Concerns grow as parking films set to issue 14.5m tickets a year

Richard Aucock, Contributor
Thu, 01 May 2025

New analysis shows private parking firms are on track to issue a staggering 14.5 million tickets to drivers in the 2024-25 financial year.

In the first half of the 2024-25 financial year, private parking firms made 7.2 million requests to the DVLA for vehicle keeper details. This was up 12% up on the same period 12 months ago.

The RAC says that if the trend continues for the rest of the financial year, nearly 14.5 million tickets could have been issued.  

This would equate to £1.4bn in fines.

Remarkably, this figure is almost double the number issued in 2018-19 – ironically, just before the government passed legislation to clamp down on rogue parking operators.

This Private Parking Code of Practice was controversially withdrawn in 2022 following legal challenges from private parking and debt recovery firms.

The RAC says this means private parking companies have not been scrutinised as intended, which may be why so many more parking charge notices, also known as PCNs, are being issued.

Further analysis of the DVLA data shows that just five companies are responsible for nearly half of the 7.2m requests for owner details – ParkingEye, Euro Car Parks, Horizon Parking, Smart Parking and APCOA Parking.

Each request costs £2.50 to make.

"It’s very concerning that private parking firms are growing," says RAC head of policy Simon Williams.

"As drivers don’t generally set out to break the rules, we fear more may be being treated unfairly by private parking companies that are still operating without government scrutiny."

Williams said the government is committed to getting the official Private Parking Code of Practice across the line and believes this needs to happen as quickly as possible, particularly as the number of parking charge notices issued has more than doubled since the law was passed to introduce the code in 2019.

"If anyone feels they’ve been wrongly told to pay £100 by a car park management company, they should challenge it."

Top 10 private parking company data requests

1. ParkingEye: 1,128,668
2. Euro Car Parks: 891,600
3. Horizon Parking: 439,896
4. Smart Parking: 423,809
5. APCOA Parking: 367,465
6. Civil Enforcement: 353,272
7. UK Parking Control (UKPC): 301,562
8. Parkmaven: 280,736
9. Ranger Services on behalf of CP Plus: 240,761
10. UK Car Park Management: 228,417

Data for first two quarters in 2024-25 financial year

Ask HJ

Can I contest a parking ticket for parking on private land?

Once a week I attend a social function at a church hall for about 2 hours. I am aware that this is covered by a Parking Company called Civil Enforcement who are approved BPA Operators. When you enter the church grounds from the road, there are no signs telling you that you are entering a parking zone area. On entering, there are vehicles parked up to the fence on the left. These parked vehicles actually obscure signage telling you to register your vehicle! I usually drive past them and park immediately in front of the hall where there are no signs at all. Prior to entering the hall area there is a small screen for you to fill in your vehicle details and on doing so it confirms that you are allowed to park on this private land. Signage telling you to do so is either missing or fallen on the floor and the screen is so small that it could easily be overlooked. I have recently received an invoice from Civil Enforcement for £100.00 reducing to £60.00 if paid within 14 days of the notice (14th March 2025). They state that I parked on the 26th February 2025 and failed to obtain a permit to do so. The invoice shows two very grainy pictures purporting to be my car but could be any ones as no reg no is shown, although their written description correctly shows my reg no. etc I could have forgotten to register my car on this particular occasion but I doubt it and cannot prove it. Also there have been times when the screen was not working at all but I cannot remember when. Do you think I would stand any chance of successfully appealing due to inadequate signage?

We would suggest challenging the parking ticket, because it costs nothing to do so and is usually worth a try. You can read our in-depth guide on this process here - https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/advice/driving-advice/parking-ticket-appeals/

Answered by David Ross

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