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http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/welsh ... -30732664/Mortorists need protection from rogue parking firms - says MP * WalesOnline * Apr 10 2012
Motorists need the protection of an independent 'OfPark' regulator to protect them from hefty fines by some rogue private parking firms, says a Welsh MP.
Labour’s Nick Smith in Blaenau Gwent says too many drivers are falling prey to sharp practice and confusing signs at private Pay & Display carparks where owners then serve £80 fines for overstaying the allotted time.
The MP claims current overseers the British Parking Association (BPA) is a self regulatory trade body that doesn’t put consumers first and that improvements with the enactment of the Government’s Protection of Freedoms Bill won’t be enough to drive out “rogue” operators.
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He points out private companies now use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras which have seen requests to the DVLA for motorists’ details to serve fines rocket from 272,215 in 2007 almost four fold to 1,167,713 by 2011.
The MP argued: “Over a million data requests means over a million parking charge notices issued. I’m told an ANPR camera costs less than £200, so if private operators issue parking charge notices at £80 a time that's a nice little earner for them."
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