The UK Government has brought in new rules designed to stop motorists from being unfairly treated by private parking firms.

One of the new measures is a new Private Parking Code of Practice, which the government says will see parking fines reduced by up to 50% in most cases.

The proposals, currently being evaluated by Parliament, contain a maximum cap for parking fines, a 10-minute grace period before a late penalty fine can be issued, and a requirement for parking firms to display terms and conditions and pricing clearly.

In England (outside London) and Wales, penalties will be cut from £100 to £70 or £50, depending on the seriousness of the breach.  Parking firms that break the rules could be prevented from collecting any fines.

A new appeals process is also being established to make it easier to cancel disputed fines.

Announcing the measures, Minister for Levelling Up Neil O'Brien MP stated: "Private firms issue approximately 22,000 parking tickets daily, often adopting a system of confusing and misleading signage, hostile debt collection and unjust penalties intended to extort money from drivers.

"The new Code of Practice will set out a clear vision with the interests of safe motorists at its heart while cracking down on the worst offenders who put other people in danger and hinder our emergency services from carrying out their duties."

The latest appeals process will allow motorists to appeal fines for reasons such as:  

• A legitimately innocent error such as mistyping their vehicle registration number, or having a valid ticket that is not displayed correctly.
• Having valid reasons for staying beyond the paid ticket time, such as their car breaking down.

The new rules confirm that parking charges will mirror those used by local authorities for public car parks, which in many cases is £50.  However, £100 fines will be allowed to continue for some offences, such as misusing Blue Badge bays.

Furthermore, motorists will be offered a 50% discount, providing they pay the penalty within 14 days.   Parking debt collectors will be forbidden from adding extra excess fees to the level of the parking charge, and there will be a mandatory five-minute cooling-off duration in which drivers can assess terms and conditions and change their minds about parking.

Parking firms will also face a crackdown if they are found to be using aggressive or pseudo-legal language to scare motorists into paying fines.

Reacting to the announcement, RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: "The RAC has campaigned for years to end the sharp practices in the private parking sector, so we welcome the new national code that will usher in higher standards and will introduce a lower cap on penalty charge notices, an independent appeals system and an end to rip-off debt collection fees. 

"This will undoubtedly improve motorists' experience of using private car parks while also forcing rogue operators to finally clean up their acts once and for all."

Edmund King, president of the AA said: "These much-needed upgrades to private parking rules will give better protection to motorists.  For far too long, those caught by private parking firms simply paid the charges to get rid of it.  Thankfully these days are numbered. 

"Motorists should feel confident that having a single Code of Practice and a new Appeals Charter will give them the confidence to appeal and be properly heard.  We are also pleased that honest errors, like mistyping the car registration into the machine, will now be automatically cancelled."

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