Food bank users threatened with £170 parking fine

theguardian.com:

Food bank users were pursued for parking charges of up to £170 and threatened with court action after an enforcement company took over management of a community centre car park in Sunderland.

Clients and volunteers at the Youth Almighty Project, which runs a food bank and community services, were hit with parking charge notices (PCNs) for using the charity’s free car park after the firm contracted to manage the site was taken over by an Australian multinational called Smart Parking.

“They have begun issuing £100 tickets (reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days) to anyone that uses the car park, including me and my staff, even though we own the site,” Phil Tye, the chair of Youth Almighty, said.

“Even after we’ve contested them, people are receiving letters from a debt collection agency demanding £170 and threatening legal action if they don’t pay within seven days.”

It was only after Guardian Money contacted the parking firm, Smart Parking, that the charges were cancelled.

Parking enforcement companies patrol privately owned car parks on behalf of landlords to crack down on drivers who trespass, overstay or fail to pay. Typically, the firms receive the income from PCNs, which can be up to £100 each, rather than payments from the landlord.

The sector has been criticised for disproportionate charges for minor infringements of parking rules and in February, the government announced plans to cap most private parking charges at £50. It will also force firms to allow drivers a 10-minute grace period before issuing a PCN.

A new code of practice will make it easier for drivers to challenge tickets if there are mitigating circumstances and restrict fees levied by debt collection agents.

At the time the changes were announced the minister