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New code could give drivers 10-minute grace period in private car parks
Date: 04 November 2019 | Author: Sean Keywood
Private parking firms would need to give drivers a 10-minute grace period after their tickets expire, under proposals announced by the government.
It has commissioned the British Standards Institution to develop a new code of practice for the private parking industry.
Alongside the grace period - which would mirror existing standards for English council car parks - measures will also be considered to crack down on intimidating and aggressive debt collection practices by private parking companies.
The code is also set to introduce a new independent appeals service, designed to make it easier for drivers to challenge unjustified parking tickets.
The government says firms that break the new code will be unable to access DVLA driver data, making them unable to issue fines to drivers.
The British Standards Institution is set to write the code in consultation with consumer and industry groups, and will also hold a full public consultation.
Local government secretary Robert Jenrick said: "For too long rogue parking firms have operated in an unregulated industry, handing out unjust fines, putting drivers through baffling appeals processes and issuing tickets to motorists who were only seconds late back to their cars.
"The new code will restore common sense to the way parking fines are handed out, encourage people back onto our high-streets and crack down on dodgy operators who use aggressive tactics to harass drivers."
