Parking Code of Practice Consultation 2025 - now let's see what happens

Nellymoser

https://www.registry-trust.org.uk/blog/parking-fines-and-ccjs-our-response-to-the-governments-consultation/

"At present, Registry Trust does not receive claimant details from the county courts, so we cannot quantify precisely how many judgments stem from parking fines."

"Our latest analysis highlights a striking pattern: a clustering of unsatisfied consumer judgments at relatively low values.

• Over 40,000 unsatisfied judgments are recorded at £277.

• A further 31,768 judgments at £285, and 31,025 at £284.

• The top 20 judgment values all fall between £185 and £298.

This strongly suggests that a large share of judgments relate to standardised penalty charges, such as parking fines. Civil parking penalties often begin between £60 and £130 but, if unpaid, escalate through fees and interest and may ultimately become CCJs."

"The Government has committed to legislating for claimant data to be included, and we anticipate this will be in place by the first half of 2026."

"In the meantime, the available evidence points clearly to parking fines making up a significant and growing share of judgments on the Register."

Coupon-mad

I'll also post this in the News/Media thread but it's worth a mention here too, as this info comes directly from the Public Consultation and Options Assessment:

Parking ticket debt recovery firms make ‘disproportionately high’ profits

https://www.itv.com/news/2025-10-05/parking-ticket-debt-recovery-firms-make-disproportionately-high-profits

Companies charging drivers fees for recovering parking ticket debts have an average profit margin exceeding 60%, a Government document has revealed.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said the figure indicates there is a “market failure”, while the AA branded it “disproportionately high”.

Good to see that fact reaching a wider audience.

Wonder if @Kaizen2024 will comment - does ANYONE honestly think it is in any way excusable to rinse the public at this transparently abusive level?!

Articles like this add weight to the argument to ban the added 'fee' outright. Maybe the CMA and FCA will wake up and weigh in, at last.

Kaizen2024

Am pretty sure I have said before that I don’t accept that DR companies run at 60% profit globally as a business.

That figure MAY (I don’t know) be correct for an individual collection average i.e revenue / number of paid tickets, but anyone with business knowledge knows that’s not how profit is correctly measured (you cannot ignore costs associated with cases that have not been collected / business operating costs).

On that basis, this is misinformation and is unhelpful for all concerned.

Coupon-mad

Well we will see. Any misinformation will be due to DRAs not being open with the MHCLG. If they were open and honest, the MHCLG would know more and realise what a rip off this is.

Either way, the model is abusive. Come on, let's be real. All a DRA does is:

- receive bulk data (automatically transferred via Unity5's 'ZatPark' or similar software). Negligible or no cost and no human involvement;

- no interaction with the client about individual cases. They are essentially assigning 'debt' (without a Deed of Assignment but that's basically the MO);

- then they do a load of bulk soft traces that Simon Renshaw Smith confirmed cost tuppence ha'penny (see the 2023 Draft IA);

- they send out a series of cheap automated letters, via Unity5 who use a mail consolidator where postage is around £1.66;

- they use PTP software which is also peanuts per case, once set up.

- they offer 'Payment Plans' (again very cheap once set up);

- Some twelve year olds on minimum wage answer the phone and scare people into paying exaggerated money that they don't owe (IMHO, rather like a scam call centre).

That's it.

Questions:

1. Tell me how that costs the DRA anywhere near £70 in a single PCN case?

2. Tell me how that costs £700 in a ten PCN case (not ten letters, just the usual chain)?

3. Tell me why the PPC (who sits twiddling their thumbs throughout, off on a jolly on their yacht or sitting coiffing champers on a beach on holiday) deserves to get more than face PCN value returned to them?

4. Tell me why parking cases are 'different' from EVERY other sector, where honest traders issue reminders themselves and treat DRAs as a last resort. If they have no choice they send it to a DRA or what used to be called a Debt Factor and - quite rightly - expect to receive a % of debt (due to commission deducted) ... and the better DRAs and legal firms achieve a  60-90% paid success rate, without court or CCJ cluebats?

RogerW_3

Nellymoser said:

Now the consultation is closed we await MHCLG report on the received responses.

A big thank you has to go to Coupon-mad for all the work and time she dedicated to this consultation not only on the forum but govt CoP steering group too. And to all the regulars and new posters for posting their views.

