Drivers in Exeter to benefit from new rights to challenge ‘unfair’ parking charges
The new rules, announced by the Government last week, include a guaranteed free five minutes to decide whether to park, and 10 free minutes to leave once a parking session has ended, in a bid to tackle everyday frustrations and make life easier for motorists in Exeter.
Motorists in Exeter are set to benefit from new rights to challenge “unfair” private parking charges under rules announced by the Government last week.
The changes laid out in Parliament on Tuesday, October 20, include a “guaranteed” free five minutes to decide whether to park, and 10 free minutes to leave once a parking session has ended.
Steve Race, MP for Exeter, has “welcomed” this announcement, which comes after the number of private parking tickets issued was found to have increased by 148.5 per cent since 2018 to 14.4 million in the last 12 months, according to data from the RAC.
The MP said: “Parking charges are one of the issues that Exeter residents most commonly ask for my help with, particularly where parking companies have taken a decision that most people would consider unreasonable.”
Under the new Private Parking Code of Practice, drivers will also have the right to get charges cancelled on appeal for issues out of their control.
This includes charges for honest mistakes such as parking briefly to check directions, or for situations including medical emergencies and vehicle breakdowns.
For other common mistakes, such as forgetting a parking permit or entering the wrong vehicle’s registration details, penalty charges will be fixed at £20 on appeal.
Motorists will still need to provide evidence that such a scenario applies to them for the appeal to be accepted.
The Code freezes the maximum parking charge for everything else at £100.
It is understood that private car park operators who don’t comply with these new rules risk losing access to DVLA data, meaning while they will still be able to issue charges, it will be much harder for them to identify the owner of a vehicle to pursue payment.
“I’ve heard from people who have driven into private car parks, only to quickly leave again without parking, and later received a charge notice,” said Mr Race.
“Other people have told me about escalating fees, with reduced payment deadlines sometimes missed because a notice hasn’t arrived through the post in time.
“The measures announced this week will make it quicker and easier for people to challenge unreasonable charge notices, rather than spending time and energy fighting with parking companies or simply giving up and being forced to accept the cost.
"Tackling the everyday frustrations that make life more stressful, and that have been ignored for far too long, will go a long way towards giving everyone more room to breathe.”
This announcement follows the Prime Minister’s introduction of other measures to “tackle everyday frustrations”, including “unfair” airline charges and school uniform costs.
The Government is also understood to further consult next year on changes to private parking debt recovery fees, including whether to cut the existing £70 cap or scrap the fees altogether.
The Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, said of the news: “Being a few minutes late back to your car or typing one digit of your number plate wrong shouldn’t end with a hefty fine landing on your doormat.
“These charges leave people feeling ripped off and out of pocket, so I’m putting a stop to them.”