Letter to Your MP?

BikingBud

I feel that given the current publicity that has highlighted across all media a growing level of anger amongst motorists, it is time to make a concerted effort to bring this once again to the attention of all our elected representatives.  

The issue being that a small but focussed group calling themselves representatives of the parking industry, are allowed to create so much misery. Not alone but also in the full sight and perhaps even full support of the DVLA, who seem to make a tidy sum from the deal. Further, that the industry relies upon threats of legal action and County Court Judgments to bully motorists into paying these speculative and inflated invoices but seldom have the courage to actually go to court and test their complaint, in full knowledge that they will frequently be found wanting in evidence, their claim will be denied and they will be left covering the cost of their unjustifable actions.

I have drafted the following, sat on it for a few days and will review over the weekend. 

Could I ask what action you are taking to ensure that the Parking Code of Practice is brought into law without further delay or dilution?

You may be aware this has been discussed in Parliament before and I offer the following extract from Hansard to whet your appetite for the scale and significant impact that this rogue industry is having on many:

''Rip-offs from car park Cowboys must stop''; unfair treatment; signage deliberately confusing to ensure a PCN is issued; ''years of abuse by rogue parking companies''; bloodsuckers; ''the current system of regulation is hopeless, like putting Dracula in charge of the blood-bank''; extortionate fines; rogue operators; ''sense of injustice''; unfair charges and notices; wilfully misleading; signage is a deliberate act to deceive or mislead; ''confusing signs are often deliberate, to trap innocent drivers''; unreasonable; a curse; harassing; operating in a disgusting way; appeals service is no guarantee of a fair hearing; loathed; outrageous scam; dodgy practice; outrageous abuse; unscrupulous practices; ''the British Parking Association is as much use as a multi-storey car park in the Gobi desert''; and finally, by way of unanimous conclusion: ''we need to crack down on these rogue companies. They are an absolute disgrace to this country. Ordinary motorists and ordinary residents should not have to put up with this’'.

I would also like to steer you towards a forum on a very well known consumer site Money Saving Expert where a close and well informed group of lay individuals fight for the rights of ordinary motorists. They have built a level of expertise amounting to over 3220 pages, and growing daily, dating back to 2008. The forum supports drivers in challenging these aggressive parasites, both the private parking companies and their pet legal firms, who will bully and bluff innocent parties into paying hundreds of pounds to be free from the persistent anxiety that is built up as the bloodsuckers send boiler plate letter after boiler plate letter, always fully aware that their “evidence” would not stand up under pressure in court. 

Consequently after making people’s lives a misery, often for many years, in the hope they would acquiesce, they discontinue the claim at the last possible moment before they become liable for court costs, without rhyme, reason or explanation, leaving the individual caught between a sense of relief and extreme anger. As defendants in person they are unable to claim the costs of the many hours that they have invested to understand; the law, the legal system, how the courts will operate, how to build a witness statement and an evidence bundle, and perhaps most terrifying, what to expect during the hearing and how to steel themselves for the ordeal.

On the contrary the “industry”, because this abuse of the legal process is running at an industrial scale, has a production line that with little effort churns out many many thousands of these claims and scaremonger letters every day yet they continue to add charges and interest to an already inflated Parking Charge Notice fee for an allegation of contractual non-compliance, all the time knowing that the claim is without merit and lacks robust and compelling evidence. To rub salt into the wounds it appears that they are also illegally adding VAT to management fees for recovering the alleged debt. I understand that this is in clear contravention of HMRC direction. 

This intolerable behaviour aside from impacting significantly on ordinary peoples lives, also literally chokes the court system as the last minute discontinuance prevents the court’s time from being vacated and reallocated to more pressing and more deserving matters. That is time that is lost and can never be recovered. Amongst the many types of waste we experience today, wasted time is perhaps the most insidious and damaging, the worst possible situation is when expensive and scarce public resources are wasted in the blatant disregard for what is morally sound.

One particular company has a well-established and growing track record of discontinuing claims at the very last minute and in some circumstances leaving the defendant who had turned up in good faith stranded outside court because the claimant’s representatives have not had the decency to  inform the defendant. If you review the website and forum referred above you will see that DCB Legal appear as the dominant party in progressing to court to try and extort the charges that arise from this abuse of power and privilege. One particular thread, appropriately named: DCB LEGAL RECORD OF PRIVATE PARKING COURT CLAIM DISCONTINUATIONS currently runs to 98 pages and lists over 900 cases where DCBL have pushed the defendant to the wire and only desisted when they were fully aware that their bluff had been called and their ruse would only incur expense, and not turn out to be the bumper payday they expected and unfortunately, all too frequently do get from innocent parties that have fallen prey to their bully boys tactics.

