REVIVING THE PRIVATE PARKING BILL

Coupon-mad

Protest said:

 I do not doubt the sincerity and commitment of people who have worked hard to get the Bill/Code to where it is BUT IMHO the current Govt will simply continue with its ASAP response until the next election, aided by the BPA/IPC lobby.

It won't.

Work continues this month and has been ongoing with the new Government almost as soon as the relevant Minster was in place (which was not until the Autumn).

Watch this space. Keep the faith.

Protest

Coupon-mad said:

 as soon as the relevant Minster was in place (which was not until the Autumn).

The new politicians were in place in early July and one should have been greeted with an easy-win bundle setting out how to complete the Code. Not a briefing that has taken almost 7 mths to grasp, has generated no published insights beyond ASAP messages and seems still to leave the Code in prep mode (since 2019!). Meanwhile motorists (like Rosie as one recent example with £1900 PCN invoice for parking she had paid for) continue to be hammered daily with no meaningful protection. The courts have developed the concept of incentive charging aimed at miscreants Sadly that has also incentivised other sharp operators who needed little encouragement! And Parliament is a laughing stock in some quarters.

Summer breaks are  great idea but not a reason for admin standstill.

Keep pushing!!

Coupon-mad

I don't disagree with any of the above, except that I think no Ministers were fully appraised of anything much before Summer Recess ... and to be fair, I never thought they would be!

But yes, the good guys & gals are and have been pushing all along.

With a new Government it was never going to be quite as easy as just completing the Code. I'm patient when it comes to inevitable admin delays because it's important to get the whole infrastructure right.

Humdinger1

@Protest I worked as a volunteer in my MPs office from July to Sep.  Committees such as the one @Coupon-mad is on are set up by the Whips Office, not MPs. The short notice election followed by much needed holidays (people inc MPs were campaigning round the clock) were followed by Party conferences.  Nothing could happen till October and as a new government, everything had to be gone through again.  @Coupon-mad is on the case and is a standout representative for the public.  I have absolute trust in her and the whole process is going as fast as it possibly can.  Onwards and upwards Humdinger 

Nellymoser

@Protest The Justice Select Committee has re-opened their inquiry into the Work of the County Court. We need to ensure motorist's voices are heard and taken into account.

Previous responders can submit new evidence. Any evidence previously submitted to the original inquiry call will be considered by the Committee.

Please share it among your action group if they are unaware of it. 🙏
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81239057/#Comment_81239057

h2g2

Is it too late to get this committee to also address renters issues? I've read today on here the second judge ruling that a tenancy agreement does not grant primacy of contract, leaving anyone renting to just get absolutely shafted with no recourse.

Coupon-mad

h2g2 said:

Is it too late to get this committee to also address renters issues? I've read today on here the second judge ruling that a tenancy agreement does not grant primacy of contract, leaving anyone renting to just get absolutely shafted with no recourse.

Yep but that was the female Judge in the London area who always does this (I read the account and assumed it was the same lady Judge who has favoured PPCs before).

This Committee is only looking at the work of the County Court. It's a really important Call for Evidence and we should be telling them about the abuse of the court system & consumer harm being caused by parking firms and their roboclaim moneymakers. 

Protest

Humdinger1 said: ....Committees such as the one @Coupon-mad is on are set up by the Whips Office, not MPs........

I'm confused. A Whips Office would surely be party-centric. For a Committee to be effective in advising on this issue it would need to be cross-party and set up by the Parliamentary Committee (which ceased with the election and is only just finding its feet again under new direction), or the Ministry, or some similar "neutral" sponsor.

Protest

Meanwhile, on a related front.....

From:lola.mcevoy.mp@parliament.uk

To:

Thu, 6 Feb at 10:35

Dear xxxx

I write to you with an update on fines issued by private parking companies following your previous correspondence with me on this matter.

More than one hundred constituents have reported issues relating to Feethams Car Park in the DL1 complex in Darlington, operated by Excel Parking Services. I know from speaking with colleagues that hundreds more across the country that have faced similar problems.

A large number of these complaints originated from what has been described as the “five minute rule” - where drivers had not paid for their parking within a five minute time period stipulated by the operator. In many of these cases, paying within this time period was clearly not possible. Reasons often included faulty payment machines and a lack of phone or internet signal to make payment through alternative means. Nonetheless, Excel had, in dozens of cases, insisted on charging hefty fines and in some cases pursuing court action, even when these drivers had paid their tickets in full on the day.

You may know that I and a number of my fellow MPs had taken these cases to Government ministers and industry representatives in a push to end his unfair practice. We said that Government regulation may be necessary if the industry did not sort its act out.

Following this, I am now pleased to report that following these discussions this unfair “five minute rule” has now effectively been banned by the industry.

Under a newly-updated code of conduct to which all private parking companies must abide, operators of car parks with fixed camera technology - such as Excel’s car park at Feethams - will no longer be permitted to charge fines where payment has been made in full before departure. In effect, this means there is no longer any time limit to pay as long as it is done before leaving the car park, and any fines for taking longer than five minutes should be overturned on appeal.

While this rule officially came in to effect from 1 January 2025 for car parks such as the one at DL1, it also applies retrospectively to any such cases that have yet to be settled. This means any “five minute rule” fine from a fixed camera car park that has not yet been paid, regardless of when it was issued, can immediately be appealed to the industry’s Independent Appeals Service and that appeal should be upheld. Details on how to appeal can be found on https://www.theias.org/ and in any correspondence you have received about fines.

While this appears to be a hugely positive step, I still need your help to ensure the parking industry is true to its word on this issue. Therefore I would request that you please notify me by email of the result on any appeals made. I have already raised dozens of individual cases with Excel, many of which have been dropped as a result. I will continue to do this until this issue is, hopefully, resolved. If it is not resolved, I will not hesitate to continue pushing for state regulation of the sector to force operators to treat drivers with the fairness they deserve.

Finally, I am aware that this change does not benefit those who have already settled their fines. For this reason I am actively seeking advice on whether there are any means for retroactive compensation for those who have already paid or been taken through enforcement action related to the “five minute rule”. This is at an early stage and may not prove possible at all, but I will continue to look into every possible route of redress for those who have been stung by this unfair practice. I will keep you updated on these efforts and would welcome any constituents who would be interested in pursuing this to let me know by email.

I’d like to thank you for raising this issue with me. It is only with your input that we have been able to secure this positive change, though we are well aware there is work still to be done.

Please do keep in touch and if I can help in any way, I will.

Best wishes,

Lola

Nellymoser

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6586172/news-on-the-5-minute-rule