Inside Britain's multi-million car parking industry as PM announces clampdown

A former whistleblower has shared the ways the 'lucrative' car parking industry tries to catch out motorists - and how to beat them. Tony Taylor, 66, once worked as a team leader for the private parking firm UKPC, but has dedicated himself to helping almost 13,000 motorists overturn their parking charges since becoming a consumer champion 12 years ago. The parking guru has explained exactly what you should do if you find yourself issued with a ticket, after Prime Minister Andy Burnham promised the 'end of rip-off charges ' through a raft of new rules. Mr Taylor said that many of the government's changes, such as the £100 cap and the five and ten-minute grace periods, were already included in the industry's code of practice, but the new private parking code of practice will turn those guidelines "into law". His first bit of advice to anyone who receives a Parking Charge Notice in the post from a private company is 'don't panic' - but don't ignore it either, as that could prove costly. Under current guidelines, the maximum you can be charged for a single ticket is £100, with that typically reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days. But if the fee goes unpaid, private firms usually pass it onto debt collectors, beginning a process that can wreck your credit rating. Mr Taylor said: "Do not ignore it. Before 2013 it was more or less okay to ignore them, but that year a case went to the Supreme Court, and they ruled in favour of the parking company. "When I see people on Facebook groups saying, 'Oh, ignore it, there's nothing they can do, it's only the police and the council who can fine you' - no, they're wrong. Parking companies can send it to a debt company." "I've seen people ignore them, and suddenly they get a county court judgment by default. When you get one of them, you often can't even get a phone contract. I've seen people being refused mortgages because of a parking ticket issued three years ago." Much of his success in beating the private parking firms comes in identifying common loopholes and errors - such as faded white lines, operators ignoring grace periods, or poor onsite signage that doesn't explain the rules properly. "Parking companies have been getting away with a hell of a lot for many, many years", he said. "A lot of people will see a letter mentioning court and they will pay straight away, they'll break themselves just to pay the parking ticket". To date, he has won nearly 13,000 cases, and claims to have a more than 90% success rating in getting tickets overturned. Despite more guidelines coming in over recent years, the private parking sector continues to be a "highly lucrative" business, Mr Taylor added. Britain's largest parking company, ParkingEye, turned over about £60million last year. Rival Excel Parking meanwhile reported pre-tax profits this year of £5.5m on a record £21.1m turnover, while CitiPark had operating profits of £2.5m. According to the government's latest figures, a record 16.9m parking tickets were issued across the industry last year by private firms. Drivers should be aware that any fines issued by a private company can only be pursued as a civil matter - but if you're sent a parking charge by the police or the council, it could result in prosecution. "When it's private, they're not penalties and they're not fines, they're Parking Charge Notices", he said. "The actual tickets on the cars, they're dressed up to look like fines and penalties in the yellow, just like the council issues. But theirs is a penalty charge and the private are a parking charge notice. Private parking tickets are only a civil matter. "Only the council and the police issue fines and penalties. A private parking company issues a parking charge notice, which can only be pursued through the county courts through a civil action." Under the new Private Parking Code of Practice announced by the Prime Minister, drivers will be given stronger legal powers to challenge "unfair" charges by parking firms. The changes, expected to come into force by the end of this year, include: Drivers being given a 5-minute consideration period to decide whether they want to park, as well as a 10-minute grace period to leave the car park after their session ends without facing a penalty. The maximum penalty a private parking firm can issue remains frozen at £100. If a driver makes a small slip-up - such as entering the wrong vehicle registration, forgetting to display a permit, or forgetting to confirm their registration at the machine - the charge must be capped at a maximum of £20 on appeal. Charges can now be entirely cancelled on appeal for 'honest mistakes', like briefly stopping to check directions, or issues outside the driver's control, including vehicle breakdowns, medical emergencies, or broken ticket machines. A fully independent Scrutiny and Oversight Board is being created to monitor the industry. Parking firms that fail to follow the new rules risk losing their access to DVLA data, severely restricting their ability to track down a vehicle's registered owner to pursue payment. The government has pledged to consult next year on private parking debt recovery fees.