Private parking rules review prompted by £2,000 five-minute fine

Private parking companies have pledged to update their rules to ensure drivers will not be penalized if they fail to complete parking payment within five minutes. This move aims to address previous controversial incidents and improve industry standards.

Previously, driver Rosie Hudson was fined £1,906 and taken to court after exceeding the five-minute window to pay for parking in Derby. Ms. Hudson received ten parking tickets in a matter of days because she needed to find a phone signal to use the app to pay for parking.

Now, industry bodies the British Parking Association (BPA) and the International Parking Community (IPC) have stated they will revise their codes of practice to "protect genuine motorists" and "reflect technological advancements." They have announced the formation of a panel to revise the private parking industry's code of practice to ensure it "protects genuine motorists who have difficulty paying promptly on entry."

The BPA said a key priority is an urgent review of Ms. Hudson's case, which has been dubbed the "five-minute payment rule." The organization stated that the guidelines revision addressing payment difficulties will come into effect by February 2025, with a full review expected by April the following year. Ms. Hudson was among a number of people sued by private car park operator Excel Parking. Last December, Excel dropped its case against her without explanation, and did the same to Gary Key, who parked in the same car park and was prepared to fight a £255 fine.

Ms. Hudson told the BBC that her case had caused her immense stress. Additionally, an analysis of government data by the RAC Foundation showed that private parking companies issue an average of 41,000 parking tickets per day. With each ticket potentially costing up to £100, this means a maximum total daily revenue of £4.1 million from fines. A bill to introduce a government-backed code of practice for private parking companies received royal assent in 2019 but was withdrawn in June 2022 following legal challenges from parking firms. The code included a £50 cap on most fines, grace periods for late payment, and a fairer appeals system.

In June of this year, the BPA and IPC released their own code of practice, which will be overseen by the new panel. BPA chief executive Andrew Pester said the move to introduce the panel showed that private parking firms "take seriously the need to raise standards and make decisive changes to the code where issues arise." IPC chief executive Will Hurley said the panel "demonstrates the industry's commitment to improving the reputation of our sector."