Shipley residents being “ripped off” by unfair parking fines, says local MP

Anna Dixon, MP for Shipley, has stated that "law-abiding residents" in her constituency are being "ripped off" by unfair parking fines imposed by private companies, describing the situation as a “scandal across the whole country.”

While speaking in Parliament yesterday, the MP highlighted several specific cases involving her local constituents who have been unjustly fined for parking violations. She urged the Government to implement stronger independent regulation and provide clearer guidelines for consumers regarding parking enforcement.

In her speech in the Westminster Hall debate on Parking Regulation, Anna Dixon MP said: “I spoke to a constituent who lives at Victoria Mills, a beautiful residential development in the heart of Saltaire.

“He has been trying to register his vehicle with the company that operates the residents’ car park, BaySentry. It has him down as owning two cars and two spaces, neither of which has the correct registration details, so every time he enters or exits his car park, he is issued with a fine.

“Having clocked up several thousands of pounds in fines owed, he has decided to move out.

“Another constituent overstayed slightly at a supermarket car park, but saw that the signage was extremely poor and submitted evidence to that effect. She has got into dispute with POPLA, which is not progressing her appeal. This is really undermining people’s confidence in parking.

“The third case study is that of Susan, who has a happier story. She was shopping at the new Lidl store—she was there 30 minutes before opening time to use the browsing time before the store opened on a Sunday—and she received a fine from Parking eye.

“It turned out that Parking eye was not up to date with the store opening times, and it should never have fined her as she was not there out-of-hours. Thanks to my intervention on her behalf, we got a small victory: the cameras were updated, and she got her money back.

“It should not require the intervention of MPs with these private companies to stop this rip-off Britain. It seems like the companies have a blank cheque and are exploiting law-abiding residents of my constituency and people around the country.

“I hope the Minister will respond positively to my call and that of colleagues for properly independent regulation and clarity for consumers, and a legally binding code of practice.”