Latest news with #ParkingEye
The Independent
10-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Independent
Motorists hit with nearly £4m in private parking fines every day
Private parking firms issued a record 14.4 million tickets last year as motorists urged the government to crack down on the 'bandit' practice. The number of parking fines issued by private parking companies has skyrocketed since they successfully challenged a Conservative bill three years ago that enacted a proper code of practice for handing out fines. For years, these firms have been accused of profiting off misleading and confusing signs, as well as refusing a grace period to drivers if they do not return to their cars, even if it is not their fault. Data provided by the RAC shows that the number of requests made by parking management companies to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency for information on offending vehicles has more than tripled since the Tory bill was passed and later watered down. It increased by 13 per cent from 2023. Firms issued a record 1,640 tickets every hour last year, according to the data. As each ticket can be up to £100, the total daily cost to drivers could be close to £4 million. The five parking companies that issued 46 per cent of penalty charge notices (PCNs) between them last year were ParkingEye (2,300,360), Euro Car Parks (1,733,493), APCOA Parking (960,482), Horizon Parking (875,833) and Civil Enforcement Ltd (684,864). The British Parking Association (BPA), which represents the parking and traffic management sector, says the rise is a reflection of the growing number of sites, as opposed to an increase in the number of tickets being handed out. They claim that only 0.3 per cent of private land parking events result in a parking charge. But the RAC has disputed these claims and called for the Labour government to reintroduce laws cracking down on the penalty practice. RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: 'Too many unfair tickets are still being handed out by operators who haven't been forced to adhere to stricter rules, and too many drivers are still being hounded by debt collection companies. 'And, we still don't have a single, truly independent appeals service that drivers can go to if their initial appeal to the operator concerned is rejected. 'We don't believe the parking industry's argument that PCNs are only at record levels purely because they're managing more car parks. 'We urge the Government to ensure the official code is launched this year with all the protection it was intended to have so that we don't see these figures go even higher in the future.'
North Wales Live
24-06-2025
- Business
- North Wales Live
'Displaced' parking issues 'another nail in the coffin for tourism'
Rising costs at Conwy's public car parks are reportedly "displacing" demand to other facilities within the county. This month saw the introduction of parking charges at a previously free-to-use spot on Llandudno's Great Orme. North Wales Live readers are fed up with seeing charges rise at council car parks. Llandudno Snowsports Centre (LSC) claimed it had no choice but to implement fees due to an influx of visitors deterred by escalating costs at the council's summit car park. Manager Nigel Treacy noted that others were being directed to the site from town centre car parks. He stated: "Some people were being sent here by local hotels. They recommended us because the parking was free. We know this because we heard it from hotel guests." As of June, a parking fee of £2 for up to six hours has been enforced, managed by Parking Eye. The change has already caught some regulars off guard: one father, watching his son on the ski slope, voiced his frustration online after receiving a £100 fine – reduced to £60 if paid within 28 days. He grumbled: "I always thought it was free as have never paid before." In recent years, Conwy Council has gradually increased parking charges to compensate for reduced income from the Welsh Government. Prices fluctuate depending on location, but typically start at £1.50 for one hour, rising to £7.50 for four hours. Some promenade parking now begins at £5.50. This strategy includes finding new sources of income and reducing expenditure on non-essential services. The Council acknowledges that raising parking fees is one of the "difficult choices" it faces in its efforts to manage financial pressures. In light of these developments, Mr Treacy felt it necessary to implement charges at LSC to ensure parking availability for patrons. He shared that feedback suggests their rates are still considered very reasonable: "People tell us we're still too cheap!" he remarked. Commenter Islandgirl60 says: 'I always park at the railway station in Llandudno. Never full and very reasonable!' Jonesey1 replies: 'Great, but that's a bit of a hike to and from the town centre!' Daffyddthomas thinks: 'The fees for 6 hours are very reasonable, in fact everywhere should charge, but locals should go free or have a reduced rate.' Captcheese retorts: 'As if they'll make it free for the locals! They should but they won't. I would not go anywhere near an APNR car park - Parking Eye in particular. Leave after 5 minutes after finding you don't have change, then look forward to a £60 'fine' in the post - or whatever they chose to call it because it's not a fine.' Lucy1967 adds: 'It would be difficult to implement that as how could you prove that you were local? I agree that it's a reasonable price, but the company they are using are callous to charge if you are a couple of mins over, a few mins grace should be given at least.' Davey Chester writes: 'My wife and I used to regularly visit Llandudno and spend 6 to 8 hours there. We no longer visit because of the cost of parking. It's ridiculous the cost of