Government clampdown on ‘cowboy’ car parking operators
Tickets could be cancelled if drivers can prove that extenuating circumstances caused them to overstay in a car parkPrivate parking firms will be banned from issuing penalties [sic] for errors such as keying in a wrong number plate under a crackdown on “cowboy” operators.
The government confirmed at the weekend that the rules would be introduced next year and would halve the maximum size of penalties [sic].
A new appeals system will force private parking operators to quash tickets that have been “unfairly” issued. This process includes motorists whose paper tickets and permits have slipped off the dashboard.
Tickets could also be cancelled if motorists can prove there were extenuating circumstances that caused them to overstay in a car park. These would include emergencies or injuries while shopping that prevented them returning to their car in time.
The document published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government [see:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/parking-code-enforcement-framework/outcome/parking-code-enforcement-framework-consultation-response], also confirmed that the existing £100 limit on penalties [sic] imposed by private parking companies will be cut.
It is proposing that penalties [sic] in most car parks outside London will be limited to £50 and halved to £25 if paid within two weeks. A higher rate of £80 will operate in London. People parking in residents-only car parks could be charged up to £100, rising to £130 in the capital, again with a 50 per cent discount in operation for early payment.
The details emerged in the government’s formal response to a consultation into “unfair” private parking rules which was launched last summer.
It will lead to the creation of a government-backed appeals body for private parking companies, which typically monitor car parks at supermarkets, retail parks, hospitals, pubs and residential developments.
A new code of practice will be drawn up, with the system being introduced by mid-2022.
The proposal forms part of a wider crackdown on private parking firms after warnings that the “Wild West” industry has run out of control.
Operators levied almost nine million penalties [sic] on motorists in the year ending March 2020, a rise of a quarter in 12 months.
Companies can request vehicle owners’ details from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to chase motorists for payment.
However, access to the DVLA will be dependent on operators signing up to the new code and appeals process.
It will replace the existing system in which private operators are regulated by two separate industry-appointed bodies.
One of the two — Parking on Private Land Appeals (Popla) — already considers mitigating circumstances as a possible excuse for failing to fully pay. Its annual report published today says that it referred 1,031 appeals back to parking companies over the past year for errors such as putting in a wrong registration number.
Of those, only 33 per cent of tickets were cancelled by the operator.
It is understood that this rate will significantly increase under the new statutory rules being drawn up.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said that there was a “pressing need to get the full regulatory framework in place . . . just as the Covid vaccination programme rolls out hopefully heralding the end of lockdowns”.
The ministry said that it would “curb unfair tickets and tackle cowboy parking firms through a new, simplified appeals process”.
“Caps on private parking fines for millions of motorists are also set to be introduced,” it said.
“This will give drivers more confidence in heading into town knowing they won’t be unfairly penalised by rogue operators.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/government-clampdown-on-cowboy-car-parking-operators-l5p66ljrj?shareToken=0a9c58b5eca759f2ca58f9161572d0c1
