Southport MP slams private parking companies as tickets soar
They're on course to issue a record 14.5million across Britain in a year
The MP for Southport says it's a 'disgrace' that private parking companies are on course to issue a record 14.5million tickets to drivers in Britain in just a year.
The RAC, which conducted the study, said just five businesses are responsible for nearly half of all tickets issued.
It found requests to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) by car park management companies reached 7.2 million in the six months to the end of September 2024.
That is up 12% from the same period a year earlier and represents an average of 41,000 requests per day.
If the rate continued for the following six months, 14.5 million tickets will have been issued over a year, the RAC said.
Private companies chase vehicle owners for alleged infringements in private car parks, such as at shopping centres, leisure facilities and motorway service areas.
Each ticket can be up to £100, meaning the total cost to drivers may be near £4.1 million per day at the current rate.
Private parking businesses have been accused of using misleading and confusing signs, aggressive debt collection and unreasonable fees.
An investigation by the PA news agency earlier this week found drivers across England say they are being sent tickets because of faulty machines, which one campaigner claiming the devices are "set up to trap people".
Patrick Hurley, Labour MP for Southport, said:
"You could be a few minutes late getting back to your car and then a couple of weeks later, you get hit with a letter through the post demanding £100 from you.
"There's no problem people paying for parking and private provision, but they need to be more accessible for people. We've had a lot of correspondence come into my office talking about things like payment machines not working or the payment apps being down or they can't get onto the 4G in order to pay for these things.
"One person came to me and explained that because they've not been able to use the parking machine, they got back into their car after five or six minutes, drove off and parked somewhere else and then two weeks later, they get the letter through the post with a £100 fine.
"We need to put a stop to it"
"We need to crack down on this, we need to put a stop to it. I'm running a campaign in Southport to raise awareness of this and ask people - is this something that has affected you? Is this something that you've had, for quite innocuous and innocent reasons, you've parked somewhere, it's not taken the money that you're wanting to pay or you've been a few minutes late getting back and then you've been hit by a very sizeable fine, which you shouldn't really be having to pay?
"If you have, get in touch with me because we're stronger as a collective voice. I'm working with colleagues in Westminster to see what we can do to put an end to these sharp practices and this kind of shady goings on, and I want as many people as possible to get in touch with me, share your experiences and we can all see what we can do to make sure it's put an end to.
"There's various pieces of policy we can look to enact and look to bring to central government, but we'll have a better chance of getting this through parliament if more and more people get involved and let me know their stories."
A Bill to enable the introduction of a Government-backed code for private parking companies received royal assent under the Conservative government in March 2019.
The code was withdrawn in June 2022 after a legal challenge by parking companies.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said:
"It's very concerning that private parking firms are growing and on track to issue a record 14.5 million parking charge notices to drivers in the space of just 12 months.
"As drivers don't generally set out to break the rules, we fear many are being treated unfairly by private parking companies that are still operating without Government scrutiny."
A survey in August last year commissioned by the RAC indicated four out of five drivers are frustrated the Government-backed code of practice is still not in force.
Mr Williams said the Government is "committed to getting the official code across the line" but warned "this needs to happen as quickly as possible" given the rate the number of parking tickets being issued is rising.
The five companies which issued 45% of tickets between April and September last year were ParkingEye (1,129,000), Euro Car Parks (892,000), Horizon Parking (440,000), Smart Parking (424,000) and APCOA Parking (367,000).
The DVLA charges private companies £2.50 per record.
The agency says its fees are set to recover the cost of providing the information and it does not make any money from the process.
British Parking Association chief policy and engagement officer Alison Tooze said the daily rate of 41,000 tickets "may seem like a large number in isolation" but insisted "this should be understood in context".
She went on:
"Of those who enter a private car park in the UK, only 0.3% receive a parking charge.
"This has held steady for many years, meaning 99.7% of people park with no issue.
"This demonstrates that the increase in number of charges overall over time relates to more car parks under management rather than a higher probability of receiving a parking charge.
"If landowners weren't finding an increasing need to get parking on their land under control, there would be far less demand for operators.
"The reason there is demand is simply that a problematic percentage of people do not park considerately and choose to ignore the terms the landowner sets for parking on their land."
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been approached for a comment.