some car parks. But, it's Llandudno's loss and we know we are not the only people who have taken this view.' Emileeee thinks: 'Another nail in the coffin for tourism, almost as though they don't want anyone visiting Wales.' Paul Wilson agrees: 'Any excuse to line the pockets and hit the motorists.' Bruce Garbett adds: 'I planned on returning to Anglesea [sic] for another 10 days in the next couple of months. What with speed restrictions and parking plus overhead barriers in parking places I am having serious thoughts about going now. Probably spend my cash elsewhere.' Anthony Stockton points out: 'The car park was full all the time, I don't blame them for doing this, there was no room for customers to park.' Mildred Bartholemew states: 'Parking fees are stupid prices nowadays not everyone earns the wages for them. We should appreciate that people want to come to these landmarks and put a thought towards the minimum wage people.' David Kirkwood replies: 'Tell that to Denbighshire CC who have raised times for paid parking in Rhyl to 11pm!! Even theatre patrons have to pay plus locals who just want to have a stroll on the beach and seafront. Talk about kicking a town already on its knees.'
North Wales Live
22-06-2025
- Automotive
- North Wales Live
Conwy's soaring parking fees leaves Great Orme site swamped and forced to act
Soaring fees at Conwy's public car parks are 'displacing" demand to other facilities in the county, it's been claimed. Parking charges were this introduced this month at a popular spot on Llandudno's Great Orme that's long been free to use. Llandudno Snowsports Centre (LSC) said it had little option but to start charging because it was being swamped by visitors deterred by rising fees at the council's summit car park. Manager Nigel Treacy said others were gravitating to the site from town centre car parks. 'Some people were being sent here by local hotels,' he said. 'They recommended us because the parking was free. We know this because we heard it from hotel guests." From the start of June, a parking charge of £2 for up to six hours was introduced, overseen by Parking Eye. Some regulars have already been caught out by the switch: this week a dad watching his son on the ski slope complained of receiving a £100 fine – reduced to £60 if paid within 28 days. 'I always thought it was free as have never paid before,' he grumbled online. In recent years Conwy Council has steadily upped parking charges to off-set dwindling income from the Welsh Government. Prices vary by location but fees typically start at £1.50 for one hour, up to £7.50 for four hours. Some promenade parking now starts at £5.50. Previously free car parks have also been targeted, with pay-and-display recently introduced at facilities in Llanrwst and Llanfairfechan following planned upgrades. Council Council said its budgets are stretched and it's doing everything it can to protect vital services in the county. This includes boosting revenue as well as cutting back on non-essential services. Increasing parking fees are among the "difficult choices" it's having to make, said the local authority. In Llandudno, peak season demand for parking is so high that the local authority is currently consulting on a new 'summer' car park. Prices will start at £2.30 for one hour. It is against this background that Mr Treacy felt compelled to start charging at LSC, to safeguard spaces for customers. 'People tell us we're still too cheap!' he said. '£2 for up to six hours equates to 33p per hour. In contrast, the (Great Orme) summit car park is £5.50 for up to four hours, equivalent to £1.37 per hour – more than four times as much.' Five years ago the centre's 200-metre dry ski slope – the longest in Wales – underwent a £300,000 upgrade – to create a bouncier surface lubricated by a 300-head sprinkler system. LSC also offers a Cresta Toboggan run which, at 575 metres, is also the longest in Wales, as well as Sno-tubing and 'Alpine' crazy golf. Publicity for the new parking charges began a month before they were introduced. It's left Mr Treacy slightly mystified as to how any customers would be unaware of them. 'We sat down with the operator and looked at the factors people were most concerned about with parking,' he said. 'Signage is a big issue – drivers often complain they're not aware of charging. "So we've covered the site in parking signs. They are four provided signs at the entrances, and 13 in the car parks and around the building. We've also paid for an extra 24 signs around the site. 'Staff have been asked to remind customers when they come in – the last thing we want is to see people being fined. 'We also have multiple ways of paying – coins, contactless and online – and we have a 35-minute grace period without the need to pay: the industry standard is 10 minutes. This is for people who need to make quick bookings or for motorists who accidentally drive up here.' The main car park, and smaller one, a little downhill, now have pay-and-display machines. They're acessed via a single-lane road up through Happy Valley gardens. Both facilities have been described as 'basic', being gravelled surfaces first laid in 1986 and now suffering from erosion. LSC has long aimed to upgrade them. 'Eight years ago we looked at surfacing them with Tarmac but it was felt they would deteriorate too quickly without expensive new drainage,' said Mr Treacy. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox Preliminary designs have now been drawn up for new parking facilities costing around £250,000. However it's hard to justify the outlay when the economic climate is chilly, especially in the lesiure and tourism sectors. It's hoped to new parking charges will help offset the risk. 'We going to need a lot of cars paying £2 a time to get near the target,' added Mr Treacy.
