Drivers Could Face Extra £70 If Parking Tickets Aren't Paid On Time

Under a new government proposal an additional £70 could be added to your balance if a parking ticket isn't paid on time.

According to reports, if drivers don't pay within the 28 day period of receiving the fine, an extra 'debt recovery charge' could be added by private companies which would be an additional requirement for people to fork out.

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The Times reports that the extra charge is likely to be introduced as part of a government-backed code of conduct for parking operators.

The aim is for the code to regulate parking on private land such as supermarkets, retail parks, pubs and residential developments.

Don't worry just yet though because the system isn't expected to be rolled out until next year and you will be able to appeal via a new independent process which will crack down on fines being wrongly handed out.

It's also claimed that there will be a 10 minute grace period before a parking ticket is issued and there will be a requirement to make signage more prominent meaning that there should be less fines being dished out.

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According to The Sun, it has also been proposed that fines in most car parks outside London are limited to £50 and halved to £25 if paid within two weeks. While a higher rate of £80 will operate in the country's capital city - down from the current £100 maximum enforced by most private parking companies.

With the new proposals in place, there are some people that disagree with the idea of them and believe that the moves could encourage private companies to make aggressive demands for payments.

Speaking to The Sun, David Carrod, chairman of the British Motorists Protection Association, which helps drivers to challenge unfair penalties, said: "By allowing parking companies to levy this spurious charge, it will open the door for dubious unlicensed debt collectors and low-rent solicitors to pursue thousands more cases to court - the exact opposite of what is intended."

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Nicholas Lyes, the head of roads policy at the RAC, said: "We are hugely concerned about proposals to allow a £70 debt recovery charge to be levied at drivers.

"There does not seem to be any justification and rationale for this figure, and we'd urge [the government] to scrap it or go back to the drawing board.

"Drivers will want to know that this is not another attempt to extract revenue which could end up back in the pockets of parking operators that in many cases work closely with their own debt recovery agencies."

A government spokeswoman said: "We're cracking down on rogue private parking firms and parking debt recovery agencies.

"Our new code of practice and appeals charter will eliminate fines for motorists who make genuine errors or have mitigating circumstances."

Topics: Parking, UK News, News, UK

Rebecca Shepherd

I'm Becky - a journalist at LADbible. I graduated with a First Class BA in Journalism before going on to cover criminal court cases, medical tribunals and breaking news for the national media - which inevitably and eventually became as glum as it sounds. Can often be found rocking a bag for life - which I made a 'thing' way before Rihanna. You can contact me at [email protected]

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