Car Park Management used to be performed by the use of Wheel clamping on private land but this was made a criminal offence on 1 October 2012, through the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.
It was outlawed to stop rogue clampers from maximizing profits on vehicles through alleged manpower, time, and hardware costs. This change has also impacted how we issue private parking tickets and how they are enforced.
Since 2012 landowners and tenants of car parks were left trying to figure out how they would be able to perform effective car park management to stop people parking on their land – Prior to 2012 people could still issue private parking tickets but they could easily be ignored by just stating you did not know the name of the driver at the time.
Legislation was passed in the same act that allowed car park operators (if certain conditions are met) to hold the registered keeper of a vehicle liable for the charge if they did not know or refused to name the driver.
We need to be aware that enforcement must be fair and reasonable when a need arises to issue private parking tickets.
When a person parks on private land they enter into a legally binding contract that allows for landowners or their parking enforcement contractors to perform effective car park management.
To issue private parking tickets to people who park on private land there must be clear private parking signs in place so that a driver can have the option to park and accept those conditions or park elsewhere.
The International Parking Community (IPC) have a new code of practice which stipulates the process that members need to comply with in order to issue private parking tickets and as a result access DVLA so a company can enforce keeper liability under Schedule 4, Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.
The change in the law allowed landowners the opportunity to issue parking tickets on private land with the legal backing to enforce unpaid charges – This was later confirmed by the Supreme Court in the case of Parking Eye -v- Beavis in which they rules parking charges were not penalties and closed down old arguments why they were unlawful – All courts in the UK are bound by this decision.
We have been at the forefront of enforcing unpaid tickets and we are one of the few companies that have taken matters to the highest courts in the land.
The IPC & BPA have devised a strong system of control over how companies and individuals can issue private parking tickets, this required us as members to issue clear notices that explain why the ticket was issued, methods of payment such as credit or debit card options, details of how to appeal the charge if a driver feels it has been unlawfully issued as well as a complaints process.
The IPC code of practice states that a parking charge should not exceed £100 and that a minimum discount of £40 must be given if paid within 14 days of issue.
There are some circumstances that a charge can be more than £100 but this is exceptional and will require approval by the IPC.
Combined Parking Solutions offers landowners (and any person authorised to manage private land) a solution to prevent unauthorised parking on their property and the ability to issue private parking tickets on all types of private land and enforce them via the courts.
We follow the guidance set out within the The IPC code of practice to ensure that signage is erected in prominent locations and all sites have to be formally approved by the IPC before any private parking tickets can be issued.
This ensures that an independant party can take an objective view of sign layout and if they feel additional signs are required to bring parking conditions to the driver we will always follow their recommendations – this ensures all parking enforcement is fair.
Once the signage is in place it is a very simple process to issue private parking tickets on your private land.
Depending on the system you elect to implement you can issue a ticket to the windscreen and take photographs or for clients using our click charge system then no ticket is attached to the windscreen you merely upload to our website and we issue the ticket by post.
The photographic requirements are the same for both systems – they must show the vehicle parked with the signage in clear view and any other photographs that evidence the reason for issue (ie. no permit on display,, expired ticket)
Combined Parking Solutions, as a member of the IPC approved operator scheme is able to obtain the details of owners and keepers of cars from the DVLA
Combined Parking Solutions believe you should not be tied into any long term contracts to use any service we offer to enable landowners to issue private parking tickets on your land , although we would like you to be a customer for as long as you have a need.
If you require custom made signage then this is charged at cost price or you can make your own signs based on the approved template and there is no cost from ourselves to set you up.
If the IPC requires your site to have an entrance sign then a charge is made of £15 or £25 depending on the requirement – again this is something defined in the code of practice and all parking companies are bound by this requirement.
The IPC also require all self ticketers who issue parking tickets on private land to be approved and they make a charge of £30 for a 2yr approval – this is a cost for ALL ticketing companies in the UK and is outside our control.
With our system you will be up and running to issue private parking tickets on your land within a short space of time.
Click here to see the solution
