Drivers frustrated at five-year wait for parking code of practice

Four out of five drivers are frustrated that a Government-backed code of practice for private parking companies is still not in force five years after becoming law, a new survey suggests.

Some 84% of motorists surveyed for the RAC agreed with the statement that the failure to introduce the code “is not right”.

The 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.

A Bill to enable its introduction received royal assent under the Conservative government in March 2019.

But the code was withdrawn in June 2022 after a legal challenge by parking companies.

Private parking businesses have been accused of using misleading and confusing signs, aggressive debt collection and unreasonable fees.

More than half (55%) of those polled for the RAC agreed with the statement that the companies’ “enforcement policies are too heavy-handed”.

Just 18% believed the operators are “necessary to stop a parking free-for-all”.

In June, industry bodies the British Parking Association (BPA) and the International Parking Community published their own code of practice.

The RAC claims this “differs substantially from the proposed official Government code”.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “It’s blatantly apparent from our research that drivers continue to have severe misgivings about the way private parking companies operate, and are therefore very frustrated that the official Government-backed code of practice has still not been introduced more than five years after it became law.

“While this lack of trust may be partly addressed by the launch of the industry’s own code of practice, we suspect it’s unlikely to be enough as it’s not worded to be in the interest of drivers and, crucially, isn’t backed by law.

“We feel only the introduction of the real, Government-backed code will bring much-needed fairness to the entire private parking sector.”

Isaac Occhipinti, head of external affairs for the BPA, said: “Our single code meets nearly all the requirements set out by the withdrawn Government code.

“We have also been very clear about placing a cap on parking charges and sanctions on operators that don’t comply.

“Motoring groups like the RAC seem to have a disparaging comment every time parking is mentioned but never a constructive one.

“Their rhetoric is about reducing the level of the deterrent which will only help motorists that break the rules, and will lead to worse outcomes for the 99.7% of motorists who don’t get a parking charge, who just want to be able to find a convenient and well-managed parking space and not see priority parking bays blocked by unauthorised motorists.”

It emerged in November that drivers in Britain are being hit by an average of more than 41,000 parking tickets a day by private companies.

Some 3.8 million tickets were handed out between July and September, according to analysis of Government data by the PA news agency and motoring research charity the RAC Foundation.

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.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “Motorists must be protected when using private car parks and we are determined to drive up standards in the industry.

“We know how much of an issue this is for drivers, which is why we will set out further details on the private parking code of practice as soon as possible.”

– The survey of 1,847 drivers was conducted by research company Online95 between August 20-28.