Millions of us have experienced that heartbreaking feeling of the yellow fined sticker on the windshield of your car and the wry smile of the traffic warden.
According to the DVLA, in 2021-22, a record 8.6 million people were fined by parking enforcement officers, equivalent to 23,000 per day. It is the largest number ever recorded, an increase of 8.4 million in 2019-20the year before the pandemic, and is 50 percent higher than four years ago.
Private parking companies – and the number of tickets handed out – have grown exponentially over the past 15 years. According to the trade group RAC Foundation, fewer than 300,000 fines were handed out by private companies in 2006-2007. The number of fines has risen rapidly every year since then, except in 2020, when traffic plummeted due to the coronavirus.
Meanwhile, Britain has been taken over by private car parks. There are now 103,000 public and private car parks across Britain, representing a land area of nearly 50,000 hectares, according to estate agent Knight Frank. Nearly two-thirds of this land is used for privately owned public car parks, the rest being owned by local authorities.
So how have these private parking profiteers managed to grow their fines by nearly 3,000 percent in less than two decades and get a grip on UK drivers?
The rise and rise of private fines
The use of private motor vehicles has grown enormously over the years, as have huge regulatory gaps that have yet to be closed.
There are almost 40 million vehicles on UK roads today, compared to 26 million in 1996. The number of cars on the road has increased by two-fifths in that time, while the number of motorcycles has almost doubled.
These numbers have risen in line with a growing population, increasing wealth and the availability of low-cost personal vehicle financing deals, enabled by ultra-low interest rates.
The population of England and Wales alone has increased by about 10 million to 60 million since the early 1990s, while central interest rates have remained below 2 percent since the financial crisis. More than a third of households now have access to more than one vehicle, compared to just 8 percent in the 1970s.
According to Will Hurley of the trade association International Parking Community, the number of private parking garages has not only increased to meet the increased demand for parking spaces.
“We’ve all been in a situation where it’s impossible to find a parking space. The huge increase in demand over the years has also led to increased enforcement in areas where parking is not allowed, such as residential streets, loading bays and in and around places such as airports,” he said.
“Landowners noticed that people were using their property for free parking and have either started charging for parking or imposed strict restrictions.”
Rising fines and low regulation
Fines have skyrocketed as private companies have been able to increase the amount they charge without proper regulation.
In 2010, the government banned clamping, alleging that companies held drivers’ cars hostage until they paid large sums to have them released.
Since then, these companies have applied a range of different restrictions and language to signs, such as varying time limits for parking, enforcement and no-return periods, and varying details about fine enforcement. These varied wildly across the country and by provider.
Telegraph readers wrote this newspaper to tell how they got caught. A reader from Carmarthenshire said they were fined £250 for stopping on the side of the road, unaware that the “local car park was in fact a car park with solar panels operated by a private company”.
Another Isle of Wight reader complained that he had to pay for parking in advance via a mobile phone app, only to find that there were no more parking spaces on arrival at the car park.
“It says in their terms and conditions that there is no guarantee that a parking space will be available. How can this be legal? Surely it is taking money under false pretenses if the fee is non-refundable and applies to a specific time” , they said.
This year, the government stepped in with stricter rules to crack down on private companies, which it said were chasing motorists with “non-specific, pseudo-legal and aggressive language”.
companies were told to standardize and make their parking terms clearer† The plans also proposed limiting most fines to £50, leading to some charges being cut in half.
It was supposed to be introduced in 2024, but a month ago the government temporarily withdrew the plans due to legal action from private companies, further delaying its implementation. A spokesperson said: “We are committed to ending scams and it is very disappointing that some in the parking industry are opposing this.
“We will continue to work with industry and consumer groups to implement our new Parking Code of Practice as soon as possible.”
How to fight back?
Over there are still ways to beat the private companies† Businesses must be registered with an industry association, such as the British Parking Association, to request your details from the DVLA; check the ticket to see if they are. If not, you can theoretically ignore the bill and the company won’t be able to find you.
Fines from local authorities or the police are harder to ignore, but as with fines from private companies, drivers can appeal if they have a reasonable excuse. This could include incorrect ticket issued or extreme circumstances, such as theft of your car.
One motorist successfully invoked a fine in 2020 after entering only one digit of the license plate incorrectly on a parking meter. Another was withdrawn after he successfully argued that the time limit signs in the parking lot were not clear.
Drivers must appeal with supporting evidence to the ticketing company. If the appeal is denied, they can escalate their complaint to an independent body such as Parking on Private Land Appeals or the Independent Appeals Service.