Most car parks operated by private companies will have their fines limited to £50 – down from £100 – as part of a UK Government crackdown on ‘aggressive debt collection and unreasonable fees’.

The new parking code of practice for England and Wales will exclude London, with the plans drawn up by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

Minister Neil O’Brien MP said: ‘Private firms issue roughly 22,000 parking tickets every day, often adopting a system of misleading and confusing signage, aggressive debt collection and unreasonable fees designed to extort money from motorists.

‘The new code of practice will set out a clear vision with the interests of safe motorists at its heart, while cracking down on the worst offenders who put other people in danger and hinder our emergency services from carrying out their duties.’

The plans will also see greater fines of £70 and £100 for serious breaches such as ‘abuse of customer parking’ or parking a car in a loading area, with the aim of bringing fines in line with local authority rates.

The AA has since described the changes as ‘much-needed upgrades’ to the rules.

‘[They] will give better protection to drivers. For too long, those caught by private parking firms simply pay the charge to get rid of it. Thankfully these days are numbered.

‘Drivers should feel confident that having a single code of practice and a new appeals charter will give them confidence to appeal and be properly heard.

‘We are so pleased that honest mistakes, like mistyping the car registration into the machine, will now be automatically cancelled,’ president Edmund King said.

Nicholas Lyes, from fellow breakdown company RAC, added: ‘The RAC has campaigned for years to end the sharp practices in the private parking sector, so we welcome the new national code that will usher in higher standards and introduce a lower cap on penalty charge notices, an independent appeals system and an end to rip-off debt collection fees.

‘This will undoubtedly make drivers’ experience of using private car parks fairer, while at the same time force rogue operators to clean up their acts once and for all.’

The proposals follow a public consultation on private parking charges last year.

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