Breaking News: Government has announced the statutory Code of Practice, and Enforcement Framework

bargepole

Highlights:

The CoP is broadly the same as the draft version released last year, with some tweaks which are more in favour of the motorist.

The charge levels of £50 (£80 in London), with 50% discount for prompt payment, remain unchanged, despite all the desperate propaganda from the BPA about carmageddon, financial ruin, and the end of free parking. This time around, the Govt. has listened to consumer groups (including some people from this parish) instead of the snake oil salesmen of the parking industry.

The allowance of up to £70 as a 'debt recovery charge' has now been binned, it is dead, it is defunct, it is pushing up the daisies. A number of posters on here raised this point with their MPs, with varying degrees of success, but it seems that enough pressure was brought to bear on the DLUHC policy advisors during the summer 2021 further consultation, for them to realise they were flogging a dead horse.

So overall, this new regime is everything we could have wished for, and all the weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth will be occurring in Haywards Heath and Knutsford. But really, they said that they supported a single CoP and a single independent appeals service, and it was always on the cards from Day 1 that the charge levels would be aligned with Council penalties. The only surprising thing is that they are surprised.

BrownTrout

Indeed and well put!, now i think it will be possible in the meantime to persuade judge to either strike out the £60/70 add ons, or not allow them if not.  This obviously depends on the wording the government document today.  I don't think we will that smug face from Knutsford any time soon

@bargepole They attempted a judicial review last year do you think they may go down this route again?

patient_dream

Thanks .... and now the headline the parking industry dreaded ?

Good news for motorists as parking fines will be cut to £50 under major crackdown on 'cowboy' companies

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10483369/Good-news-motorists-parking-fines-cut-50-major-crackdown.html

The article says this ...
"However, motorists still have to wait until the end of next year for the new measures to be implemented." ?

This an open invitation for the parking companies to up their gain and screw the life out of motorists ?  What sense is that

Umkomaas

The allowance of up to £70 as a 'debt recovery charge' has now been binned, it is dead, it is defunct, it is pushing up the daisies.

Mr Osner can take much applause for this!  Bye bye DRP, Zenith, DCB Limited, ZZPS et al from the private parking end of the swamp!

Well done @bargepole and @Coupon-mad. 👏 

Half_way

I wouldn't be surprised if they attempt a JR .
for now I won't be surprised if they start aggressively pursuing current/ old parking charges, and going for soft targets such as residential "own spaces" of which there seems to be an increase on here and elsewhere lately.

BrownTrout

Umkomaas said:

The allowance of up to £70 as a 'debt recovery charge' has now been binned, it is dead, it is defunct, it is pushing up the daisies.

Mr Osner can take much applause for this!  Bye bye DRP, Zenith, DCB Limited, ZZPS et al from the private parking end of the swamp!

Well done @bargepole and @Coupon-mad. 👏 

No it wont be the end of the likes of DRP at all, they will go back to their old method collecting where they take a % of the parking charge and not the add on charge.

Umkomaas

BrownTrout said:

Umkomaas said:

The allowance of up to £70 as a 'debt recovery charge' has now been binned, it is dead, it is defunct, it is pushing up the daisies.

Mr Osner can take much applause for this!  Bye bye DRP, Zenith, DCB Limited, ZZPS et al from the private parking end of the swamp!

Well done @bargepole and @Coupon-mad. 👏 

No it wont be the end of the likes of DRP at all, they will go back to their old method collecting where they take a % of the parking charge and not the add on charge.

I wonder what % of fifty quid is going to keep them afloat?

Castle

Half_way said:

I wouldn't be surprised if they attempt a JR .
for now I won't be surprised if they start aggressively pursuing current/ old parking charges, and going for soft targets such as residential "own spaces" of which there seems to be an increase on here and elsewhere lately.

Same here, especially as the Supreme Court already "allows" £85.

BrownTrout

Umkomaas said:

BrownTrout said:

Umkomaas said:

The allowance of up to £70 as a 'debt recovery charge' has now been binned, it is dead, it is defunct, it is pushing up the daisies.

Mr Osner can take much applause for this!  Bye bye DRP, Zenith, DCB Limited, ZZPS et al from the private parking end of the swamp!

Well done @bargepole and @Coupon-mad. 👏 

No it wont be the end of the likes of DRP at all, they will go back to their old method collecting where they take a % of the parking charge and not the add on charge.

I wonder what % of fifty quid is going to keep them afloat?

from what ive been told from a reliable source its between 10 and 20%, but its how most debt collectors work (like moorcroft etc)

NCC1701-A

I am so chuffed at this news, my family and I would never had written to our MPs without the campaign on here. Over the years we've all been subjected to these spurious charges and got them cancelled with the help from here.

Well done Bargepole, Coupon-mad and all the regulars.  I hope you get nominated in Queens honours for your services to the community.

Snakes_Belly

This is great news for a Monday morning. Whilst it is not restropective and does not come into effect immediately it may have influence on existing claims.

Regarding a judicial review there is backlog of cases and I would think that judges would be pleased to see less of this type of small claim.

The new single appeals service will hopefully reduce the number of claims reaching court. I just hope that the new appeals service employ ajudicators that have some discretion unlike the current incumbents.