Trade body defends parking companies after AA and RAC criticism

A trade association for private parking companies has defended the sector in the face of fierce criticism by the RAC and AA.

Drivers have told the AA that they would ‘pay early and appeal’ a parking charge notice (PCN) from private parking operators even if they were in the right.

In a poll of more than 11,500 drivers, one-in-20 said they would pay up immediately if they received a PCN even if they knew they did not break the rules.

Of those that would pay, more than half (53%) said they would do so because “it gets rid of the hassle”. 

Meanwhile, more than one-in-10 (13%) said they would pay the PCN because they felt they would not get a fair hearing at appeal, while 11% said they would pay due to fearing legal action.

In contrast, 53% of drivers said they would appeal a PCN letter from a private parking company, but only a third said they felt ‘confident’ they would be successful.

The AA’s research comes after separate analysis by the RAC showed that requests to the DVLA from car park management companies for vehicle keeper details hit 7.2 million in the first half of the last financial year – the equivalent of 41,000 a day and a 12% increase on the same period 12 months before (6.5m).

The figures suggest that private parking firms are on course to issue a record 14.5m tickets to drivers in a year, with just five companies responsible for almost half.

The RAC blamed the withdrawal of the Private Parking Code of Practice in 2022, following legal challenges from private parking and debt recovery companies. 

This, it says, has meant the behaviour of private parking companies has not been scrutinised as intended by the Act, which may be part of the reason why so many more parking charge notices have been issued. 

The AA is calling on the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to act urgently and introduce the Government-backed scheme by the end of 2025.

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said: “The delay in implementing the official government code is scandalous. 

“Six years on, yet no part of the legislation has been introduced to protect and safeguard drivers from an aggressive industry.

“The fact that drivers are willing to pay up when they have done nothing wrong, nor have any confidence in the current appeals process, shows why urgent action is needed.”

He added: “We are hugely concerned that the Government is standing idly by while drivers continue to receive threatening letters from a sector that works on the basis of guilty until proven innocent. 

“Urgent action is needed, and introducing the rules by the end of the year will help wrestle back some of the balance in favour of the motorist.

“Until the measures within the Act are in place, drivers will continue to be attacked by these shark-like businesses.”

However, the IPC hit back saying that motorists who challenge parking charges can and do succeed, with one-in-four motorists who appeal directly to a private parking operator successful and one-in-five appeals escalated to the independent adjudicator are also granted.

These figures, says the IPC, show that the system is not only working but that drivers are listened to. 

Will Hurley, CEO of the IPC, said: “We strongly encourage motorists who feel they have been issued a parking charge in error to follow the appeals process and provide supporting evidence.

“These figures show that the system is working and that drivers are being listened to. This is the process that exists to protect them, and it works.”

In the UK, there are more than 68.5 million parking events in a car each day, according to the IPC, with 99.7% of those on private land compliant and without incident.