One private parking fine issued every six seconds
DRIVERS are handed a private parking ticket at a rate of one every six seconds, a report has found. The number has soared by one million in a year as parking firms become more aggressive in their pursuit of motorists.
These companies bought a record 5.65million sets of vehicle-keeper records from the DVLA in the year to April – a rise of 20 per cent – to enable them to hound drivers for fines of up to £100.
It means that parking firms are dishing out 15,486 penalty notices a day, or one every six seconds.
Over the past year, the DVLA generated £14.1million by selling motorists’ information for £2.50 a vehicle.
The figures fuel concerns among campaigners, MPs and MSPs that drivers’ information is widely misused, with motorists unfairly targeted while visiting hospitals and high streets.
Drivers have complained of being fined up to £100 for returning to their cars a few minutes late, or after being unable to buy a ticket because of a faulty machine. The RAC Foundation described the rise in tickets as ‘astonishing’ and questioned whether drivers flouted rules on such an ‘industrial scale’.
UK ministers have already committed to backing a Private Member’s Bill that would lead to a code of conduct for private car park operators. The proposed legislation aims to drive rogue parking operators out of business by barring them from buying DVLA records.
Earlier this year it was reported that Scottish Government officials have examined options to improve the private parking industry. MSP Murdo Fraser introduced a draft Bill to regulate the provision of, and charging for, privately operated car parking. It aims to introduce an independent appeals service, capped fines and clearer signage in car parks.
Former Tory minister Sir Greg Knight, who introduced the Westrequested minster Bill, told the Mail: ‘These figures are further evidence that my Bill is necessary to ensure that most are treated fairly when they park and are not treated as cash cows by cowboy car parking operators.
‘At the moment the scales of justice are tilted in favour of car park operators, many of whom are using sharp practices with impunity.’
The number of vehicle details has soared since legislation was introduced in 2012. The Protection of Freedoms Act meant parking firms had to establish only who the registered keeper of the vehicle was, not who had been driving, triggering a surge in details purchased from the DVLA.
The most prolific of the private firms is ParkingEye, exposed by the Daily Mail for using ruthless tactics to collect licence fees for the BBC.
Latest figures show it obtained 1.77million vehicle-keeper records, far more than any other company, up from 1.53million the year before.
RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding supports new legislation to clamp down on parking firms.
He said: ‘Each year we are astonished by the fact that the numbers involved keep rocketing up... What’s going wrong? Are Britain’s motorists really flouting the rules on such an industrial scale?’
The British Parking Association did not respond to requests for comment.