Following the consultation on a new code of practice for private car parks, there have been discussions on whether this is softening the current protections offered to drivers. These concerns come after data shows a 13% increase on Parking Charge Notices (PCNs) from the previous year with 14.4 million tickets issued. This comes alongside the rise in sites managed by private parking companies overall, which the RAC, a motoring organisation, have disputed as being the predominate cause of this increase.
This has caused concern for drivers as there can be a total cumulative daily cost of close to £4 million. Notably, only five companies make up 46% of PCNs issued. The RAC have claimed that too many drivers are still being hounded by debt collection companies for unfair tickets. This is a similar motivation for the case that was recently decided in Leicester County Court.
Whilst the RAC has criticised the absence of an independent appeal process, there is a chance to succeed in court. At Leicester County Court, a man won a five-year legal battle over a £1 parking ticket with a private parking company, Euro Car Parks. This case challenged the fine imposed by the parking company that originally arose in 2020, after the man had difficulties paying the ticket and only received confirmation of the payment after the process was initiated. Throughout the process of the ticket, the driver was receiving letters from debt collecting agencies, who only offered to drop the case after an initial offer was rejected by the driver[1].
This was an interesting case which explored the liability of the ticket and, subsequently, of who was responsible for dropping the case. Both the private parking company and the debt collecting agency claimed that it was the responsibility of the other to drop the case. In the end, the case was brought against the debt collecting agency.
Ultimately, the judge found that there was no debt for the driver to be pursued for and awarded compensation for his time, settling on an award of £200. This reinforces claims from organisations, such as the RAC Foundation, to introduce more regulatory oversight and prioritise transparency in parking claims, rather than the softening of such protections.
Summerfield Browne Solicitors can advise on parking fine disputes.
[1] Private parking companies issue a record 14.4m tickets to drivers in a single year | RAC Drive
