Private parking firms should not regulate themselves – MPs

Luke Harrison, a solicitor who has helped more than 20 people fight PCNs free of charge, is sceptical about the sector’s pledge to change.

“Every industry that is doing things that they don’t want to be regulated, the first move is to set up an industry-owned association that sets up a code of practice that they all subscribe to, and then they go to government and say, ‘we’ve got a code of practice, so you don’t need to look into us’,” he said.

“It’s a classic tactic, it’s happened in financial services, it’s happened in all kinds of other industries, this voluntary code of practice approach.”

Mr Harrison said the majority of cases were easy to defend, but added it was not proportionate for most people to spend money on legal advice.

The government is expected to make an announcement on plans for a parking code of practice soon.

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.

“We know how much of an issue this is for drivers, which is why we will set out further details on the private parking code of practice as soon as possible.”