Parking: Why Are We Paying So Much?
Recent figures show the number of private parking tickets being given out has reached a record high, at nearly 17 million a year. That’s around 46,000 every day.
So, with millions more being paid by drivers, are the current rules fair or are motorists being taken for a ride?
Official figures show the cost of parking meters and tolls across the UK has risen by more than eight per cent in a year.
At the same time, many more of us are falling foul of parking charges issued by private operators.
Whilst a parking fine issued by your local council is a penalty under the law, private charges are issued by independent companies.
In 2023, Rosey was making use of a private car park in Derby during her daily commute. She told us that one day she arrived to find both of the ticket machines were out of order, something that is disputed by the car park operator.
"When I went to pay, I wasn't actually able to, so I had to use their online portal system. However, the signal is shocking in the car park. So the only time I was able to log this information was through my work's Wi Fi." - Rosey
For several days, Rosey followed the same routine, using her work’s WiFi to pay for her parking. But it was then that she started to receive parking charge notices in the post.
Reluctantly, Rosey decided to pay the initial £60 fine. But what happened next came as a complete shock.
"I then started to receive debt recovery letters. There was also fines that were added on top of fines, and then there was charges on top of charges, so the bill totalled up to £1,906 pounds, which was obviously terrifying."
Eventually, the case was taken to court. But just before she was due to appear, Excel Parking decided to drop the charges.
Excel Parking said that they are confident that they have always worked to the relevant Code of Practice when issuing Parking Charges, they support the introduction of the Government's proposed Private Parking Code of Practice and will develop an implementation plan."
A long delayed government backed code of practice was withdrawn in 2022 after a legal challenge from the sector.
In the last few days, the government has laid a new Private Parking Code of Practice before Parliament.
Under the planned rules, drivers will get five minutes to decide whether to park, and ten minutes to leave after a parking session without facing a penalty.
Charges will also be cancelled in certain circumstances beyond drivers’ control when an appeal is made, while charges for minor mistakes will be capped at £20 on appeal.
But, it remains unclear when the new code will be brought into force.
Whilst some people are being penalised for genuine mistakes, others are turning to unlawful means to evade parking charges.
The recent rise in so called “Ghost Plates” has left the authorities and private car park operators scrambling to respond.
A ghost plate is a number plate where the registration number is usually the correct one for that particular vehicle, but has been altered in order to hide some or all of the plate’s characters from enforcement cameras.
Although to the naked eye they are indistinguishable from a regular number plate, ‘ghost plates’ make some characters in a license plate invisible to the automated number plate recognition (or ANPR) cameras used by most private operators
But, using newly developed camera technology, Chris Shepherd and his team at MAV Systems are able to defeat the ghost plate manipulation, and view the underlying characters.
So what should you do if you do end up with a private parking charge?
Kat Cereda from the consumer group Which? said;
"If you get a private parking charge, don't panic, but also don't ignore it. Look into the grounds as to what you've been accused of, see if you agree with it, and if you don't, remember that you do have the right to appeal."
But, how can we avoid getting caught out in the first place?
Kat told us that “The best ways to avoid getting that parking charge are to make sure you read carefully the parking signs and any road markings. You also want to make sure you take a picture of that receipt of payment to make sure that you are covered if they do put that ticket on your car”.
Industry body the International Parking Community told us:
"There are over 68.5 million parking events across the UK every day, and data shows 99.77% of them happen without issue."
The British Parking Association told us: "Fewer than 1% of motorists receive a parking charge, and operators are unaware of mitigating circumstances at the point of parking which is why the formal appeals process is critical when this information must be carefully considered. The new government code will bring greater transparency, oversight and protection for drivers."
But, with so many competing demands on our streets, the arguments over where and how we park are unlikely to stop here.
Useful links
For advice on appealing a parking ticket, visit https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/parking-tickets/appealing-a-parking-ticket/
For information on the government's Private Parking Code of Practice, visit :https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/private-parking-code-of-practice/private-parking-code-of-practice