Burnham-On-Sea’s MP James Heappey has this week called for private parking companies to be held more responsible for their practices.
The MP says he has been approached by several constituents regarding issues related to the behaviour of private parking companies.
He believes more needs to be done to protect people from being unduly fined, saying: “In my experience and the experience of many of my constituents, signage in private car parks is inconsistent.”
“At best, that could be down to poor maintenance or a mistake. At worst, it could be argued that the poor signage is again a deliberate act to confuse or deceive.”
“The fact that private parking companies use the PCN abbreviation as ‘parking charge notice’—compared with the ‘penalty charge notice’ issued by the police and civil authorities—is wilfully misleading and should be stopped.”
He has spoken in support of The Parking Code of Practice Bill, which was debated in Parliament last week. The bill aims to make provision for a code of practice containing guidance about the operation and management of private parking facilities.
Mr Heappey added that access to DVLA data should not be allowed for companies who do not behave in the correct way and pledged his support for the legislation.
