News: Private parking firms warned to treat motorists fairly, Euro Car Parks investigation launched

MSE_Abby

Private parking operators have been issued a new warning by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to treat motorists fairly. The regulator has sent letters to both the industry and the Government detailing concerns, particularly around the process for appealing parking tickets. Separately, it's also launched an investigation into the actions of Euro Car Parks…

Read the full story:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2026/07/cma-private-parking-charges/

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Coupon-mad

Being discussed in depth here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82071299#Comment_82071299

It is great news!

Long overdue that the CMA are weighing in to not only help inform the statutory Code but also remind Parking firms of the various Consumer protection laws they are breaking.

@MSE_Abby please add the link to the CMA's news. There is no link under 'full story'.

Coupon-mad

The full story link is here:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2026/07/cma-private-parking-charges/

Nellymoser

Read the 4 posts from CMA:

● CMA letter to government in relation to private parking

● Open letter to the private parking sector

● Euro Car Parks: consumer protection enforcement case

● Parking charges: CMA takes action to drive improvements for motorists

https://www.gov.uk/search/all?parent=competition-and-markets-authority&keywords=Parking+&organisations%5B%5D=competition-and-markets-authority

MSE_James

@Coupon-mad the whole block in MSE Abby's post underneath the words 'Read the full story' with the image, headline, URL and intro is a link to the article.

When adding a link to the Forum there are a number of formats you can choose, including the 'card' format used here.

Umkomaas

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82072246#Comment_82072246

ECP seem to be in a whole world of jeopardy! Ignoring the original CMA requests for information is likely to bring them much more than the already administered £473,000 penalty. Oh joy!

Half_way

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82072312#Comment_82072312

The industries own greed and arrogance will probably lead to the end of the current business model, based on the antics at warburton toll bridge, and airport drop off fees/no stopping zones i wouldn't be surprised you see a transition away from car parks and a move to enforcing freshly invented tolls on any bit of roadway/access way possible.

Coupon-mad

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82072281#Comment_82072281

Thanks, yes it is there now. But if wasn't showing at all yesterday evening (however the server was failing a lot yesterday!).

We regulars always knew what goes around, would come around and this year I pressed the MHCLG about the consumer protection law-breaking and what they would do about reporting it to the relevant regulators in future, when such illegal conduct is inevitably discovered by the CABs & Scrutiny Board.

I didn't get an answer but they listened and the MHCLG certainly had evidence of it.

I pointed out that it wasn't just vaguely 'poor' one-off conduct that could be audited with a "tut tut" then ignored, under a statutory framework! It was repeated endemic illegality and I made that clear. I said the ICO and the CMA should be alerted, etc.

I had already sent a shedload of evidence to the CMA in January but I can't be sure they got it (no email bounce but no receipt or acknowledgement, either), so I'm not at all sure that I can take any credit for this.

It is WONDERFUL news but some of it reads as if the CMA doesn't know some things that I showed them.

I will follow up with them now, by forwarding my last reports (and more, about the Warburton Toll for starters) and I will hammer home why the DRA 'fee' add-on must be banned and it really doesn't warrant any further work on that aspect.

It is more than a bit alarming that the CMA are still talking about the 'extortion' add-on as being unfair because it's not in the contract (on the signs). That is missing the mark completely!

K_S

It's just mad that something that simply didn't exist at anywhere close to scale a little more before 2012 is now termed an "industry", an insult to the word.

This is now a ~£1.5b "industry" in the UK, for context that's bigger than the value of all the fish landed by the UK fishing industry (around £1.2b).

The fishing trade is roughly 5000 registered vessels, 750k tons of fish caught, and about 7,000 full-time jobs, feeding people, supporting coastal towns, generating export trade worth another £2 billion on top.

The "private car parking industry" produces nothing, employs a comparative handful of people running ANPR cameras and issuing debt-collection letters, and whose entire output is friction, confusion over signage, and £70-170 penalty letters on top of £100 fines

The government and regulators let it grow so big, they can shut it down or at least shrink it massively.