A number of MPs from across party lines have called on the Government to introduce a legally binding Code of Practice for private parking companies to help protect drivers from unfair fines.
It follows a Westminster Hall debate held earlier this week, which highlighted how "fed up" drivers are with being "scammed" by private parking companies who unfairly pocket their "hard-earned cash".
The debate was led by Martin Wrigley, Liberal Democrat MP for Newton Abbot, who has urged the Government to take action against private parking firms.
He explained that drivers have been frustrated with "wrestling with a faulty payment app or an out-of-order ticket machine, only to find that they will still be fined".
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MPs have been left furious after several drivers were fined by private parking firms
PA/GETTYMPs from across Labour, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats also criticised the "hassle of appealing a parking fine which should never have been issued in the first place".
According to data shared in the debate, private parking companies were seen to issue a record number of tickets, with over 43,000 recorded every single day, the same as one every two seconds.
"During the course of this debate, 2,700 fines will be issued," Wrigley told MPs. He warned that the industry's voluntary Code of Practice, which was introduced last year, was inadequate, stating that it "goes nowhere near far enough to stand up for drivers".
He also shared how the cap on parking charge notices remained "too high" with debt recovery fees still permitted under the industry code.
"Put simply, they are setting their own rules and marking their own homework, or at best their mates," he said.
Almost half of motorists who appeal get their fines cancelled, yet 80 per cent of private parking fines are paid immediately without challenge, the MP explained.
Meanwhile several MPs detailed the tactics used by private parking companies, which include "threatening letters which use legal jargon to intimidate people into paying fines".
These letters, referred to as "threaten grams", often continue "regardless of appeals or evidence facts," the Lib Dem MP warned.
Wrigley also shared information from a former employee of a private parking company who revealed practices such as "breaching data protection rules by hiding data" and "creating a culture of charge first, think second".
Other tactics included "using equipment designed to be awkward or to fail" and "deliberately targeting people who don't respond to their threatening letters" for court action.
Companies were also accused of "double clocking people coming in and out of car parks more than once, even if they have paid for tickets".
In one example, an elderly driver in Newton Abbot forgot to display her Blue Badge and received a £100 fine, which she paid but appealed.
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Parking fines can cost drivers on average £100 per ticket with private firms issuing thousands daily
PAHowever, she was only offered the discount rate "applicable under the company's own code" after her MP intervened.
But the incident left the woman feeling "bullied into making the payment to avoid threats of escalation".
In response to the debate, a spokesperson for the British Parking Association told GB News: "We look forward to working with the Government on their proposed Code of Practice, in order to ensure the right balance between protections for motorists and an effective deterrent against anti-social parking and repeat offenders."
The spokesperson added: "We also believe our single Code of Practice launched last year has already provided significant steps forward, such as banning the so-called ‘five minute rule’."
