Drivers in England, Scotland and Wales will be guaranteed five minutes to decide whether to park and 10 minutes to vacate after their parking session ends before facing a penalty charge, under new regulations introduced by the Labour government and associated with Andy Burnham.
The prime minister announced that a new official code of practice for the industry would grant motorists a range of new rights. The rules were confirmed last week.
Consumer and campaign groups respond
Consumer watchdog Which? argued the "long overdue" regulations appeared to fall well short of what was needed to help drivers fight back against private parking "cowboys". Campaign group IAM RoadSmart also insisted more could be done, with two key updates topping their wishlist.
Nicholas Lyes, Director of Policy at IAM RoadSmart, said: "It is welcome to see new protections put in place for drivers through a single code of practice; however, we would have liked to see a single appeals system and action against debt recovery organisations as part of the package."
"Ultimately, we need to get to a place where parking on private land is a seamless, straightforward, and clear process, not one fraught with potential traps which leaves drivers unfairly out of pocket."
Criticism over appeals and debt recovery
Which? also criticised the government for sidestepping an independent appeals body "that could rein in the industry's worst practices" and for failing to tackle private parking debt recovery fees, which it claimed were routinely added without drivers' knowledge, pushing already unjust charges higher.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams commented: "This is a step in the right direction to protect drivers from the poor practices of some private parking companies but not the leap we've been campaigning for for so long."
"We've long called for the banning of debt recovery fees being added on top of parking charge notices (PCNs) and a single independent appeals body to replace the two industry-run ones, but neither have been included which is disappointing."
Additional measures on clocked cars
The government has also announced measures to tackle second-hand car dealers who alter mileage clocks. While selling a "clocked car" is already illegal under fraud laws, adding it to an official list of prohibited practices will make it easier for enforcement bodies to intervene.
Greg Smith, a shadow transport minister, said: "Andy Burnham posing as the driver's friend is a joke. This is the same Labour Government that is doubling parking fines right across England. Five minutes' grace in a supermarket car park will not fool anyone."
