Plans to cap private car park fines at £50 have been ‘WITHDRAWN’ – here’s what it means for you

A PARKING code of practice that was designed to make parking in private car parks fairer for drivers has been withdrawn.

It would have seen the maximum fines drop from £100 to £50 and was to introduce a better appeal system.

The new regulations would have also given drivers a grace period for lateness, which is now no longer the case.

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “The new private parking code of practice was designed specifically to make things fairer for drivers and end some of the worst practices in the sector.

"It’s deeply disappointing that the code has been temporarily withdrawn which now almost certainly means yet more delays in it being introduced. Drivers have a right to feel infuriated.

“The fact that parking companies take issue with the capping of charge notices and debt recovery fees shows precisely why both the code and the cap are needed.

"For too long, some companies have been allowed to prey mercilessly on drivers who might make an honest mistake and then have to face both over-zealous enforcement and threatening debt recovery letters.

"The Government must stand up to these companies and get the code over the line so we finally have fair and transparent enforcement in the private parking sector.”

The new rules said that debt collection fees for late tickets, which can be as high as £70, would be banned and that parking firms would have to more clearly display pricing.

They would also have to give motorists a 10-minute grace period before they can issue a late fine and offer a 5-minute cooling-off period in which a motorist can change their mind.

At the time of the proposal, Minister for Levelling Up Neil O'Brien said: "Private firms issue roughly 22,000 parking tickets every day, often adopting a system of misleading and confusing signage, aggressive debt collection and unreasonable fees designed to extort money from motorists.

"[Our] new Code Of Practice will set out a clear vision with the interests of safe motorists at its heart, while cracking down on the worst offenders."