Money Central: the 10 craziest parking tickets of all time

Parking companies will be subject to strict new limits on the penalties and fees they can charge, under government plans to drive rogue operators out of business.

They will be forced to erect prominent signs setting out the parking rules on private land. They will have to release clamped vehicles promptly, establish an appeals procedure and comply with a new duty to act “reasonably” at all times in their dealings with drivers.

Companies will no longer be able to exploit a loophole in DVLA rules that allows them to obtain drivers’ names and addresses and pursue them for fines.

The DVLA will be ordered to give drivers’ details only to companies that agree to abide by a code of practice monitored and enforced by an approved trade body. Any company wishing to clamp vehicles will have to be licensed by the Security Industry Authority (SIA) and comply by the code.

Ministers have decided to act after thousands of complaints from drivers who have been charged up to £400 to recover their cars after parking briefly on private land, including in supermarket car parks and on garage forecourts.

The Government claimed four years ago that it had solved the problem by requiring all clampers to obtain a licence from the SIA. But almost anyone can obtain a licence and can then charge unlimited fees and deceive drivers by failing to make the rules clear.

Those who do not have clamping licences have found another way to extort money from drivers by posting them penalties of up £250 and then using bailiffs to collect the money. They note down the numberplate and the DVLA posts them the driver’s details for a £2.50 fee.

The Government will base the new rules on the code of practice drawn up by the British Parking Association (BPA), the only approved trade body. The BPA code sets maximum fees of £125 for clamping, £250 for removal and £35 a day for storage. Drivers cannot be charged for both clamping and removal if the vehicle is removed within three hours of being clamped. The maximum parking fine is £150 and drivers should be offered a discount for paying within seven days.

The code also requires companies to erect large signs, visible in all areas, that set out all fees and display a contact number.

Companies must allow drivers to recover their vehicles “at all reasonable times” and the maximum time between payment and release of vehicle is two hours.

Many drivers find that the clamping company does not answer the phone. They later discover that their vehicle has been removed and are then forced to pay storage fees until they can contact the company.

The BPA code states: “Irrespective of the detailed requirements in this code, the underlying philosophy is that the clamping or removing contractor should act reasonably and endeavour to resolve any complaint quickly and amicably.”

The new rules will not, however, include a right for drivers to have appeals heard by an independent body. Such a body already exists to adjudicate on fines issued for parking on the public highway.

Drivers fined for parking on private land will have to appeal first to the company and then, if there is a breach of the code, to the approved trade body.

The AA said that BPA membership was no guarantee that drivers would be treated reasonably.

The BPA said that it carried out spot checks on members and investigated complaints but preferred to “work with members to help them to comply”. It has yet to expel a single member for breaching its code.

Edmund King, the AA president, said: “People should park according to the rules but when they get it wrong they should not be milked of their cash by a burgeoning industry intent on making a fast buck rather than deterring unauthorised parking.

“Parking enforcers on private land, and those that aid and abet this practice, must be regulated to ensure fairness and proportionality. Clampers still extort vast sums under the veil of a toothless SIA licence.”

A Home Office spokesman, said: "There is strong public interest in making sure that the wheel clamping industry behaves fairly and responsibly.

"The Home Secretary asked the Security Industry Authority to work up measures to deliver greater public confidence in this area and Ministers are now considering the findings of the feasibility study."

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• UK regional accents thrive against the odds
• ‘Scarecrow’ wind farms put rare birds to flight
• What an anti-climax: G-spot is a myth