Private parking companies are projected to hand out an unprecedented 14.5 million parking charge notices to UK drivers this year, new analysis from the RAC has revealed, raising fresh concerns over the scale and regulation of the industry.
In the first six months of the 2024/25 financial year, private car park operators submitted 7.2 million requests to the DVLA for vehicle keeper details — the equivalent of 41,000 a day. That figure marks a 12% rise compared to the same period the previous year (6.5 million).
If the current trend continues, it would see nearly 14.5 million £100 parking charge notices issued by the end of March 2025 — a total estimated to be worth £1.4 billion. This would be more than double the number issued in 2018/19, just before the Government passed the Parking (Code of Practice) Act aimed at curbing misconduct by private parking firms.
However, implementation of the Government-backed Private Parking Code of Practice was halted in 2022 following legal challenges from within the parking industry. As a result, many operators continue to operate without the oversight or regulation originally envisioned by the Act.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams called the situation “very concerning,” warning that drivers could be treated unfairly in the absence of robust enforcement and industry accountability.
“As drivers don’t generally set out to break the rules, we fear more may be being treated unfairly by private parking companies that are still operating without government scrutiny,” Williams said.
The lack of regulation has come under renewed scrutiny after several high-profile disputes. In one case, Euro Car Parks allegedly issued £100 fines to drivers at a Leicestershire car park due to a faulty number plate entry system. More than 130 drivers joined a Facebook group to complain. In another case, Excel Parking threatened a Derby driver with legal action over £1,900 in fines — only to drop the case after media attention and intervention from her MP.
RAC analysis of DVLA data shows that just five companies are responsible for nearly half (45%) of all keeper detail requests between April and September 2024:
- ParkingEye – 1.1 million requests
- Euro Car Parks – 891,600
- Horizon Parking – 439,896
- Smart Parking – 423,809
- APCOA Parking – 367,465
In total, 10 companies accounted for nearly two-thirds (64%) of all DVLA requests. Each request costs the firms £2.50, showing the scale and profitability of the system.
The RAC has published a detailed online guide to help drivers understand how to appeal both private parking charge notices and council-issued penalty charge notices. With many firms moving quickly to debt collection and legal threats after 28 days, the organisation hopes to empower drivers who feel they have been unfairly targeted.
“We believe [the Code of Practice] needs to happen as quickly as possible, particularly as the number of parking charge notices issued has more than doubled since the law was passed to introduce the code in 2019,” Williams added.
With public frustration mounting — eight-in-10 drivers told the RAC they were unhappy with the current situation — calls are growing louder for the Government to reintroduce a legally enforceable code and bring order to a sector critics say has spiralled out of control.
25 April 2025 — Private parking companies are projected to hand out an unprecedented 14.5 million parking charge notices to UK drivers this year, new analysis from the RAC has revealed, raising fresh concerns over the scale and regulation of the industry.
In the first six months of the 2024/25 financial year, private car park operators submitted 7.2 million requests to the DVLA for vehicle keeper details — the equivalent of 41,000 a day. That figure marks a 12% rise compared to the same period the previous year (6.5 million).
If the current trend continues, it would see nearly 14.5 million £100 parking charge notices issued by the end of March 2025 — a total estimated to be worth £1.4 billion. This would be more than double the number issued in 2018/19, just before the Government passed the Parking (Code of Practice) Act aimed at curbing misconduct by private parking firms.
However, implementation of the Government-backed Private Parking Code of Practice was halted in 2022 following legal challenges from within the parking industry. As a result, many operators continue to operate without the oversight or regulation originally envisioned by the Act.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams called the situation “very concerning,” warning that drivers could be treated unfairly in the absence of robust enforcement and industry accountability.
“As drivers don’t generally set out to break the rules, we fear more may be being treated unfairly by private parking companies that are still operating without government scrutiny,” Williams said.
The lack of regulation has come under renewed scrutiny after several high-profile disputes. In one case, Euro Car Parks allegedly issued £100 fines to drivers at a Leicestershire car park due to a faulty number plate entry system. More than 130 drivers joined a Facebook group to complain. In another case, Excel Parking threatened a Derby driver with legal action over £1,900 in fines — only to drop the case after media attention and intervention from her MP.
RAC analysis of DVLA data shows that just five companies are responsible for nearly half (45%) of all keeper detail requests between April and September 2024:
- ParkingEye – 1.1 million requests
- Euro Car Parks – 891,600
- Horizon Parking – 439,896
- Smart Parking – 423,809
- APCOA Parking – 367,465
In total, 10 companies accounted for nearly two-thirds (64%) of all DVLA requests. Each request costs the firms £2.50, showing the scale and profitability of the system.
The RAC has published a detailed online guide to help drivers understand how to appeal both private parking charge notices and council-issued penalty charge notices. With many firms moving quickly to debt collection and legal threats after 28 days, the organisation hopes to empower drivers who feel they have been unfairly targeted.
“We believe [the Code of Practice] needs to happen as quickly as possible, particularly as the number of parking charge notices issued has more than doubled since the law was passed to introduce the code in 2019,” Williams added.
With public frustration mounting — eight-in-10 drivers told the RAC they were unhappy with the current situation — calls are growing louder for the Government to reintroduce a legally enforceable code and bring order to a sector critics say has spiralled out of control.
