Private parking fines to be capped at £50 in crackdown on ‘cowboy’ companies

Parking fines in private car parks will be capped at £50 - down from £100 currently - in a government crackdown on “cowboy” companies.

Private car parks will have to display prices more clearly, introduce a fairer system for appeals, and give drivers a ten-minute “grace period” for lateness.

Under a new Parking Code of Practice, drivers will be given the benefit of the doubt in cases involving honest mistakes.

For example, fines will be waived when drivers accidentally key in a wrong digit when typing in their number plate on ticket machines.

Motoring associations hailed the move as “much needed” and said it would “usher in higher standards”.

Higher financial penalties of £70 and £100 will remain for more serious breaches of the rules, such as parking in Blue Badge bays.

Motorists will also get a 50 percent discount if they pay within 14 days, as they do with council-issued fines.

There will also be a 5-minute “cooling-off” period in which a motorist can change their mind about parking.

Under the measures, which ministers will unveil on Monday, excessive debt collection fees for late tickets will also be banned.

Minister for Levelling Up, Neil O’Brien, told the Daily Mail: “For too long, a simple trip to the local high street to meet family or visit a favourite cafe has resulted in painful fines for millions of motorists, often from cowboy parking firms. We’re putting an end to this.”

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “The RAC has campaigned for years to end the sharp practices in the private parking sector, so we welcome the new national code that will usher in higher standards.

“This will undoubtedly make drivers’ experience of using private car parks fairer while at the same time force rogue operators to clean up their acts once and for all.”

An “appeals charter” will also be set up to help motorists understand their rights when faced with a parking ticket.

AA president Edmund King said the new appeals charter would give drivers new confidence to appeal their charges and “probably be heard”.

He added: “For too long, those caught by private parking firms simply pay the charge to get rid of it. Thankfully these days are numbered.”

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However the British Parking Association, one of the trade bodies for private car parking companies, said they were “deeply concerned” by the new measures.

Their CEO Andrew Pester said: “We call on government to urgently reconsider its proposals as the latest research shows that they will negatively impact the British economy and risk thousands of jobs.”

He warned that parking companies needed an “effective deterrent” to encourage drivers to comply with the rules. Mr Pester said that the new measures will mean “motorists who do comply with parking rules will find it more difficult to park, will see free parking reduced and will have to pay higher tariffs.”

8.4 million private parking fines were issued in the year 2019-20.

Minister for Levelling Up Neil O’Brien said: “Private firms issue roughly 22,000 parking tickets every day, often adopting a system of misleading and confusing signage, aggressive debt collection and unreasonable fees designed to extort money from motorists.

“[Our] new Code of Practice will set out a clear vision with the interests of safe motorists at its heart, while cracking down on the worst offenders.”