Private parking firms issued a record 14.4 million tickets last year as motorists urged the government to crack down on the “bandit” practice.
The number of parking fines issued by private parking companies has skyrocketed since they successfully challenged a Conservative bill three years ago that enacted a proper code of practice for handing out fines.
For years, these firms have been accused of profiting off misleading and confusing signs, as well as refusing a grace period to drivers if they do not return to their cars, even if it is not their fault.
Data provided by the RAC shows that the number of requests made by parking management companies to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency for information on offending vehicles has more than tripled since the Tory bill was passed and later watered down. It increased by 13 per cent from 2023.
Firms issued a record 1,640 tickets every hour last year, according to the data. As each ticket can be up to £100, the total daily cost to drivers could be close to £4 million.
The five parking companies that issued 46 per cent of penalty charge notices (PCNs) between them last year were ParkingEye (2,300,360), Euro Car Parks (1,733,493), APCOA Parking (960,482), Horizon Parking (875,833) and Civil Enforcement Ltd (684,864).
The British Parking Association (BPA), which represents the parking and traffic management sector, says the rise is a reflection of the growing number of sites, as opposed to an increase in the number of tickets being handed out. They claim that only 0.3 per cent of private land parking events result in a parking charge.
But the RAC has disputed these claims and called for the Labour government to reintroduce laws cracking down on the penalty practice.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “Too many unfair tickets are still being handed out by operators who haven’t been forced to adhere to stricter rules, and too many drivers are still being hounded by debt collection companies.
“And, we still don’t have a single, truly independent appeals service that drivers can go to if their initial appeal to the operator concerned is rejected.
“We don’t believe the parking industry’s argument that PCNs are only at record levels purely because they're managing more car parks.
“We urge the Government to ensure the official code is launched this year with all the protection it was intended to have so that we don’t see these figures go even higher in the future.”
