Private parking corporations hand out document variety of tickets to drivers: 15.9million fines issued within the final 12 months
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A record number of parking tickets have been issued to drivers by parking companies in the last year.
New figures show some 15.9 million fines were handed out by private businesses in the year to the end of September, according to Government data.
The amount issued has risen by 17 per cent in the past year from 13.6 million.
Each ticket can be up to £100, meaning the total cost to drivers could be almost £4.4 million per day at the current rate.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said the increases demonstrate that ‘something must be going badly awry’ with the parking system, as the majority of motorists ‘try very hard’ to avoid tickets.
Some private parking firms have been accused of using misleading and confusing signs, aggressive debt collection and unreasonable fees.
Many drivers have been sent tickets they claim are unfair because of the way some payment machines operate.
Others have been caught out by cameras which catch people who leave a car park after changing their mind, being issued fines for stays of around six minutes.
Some 15.9 million tickets were handed out by private businesses in the year to the end of September
Despite successive governments repeatedly vowing to stop predatory operators, the fines have increased by more than 90 per cent.
A Bill to enable the introduction of a code of practice for the industry received royal assent in March 2019.
This code, due to come into force across Britain by the end of 2023, included halving the cap on tickets for most parking offences to £50, creating a fairer appeals system, and banning the use of aggressive language on tickets.
But it was withdrawn by the Conservative government in June 2022 after a legal challenge by parking companies.
A new consultation on the code by the current Labour Government closed in September.
The analysis of parking tickets was based on the number of records obtained from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) by companies chasing UK vehicle owners for alleged infringements in private car parks, such as at shopping centres, leisure facilities and motorway service areas.
They do not include council-run car parks.
Last year, five parking companies issued 45 per cent of all tickets between April and September 2024. They included ParkingEye (1,129,000), Euro Car Parks (892,000), Horizon Parking (440,000), Smart Parking (424,000) and APCOA Parking (367,000).
Euro Car Parks was among the five businesses responsible for nearly half of all tickets issued in 2024
Mr Williams said: ‘The rate of tickets being issued by the private parking industry has hit yet another record.
‘While part of the rise may be due to more car parks being privately managed, the figures show 48,000 tickets per day were issued between June and September, which seems ominously high considering most people try very hard to avoid getting a private parking notice.
‘This is why we fear something must be going badly awry and why the outcome of the latest Private Parking Code of Practice consultation can’t come soon enough.
‘Drivers need to know they’re being treated fairly whenever they use a private car park.’
Some 188 parking management businesses requested vehicle owner records in the three months to the end of September.
ParkingEye was the most active, buying 643,000 records.
The DVLA charges private companies £2.50 per record.
The agency says its fees recover the cost of providing the information and it does not make any money from the process.
In June last year, industry bodies the British Parking Association (BPA) and the International Parking Community published their own joint code of practice.
It included requirements for consistent signage, a single set of rules for operators on private land and an ‘appeals charter’.
Motoring groups criticised it for not including features such as a cap on charges or the removal of debt recovery fees.
Earlier this year, a couple received a £100 parking fine at an NHS urgent care centre – even though they stayed there for just five minutes after being refused treatment.
Rebecca Elmes drove her boyfriend Aaron Rayment-Davis to Harold Wood Polyclinic in Romford, east London, after he developed a crippling pain in his left ear.
After walking into the reception on the evening of June 16, they were told the clinic was only open for triage and they would need to try the A&E department at a local hospital instead.
The pair, both 26, walked back into the car and drove off – only to receive a £100 parking fine in the post a month later.
Parkingeye – a private firm that turns over £57million a year – noted that their car had arrived at the car park just after 6.50pm and spent only five minutes there before leaving.
Rebecca Elmes drove her boyfriend Aaron Rayment-Davis to Harold Wood Polyclinic in Romford, east London, after he developed a crippling pain in his left ear
Ms Elmes and Mr Rayment-Davis appealed Parkingeye’s £100 fine but the company turned this down on the basis that ‘no parking was purchased’ – even though the couple insist they had no chance to do so.
However, they reluctantly agreed to pay a reduced fee of £60 to avoid being liable for the full £100 amount.
Mr Rayment-Davis was assessed in the A&E at nearby Queen’s Hospital but was told the wait time would be four hours, and it would be better to go to King George Hospital in Ilford instead.
When he was eventually seen to, he was told he had an ear infection and a burst ear drum.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government was approached for a comment.