The Independent
06-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Independent
Drivers urged to ‘beat the system' after record number of parking tickets issued
Despite issuing approximately 41,000 tickets daily in Britain, private parking companies 'don't want to issue parking charges', according to an industry leader. Will Hurley, chief executive of the International Parking Community (IPC), said that operators want drivers to park legally and conveniently. He said: "Any business is there to make money. But the reality is, the vast majority of money that comes in in the parking industry comes from people paying for parking." This comes amid accusations against private parking firms of employing misleading signage, aggressive debt collection tactics, and excessive fees. These companies pursue vehicle owners for alleged violations in private car parks, such as those at shopping centres, leisure facilities, and motorway service areas. They issue parking charge notices (PCNs) – which are invoices or demands for money – when they claim someone has breached the land owner's rules, for example not entering their registration correctly into a machine, overstaying or not parking within a bay. Each ticket can be up to £100, with a minimum discount of 40 per cent if paid within 14 days. The latest published accounts for ParkingEye, the UK's biggest private parking company, show it made a pre-tax profit of £16.1 million in 2023, up from £10.9 million a year earlier. It is 'easy to beat the system' for anyone who believes parking operators may attempt to profit by sending them a PCN, Mr Hurley said. He went on: 'If you're thinking about it, just don't park in a way that gets a parking charge. 'If you're really that upset by it, just follow the signs. If the signs are unclear, go and park somewhere else.' He added: 'Parking operators don't want to issue charges. They want people to park where they need to, when they need to.' In the six months to the end of September 2024, car park management companies made 7.2 million requests to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) for vehicle keeper records, which they use to send PCNs. That is up 12 per cent from the same period a year earlier and represents an average of 41,000 requests per day. In the six months to the end of September 2019, the average daily rate was 24,000. The figures are indicative of the number of PCNs being issued by private companies. The IPC insists the jump in tickets is 'directly linked' to the number of UK locations being managed by parking companies being more than five times higher than in 2012, and a 21 per cent increase in the number of registered vehicles over the same period. It emerged last month that many drivers are being sent tickets they claim are unfair because of how some payment machines operate, with one campaigner claiming the devices are 'set up to trap people'. Some machines which require users to input their vehicle registration accept payment after only one letter being entered. This has led to multiple cases of drivers paying the required parking fee but still being sent a PCN when their vehicle was detected by automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras. Mr Hurley said 'I don't think that's helpful' and revealed he wants to see the issue eradicated as part of payment machine 'minimum standards' being developed by the IPC. He continued: 'I believe that the minimum thing that should happen if you're required to put a registration number in, is you should be required to confirm your registration number before you go on to the payment bit. 'How quickly can that be implicated across 50,000 locations in the country? 'Not overnight, but we've got to take steps in that direction.' A Bill to enable the introduction of a Government-backed code for private parking companies received royal assent under the Conservative government in March 2019. The code was withdrawn in June 2022 after a legal challenge by parking companies. The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government has said it will set out further details on re-introducing the code 'as soon as possible'. Mr Hurley insisted 'there's nobody that's supported the Government more than us in terms of introducing a single code of practice'. RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: 'If private companies really don't want to issue tickets, they should make their signs clearer and easier to understand. 'Avoiding a charge is the opposite of easy in some locations. 'We've heard stories of machines that aren't working, as well as ones that skip ahead to payment after entering one or two numbers or letters, or ones that record different letters to those keyed in. 'The fact remains the Government's code of practice needs to be brought in as soon as possible.' Mr Williams also called for the parking industry to be 'transparent about the number of complaints it receives from drivers who believe they've been treated unfairly'.
