The British Parking Association (BPA) and the International Parking Community (IPC), the two trade bodies for private car park operators, have announced a new code for its members.
Their aim is to 'raise standards and deliver greater transparency and consistency for the benefit of motorists'.
But some organisations, such as the RAC, have criticised the move after a number of private parking companies prevented the government from introducing its own code of practice announced in 2022.
Here, we look at the new rules under the code and how it differs from what the government had planned.
Grace periods, signage and appeals
Under the new code, you'll be granted a 10-minute grace period at the end of your parking stay.
All private car parks will be required to provide clear signage, and there will be a single set of rules for all private parking operators.
There will be a new appeals charter for those who receive charges with 'mitigating circumstances'. We asked for more information about what mitigating circumstances might look like, and the BPA told us the fine details will be published in June.
There will also be a new oversight group ensuring that the interpretation of the code is consistent across private car parks.
All new private parking sites are expected to be compliant from 1 October 2024, while pre-existing sites have until late 2026 to comply with the new rules.
Read more:Private parking code
The government had planned to introduce its own private code of practice (announced in February 2022), which proposed:
However, the proposed code was temporarily withdrawn in June 2022 after some private parking companies issued legal proceedings against the proposals to change maximum fines and ban additional fees.
The BPA and the IPC say they’ve been ‘working to create a single code that achieves the government's intentions, while still functioning on a practical level in the real world'.
Simon Williams, head of policy at the RAC, said the sector's decision to create its own set of rules 'muddies the waters and risks confusing drivers'. He added that the code 'conveniently avoids some of the biggest issues around caps on penalty charges and debt recovery fees which badly need to be addressed to prevent drivers being taken advantage of.'
Find out more:How to appeal a private parking fine
1. Appeal to the car park operator
Your first step is to appeal to the operator which issued your ticket, also known as a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN), explaining why the charge shouldn’t stand and providing as much evidence to explain why.
However, you may lose the opportunity to pay a discounted rate (which is normally a 40% discount if paid within two weeks) if your appeal is unsuccessful.
Private car parks will belong to one of two trade associations – either the IPC or the BPA.
If the car park is a member of the IPC, you’ll be afforded an additional two weeks at the reduced rate as long as you submit your appeal within 14 days of receiving the fine.
But if it's part of the BPA, the operator isn’t required to extend the window for a reduced fine if your appeal is unsuccessful. The BPA told us, though, that in most cases, the parking operator will honour the reduced rate.
2. Appeal again to a trade association
If your appeal to the car park operator is unsuccessful, you can contest this decision via whichever trade association the car park is a member of. Check whether the car park is an IPC or BPA member. If it's a member of the BPA, you'll need to appeal to POPLA, and if it's a member of the IPC, your appeal will be with the IAS.
Again, you’ll want to include as much evidence as possible to show you weren’t in breach of the rules, that you did pay or that the parking operator acted in breach of its trade body’s code of practice.
If your appeal is still unsuccessful, the operator can continue to seek payment from you and has the option of taking you to court.
Be warned that if you are taken to court, you’ll have to pay the other side’s costs if you lose, although the fine cannot be increased.
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/private-parking-firms-introduce-new-code-of-practice-amEPQ4x3t1ek