PRIVATE / OFF-STREET

Did you receive your ticket for parking on privately (non-council) owned, off-street land, for example in a retail park, at a leisure centre or in a pub car park?

Were you in a council car park?
Were you in a car park managed by a private company?
Were you clamped on private land?
What are the regulations for parking on private land?
What can I do if I have a complaint against a company I believe to be a member of the BPA?

WERE YOU IN A COUNCIL CAR PARK?

If your ticket was received in a car park operated by a local council, or on their behalf by a contractor or service provider, it is likely that the council operates in the same way as on street and, therefore, the appeal process is similar to on-street. Please click here for information on on-street situations.

Where the council does not operate its off-street and on-street in the same way, they may regulate the use of its off-street car parks by local Parking Places Orders and any appeal against a ticket issued to you should be addressed to the local council’s parking office only; the National Adjudication Services are NOT available in those cases.

WERE YOU IN A CAR PARK MANAGED BY A PRIVATE COMPANY?

A car park operated by a private company, (not on behalf of a local council) such as those in shopping centres, at railway stations, or other car parks intended for use by the general public, is private land and if you wish to appeal the ticket you should find out who has issued the ticket and what that company’s appeals process is.

1. You may need to contact the company to establish their appeals procedure, and details of how to appeal should be found on the back of the ticket, and/or in paper work the company has sent you.

2. It may also be worth writing to the company/individuals that own the piece of land (who may have contracted out the operation of enforcing the parking).

3. Unlike in the public/on street environment, there is no adjudication service that you can take your case to. Your only recourse is through the operator themselves. If, as a last resort, you feel that you need to seek legal advice then you may contact a solicitor. An alternative option is to contact the Citizens Advice Bureau who can offer advice.

4. As mentioned above, the BPA cannot help directly with a parking ticket, and should only be contacted if you wish to lodge a complaint about the working practices of a member of the BPA (please see below for information on how to do this).

IF YOU WERE CLAMPED ON PRIVATE LAND

Any individual engaged in clamping on private land must be licensed by the Security Industry Authority (SIA), and should carry an ID card with a unique identifying number.

A Vehicle Immobilisers licence is required if the operative undertakes any of the following activity: ·

the moving of a vehicle by any means;
the restriction of the movement of a vehicle by any means (including the immobilisation of a vehicle by attaching a device to it);
the release of a vehicle which has been so moved or restricted, where release is effected by returning the vehicle to the control of the person who was otherwise entitled to remove it, by removing any restriction on the movement of the vehicle by removing the device or by any other means; or
the demanding or collection of a charge as a condition of any such release of or for the removal of the device from a vehicle.

If you have a complaint against a clamper, please contact the SIA to check that they have a licence, and to find out how to lodge a complaint against that clamper.

We welcome any information relating to vehicle immobilisers operating without a licence or in breach of the licensing conditions but we are unable to pursue cases on behalf of specific individuals.

Security Industry Authority (SIA)
Web: www.the-sia.org.uk/home/licensing
Tel: 0844 892 1025

WHAT ARE THE REGULATIONS FOR PARKING ON PRIVATE LAND?

Unlike on-street parking, there are no regulations governing off-street parking enforcement when it is carried out on private land.

If you feel strongly that this should be changed please write to your local MP. To find out whom your local MP is visit http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/commons/l/

DVLA Vehicle Keeper data access

In 2007, the DVLA announced a number of changes to the way in which they allowed access to Vehicle Keeper data. One of the key changes was that any company/organisation that accessed Vehicle Keeper data via an electronic request process that is not a Local Authority or Government Organisation must be a member of an Accredited Trade Association (ATA). This change came into effect from 01 October 2007, via the launch of the AOS.

The BPA welcomed the change but called for further restriction, as the change did not refer to postal applications. In 2009, the DVLA published a consultation to close the loophole and from 23 November 2009, all operators that request information that accesses vehicle keeper data whether electronically or by post must either be regulated in some way by statute, or be a member of an Accredited Trade Association (ATA).

One condition of an ATA is that they have a Code of Practice in place. Since the DVLA announcement, the BPA has been working with DVLA and has now achieved ATA status and shares with DVLA all plans for the AOS.

We are pleased that BPA is the first (and currently only) ATA for the industry and that DVLA fully support and endorse our scheme.

Code of Practice

To add some self regulation to the industry, the British Parking Association (BPA) has published voluntary Codes of Practice for ticketing and for wheelclamping operators. There are a number of recommendations contained in the Codes including:

What should be displayed on signage and tickets etc
How much they should charge for excess parking or clamping fees
How – in the broadest sense – they should operate both in the car parks and in their offices.

In signing up to these Codes, members joined the Approved Operator Scheme mentioned above and in doing so are a part of a Scheme that is raising standards and is improving the private parking industry. For more information about the scheme, including a downloadable list of members, take a look at our information.

WHAT CAN I DO IF I HAVE A COMPLAINT AGAINST AN ORGANISATION I BELIEVE TO BE A MEMBER OF THE BPA?

1. If you have a complaint against a company that you believe to be a member of the BPA, firstly follow the operator’s own complaints procedure in order to resolve the issue.

2. If you feel the issue has not been resolved satisfactorily, firstly check the list of our members to find out whether the company is a BPA member click here to view and download a list. If they are, please write (by post or email - details below) detailing the nature of your complaint and enclosing copies of any correspondence you have had with the company as well as any photographic evidence.

3. Your complaint will be logged in-house and if there is a breach in the BPA’s Code of Practice, the company will be contacted either by phone or in person. We cannot enter into individual correspondence or act on your behalf but each letter or email we receive is taken seriously and any issue of non-compliance is investigated.

4. If a large number of complaints are received against a BPA member this can result in a review of the members’ membership status.

Our contact details are as follows:

aos@britishparking.co.uk

Compliance Manager
British Parking Association
Stuart House
41-43 Perrymount Road
Haywards Heath
West Sussex
RH16 3BN

If your complaint is against a company that operates clamping services, always contact the SIA in the first instance to check the employees that carry out clamping are licensed.

Security Industry Authority (SIA)
Web: www.the-sia.org.uk/home/licensing
Tel: 0844 892 1025