Drivers across England are being hammered by unfair parking costs from private companies because of faulty machines, with Labour pledging to tackle the issue.
Some motorists have complained about being slapped with penalty charge notices of up to £170 and had appeals rejected, despite entering their vehicle registration properly.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has described the issue as "a problem that needs to be tackled", while the RAC has called for a Government-backed code of conduct to be reintroduced.
A campaigner believes "thousands" of people have been affected by the issue, which spans multiple regions including Nottinghamshire, East Sussex, Cornwall, Leicestershire, Somerset and West Yorkshire.
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Drivers are being hit with extra costs from private parking companies
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Matt Chambers, a 35-year-old business owner, received a £100 PCN from a private parking company after using a car park in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, in February.
He insists he entered his full registration correctly, saying: "I'm adamant I put the whole number plate in because I've used that car park several times before."
Retired chef Lee Rogers, 67, faced a similar issue with Euro Car Parks in Rye, East Sussex, when his ticket only showed one digit of his registration, the PA news agency reported.
Mary Hawken, 79, received a PCN after parking in Praa Sands, Cornwall, when part of her registration didn't print on her ticket. The demand reached £170 before being dropped after her MP intervened.
Numerous drivers have reported that despite entering their registration correctly, the machines printed tickets with incorrect or incomplete plate numbers. Each had initial appeals rejected, despite submitting photographic evidence of their tickets showing the error.
Campaigner Lynda Eagan says most machine faults involve "sticky keys", where buttons pressed aren't correctly recorded. She also highlighted devices which "encourage you to pay" before the full registration has been entered.
Eagan claimed that these machines are "set up to trap people" as they accept payment even if only the first letter of a registration is entered.
After receiving an unfair PCN herself, she set up a Facebook group with more than 47,000 members to provide advice, adding that "literally thousands" of people could have been sent a ticket because of a faulty machine.
Eagan added: "We've got unfair PCNs issued to people simply because the machine didn't work properly. It's a totally filthy business. It's just wrong."
Many drivers feel pressured to pay despite believing they've done nothing wrong, with some motorists preferring to pay the fine just to make it go away.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: "Sadly, it's abundantly clear from the multitude of examples that some parking companies are wrongly demanding 'fines' from drivers who have legitimately paid to park. Whether it’s a faulty payment machine that records the wrong vehicle registration or an innocent mistake keying in their number plate, these people shouldn’t have to pay the £100 parking charge notices they are sent.
"Many cases seem completely unjustified and should be thrown out at appeal, but sadly, they so often aren't. We desperately need the Government to introduce the Private Parking Code of Practice to bring much-needed scrutiny to the sector."
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Labour said it would work to crack down on the parking issue
PATransport Secretary Heidi Alexander has called for private parking companies to make a "dramatic improvement" in how they deal with the public.
A Bill to enable the introduction of a Government-backed code for private parking companies received royal assent under the Conservative government in March 2019.
The code was withdrawn in June 2022 following a legal challenge by parking companies. It would have halved the cap on tickets for most parking offences to £50 and aimed to create a fairer appeals system and ban aggressive language on PCNs.
Ms Alexander said: "The Government is working on a code of practice because we recognise that we need to drive up standards in the private parking industry. People's experience is not good enough at the moment."
