41,000 parking tickets to motorists every day, according to the RAC Foundation.
The RAC Foundation scrutinised Government data and found 3.8 million parking tickets were issued to motorists by private parking firms between July and September.
This is a record daily average of 41,052 private parking tickets a day, up more than 16% from an average of over 35,300 issued every day in 2023.
The total is up 14% from 3.3 million during the same period in 2023 and more than double the 1.7 million issued in 2018.
Each ticket can cost up to £100, meaning the total annual cost to motorists could be nearly £1.5bn.
The DVLA charges private parking operators £2.50 per record for Keeper details. This means that the DVLA received over £37.4 million in revenue and over £102,000 every day – an increase of over 16%.
The DVLA says its fees are set to recover the cost of providing the information and it does not make any money from the process.
172 private parking operators requested Keeper details between April and December 2023.
ParkingEye was the most active, buying nearly 594,000 records.
This is clearly a lucrative industry.
Private parking firms have been accused of using misleading and confusing signs, aggressive debt collection and unreasonable fees.
Legalese and intimidating jargon on these invoices is also an issue, some of which is misleading and inaccurate.
PRIVATE PARKING CODE OF PRACTICE CONSULTATION
A long awaited Code of Practice was originally laid before Parliament in February 2022. The UK Government withdrew it five months later following a legal challenge by private parking companies.
A new call for evidence on the issue closed on 8 October 2023. Responses were invited and welcomed from anyone who wished to respond.
A further consultation will follow on the options for parking charges and debt recovery fees.
15 March 2024 marked the five-year anniversary of the Parking (Code of Practice) Bill becoming law. Ministers passed the law after promising to regulate private parking operators.
The private parking industry threatened a legal challenge, resulting in the framework being withdrawn in June 2022. It’s unlikely it will ever see the light of day in the foreseeable future.
The International Parking Community (IPC) and British Parking Association (BPA) published their watered-down Private Parking Code of Practice in June 2024 to be implemented on 1 October 2024.
Private parking operators will implement the new single Code by 1 October 2024 with all existing sites needing to be updated by December 2026.
This does not acknowledge the need to cap charges and remove debt recovery fees.
WHAT THE RAC FOUNDATION SAY
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said:
“Private parking is clearly one sector of the economy which appears to be booming but at the expense of millions of motorists each year.
It is hard to believe that tens of thousands of drivers are setting out each day intent on flouting parking rules on private land and so risking stiff penalties. These numbers suggest that big questions remain about the way the current system is working – or failing.
Drivers must be very wary of where they leave their vehicles as they head out to do their Christmas shopping because these numbers suggest that even the smallest indiscretion is likely to lead to a fine which will erase any sense of festive cheer.
If ministers wanted to give motorists a Christmas present they should crack on with implementing the long-promised reforms to parking management which have now been on the statute book for more than five years.”
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A COUNCIL PARKING TICKET AND A PRIVATE PARKING TICKET?
Private parking tickets are called Parking Charge Notices and are invoices for a breach of contract on private land.
These invoices are deliberately designed to look like an official Council issued Penalty Charge Notice. Private parking operators use legalese jargon to intimidate and force you to pay an invoice for an alleged breach of contract.
A private parking operator cannot fine you. A private parking operator must belong to an accredited Trade Association to access keeper details from the DVLA. They must adhere to the Trade Association’s Code of Practice to do so.
You cannot ignore a private parking ticket. They can be pursued through the Small Claims Court as a debt and you risk incurring a County Court Judgement (CCJ).
A CCJ wrecks your credit record and ability to secure affordable mortgages, loans, mobile phone contracts, etc.
Council parking tickets are called Penalty Charge Notices. These are legally enforceable and are fines issued by local authorities for infringements on public highways.
REASONS TO APPEAL A PARKING TICKET
Local authorities and private parking operators rarely do anything right or by the book. Evidence is key on all appeals. It is therefore important that you keep all receipts, photos, screenshots of a payment confirmation and any evidence you have to support an appeal.
The most popular appeal relates to obscure and hidden signs. All signs need to be clearly visible and to a prescribed criteria so you can make an informed decision. It cannot be said that you were given sufficient guidance to make an informed decision if this is the case.
Illegal signs = illegal fines.
PRIVATE PARKING TICKET APPEAL LETTER TEMPLATES
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MY VIEW
The unregulated private parking industry is worth nearly £1.5 billion pounds a year and is out of control.
This watered-down Code of Practice doesn’t go far enough. This new Code of Practice has only been introduced to appease the UK Government’s more stringent Code of Practice which they frustrated with a legal challenge. This Code of Practice is a watered-down version of the Government’s version which they legally challenged in June 2022.
Most Parking Charge Notices are issued by ANPR cameras which do not take into account grace periods or other mitigating circumstances. Motorists remain vulnerable to predatory tactics by private parking operators who routinely flout the voluntary Code of Practice which is rarely enforced on its members who fund it.
It does not address the use of third party debt collectors. They are “strangers to the debt” and use legalese jargon to intimidate and coerce motorists into paying up to £170.
This is just smoke and mirrors. Nothing will change so long as this unregulated industry is allowed to police themselves. I want to see a proper Government Code of Practice that can be properly enforced.
FINALLY
Have you been hit with a parking ticket that was unfair? Hit a pothole and don’t know where to start with a claim? A pothole claim can cost hundreds of pounds in damage and repairs to your vehicle.
You have a 1 in 4 chance of being hit with a parking ticket.
The average cost of a private parking ticket is £100 discounted to £60 if paid within 14 days.
You may never need to pay it at all. Few people contest a parking ticket, yet more than half of appeals succeed.
You can find out more in my book.
It’s time for you to fight back. Knowledge is power – use it.
Do you think more should be done to regulate private parking firms?
My Vehicle rental company is in danger of going put out of business by the deliberate policy of parking companies delaying communication and therefore refusing to accept transfer of liability. I have been threatened by bailiffs and intimidated into paying money I don’t have !