Excel Parking: Sheffield firm's 'unfair' five-minute rule banned after outcry

The firm can no longer target drivers who take more than five or 10 minutes to buy a ticket, according to regulator International Parking Community.

It comes after pressure from The Star and MPs including Abtisam Mohamed in Sheffield.

The IPC confirmed users in private car parks controlled by cameras - including Broomhill Rooftop - can pay at any time during their stay, from February 17.

IPC chief executive Will Hurley acknowledged the controversy had prompted them to act.

He said: “A lot of people have been writing about this issue. This change will not be popular with operators but we are not in their pockets and we are doing what is right.”

He also said the IPC “would not hesitate” to suspend members if necessary.

Parking companies must be a member of a regulator to buy drivers’ addresses from the DVLA.

The IPC has updated its code of practice, Mr Hurley added.

In a statement, Excel Parking said it would abide by the code.

Darlington MP Lola McEvoy was among 11 MPs who wrote to the government calling for a clampdown on private parking firms after scores of complaints about an Excel-run site in the town.

She said the “unfair five-minute rule” was now effectively banned.

She wrote: “Under a newly-updated code of conduct to which all private parking companies must abide, operators of car parks with fixed camera technology - such as Excel’s car park at Feethams - will no longer be permitted to charge fines where payment has been made in full before departure.

“In effect, this means there is no longer any time limit to pay as long as it is done before leaving the car park, and any fines for taking longer than five minutes should be overturned on appeal.”

The change applied retrospectively, she added.

“This means any “five-minute rule” fine from a fixed camera car park that has not yet been paid, regardless of when it was issued, can immediately be appealed to the industry’s Independent Appeals Service and that appeal should be upheld.”

Details on how to appeal can be found at https://www.theias.org/

Last week, The Star revealed Excel Parking had enjoyed record ‘profit before tax’ of £5.4m last year, a rise of 33 per cent on 2023 - which was double the year before.

Boss Simon Renshaw-Smith gave himself a £108,846 pay rise, taking his income to £761,846.

The Tinsley-based company was on track to send a record 300,000 Parking Charge Notices in 2024, a 50 per cent increase on 2023, which was itself a rise of 42 per cent on the year previous.

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In Sheffield, Abtisam Mohamed MP intervened at Excel Parking’s Broomhill Rooftop site claiming some drivers found it “almost impossible” to avoid receiving a £100 demand. It gives drivers 10 minutes to pay after arrival.

Private parking firms send Parking Charge Notices, which sound similar to Penalty Charge Notices issued by councils and police, they also have the same initials: PCN.

But many argue they are simply invoices for allegedly breaching terms and conditions written by a parking company.