The HCLG Minister says this Govt 'inherited a dysfunctional private parking industry' going by this consultation I feel we may have inherited a dysfunctional Ministerial Dept with selective hearing.

This government (when previously in power) created the dysfunctional private industry by failing to enact a private parking code at the same time as POFA 2012, which would have stopped self regulation by car park operator's and stopped the issue of millions of meritless parking charges that are caused by operator contributory negligence, etc. 

patient_dream

RogerW_3 said:

Nellymoser said:

Now the consultation is closed we await MHCLG report on the received responses.

A big thank you has to go to Coupon-mad for all the work and time she dedicated to this consultation not only on the forum but govt CoP steering group too. And to all the regulars and new posters for posting their views.

The HCLG Minister says this Govt 'inherited a dysfunctional private parking industry' going by this consultation I feel we may have inherited a dysfunctional Ministerial Dept with selective hearing.

This government (when previously in power) created the dysfunctional private industry by failing to enact a private parking code at the same time as POFA 2012, which would have stopped self regulation by car park operator's and stopped the issue of millions of meritless parking charges that are caused by operator contributory negligence, etc. 

Totally agree with you.  I do not think the current government has grasped the situation of letting a mega scam industry run riot, including the two not fit for purposes ATA's

Protest

"Am pretty sure I have said before that I don’t accept that DR companies run at 60% profit globally as a business."

So what do you think the correct situation is? No point shouting "fake news" unless you are Donald Trump!

Coupon-mad

Here's some real news, I just posted in the Parking in the News & Media thread:

@Car1980 said:

My own news today. Visited this fattening American fast food joint and looked for any restrictive signage, poised to agree or decline any ridiculous contract. I was very disappointed to find none. 

After gorging myself, without any need to check my watch, I then decided to visit the completely separate business across the road. I was pleased to discover a pedestrian walkway specifically designed for such a task and accompanied by no insane £100 charges for performing such an action.

At the business opposite it was also a private parking desert and people were free to park in whatever manner they liked.

The most amazing aspect of this small car park utopia was that everything ran completely smoothly. There was plenty of space. Cars were parked correctly in bays with no vehicles over the lines. Disabled bays were half full, with blue badges clearly displayed, although there was no obligation to do so and nobody to check them. The other half of bays were empty, inviting the next disabled driver to make use of the facilities.

I thought such a scenario was completely impossible without a private parking company! Where is the chaos, selfishness and mayhem?

Thorndorise said:

This made me laugh, I've actually visited a few sites of a notorious American coffee chain only to be befuddled by no signage, spaces and pleasantness all around...I've started capturing these sites with the same aim, to show what chaos it was - I mean - there were horns beeping and cars queueing and 'repeat offenders' turning up to offend...oh what mayhem

Coupon-mad said: 
Apparently, carmageddon is coming:

  

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/10/08/cutting-parking-fines-chaos-private-ticket-firms/

Well that last bit is news!

OVER FOUR THOUSAND RESPONSES!

That's a lot more than the 2023 Call for Evidence, I think? 

Good show, everyone!

Although lots of those will be PPCs, DRAs and their families, I don't think they will make up more than three figures of that total...

Nellymoser

OVER FOUR THOUSAND RESPONSES!
That's a lot more than the 2023 Call for Evidence, I think? 

It certainly is, a hell of a lot more. The MHCLG FOIA Team revealed to me the 2023 Call for Evidence received a total of 223 responses

163 - Motorist 

  33 - Parking Operator 

    5 - Debt Recovery Agency 

    2 - Accredited Trade Association 

    3 - Motoring Group 

  17 - Other 

Nellymoser

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgq7nxzvk0yo

Was saddened to read that Lord Lipsey died while swimming in River Wye.

He was a voice that supported a Govt Private Parking CoP. Someone that didn't fall for the private parking industry's propaganda. He held the belief these companies only goal is to maximise the amount of money they could make from the charges issued. 

In 2023 he secured a short debate to ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to reintroduce the Private Parking CoP. During the debate he detailed the difficulties he experienced throughout his Apcoa pcn journey. He even went on to say the skills of Apcoa CEO and those of his company would befit the mafia.

https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2023-09-14/debates/BA225AD6-3420-49CD-B9FA-68CF66D32195/details#contribution-8D2AC405-CAE6-4B57-B0C8-9183F861F04B

Sadly his death occurred before the 2025 consultation was released wonder what he would have made of it.