Thousands more drivers in England are facing inflated claims from rogue private parking operators. Passengers have been punitively fined up to £170, purely for the crime of using broken ticket machines. Excel Parking, one of the UK’s largest private parking operators, is currently under fire. Their policy penalizes drivers £100 if they take more than five minutes to pay.
The ever-increasing costs associated with the problem have attracted the ire of government leaders and consumer watchdogs as well. Adapting to the problem Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander accepted that the problem of cycling injuries was a problem that the government needed to address. She emphasized the immediate need for industry-wide reforms. The Royal Automobile Club (RAC) has long been vocal about their issues with private parking enforcement. Beyond regulation, they call on the government to reintroduce a code of conduct.
To find out how busy our roads really are, the RAC Foundation and PA Media took a close look at the latest available government data. Judges discovered that parking companies are charging British drivers a staggering 41,000 PCNs every day. Campaigner Lynda Eagan still operates Lynda’s On-Street Parking Ticket Fighter, one of several Facebook groups that provide assistance and advice when contesting a ticket. Her organization has drawn a remarkable grassroots momentum with 47,000 people. She argues that many of these fines are unjustly given. Ticket machines can be notoriously faulty, producing “sticky keys” which do not input vehicle registration numbers correctly.
Eagan’s sentiments echo those of millions of drivers who have felt just as frustrated over the years. One such driver, Hannah Robinson, reported receiving hundreds of letters and numerous phone calls demanding payment for fines she believes were wrongly issued.
“It’s a totally filthy business. It’s just wrong.” – Lynda Eagan
Legal challenges have stemmed from these practices. In its decision, a judge recently threw out Excel Parking’s case against a driver for £11,390 in penalties. In addition, the judge ordered the company to pay thousands in legal fees. Excel Parking recently withdrew a £1,906 small claims court case against another motorist who failed to pay within the five-minute payment grace period.
This tension over these costly and deceptive practices is exacerbated by the recent withdrawal of a private parking industry trade association’s code of practice. This code finally passed and received royal assent in March 2019. It would have halved the central cap on fines for the majority of parking offenses to £50 and provided a fairer appeals process. Three years later, after a successful legal challenge from parking operators, it was withdrawn.
Simon Williams, speaking on behalf of the RAC, expressed his worries. He highlighted that drivers are often unfairly forced to pay penalties for things out of their control.
“Some parking companies are wrongly demanding ‘fines’ from drivers who have legitimately paid to park,” – Simon Williams
And citizens are becoming more outspoken at an ever-increasing rate about how much they hate private parking enforcement. The call for action now is deafening and impossible to ignore. Eagan notes, for example, that some ticket machines are intentionally confusing to discourage people from being able to pay. This can ensnare unwary drivers, often forcing them to pay steep tickets.
“We need to drive up standards in the private parking industry,” – Heidi Alexander
The recurring problem highlights deeper questions of consumer agency and transparency in the for-profit parking industry. Public awareness is extremely high and the wailing voices are getting louder. Time will tell how federal officials follow through on this agency rule and whether more regulation will be needed to protect drivers from harmful fines and fees.