Car park fines could be capped at £50 in crackdown on rogue private firms
Car park fines could be capped at £50 as part of a crackdown on rogue firms.
The measures are being considered by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities “to better regulate the private parking industry”.
Parking fines are currently limited at £100, but this could be slashed to £50 in some parts of the UK.
The Government is also considering banning debt recovery fees, which are currently as much as £70.
Levelling Up Secretary, Michael Gove, said motorists should be able to use private car parks without “having the fear of being slapped with unfair and costly charges”.
He said a Private Parking Code of Practice is being developed to “put this right” by shaping a “much fairer system for drivers and industry”.
An eight-week call for evidence on parking fines and debt recovery is under way to develop a Private Parking Code of Practice.
In a release, the Government said the code aims to crack down on drivers being unfairly penalised, on confusing and misleading signs and lack of grace periods.
One of the proposals is to set the charge at two levels depending on the seriousness of the offence, with £50 and £70 fines for England and Wales, £80 and £130 in London and £80 and £100 for Scotland, with a 50 per cent discount for paying within 14 days.
Another option is to set the charge at two levels – £70 and £100 – across the UK, with a 40 per cent discount if paid within 14 days.
Keeping the £100 charge limit with a 40 per cent discount for paying within 14 days is also being considered.
Minister for Levelling Up, Dehenna Davison, said car parks can be “needlessly confusing” with “complicated signs and impossible terms and conditions”.
She claimed the new code of practice will “create a fairer system”.
