Private parking companies have said they will update their rule that drivers should not take more than five minutes to pay for parking – after one woman racked up almost £2,000 in fines.
Two industry bodies announced they have established a panel to revise the code of conduct 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 would also “fast-track updates to the code to reflect technological advancements”.
Parking firms have been accused of using aggressive debt collection and unreasonable fees.
In November, 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 in a Derby car park because of poor mobile phone signal.
The case was later dropped, the broadcaster reported.
Around 3.8 million parking tickets were issued between July and September 2024 – an average of more than 41,000 a day.
Each ticket may have a fine of up to £100 – meaning the total cost to drivers may be near £4.1m per day, according to analysis by the Press Association and the RAC Foundation.
BPA chief executive Andrew Pester said: “We want to demonstrate that not only are we serious about raising standards but also making decisive changes to the code when issues arise.”
In relation to the five-minute rule, the organisations stressed that “many car parks… are pay on entry”, and it is important drivers “read signage and follow instructions”.
A bill to enable the introduction of a government-backed code of practice for private parking companies received royal assent under the Conservative government in March 2019.
It was withdrawn in June 2022 after a legal challenge by parking companies.
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In June, the BPA and IPC published their own code of practice, which will be overseen by the new panel.
RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis said: “The fact that the private parking industry is already having to review its own code, just months after it was introduced, shows it’s not working in drivers’ interests.
“This is yet another reason why the launch of the long-overdue official Private Parking Code of Practice, which became law five years ago, is very much needed.
“We fear that without this, drivers who use private car parks will continue to be worse off.”
