Drivers handed 48,000 parking tickets every day by private firms

Drivers in Britain are being handed an average of nearly 48,000 parking tickets every day by private companies, new figures show.

Some 13.1 million tickets were issued by parking management businesses between the start of April and the end of December last year, according to Press Association analysis of Government data.

That is up 19% from 11.0 million during the same period a year earlier, and represents an average of 47,749 per day.

Motoring research charity the RAC Foundation said the figures suggest “something is awry with the system”.

Each ticket can be up to £100, meaning the daily total cost to drivers may be almost £4.8 million at the current rate.

Private parking businesses have been accused of using misleading and confusing signs, aggressive debt collection and unreasonable fees.

Many drivers have been sent tickets they claim are unfair because of the way some payment machines operate.

RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said: “With fuel prices through the roof, the last thing anyone wants to receive is a parking charge notice.

“Whilst there will always be some drivers who choose to disregard legitimate rules and regulations, you have to ask whether such vast numbers of people are purposefully setting out to run up big bills or whether something is awry with the system.”

A Bill to enable the introduction of a code of practice for the industry received royal assent in March 2019.

This code, due to come into force across Britain by the end of 2023, included halving the cap on tickets for most parking offences to £50, creating a fairer appeals system, and banning the use of aggressive language on tickets.

But it was withdrawn by the Conservative government in June 2022 after a legal challenge by parking companies.

A new consultation on the code by the current Labour Government closed in September 2025.

Mr Gooding said: “Successive ministers have accepted the need for a new private parking framework to provide better, clearer protections for drivers and landowners, but progress has been painfully slow.

“Perhaps the additional cost-of-living pressure from sky-high fuel prices will be the prompt needed to get the much needed regulatory framework in place.”

The average price of a litre of petrol and diesel at UK forecourts has increased by 26p and 49p respectively since the start of the conflict in the Middle East on February 28.

The analysis of parking tickets was based on the number of records obtained from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) by companies chasing UK vehicle owners for alleged infringements in private car parks, such as at shopping centres, leisure facilities and motorway service areas.

They do not include council-run car parks.

Some 195 parking management businesses requested vehicle owner records in the final three months of last year.

ParkingEye was the most active, buying 619,000 records.

The DVLA charges private companies £2.50 per record.

The agency says its fees recover the cost of providing the information and it does not make any money from the process.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “Motorists must be protected when using private car parks and we are determined to drive up standards in the industry.

“That’s why we plan to introduce a code of practice to Parliament this autumn to help fix the problems drivers are facing.”

Isaac Occhipinti, head of external affairs at industry body the British Parking Association, said: “Statistics show that the overwhelming majority of motorists follow the rules and pay their way.

“Effective parking management is essential to keeping towns and cities moving and ensuring people can access shops, hospitals, transport hubs and other vital services safely and conveniently.

“We continue to be on the side of decent drivers.

“Parking management exists to protect them and ensure that everyone can park where and when they need to.”