Portsmouth parking companies becoming far more aggressive with charges, DVLA data suggests

Richard Thomson says drivers have been hit by an inconceivable 50 per cent increase in the number of tickets issued by private car management companies in the last 12 months. Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) data confirms that a record 2.7m tickets were handed out between April and June, an average of 30,000 and a jump of 1.8m during the same period last year.

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Mr Thomson said: 'The increase follows government failure to regulate the sector when it backed down and withdrew a new code of practice under the 2019 Parking Code of Practice Act aimed cracking down on rogue cowboy firms caught out slapping motorists with unfair and extortionate charges. The DVLA figures indicate the number of driver records obtained from the agency has soared by companies chasing car owners for alleged infringements in private car parks such as at shopping centres, NHS surgeries, hospitals, motorway service areas, and leisure facilities.

'The government department responsible for enforcing the act has recently confirmed it will re introduce the private code of practice as soon as possible, continuing to leave millions of drivers at the mercy of aggressive rogue operators.'

As previously reported in The News, many motorists have lost out at the hands of both dodgy parking machines and the cavalier companies behind them.

A number of motorists have recently fallen foul at Havant Health Centre, where the registration system has led to many people being fined.