BRIT drivers are being slapped with over 22,000 tickets each day by private parking firms, according to new research.
A whopping four million motorists were issued tickets between April and September last year – despite thousands of cars being off the road during lockdown.
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An in-depth analysis of Government data found private parking firms were still raking in the cash even though car use was more than a quarter below pre-pandemic levels during the early stages of the six-month period.
If the relentless ticketing trend continues, the total for the financial year will nearly beat the record high of 8.4 million set in 2019-2020.
The study investigated the number of times parking companies obtained DVLA records to chase up motorists for rule breaches in private car parks.
This includes facilities at shopping centres, leisure facilities and motorway service areas.
Each alleged infringement of the rules leading to a ticket can cost Brits up to £100.
Between April and September, a total of 163 firms requested records from the DVLA.
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Each information request sets private companies back £2.50, a fee which the driving agency says simply covers the cost of providing the information.
They do not make any money from the process, the DLVA said.
Firm ParkingEye submitted the highest number of requests, after gaining the records of nearly 900,000 drivers.
The colossal number of tickets being issued is a “clear sign that something in the current system isn’t working”, Steve Gooding, director of the motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, said.
“Few drivers intentionally break the rules and consequently get stuck with a bill for up to £100, particularly if they were dropping off parcel deliveries to an apartment block,” he continued.
“Never ignore a parking charge notice. Read it carefully and, however strongly it’s worded, if it’s wrong, challenge it.
“If there is one sector of the economy which has been resilient during Covid then it is the private parking industry.”
The government are said to be set to overhaul the private parking system for Brits sick of receiving tickets over genuine mistakes.
The new scheme could see the introduction of a ten-minute grace period, a code of practice and a single appeals service.
Other moves could include a requirement to make signage more prominent as well as scrapping fines for blunders including keying in the wrong registration number.