The Independent
05-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Independent
Parking companies ‘don't want' to ticket drivers, says industry head
Despite issuing approximately 41,000 tickets daily in Britain, private parking companies 'don't want to issue parking charges', according to an industry leader. Will Hurley, chief executive of the International Parking Community (IPC), said that operators want drivers to park legally and conveniently. He said: "Any business is there to make money. But the reality is, the vast majority of money that comes in in the parking industry comes from people paying for parking." This comes amid accusations against private parking firms of employing misleading signage, aggressive debt collection tactics, and excessive fees. These companies pursue vehicle owners for alleged violations in private car parks, such as those at shopping centres, leisure facilities, and motorway service areas. They issue parking charge notices (PCNs) – which are invoices or demands for money – when they claim someone has breached the land owner's rules, for example not entering their registration correctly into a machine, overstaying or not parking within a bay. Each ticket can be up to £100, with a minimum discount of 40 per cent if paid within 14 days. The latest published accounts for ParkingEye, the UK's biggest private parking company, show it made a pre-tax profit of £16.1 million in 2023, up from £10.9 million a year earlier. It is 'easy to beat the system' for anyone who believes parking operators may attempt to profit by sending them a PCN, Mr Hurley said. He went on: 'If you're thinking about it, just don't park in a way that gets a parking charge. 'If you're really that upset by it, just follow the signs. If the signs are unclear, go and park somewhere else.' He added: 'Parking operators don't want to issue charges. They want people to park where they need to, when they need to.' In the six months to the end of September 2024, car park management companies made 7.2 million requests to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) for vehicle keeper records, which they use to send PCNs. That is up 12 per cent from the same period a year earlier and represents an average of 41,000 requests per day. In the six months to the end of September 2019, the average daily rate was 24,000. The figures are indicative of the number of PCNs being issued by private companies. The IPC insists the jump in tickets is 'directly linked' to the number of UK locations being managed by parking companies being more than five times higher than in 2012, and a 21 per cent increase in the number of registered vehicles over the same period. It emerged last month that many drivers are being sent tickets they claim are unfair because of how some payment machines operate, with one campaigner claiming the devices are 'set up to trap people'. Some machines which require users to input their vehicle registration accept payment after only one letter being entered. This has led to multiple cases of drivers paying the required parking fee but still being sent a PCN when their vehicle was detected by automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras. Mr Hurley said 'I don't think that's helpful' and revealed he wants to see the issue eradicated as part of payment machine 'minimum standards' being developed by the IPC. He continued: 'I believe that the minimum thing that should happen if you're required to put a registration number in, is you should be required to confirm your registration number before you go on to the payment bit. 'How quickly can that be implicated across 50,000 locations in the country? 'Not overnight, but we've got to take steps in that direction.' A Bill to enable the introduction of a Government-backed code for private parking companies received royal assent under the Conservative government in March 2019. The code was withdrawn in June 2022 after a legal challenge by parking companies. The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government has said it will set out further details on re-introducing the code 'as soon as possible'. Mr Hurley insisted 'there's nobody that's supported the Government more than us in terms of introducing a single code of practice'. RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: 'If private companies really don't want to issue tickets, they should make their signs clearer and easier to understand. 'Avoiding a charge is the opposite of easy in some locations. 'We've heard stories of machines that aren't working, as well as ones that skip ahead to payment after entering one or two numbers or letters, or ones that record different letters to those keyed in. 'The fact remains the Government's code of practice needs to be brought in as soon as possible.' Mr Williams also called for the parking industry to be 'transparent about the number of complaints it receives from drivers who believe they've been treated unfairly'. Parliament will host a Westminster Hall debate on the sector on Tuesday.
