We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
Parking stories in the News/media
Comments
-
I'm pretty confident Burnham will take some sort of action in the autumn. He realises the power of easy wins, unlike Starmer. This is an open goal for him.
7 -
Further to an earlier post about the 17 million pcns being issued, this was on sky news / money. Yesterday ( Scott Dixon. )
32
Stop DVLA selling Britons' details for £2.50, government told
An "out of control" parking fine industry is getting hold of drivers' personal data on the cheap, with tacit support from the government, according to a consumer rights expert.
It costs private companies just £2.50 per enquiry to obtain records from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), which are used to chase vehicle owners for payments.
The DVLA is a government agency, linked to the Department for Transport.
A record 16.9 million tickets were handed out in the year to the end of March, according to analysis by the Press Association and the RAC Foundation.
Call for change - with huge number of fines 'hard to believe'
"Enough is enough. Drivers deserve fairness," Scott Dixon, AKA The Complaints Resolver, told the Money blog.
"This unregulated private parking industry is potentially worth over £1.5bn a year and is out of control."
Dixon said it was "hard to believe" that 46,000 motorists were knowingly breaking the rules each day.
He called on the DVLA to charge £25 per request for driver records, instead of the current £2.50 fee, and to introduce a code of practice that effectively regulates the industry
At present, the industry effectively regulates itself via the voluntary Single Code of Practice - which Dixon says is "rarely enforced" on its members.
Government shows willingness to make changes
The government intends to present a code of practice to parliament this autumn, the Money team understands.
"We agree that we need to drive up standards across the private parking industry," says a spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, which governs off-street parking.
"That's why we’re committed to bringing in a strong parking Code of Practice as quickly as we can to protect motorists."
Consultations were undertaken in 2023 and 2025 on parking charges, debt recovery fees, the appeals process, collection of industry data, and new government guidance.
Industry responds to 'misleading' criticism
Isaac Occhipinti, a spokesman for the British Parking Association, which created the Single Code of Practice with the International Parking Community, said it delivered greater consistency, transparency and additional protections for motorists.
"We continue to work closely with government on the development of a statutory code," added Occhipinti.
"The suggestion that rising parking charge numbers are, in themselves, evidence of a failing system is misleading and ignores the wider picture.
"The increase reflects the growing number of private car parks being professionally managed across the retail, healthcare, residential and transport sectors, as well as increasing demand for parking."
The International Parking Community said it actively oversees its members,including auditing sites and signage.
"Breaches of the code are investigated and can result in sanctions, up to removal of membership," a spokesperson said.
"Parking charges are issued by operators, who are required to comply with the code. Where a motorist believes a charge has been issued in error, they should appeal and ultimately have access to an independent appeals service."
The IPC added it supports a government-backed code of practice.
7 -
If the ATAs supported a government backed CoP they both would have introduced the full Code EXACTLY as written apart from the levels and ban on fake add on charge .
Why lie to to the public ?
7 -
Wouldnt it be best if the DVLA were not allowed to sell our data .
Increasing the Data selling price would seem to be…… just moving the goal posts .
4 -
Isaac Occhipinti, a spokesman for the British Parking Association, which created the Single Code of Practice with the International Parking Community, said it delivered greater consistency, transparency and additional protections for motorists.
And there is the problem … two unregulated membership clubs acting in the interests of their members ? Adding FAKE charges is a prime example. One could call it a Cartel to extort money from the public because that is what is happening
2 -
Yes, it certainly would be best but can't see that ever happening no matter how loud us objectors shout. Those 'bodies' responsible for allowing the
salerelease of our data want it to remain.It is very odd the £2.50 cost has remained the same since it was introduced. Possibly something to do with the
profitsurplus it generates. Imagine how much more obscene that level would have looked if DVLA had increased the cost every year.Making huge profits from selling citizens personal data is never a good look, no matter how it's worded or dressed up.
6 -
Government income generators such as DVLA and Land Regsitry charge at a level to cover costs. It isn't odd DVLA charge is still £2.50 when you look at the increase in the number of requests. The costs won't have increased to the same extent. There's an argument the cost could be reduced as there are now millions of requests.
4 -
The big question about the £2.50 data release by the DVLA, IS do they know if it is a scam ticket and as we see, the horror stories that can only relate to DVLA data release ……. do they ever check why? It seems not
Considering the courts dismissing claims and a legal who discontinues before court. Proof that the data should never be released without due checks and NOT adlib
To this end, the DVLA are supporting a rogue industry ??
2 -
The right thing to do, take the organ grinder to court
Another Parkingeye sign with TINY TINY print as the terms
2
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 355.5K Banking & Borrowing
- 254.8K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 456K Spending & Discounts
- 248.1K Work, Benefits & Business
- 605.5K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 179K Life & Family
- 263.3K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards