Motorists have been hit with a 29% annual rise in private parking tickets issued by private parking operators in the past 12 months.
The DVLA has revealed that a record 11.1m private parking tickets were issued over the past 12 months to the end of March 2023.
This is an average of more than 30,400 private parking tickets issued every day. This is up from 8.6m the previous year where an average of over 22,000 tickets were issued every day.
Each ticket can cost up to £100, meaning the total annual cost to motorists could exceed £1.1bn.
This is clearly a lucrative industry.
Private parking operators 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 closes on 8 October 2023. Responses are invited and welcomed from anyone who wishes to respond.
A further consultation will follow on the options for parking charges and debt recovery fees.
WHAT THE RAC SAY
RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said: “In the four-and-a-half years since legislation was passed to create a single code of practice and address the worst excesses of private parking companies, as many as 36 million private parking charges may have been issued.
The ballooning rate at which the volume of vehicle keeper requests continues to grow is a clear sign that something is seriously awry, creating distress for drivers and hassle for legitimate parking managers alike.
While some drivers will choose to flout the rules and risk being penalised, the vast majority are simply trying to do the right thing.
As the private parking minister recognised recently, most motorists do not choose to break the rules deliberately.
Amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis it is implausible that millions of drivers would knowingly want to risk running up a charge for as much as £100.
Of course, Government needs to get the new private parking framework right after the false start it made last year, but surely that’s a task to be measured in weeks and months, not four-and-a-half years and counting.”
PRIVATE PARKING CODE OF PRACTICE
The Code of Practice, which was initially due to come into force across the UK by the end of 2023, stated that the cap on tickets for some parking offences should be halved to £50.
It’s withdrawal pending a review of charges will likely delay it.
The private parking code of practice will allow drivers to more easily challenge an unfair parking charge through a new independent appeals service. All private parking operators will also have to follow the code.
The DVLA charges private parking operators £2.50 per record for Keeper details. This means that the DVLA received over £27.7m in revenue.
183 private parking operators requested Keeper details in the year to the end of March 2023.
ParkingEye was the most active, buying 2.1m records.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A COUNCIL PARKING TICKET AND A PRIVATE PARKING TICKET?
Private parking tickets are called Parking Charge Notices (PCNs) 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.
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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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, but more than half of appeals succeed.
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It’s time for you to fight back. Knowledge is power – use it.
Just wondering what is classed as private land? We had ticket from Arndale centre car park