EXCLUSIVE This is how you can beat a private parking ticket: Retired judge reveals the defences you need to know as fines rocket to 40,000 a day
Private parking companies issued a record-breaking 14.4million tickets in Britain last year, or 40,000 a day as we exclusively revealed earlier this month.
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The Independent
6 minutes ago
- The Independent
Car finance mis-selling payout scheme could be worth billions, says FCA
A compensation scheme to pay out drivers who were mis-sold car loans could cost as much as £18 billion, the financial regulator has said. Millions of drivers were denied payouts on Friday after the Supreme Court ruled that lenders are not liable for hidden commission payments in car finance schemes. Two lenders, FirstRand Bank and Close Brothers, challenged a Court of Appeal ruling that the 'secret' commission payments paid to car dealers as part of finance arrangements made before 2021 - without the motorist's fully informed consent - were unlawful. After the Supreme Court's decision the bulk of the claims will therefore not go ahead, with only the most serious claims eligible for compensation. The £18bn figure is a significant drop from the £45bn if the Supreme Court upheld the ruling in full. 'It is clear that some firms have broken the law and our rules. It's fair for their customers to be compensated. We also want to ensure that the market, relied on by millions each year, can continue to work well and consumers can get a fair deal,' said Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The regulator said the final cost of the scheme would depend on its final design, which makes it difficult to estimate precisely. 'The FCA thinks it unlikely the cost of the scheme, including to run it, would be much lower than £9 billion,' it said in a statement. 'And it could be higher, up to £18 billion in some scenarios though the FCA doesn't believe these are the most likely. A total cost midway in the range, as forecast by some analysts, is more plausible.' Individuals are forecasted to receive less than £950 in compensation. The consultation for payouts is due to be launched by early October, with the first payments due to be made in 2026. Those who have already made complaints do not need to do anything further, the FCA added, and anyone who believes they were not told about commission and believes they may have paid too much should make a complaint now. The FCA warns that consumers do not need to use a claims management company or law firm for the claim. 'Our aim is a compensation scheme that's fair and easy to participate in, so there's no need to use a claims management company or law firm. If you do, it will cost you a significant chunk of any money you get,' Mr Rathi's statement added. 'It will take time to establish a scheme but we hope to start getting people any money they are owed next year.'
BBC News
6 minutes ago
- BBC News
Workers 'in limbo' as Vivergo Fuels plant takes final delivery
At a fuel plant near Hull, 20 tonnes of wheat are being poured from a lorry into storage, ready to be turned into ethanol – a type of alcohol that, when blended with petrol, reduces emissions. But this week's delivery, grown in the fields of Lincolnshire, is the last one on order for Vivergo owners of the UK's largest bioethanol plant, at Saltend, say its future is in doubt following a government decision to end a 19% tariff on US imports of the fuel as part of the recent UK-US trade month, Vivergo, which is owned by Associated British Foods (ABF), began consulting staff about shutting down the plant due to the are calling for financial help from ministers. Without it, they say production at the site – which employs more than 160 people – may halt before 13 September. They estimate about 4,500 jobs in the supply chain will be affected, including the farmers who grow the wheat and the truck drivers who transport government says it is in formal discussions with the company and wants to find "a way forward that protects supply chains, jobs and livelihoods". Stacey Monkman, who has worked at Vivergo for three years in the commercial and logistics departments, says it has been difficult to keep up morale."We're motivated because we've still got our jobs to do, but it's very unsettling."Being in limbo and waiting, not knowing which way it's going to go, it's hard," she says."We've all got families, we've all got bills to pay... a lot rides on it for us."Production manager Nick Smalley began as an apprentice and now manages about 65 people at the refinery. "It's really frustrating that these decisions are being made and we have no influence over them," he says. "I care deeply about the team that I have here, I want a bright future for all of those people. We really need quick action now, it's getting to crisis point." Production at Saltend had already been cut due to low bioethanol prices, with ABF initially raising the prospect of closure in April. The trade deal followed in May. It is not only Vivergo employees who are affected. The plant buys more than a million tonnes of British wheat each year from more than 4,000 farms and says it has purchased from 12,000 individual farms over the past Matt Pickering, of Pickering and Sons, near Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, sold the last load of wheat to Vivergo."We struggle with the quality of our land type, so we tend to go for out-and-out bulk volume shed fillers," he says. "Vivergo has been a fantastic home for us to sell feed wheat into."Meanwhile, Aghaul Limited, which transported the final wheat load to the plant, is among transport companies feeling the director Mike Green believes the potential loss of the contract will have a significant "knock-on effect" for his haulage business. "The government needs to have a look at this because it doesn't just affect me, there's a humongous amount of people that it's going to affect." Ben Hackett, the managing director of Vivergo, describes the plant as a "key foundation on the whole green economy". Removing the tariff on US imports destroyed the market, he argues."The customers have gone overnight. That's given us a real crisis. We cannot afford to operate this facility as a loss," he Hackett wrote to growers earlier this year explaining that the plant will only be able to honour existing contractual obligations for wheat purchases while the uncertainty has urged the government to support bioethanol production by creating a clear framework in order to boost demand, in addition to providing financial help during the transition."We are weeks at most away from Associated British Foods having to make a decision on the viability of the business," he says. "This site could very well close unless the government takes action." 'Way forward' A government spokesperson said the bioethanol industry had been facing "significant challenges" for some time and ministers were working with Vivergo on a plan to protect jobs and the supply with the companies continued "at pace" and external consultants had been brought in to help."We recognise this is a concerning time for workers and their families which is why we entered into formal discussions with the company on potential financial support last month," the spokesperson said. "We will continue to take proactive steps to address the long-standing challenges the company faces and remain committed to working closely with them throughout this period to present a plan for a way forward that protects supply chains, jobs and livelihoods." Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices
The Guardian
6 minutes ago
- The Guardian
City regulator unveils car loan compensation scheme worth up to £18bn
Drivers could be handed a share of between £9bn and £18bn in compensation next year, after the City regulator said it would consult on a redress scheme for consumers affected by the car finance scandal. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said on Sunday that it plans to launch the redress scheme in 2026, with consumers 'starting to receive compensation next year'. 'At this stage, we think it is unlikely that the cost of any scheme, including administrative costs would be materially lower than £9bn and it could be materially higher,' the FCA said in a statement. The watchdog said that although some scenarios put the total cost as high as £18bn, it considered estimates in the mid point of this range to be 'more plausible'. In most cases individuals would receive less than £950 in compensation, it added. The regulator will start consulting on the compensation scheme by October, and plans to include motorists who were harmed by discretionary commission arrangements . These discretionary commissions, which were banned in 2021, inflated the cost of car financing by controversially allowing car dealers to earn higher commissions if they put customers on loans which earned higher interest rates for the lender. The watchdog will also consult on broader motor financing issues where motorists may have been harmed by egregious or unfair commission arrangements. It comes after a supreme court ruling on Friday largely sided with finance companies on Friday, but upheld a single case in which judges said the relationship between the lender and borrower had been 'unfair.' The supreme court case was brought by two specialist lenders, Close Brothers and South Africa's FirstRand, in an attempt to challenge the three consumers who collectively won the court of appeal case in October. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion Justices were asked to review the court of appeal ruling, which suggested nearly all commission arrangements – unless plainly disclosed and issued under full consent of the consumer – were unlawful. If upheld, it would also have meant millions of people who bought a car with finance could be owed compensation at an estimated cost of up to £44bn to lenders including Santander UK, Close Brothers, Barclays and Lloyds. The sum would have almost rivalled the payment protection insurance saga, which cost banks about £50bn.
