A crackdown on ‘cowboy’ parking firms is planned
File photo dated 17/06/08 of a wheel clamped car as the AA has claimed that drivers are still suffer (Image: PA)
A crackdown on “cowboy” parking firms is planned to stop them imposing “excessive and unfair” charges on motorists.
Ministers are will set out plans to cap charges and debt recovery fees.
It comes after the parking industry successfully blocked proposals from the previous Government to end rip-off charges by launching a legal challenge.
Local Government Minister Baroness Taylor said: “We understand the frustrations and complexities that motorists face in dealing with private parking, so we are exploring all possible ways to give motorists the best protection and support.
“We want to strike a balance between ensuring that parking charges and debt recovery fees are at a reasonable level and allowing parking operators to manage car parks effectively.”
A consultation would be launched later this year, she said.
The crackdown follows claims that private parking firms are imposing exorbitant fines and sending letters with aggressive demands for payment, while some motorists are hit with a fine for just driving in and out of a car park without stopping.
Calls for action have been led by Labour former MP and member of the House of Lords John Spellar, who last night said: “The industry has been allowed to get away with ripping off motorists for too long. The Government should make it clear that this has got to be resolved very quickly.”
Parking management companies that are members of accredited trade associations are currently able to use the Driver Vehicle and Licensing Agency database to send parking tickets to owners for supposed infringements of parking regulations on private land – and the database receives 35,000 requests for drivers’ details every day.
Laws passed in 2019 already give Ministers the power to remove a company’s access to the database, effectively preventing them from enforcing unpaid parking charges, and the previous government published a proposed code of practice in 2022 for parking enforcers to follow.
Among other things it said the maximum fine for parking without a valid ticket should be usually £50 outside London and £80 in the capital, with higher fees allowed for motorists who caused an obstruction or wrongly used spaces reserved for people with disabilities.
It also said signs should make it clear when there was a fee for parking, and motorists must be given time to buy a ticket – or leave once they saw how much parking cost, if they wished.
But the policy was suspended following a legal challenge by parking firms and the code was not put into effect.
