Drivers to get new rights to challenge ‘rip-off’ private parking charges

Drivers are set to get new rights to challenge unfair private parking charges, including a guaranteed five minutes to decide whether to park, the Government has announced.

Motorists will also be given ten minutes to leave car parks without facing a penalty once their session ends under a new private parking code of practice.

The code will give drivers the right to have charges cancelled on appeal for honest mistakes, such as stopping briefly to check directions, and for issues they cannot control, including a vehicle breakdown in a car park, a medical emergency or a broken ticket machine, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said.

For drivers who make mistakes such as forgetting parking permits, entering a vehicle registration wrong or forgetting to confirm it in a parking machine, they will face a maximum charge of £20 on appeal under the new rules.

Hailing the change, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “Being a few minutes late back to your car or typing one digit of your number plate wrong shouldn’t end with a hefty fine landing on your doormat.

“These charges leave people feeling ripped off and out of pocket, so I’m putting a stop to them.

“We are introducing clearer rules, longer grace periods and lower charges for genuine mistakes, while going after the deliberate scams that rip drivers off.”

The code will mean private parking charges are frozen at a maximum of £100, while operators who do not comply risk losing access to DVLA data, the Government said.

Currently, private parking companies use vehicle keeper information from the DVLA to pursue parking charges.

A record 16.9 million parking tickets were handed out by private businesses in the year to the end of March, according to analysis of Government data by the Press Association and motoring research charity the RAC Foundation.

That is up from 14.4 million a year earlier, and 6.8 million in 2018/19.

Each ticket can be up to £100, meaning the total cost to drivers may be more than £4.6 million per day at the current rate.

The parking industry has attributed the rise to an increase in the number of car parks being managed.

The new private parking code of practice will apply in England, Scotland and Wales and will bring in a fully independent scrutiny and oversight board for the first time.

Private operators will be required to report data on the charges they issue and how appeals are handled which will then be scrutinised by the board.

The Government has said it will consult on private parking debt recovery fees, including whether to cut the existing £70 cap or scrap the fees entirely.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said the code was a “step in the right direction” to protect drivers from the practices of some private parking companies, but “not the leap” the motoring services company had been campaigning for.

He said: “We’ve long called for the banning of debt recovery fees being added on top of parking charge notices (PCNs) and a single independent appeals body to replace the two industry-run ones, but neither have been included, which is disappointing.

“That said, the fact we finally have a code seven years on from the Private Parking Code of Practice Act becoming law is positive.

“Car park management companies will now have to conform to a new set of rules or risk losing access to the DVLA’s database, which they depend on to issue PCNs to drivers.

“This will hopefully prevent many drivers wrongly being issued tickets in the first place.”

Mr Williams added: “While this isn’t quite the Christmas present we wanted for drivers, it should hopefully save many the stress of having to challenge unfair tickets.”

Director of policy for charity IAM RoadSmart, Nicholas Lyes, said: “It is welcome to see new protections put in place for drivers through a single code of practice; however, we would have liked to see a single appeals system and action against debt recovery organisations as part of the package.

“Ultimately, we need to get to a place where parking on private land is a seamless, straightforward, and clear process, not one fraught with potential traps which leaves drivers unfairly out of pocket.”

Alison Tooze, chief policy officer at the British Parking Association, said her organisation “welcomes” the new code, which is an “an important step forward for motorists, communities and responsible parking operators”.

“The code builds on many of the principles already established through the sector’s existing voluntary code, helping create a more consistent, transparent and trusted framework,” she said.

“Overall, the code strikes the right balance between stronger protections for motorists and effective parking management, helping keep communities, businesses and local economies moving,” she added.

The new code is expected to come into force by the end of this year.

The Government has also announced a crackdown on second-hand car dealers who wind back mileage clocks on vehicles.

While fraudulently selling a “clocked car” is already illegal, it will be added to an official list of banned practices making it easier for enforcers to address it.

Greg Smith, a shadow transport minister, said: “Andy Burnham posing as the driver’s friend is a joke. This is the same Labour Government that is doubling parking fines right across England. Five minutes’ grace in a supermarket car park will not fool anyone.

“The £100 maximum stays exactly where it is and Labour has ducked banning the debt recovery fees piled on top. Labour’s war on drivers carries on regardless.

“Only the Conservatives, with our Plan for Drivers, will back the people who keep this country moving.”