Private Parking Tickets and Clamping
The whole topic of the issuing of Parking Tickets and Wheel Clamping is a very emotive subject.
Where were you parked?
The first point to note is that parking tickets can be issued from 2 main sources- More often than not, the legality of the issuing of such parking tickets and the act of clamping vehicles, and the various methods of challenge, are either not known or grossly misunderstood.- Tickets issued by Public Authorities eg- The Police or Local Authority.
ii)- Tickets issued by Private Firms or Companies eg Supermarkets. Hospitals, retail parks and the like.
Very often, such private firms or companies engage a separate management company to deal on their behalf with the issue and management of private parking tickets.
This Article deals only with the legalities of those parking tickets issued by Private Firms or Companies, or by management companies engaged on their behalf to issue such parking tickets. A completely different set of rules applies to parking tickets issued by Public Authorities, which are not covered in this article.
Private Parking Tickets
The first thing to do if you receive a parking ticket is to check whether it is a ticket issued by a Public Authority or whether issued by, or on behalf of, a private firm or company. If you have been issued with a parking ticket by, or on behalf of a private firm or company, then, be aware that the issuing of such private parking tickets by private companies are largely unregulated, and strictly speaking, such private companies can charge what they like.
That said, many such private firms or companies are members of the British Parking Association, and if they are members, then the Association has its own Code of Practice which currently sets a maximum charge. The issuing of such parking tickets by private firms or companies (unlike parking tickets issued by the police or local authorities) does not constitute a fine or criminal offence.
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