Fed up with car owners parking on your private land without authorisation?
Fed up with unauthorised parking on your private land? Here are the steps you can take to prevent this problem.
At Creative Car Park we understand the frustrations when it comes to people parking on your private land without authorisation, especially when you it deprives genuine users of a parking space.
Do you know what your business loses when a potential customer cannot conveniently park? If you’re a retailer and your average customer spend is £100, having an unauthorised vehicle parked in your car park could cost you over £500 a day in lost revenue for just that one space*. Spread that figure over several parking spaces for a whole year and the impact could be significant.
If the average customer spend is £100, an unauthorised vehicle parked in one of your spaces can cost you over £500 pounds a day!
What is the current legislation for parking on private land?
Multiple that figure by several parking spaces and that can be the difference between your business being profitable or bankrupt.
How can you prevent unauthorised parking on private land?
Note: A private landowner can hold the registered vehicle keeper liable for unpaid parking charges in instances where the registered keeper refuses or is unable to name the driver at the time the parking charge was incurred. This is often referred to as keeper liability. That means, since the new legislation in 2012, the registered keeper can no longer be held liable for unpaid parking charges if they are able to identify the driver of the vehicle at the time a parking ticket was incurred.
How do I use ticketing to prevent unauthorised parking?
Ticketing is an effective solution for preventing unauthorised parking and managing your car park. If you opt for vehicle ticketing, you will be responsible for placing a PCN on said vehicle or handing it to the driver. If after 28 days, you have not received a response from the vehicle driver, you can submit a request to the DVLA for details of the vehicle’s registered keeper and ask for details of the driver or request payment of the PCN.
In instances where unauthorised parking has been identified remotely via cameras, you are within your rights to contact the DVLA for information on the registered keeper and must write to the registered keeper within 14 days requesting details of the vehicle’s driver or for payment of the PCN.
If the registered vehicle owner was not the driver of the vehicle at the time a parking charge was incurred, they should be invited to give information to you regarding the driver’s name and address.
A parking ticket issued to parked cars without authorisation can only be enforced if you, as the landowner:
- Are able to demonstrate that a contract to park existed between the driver and the landowner and said contract had been broken
- Has displayed signs which clearly show charges for unauthorised parking
What information needs to be included on parking tickets?
Parking tickets must include the following information at a minimum:
- When and how the parking offence took place
- How much the parking charge is
- Discount for prompt payment of the parking charge
- How and who should the payment be made to
- The time and date when the parking charge was issued
- What the arrangements are for the resolution of disputes or complaints
How do I draw up a parking contract?
A parking contract can be drawn up in a number of ways, for example:
- Car park signs can be used to display the terms and conditions upon which parking is offered
- Car park signs can be used to display when a driver is trespassing and parking is not allowed
If signs at a car park are not deemed sufficient and/or the terms and conditions are not fair, it could be argued that a parking charge notice cannot be enforced.
How can Creative Car Park help prevent unauthorised parking on private land?
As one of the UK’s leading car park management providers, we offer an effective solution to permanently prevent unauthorised parking.
We use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras to capture every vehicle that enters your site. Genuine users can then enter their details for free parking, or alternatively use pay to park options.
One of the key benefits of partnering with Creative Car Park is that we’ll take care of everything. With install highly-visible signs that are fully compliant with all BPA regulations and we issue the PCNs when the parking terms are breached. Our PCNs only show the name of our enforcement partner, Civil Enforcement Ltd, so registered keepers or vehicle drivers will contact us directly, ensuring you don’t have to deal with any confrontational behaviour.
If you would like more information regarding our ANPR parking management system, you can request a free, no-obligation audit of your car park by completing the short forum below.
* Based on an average of all UK businesses. Daily spend will depend on the nature, size and location of the business.
