A total of 8.4 million tickets were issued in 2019/20 – a year-on-year jump of 1.6 million, or 24%.
Private companies are able to deliver the fines by obtaining motorists’ details from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), and charge up to £100 for alleged infringements.
The DVLA charges private firms £2.50 per record to recover the cost of providing the information. It claims to make no profit from the process.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “Anyone who received a private parking ticket last year would have been in plentiful company – yet again the number of keeper addresses released by the DVLA to private parking companies has shot up, this time by almost a quarter.
“To put the numbers in context, if every one of the 8.4 million releases came with a ticket to the next Glastonbury festival Michael Eavis would have to re-run the event over 60 times to fit everyone in.”
Sir Greg Knight MP’s Parking (Code of Practice) Bill became law in March 2019 with the aim of creating a code of conduct to regulate the sector – exposing rogue parking firms and putting them out of business.
RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “These figures again demonstrate the need for a robust code of practice for the sector. The code is currently being drawn up and the RAC is involved in the process.
“Central to the code’s framework should be a single, independent appeals process, better transparency for drivers and improved standards from the private parking sector.
“We have long championed drivers’ interests in this area and will continue to put their interests at the heart of the discussion,”
- Parking Charge Notices – what you need to know
- Parking guide: where you can and can’t park
- Penalty Charge Notices – what are they and can you appeal?
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “We are committed to cracking down on the minority of rogue parking operators who exploit motorists.
“That’s why we are working with the British Standards Institution on a Code of Practice for the industry that is fair to both drivers and operators. We expect to consult on this new Code later this year.”
Have you been stung by a ticket from a privately owned car park? Do you think firms issue tickets unfairly? Let us know in the comments.
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