Drivers frustrated at five-year wait for parking code of practice
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Four out of five drivers are frustrated that a Government-backed code of practice for private parking companies is still not in force five years after becoming law, a new survey suggests. Some 84% of motorists surveyed for the RAC agreed with the statement that the failure to introduce the code “is not right”.
The code – due to come into force across Britain by the end of 2023 – included halving the cap on tickets for most parking offences to £50, creating a fairer appeals system, and banning the use of aggressive language on tickets. A Bill to enable its introduction received royal assent under the Conservative government in March 2019.
But the code was withdrawn in June 2022 after a legal challenge by parking companies. Private parking businesses have been accused of using misleading and confusing signs, aggressive debt collection and unreasonable fees. More than half (55%) of those polled for the RAC agreed with the statement that the companies’ “enforcement policies are too heavy-handed”.
Just 18% believed the operators are “necessary to stop a parking free-for-all”. In June, industry bodies the British Parking Association (BPA) and the International Parking Community published their own code of practice. The RAC claims this “differs substantially from the proposed official Government code”.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “It’s blatantly apparent from our research that drivers continue to have severe misgivings about the way private parking companies operate, and are therefore very frustrated that the official Government-backed code of practice has still not been introduced more than five years after it became law.