I note that an EDM was listed on 23Jan 2025. The motion states: "That this House believes there needs to be a proper independent parking regulator, with appropriate powers to regulate fees, enforcement and appeals."

I would be interested why you personally have not engaged and also wonder why so few of your fellow 650 Members have also failed to engage. The listing currently shows only 36 Members have supported the motion less than 6% of the House! That response level is woeful and demonstrates disinterest in a topic that has such a negative impact upon so many. This is not a party political issue but a moral failure. It affects all from all backgrounds and all political persuasions.

You may recall that the "Industry" attracted, massive negative publicity when they operated cowboy clamping schemes and the bullies were considered to be the operatives that did the dirty work and faced the consumer. This overt bullying resulted in the park industry seeking to assure their income stream by moving the bullies to offices and behind computers. The keeper liability concession from POFA 2012 give them power to continue to intimidate. However, as this scam is now operated from offices of pseudo legal staff and there reprehensible debt collection agencies that add further cost and misery the scale of the bullying is somewhat concealed. In some ways you could make a comparison between this scamming and drug dealing, you remove the intolerable public face, the clampers themselves, but the gang masters, the paymasters flex and move across to anther form of extortion and exploitation.  We now see white collar bullying rather than blue collar bullying and it seems, for some unfathomable reason, to be accepted as respectable.

One of you colleagues raised the written question on 29 January 2025:

Question for Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Parking: Private Sector

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of regulation of the private car parking sector.

Asked 29 January 2025

The government recognises the need for high standards in the private parking industry and is committed to working with both consumers and the two parking trade associations to raise standards and deliver better outcomes for motorists.

The Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 places a duty on the government to prepare a code of practice containing guidance about the operation and management of private parking facilities.

We will announce our plans regarding the government code in due course. 

That answer avoids the question. That answer only stalls. That answer only allows the members of the parking industry to continue their white collar bullying. That answer allows the parking industry to continue to waste time in the Justice system without admonishment. That answer fails to bring an end to many months and sometimes years or worry, misery and exposure to financial constraints that your own and other Members' constituents continue to face.  

I implore you to engage, with your all fellow MPs and most importantly with your colleague the SofS, to seek a coherent and time bound answer. To grasp this national problem and take the Parking Code of Practice forward.
 
This extortion and exploitation should be stopped. It should be stopped now not in due course.

Happy to take any pointers or corrections and wonder if it might be something you also wish to consider. 

Ralph-y

"currently runs to 98 pages and lists nearly 500 cases"

900+ cases    oopps   realised what I did wrong ......

carry on without me

Coupon-mad

No, we're on #489

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6377263/dcb-legal-record-of-private-parking-court-claim-discontinuations/p99

Fruitcake

When clamping was banned, the PPCs told the government allowing keeper liability would reduce the load on the UK courts.

Before this, the number of parking court claims was less than fifty per year. Now it is around 100 000 per year.

BikingBud

Ralph-y said:

sorry for this ... I know my puter is old but this it what it says ........I will delete this later to keep the thread back on track

I fell for your dummy.  

I'm not interested in the number of posts on the thread but the number of cases that have been dropped by DCB Legal as that is the measure of how they brazenly and repeatedly waste the court's time.

Cheers though.

Ralph-y

my humblest appols .... it was not meant to deceive.... a genuine mistake and I deleted it asap 

BikingBud

Fruitcake said:

When clamping was banned, the PPCs told the government allowing keeper liability would reduce the load on the UK courts.

Before this, the number of parking court claims was less than fifty per year. Now it is around 100 000 per year.

I'll add a bit of that, is there any reference rather than just being hear say?

Nellymoser

IMO thats a good written account of the situation. Maybe remove 'currently runs to 98 pages' and leave it at 'lists 489 cases'

BikingBud

Updated. I will read again tomorrow and send.

In the same manner that I am requesting that my MP engages and educates his colleagues within the House, such that they understand and act, might I ask that you also raise this with your MP.

You know if they supported the EDM or if they are amongst the silent majority that will be overruled because the minority are vociferous about their support for the industry.

Nellymoser

Liking your edits 🙂
I've actually raised this with my MP back in Nov 2024. Reply from his staff in Jan 2025 saying she's written to DLUHC!!! Suggested she may wish to try MHCLG. Still waiting on reply could  get a quicker reply from MHCLG writing myself. 

Fruitcake

BikingBud said:

Fruitcake said:

When clamping was banned, the PPCs told the government allowing keeper liability would reduce the load on the UK courts.

Before this, the number of parking court claims was less than fifty per year. Now it is around 100 000 per year.

I'll add a bit of that, is there any reference rather than just being hear say?

I don't have anything concrete regarding this, but @Coupon-mad might