Andrew Selous MP hopes Bill will be red light for '˜dodgy parking operators'

South West Bedfordshire MP, Andrew Selous, recently served on the Parking (Code of Practice) Bill in the House of Commons in a bid to crack down on 'unscrupulous rogues' in the industry.
Andrew Selous MPAndrew Selous MP
Andrew Selous MP

On July 19 the Bill moved a step closer to becoming law in the House of Commons.and enjoys cross-party support, including the backing of the government and the Labour Party.

It has now cleared its second parliamentary hurdle, and if successful, will introduce a statutory code of practice for private parking companies, which will prevent motorists being unfairly treated.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Andrew Selous MP, said: “The clear majority of car park providers are honest and fair but unscrupulous rogues are undermining the whole sector with bad practice. I was pleased to support this measure.

“Some dodgy operators are engaging in practices such as deliberately unclear signage, fining people whilst they are getting change to pay for parking, and tickets being issued despite parking payment machines being out of order. Currently, there is no legally binding code to prevent this.”

Following the ban on wheel clamping in 2012, privately issued parking ‘tickets’ soared to 4.7 million last year – one every seven seconds with a number of these issued in dubious circumstances.

Andrew Selous also raised the issue of a constituent who had driven into a local car park, only to find it was completely full, and had been issued with a ticket whilst driving through the car park.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The ticket of course should have never been issued, even though the ticket was eventually cancelled after Andrew contacted the parking company.

The MP added: “This Bill does nothing to diminish the rights of landowners to earn a fair income from their land, including seeking redress when motorists don’t play by the rules.

“But the scales need to be rebalanced so the system is fair for all involved. This Bill will help stamp out rogues in the industry.

“I am delighted that Parliament took another step towards making parking fairer for motorists.”

> Andrew Selous MP: 01582 662821 or email: andrew.
[email protected]