Parking fines: Sheffield MP Clive Betts urges government to launch long awaited crackdown on rogue firms

Clive Betts said the government should “get a move on” with a new code of conduct after it was shelved last year following a legal challenge from operators. The MP for Sheffield South East said he would regularly receive “upsetting” stories about firms’ ticketing tactics and a new watchdog was urgently needed.

Mr Betts and others want to end a ‘feeding frenzy’ which has seen the number of tickets on course to hit a record £1bn this year.

In Sheffield, Excel Parking is notorious for complex and secret rules at Berkeley Centre on Ecclesall Road, while a faulty system at its Broomhill rooftop car park wrongly issued an unknown number of £100 fines over an unknown period.

Shopkeepers have accused it of “killing” trade as drivers stay away. Users also complain the firm’s machines are difficult to operate, while fines can soar to £170, backed by threats of court action and debt collectors. Excel also controls the appeals service and funds the industry regulator.

Mr Betts, chair of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee, said: “It’s urgent, the government needs to get a move on. Parking firms are there to make money, but some of them have more regard to customer service than others. An independent appeals system will also push parking companies to behave better.”

In a letter to Mr Betts, levelling up minister Dehenna Davison MP, said they intended to publish a draft impact assessment and launch consultation before the summer parliamentary recess.

Excel Parking, based in Tinsley, did not respond to The Star.