Britain's biggest private parking firms rake in £537 million every year, with motorists being issued a ticket every two seconds.
asserted
motorists → rake → ticket
Government data revealed 16.9 million fines were dished out in the last year to the end of March - an increase of 96.5 per cent since 2021/22.
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fines → reveal → 2021/22
Each ticket can be up to £100, meaning the total cost to drivers may be more than £4.6 million per day at the current rate.
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cost → mean → rate
The parking industry has attributed the rise to an increase in the number of car parks being managed.
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industry → attribute → parks
Andy Burnham announced a raft of new measures today to 'put a stop' to motorists being 'ripped off'.
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Burnham → announce → motorists
The Prime Minister said: 'We are introducing clearer rules, longer grace periods and lower charges for genuine mistakes, while going after the deliberate scams that rip drivers off.'
The Daily Mail has analysed figures released by the DVLA showing the number of times the country's biggest private firms asked for driver information.
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firms → say → information
We found more than 12.5 million requests were submitted in the financial year to March this year compared to 10.3 million in 2024/25.
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requests → find → 2024/25
Did YOU get a parking fine overturned?
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fine → get → ?
APCOA Parking, Euro Car Parks, and ParkingEye accounted for just over half of that total.
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Parking → account → total
The trio's turnover, according to accounts filed to Companies House in 2025, was a combined £281.9 million.
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turnover → accord → 2025
Firms only request such data, which costs £2.50 each time and includes the car owner's name and address, if they intend to hand out parking charge notices (PCNs) to drivers who've overstayed.
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who → request → drivers
Pensioner Nigel Richardson last year won a five-year battle with Euro Car Parks over a £1 ticket that he had already paid for.
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he → win → that
He was relentlessly pursued over the alleged debt - even after supplying the firm with the receipt proving he had paid the correct fare at the time.
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he → pursue → time
Mr Richardson, from Rearsby, Leicestershire, had parked his VW Golf in Syston, Leicestershire, in 2020 but had no change on him and the card payment machines were not working.
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machines → park → him
He then tried using the mobile phone app - but received no notification to say the payment had been successful, so feared it had not gone through.
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it → try → notification
Honest Mr Richardson wrote to the firm to explain what had happened and that he might owe them £1 - but they responded by immediately fining him £100.
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they → write → 100
He later found the receipt for his online transaction in his junk email folder and sent it to the firm as proof of payment.
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He → find → payment
Mr Richardson refused to back down and ended up in court where he applied for £2,480 over the ordeal.
But he was awarded £200 in compensation by a judge who agreed he had been unfairly fined and had no debt to pay.
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he → refuse → debt
However, after paying court costs of £180, Mr Richardson was only £20 better off.
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Richardson → pay → 180
The new private parking code of practice, set to come into force by the end of this year, will give drivers rights to challenge unfair private parking charges, including a guaranteed five minutes to decide whether to park.
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code → set → minutes
Under the new code, motorists will be given 10 minutes to leave car parks without facing a penalty once their session ends.
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session → give → penalty
The code will give drivers the right to have charges cancelled on appeal for honest mistakes, such as stopping briefly to check directions, and for issues they cannot control, including a vehicle breakdown in a car park, a medical emergency or a broken ticket machine, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said.
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Ministry → give → Housing
For drivers who make mistakes such as forgetting parking permits, entering a vehicle registration wrong or forgetting to confirm it in a parking machine, they will face a maximum charge of £20 on appeal under the new rules.
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they → make → rules
Mr Burnham said: 'Being a few minutes late back to your car or typing one digit of your numberplate wrong shouldn't end with a hefty fine landing on your doormat.
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fine → say → doormat
These charges leave people feeling ripped off and out of pocket, so I'm putting a stop to them.
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I → leave → them
'We are introducing clearer rules, longer grace periods and lower charges for genuine mistakes, while going after the deliberate scams that rip drivers off.
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that → introduce → drivers
'
The code will mean private parking charges are frozen at a maximum of £100, while operators who do not comply risk losing access to DVLA data, the Government said.
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Government → mean → data
Currently, private parking companies use vehicle keeper information from the DVLA to pursue parking charges.
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companies → use → charges
The new code of practice will apply in England, Scotland and Wales and will bring in a fully independent scrutiny and oversight board for the first time.
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code → apply → time
Private operators will be required to report data on the charges they issue and how appeals are handled which will then be scrutinised by the board.
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which → require → board
The Government has said it will consult on private parking debt recovery fees, including whether to cut the existing £70 cap or scrap the fees entirely.
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it → say → fees
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said the code was a 'step in the right direction' to protect drivers from the practices of some private parking companies, but 'not the leap' the motoring services company had been campaigning for.
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company → say → companies
He said: '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.
'
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which → say → ones
That said, the fact we finally have a code seven years on from the Private Parking Code of Practice Act becoming law is positive.
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code → say → Act
Car park management companies will now have to conform to a new set of rules or risk losing access to the DVLA's database which they depend on to issue PCNs to drivers.
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they → have → drivers
'This will hopefully prevent many drivers wrongly being issued tickets in the first place.'
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drivers → prevent → place
Mr Williams added: 'While this isn't quite the Christmas present we wanted for drivers, it should hopefully save many the stress of having to challenge unfair tickets.'
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it → add → tickets
Director of policy for charity IAM RoadSmart, Nicholas Lyes, 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.
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we → say → 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.
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which → need → pocket
Alison Tooze, chief policy officer at the British Parking Association, said her organisation 'welcomes' the new code, which is an 'important step forward for motorists, communities and responsible parking operators'.
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which → say → motorists
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
