Private parking firms to update code of conduct to address five-minute rule
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Private parking companies have pledged to update their code of conduct after legal action was launched against a driver for taking more than five minutes to pay for using a car park. Two industry bodies representing the sector announced they have established a panel to revise the code to ensure it “protects genuine motorists who have difficulty making prompt payment on entry”.
The British Parking Association (BPA) and the International Parking Community (IPC) said the panel will also “fast-track updates to the code to reflect technological advancements”. In November last year, the BBC reported that Rosey Hudson was being taken to court by a private parking company for £1,906 after she repeatedly took more than five minutes to pay after entering a car park in Derby because of poor mobile phone signal.
Private parking businesses have been accused of using misleading and confusing signs, aggressive debt collection and unreasonable fees. It emerged in November that drivers in Britain are being hit by an average of more than 41,000 parking tickets a day by private companies.
Some 3.8 million tickets were handed out between July and September 2024, according to analysis of Government data by the PA news agency and motoring research charity the RAC Foundation. Each ticket can be up to £100, meaning the total cost to drivers may be near £4.1 million per day.
