Drivers hit with £5bn in parking fines since ‘crackdown’ on ‘cowboy’ firms

A new report has revealed that drivers across the UK have been hit with almost £5 billion in parking fines since the Government aimed to tackle the problem of ‘cowboy’ parking firms.

According to the research from The Mail on Sunday, private parking companies issued £4.8 billion in parking fines since the Government in 2019 stated that they would crackdown on extortionate fees.

Five years ago, Parliament passed a law that was supposed to make it easier to stop the rise in aggressive tactics by these companies to extort money from drivers.

However, the research found that this year, private parking companies are set to give out 13 million parking fines.

That equates to more than 35,000 a day.

The investigation also found that some of these companies will see their profits double this year.

In part, this is due to them being able to issue higher levels of fines for drivers compared to Government or council parking areas.

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The changes in 2019 were supposed to signal the introduction of a code of practice to tackle rising parking fines.

This was due to see fine halved to a maximum of £50, along with clearer signage and a fairer appeals system.

The code’s original aim was to standardise the practices of private parking companies across the UK, ensuring consistency in how parking is managed and enforced on private land.

However, it was later withdrawn following challenges from the parking firms.

The RAC's head of policy, Simon Williams, said: “The delays sparked by parking companies and debt recovery firms challenging the code have meant thousands upon thousands have had to pay fines which were totally disproportionate.

“And then there's those that have had horrible threats of bailiffs and court actions. We badly need to bring an end to £100 parking charge notices and people being hounded.”

The code was due to be overseen by an independent body, ensuring that private parking companies adhere to the rules and standards set out in the code.